Chicago Shakespeare Theatre News

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Patrick Willingham) will take its MOBILE SHAKESPEARE UNIT on tour again this July with a production of RICHARD III, directed by Amanda Dehnert. The three-week tour, July 16 to August 3, will bring free Shakespeare to audiences who have limited or no access to the arts before a sit-down run at The Public Theater, August 6-25. Tickets for Richard III at The Public are $15 and go on sale July 12.

The Glimmerglass Festival, the Central New York summer opera and musical theater company, has announced its 2013 season and its partnership in The Festival of American Romantics in Cooperstown, New York.

Actors SAM MUÑOZ and AARON MUÑOZ have been invited to perform their two man show, 2 HOUSEHOLDS, 2 ASSHOLES: SHAKEPEARE'S R & J at the 2012 SIDESHOW FRINGE FESTIVAL (August 2-4) and the 2012 NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL (August 10-26).

Lookingglass Theatre Company presents the world premiere of EASTLAND: A NEW MUSICAL, written by Artistic Director Andrew White with music by Ben Sussman and Artistic Associate Andre Pluess and directed by Amanda Dehnert. The production runs June 6 - July 29, 2012 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. The Press Opening is tonight, June 16, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.

The American Music Theatre Project (AMTP) at Northwestern University has selected award-winning writer and director Amanda Dehnert's THE VERONA PROJECT as its newest musical. Presented as the first show in the Theatre and Interpretation Center (TIC) at Northwestern University's 2012-13 Mainstage season, performances will take place from Oct. 19 through Nov. 4, at the Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive, on the University's Evanston campus.

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) is thrilled to present the NY premiere of the hit musical comedy THE HUNCHBACK VARIATIONS, based on the play by Mickle Maher, with music by Mark Messing, libretto by Mr. Maher and directed by and featuring George Andrew Wolff and Larry Adams.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) announces 15 awards granted from their National Fund for New Musicals, a major funding program to support NAMT member not-for-profit theatres in their collaborations with writers to create, develop and produce new musicals. Now in its fourth year, the Fund will provide grants totaling $48,000 to 14 organizations across the country.

Lookingglass Theatre Company presents the world premiere of EASTLAND: A NEW MUSICAL, written by Artistic Director Andrew White with music by Ben Sussman and Artistic Associate Andre Pluess and directed by Amanda Dehnert. The production runs June 6 - July 29, 2012 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. The Press Opening is Saturday, June 16, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.

BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was thrilled to sit down and speak with nearly all of this year's Tony Award nominees at the official Tony Brunch on May 2, 2012, and we will be bringing you special coverage on all of them throughout the awards season. Today we bring you Jessie Mueller, nominee for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) is thrilled to present the NY premiere of the hit musical comedy THE HUNCHBACK VARIATIONS, based on the play by Mickle Maher, with music by Mark Messing, libretto by Mr. Maher and directed by and featuring George Andrew Wolff and Larry Adams.

'I'm feeling so very excited and overwhelmed! It's a lot to take in. I'm so honored but I really wasn't expecting it! I'm so thrilled and so grateful. I got a call from my agent this morning, so that's how I found out. I wasn't watching the broadcast on TV. I think my boyfriend and I will definitely be going out tonight to celebrate. In the meantime, there are lots and lots of phone calls to make and people to talk to!'

Simon Callow has brought his highly acclaimed show BEING SHAKESPEARE to the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre at the Broadway Playhouse for a limited engagement through April 29, 2012. Performances began April, 18 2012. The Chicago engagement follows productions at BAM in New York and Trafalgar Studios 1 in London. Click below to watch Callow in action!

Northlight Theatre, under the direction of Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans, presents Ten Chimneys by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Artistic Director BJ Jones. The production runsMarch 9 - April 15, 2012 at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd. The press opening is on Friday, March 16, 2012.

Spring comes to Millennium Park with Chicago-based actress and singer McKinley Carter in the finalCabaret with a View concert of the season on Monday, April 9, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. on the enclosed stage of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. Titled Spring Forward/Fall Back, the evening will feature music inspired by the renewal and possibility of springtime.

Pioneer Theatre Company presents Laughing Stock, written by PTC Artistic Director Charles Morey, March 23 - April 7, 2012.

Bailiwick Chicago's Executive Director, Brian LaDuca, announced today that Lili-Anne Brown has been named their new Artistic Director.

Directed by Laura Kepley, CPH Associate Artistic Director, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play takes place at the dawn of electricity, when a remarkable treatment for "hysterical" men and women is taking place. A funny and touching play about marriage and intimacy, A 2010 Tony Award® Nominee for Best Play and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play will begin in the Second Stage at PlayhouseSquare on Friday, April 13 and is intended for mature audiences. Due to popular demand, the run has been extended one week and will now play through Sunday, May 13, 2012. Tickets are available at PlayhouseSquare ticket office by calling 216-241-6000 or online at www.clevelandplayhouse.com. In the Next Room, or the vibrator play is sponsored by Ambiance, and presented with support from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and the Ohio Arts Council.