Classic Stage Company News

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Greg Reiner, announced complete casting today for its upcoming production of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet starring Elizabeth Olsen as Juliet. Julian Cihi has been cast as Romeo. Daniel Davis replacesWilliam Hurt as Friar Laurence. Hurt has withdrawn from the production for personal reasons. Previously announced Emmy Award nominee T.R. Knight(Mercutio) and Tony Award nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega (Nurse) will be joined by McKinley Belcher III (Benvolio), Stan Demidoff (Paris/Sampson),Harry Ford (Gregory, Friar John, Watchman), David Garrison (Capulet), Anthony Michael Martinez (Prince), Kathryn Meisle (Lady Capulet), Dion Mucciacito (Tybalt) and John Rothman (Montague/Apothecary). CSC's Romeo & Juliet, which begins performances Friday, September 27, will be directed byTea Alagi? (Jackie). Set design is by Marsha Ginsberg; costumes by Clint Ramos, lighting by Jason Lyons and sound by Ryan Rumery. The official opening night is Wednesday, October 16. Romeo & Juliet will play a limited engagement through Sunday, November 3. Tickets will go on sale Wednesday, September 4 at 12pm.

The Old Globe Artistic Director and noted Shakespearean Barry Edelstein will present Barry Edelstein In Conversation with James Shapiro, the internationally renowned Shakespeare scholar, tonight, Aug. 28 at 6:00 p.m.

August Strindberg Repertory Theatre (www.strindberg.org), which was formed in 2012 to illuminate Strindberg's plays for today's American audiences, will present the English language premiere of Strindberg's 'Mr. Bengt's Wife' (1882), directed by Craig Baldwin (Associate Artistic Director of Red Bull Theater) September 13 to 29, 2013 at the Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond Street, where August Strindberg Rep is the resident company. 'Mr. Bengt's Wife' has been characterized as Strindberg's answer to Ibsen's 'The Doll's House.' It utilizes realism, expressionism, melodrama and dreamscape to tell the story of the rebellious Margit, whose quest to become an independent New Woman catapults her from a convent to a castle, where her husband and two lovers vie for her attention.

On Friday, August 30, the company is pleased to welcome Ryan Silverman (The Phantom of the Opera, Passion) in his debut engagement in the role of 'that silver-tongued Prince of the Courtroom' Billy Flynn. He'll be joined on by celebrated CHICAGO veteran Roz Ryan (Dreamgirls, 'Amen'), who returns as Matron 'Mama' Morton on Sunday, September 1. And beginning Monday, September 2, acclaimed leading lady and Latina superstar Bianca Marroquin reprises her star-making turn as 'foxy' Roxie Hart.

'The Pines,' the gay summer vacation destination off the coast of Long Island, is usually known more for groovy disco or throbbing dance music than for Opera, but this weekend, that will change when the Fire Island Opera Festival touches down in the whimsical beach community.

Berkshire Theatre Group presents Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize-Winning play Anna Christie at the Fitzpatrick Main Stage. Opening Night is tomorrow, August 24 at 8pm. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Berkeley Repertory Theatre kicks off its 46th season this September with Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play. The hilarious Broadway blockbuster from three-time Obie Award-winner Christopher Durang begins previews in the Roda Theatre on September 20, opens September 25, and runs through October 20. Durang, the renowned author of rollicking comedies such as Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You and The Marriage of Bette & Boo, turns Chekhov on his head with this witty and incisive farce. In bucolic Bucks County, Vanya and Sonia fritter their lives away in their family's farmhouse amid regret, angst, and the alarming prophecies of an addled housecleaner. Enter their sister Masha, a self-absorbed movie star with her prized boy toy Spike, and the stage is set for an absurd weekend of hilarity and global warming. Acclaimed director Richard E.T. White returns to Berkeley Rep to stage the laugh-inducing Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, a loving homage to Chekhov's themes of heartbreak and hope.

Infinity Theatre Company (Anna Roberts Ostroff & Alan Ostroff) and Perry Street Theatricals (Martin Platt & David Elliott) have just announced that the first Broadway production of DAMES AT SEA will set sail on Broadway in 2014. With a book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller, music by Jim Wise, and musical direction byRob Berman (The Pajama Game, Finian's Rainbow), DAMES AT SEA will be directed and choreographed by three time Tony Award nominee Randy Skinner (42nd Street, Irving Berlin's White Christmas). Design team, casting, production dates and Broadway theatre to be announced at a later date.

M-34 presents the World Premiere of The Importance of Being Ernest Hemingway, co-created by James Rutherford and Elliot B. Quick, and directed by James Rutherford. The Importance of Being Ernest Hemingway runs from today, August 17 to September 1, 2013 in a limited engagement at the Access Theater, located at 380 Broadway between Walker Street and White Street in New York City. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

M-34 presents the World Premiere of The Importance of Being Ernest Hemingway, co-created by James Rutherford and Elliot B. Quick, and directed by James Rutherford. The Importance of Being Ernest Hemingway runs from tonight, August 17 to September 1, 2013 in a limited engagement at the Access Theater, located at 380 Broadway between Walker Street and White Street in New York City.

M-34 proudly presents the World Premiere of The Importance of Being Ernest Hemingway, co-created by James Rutherford and Elliot B. Quick, and directed by James Rutherford. The Importance of Being Ernest Hemingway runs from August 17 to September 1, 2013 in a limited engagement at the Access Theater, located at 380 Broadway between Walker Street and White Street in New York City.

Stephen Sondheim and Wynton Marsalis will collaborate on A BED AND A CHAIR: A New York Love Affair, a new musical event featuring Sondheim's music arranged and performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. This Encores! Special Event, directed by frequent Sondheim collaborator John Doyle, with choreography by Parker Esse and musical supervision by David Loud, was conceived by Peter Gethers, Jack Viertel and John Doyle, and will run for seven performances, November 13 - 17 at City Center.

At First Sight (and Other Stories) is a 90-minute compilation of some of their most celebrated works mixed with vignettes created especially for this production - written, directed, and featuring the company of BKBX- each piece designed to take the audience on a journey from epic fantasy adventure to the intimate and very real moments of everyday life. Weaving comedy and drama through the show's fabric, At First Sight (and Other Stories) will entertain as well as enlighten. The show runs Thursdays - Saturdays: November 7 - 9, 14 - 16, and 21 - 23 @ 7:30 p.m. Matinees: November 9, 16, and 23 @ 2:00 p.m.

“The Pines,” the gay summer vacation destination off the coast of Long Island, is usually known more for groovy disco or throbbing dance music than for Opera, but August 23-25 that will change when the Fire Island Opera Festival touches down in the whimsical beach community.

ALBERT PODELL and THE YORK SHAKESPEARE COMPANY are pleased to announce the world premiere production of Alexander Harrington's The Great Society, directed by Seth Duerr. The Great Society will play a four-week limited engagement at the Clurman Theatre (Theatre Row: 410 West 42nd Street, NYC). Performances began Saturday, August 3 and continue through Saturday, August 24. Opening Night is tonight, August 8 (8 p.m.).

Broadway star Jordan Dean (Mamma Mia) will team up with Tony Nominated Producer Antonio Marion (Big Fish, Evita) to develop and produce a new film The Lodger which is expected to shoot next summer, 2014 in London.