Chicago Shakespeare Theatre News

Aurora's Paramount Theatre will launch its third Broadway subscription series this September with the first local professional staging of In the Heights, one of Broadway's most acclaimed contemporary musicals, a potent reminder of the importance of chasing one's dreams, and the show all of Chicago will be talking about this fall. Performances are September 11 through October 6, 2013. Press opening is Saturday, September 14 at 8 p.m. Scroll down for a first look at the cast!

Chicago Children's Theatre (CCT) is kicking off Season 8: Grow with a delightful new production of A Year with Frog and Toad, the Tony-nominated musical based on the Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel, directed by Henry Godinez, resident artist at the Goodman. Performances start October 9, 2013 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., Chicago. Press opening is Friday, October 11 at 7 p.m. Performances run through November 24. Single tickets start at $25 and are on sale now at chicagochildrenstheatre.org or by calling the Chicago Children's Theatre box office, (872) 222-9555.

Lacy lingerie and lots and lots of sardines abound in the Clarence Brown Theatre season opener 'Noises Off' playing on the mainstage September 5-22, 2013. The two-time Tony nominated farce written by Michael Frayn looks at the follies of theatre people, whose susceptibility to out-of-control egos, memory loss and passionate affairs turns every performance into quite the adventure. If you enjoy a good laugh, this production is definitely for you. The New York Times critic Frank Rich called it 'the funniest play written in my lifetime.' Special behind-the-scenes tours will be given following the Sept. 11 and 12 shows. Corporate sponsors for the production are Schaad Companies and Pilot Flying J. The play contains adult language and content and is recommended for mature audiences.

He has directed and choreographed over three hundred shows on American regional theatres stages from Chicago to Philadelphia to Houston, Kansas City, and Phoenix, been nominated for over seventy awards, won sixteen of fifty-three Joseph Jefferson nominations! He is currently the full time Artistic Director of the Fulton Theatre in Lancaster, PA, but that will not stop him in the coming season from staging productions not only in Lancaster, but also in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Brunswick, ME, to name but a few gigs already planned. 'Regional theatres are the places that are focusing on art first and commercial aspects second. Regional is where new works begin today and where quality theatre exists. I love the playground of regional theatre,' the Florida born, fifty-two-year-old Marc Robin exclaims with enthusiasm when I am able to catch up with him shortly after the opening of Maine State Music Theatre's highly acclaimed East coast regional premiere of Mary Poppins. Robin, who also staged Dreamgirls and LES MISERABLES in Brunswick this summer, confides, 'I like to be busy. I don't wind down. I always think I am supposed to be doing something. But that's because my work is my passion.'

The Judas Redux team (led by Executive Producers Julia Albain and Corey Lubowich of Team StarKid fame) presents a new production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephen Adly Guirgis, and directed by Julia Albain. The Last Days of Judas Iscariot will be presented at Stage 773, 1225 West Belmont in Chicago, for 18 performances, today, August 23 - September 8, 2013. The Press Opening is scheduled for Sunday, August 25 at 6:00 p.m.

The latest in unauthorized gossip and buzz from the heart of Chicago's showtune video bars, and musical theater news from Chicago to Broadway. 'Jungle Book' and 'Flashdance' depart, 'Pageant' and 'Ruthless!' appear, two musicals celebrating black music begin September 14 at BET and the Goodman, two Gary Griffin shows get their leading ladies, plus 'Hank Williams' and much more!

Acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Noah Haidle returns to Chicago with his newest work, Smokefall, which examines life's big questions through the prism of an ordinary family. Hailed by The New Yorker as "formidably talented, with a sort of freewheeling intuitive daring," the Michigan native playwright most recently wrote the 2012 film Stand Up Guys (starring Alan Arkin, Christopher Walken and Al Pacino) and previously authored Mr. Marmalade, Vigils (at the Goodman in 2006) and Persephone for the stage. Director Anne Kauffman, in her Goodman debut, assembles an ensemble cast for the Goodman production, including legendary Chicago actor Mike Nussbaum (Henry VIII at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre) as the Colonel; Catherine Combs (The Delling Shore at Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival) in the roles of Beauty and Blessing; Katherine Keberlein (Boeing, Boeing at Drury Lane Oakbrook) as Violet; Guy Massey (Failure: A Love Story at Victory Gardens Theater) as Footnote and Fetus Two; and Eric Slater (Gloryana at New York City's Public Theater) as Daniel and Fetus One. A world-premiere co-production with South Coast Repertory, Smokefall runs October 5 - November 3 in the Owen Theatre (opening night is Monday, October 14). Tickets ($10-$40; subject to change) are on sale now at GoodmanTheatre.org/Smokefall, by phone at 312.443.3800 or at the box office (170 North Dearborn). Bank of America is the 2013/2014 Owen Season Sponsor.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Broadway veteran Louise Pitre will lead GYPSY when it plays Chicago Shakespeare Theatre next year. Directed by Gary Griffin, the production will run at Chicago Shakespeare's Courtyard Theater, February 6- March 23.

Shakespeare & Young Company showcase their eight weeks of intense training in two performances at The Rose Footprint. They will be presenting a 45-minute, plot-driven, re-imagining of Hamlet, with three different actors playing three different Hamlets, and Another Part of the Forest, an As You Like It/Midsummer mash-up. The Young Company features twelve young adults, aged 16-20, from across the United States.

Pride Films and Plays announced today that David Leeper, James Nedrud, Robert Ollis, and Raphael Schwartzman had joined the company as New Artistic Ensemble Members. Learn more about each new member below.

The Brown Paper Box Co returns to Davenport's Piano Bar this September with an exciting new incarnation of CHARACTER BREAKDOWN: A Miscast Cabaret. This evening will feature new faces, new characters, and will provide fresh and unexpected perspectives on characters you think you know. CHARACTER BREAKDOWN promises to be a heartfelt and hilarious evening filled with musical theatre classics and contemporary Broadway hits.

Aurora's Paramount Theatre will launch its third Broadway subscription series this September with the first local professional staging of In the Heights, one of Broadway's most acclaimed contemporary musicals, a potent reminder of the importance of chasing one's dreams, and the show all of Chicago will be talking about this fall. Performances are September 11 through October 6, 2013. Press opening is Saturday, September 14 at 8 p.m.

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble (BTE) presents the first work of its 2013 - 2014 Season, Ken Ludwig's 'Leading Ladies,' directed by BTE Ensemble member Kurt Naebig, in the Building K Theatre at the College of DuPage 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, Ill. Sept. 6 - 22.

To propel continued growth and increase its level of professionalism, Utah Repertory Theater Company announces the addition of Kymberly Mellen to its board of advisers as Executive Producer: Artistic Adviser/Casting.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's summer of comedy continues with Noel Coward's frothy delight Fallen Angels. Fallen Angels began performances on July 3 and continues through July 28th at The Shakespeare Theatre's Main Stage - The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) presents Cyrano de Bergerac directed by Penny Metropulos September 24-November 10, 2013 in CST's Courtyard Theater.

Co-founders John Stoops, Tim Evans, and Marc Grapey announce the inaugural season of Three Oaks Theater Festival, a new summer theater festival that will bring three limited-engagement runs of highly-acclaimed, professional Chicago-based productions and a World Premiere to audiences in Harbor Country, Michigan. Three Oaks Theater Festival is presented in association with Harbor Arts with special thanks to The Pokagon Fund.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's summer of comedy continues with Noel Coward's frothy delightFallen Angels. Fallen Angels begins performances today, July 3 and continues through July 28th at The Shakespeare Theatre's Main Stage - The F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre.