Craig Wright News

Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the highly anticipated Chicago premiere production of Annie Baker's The Flick, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Directed by Dexter Bullard, the cast features Will Allan, Danny McCarthy, Caroline Neff and Travis Turner. The Flick runs tonight, February 4, through May 8, 2016 in the Upstairs Theatre.

?A Red Orchid Theatre concludes its 2015-2016 season with the world premiere of Sender by Ike Holter, directed by Ensemble Member Shade Murray. Featuring Ensemble Member Steve Haggard, the cast of Sender also includes McKenzie Chinn, Mary Williamson and Steven Wilson. Sender will run April 14 - May 29, 2016. The press opening for Sender is April 18, 2016 at 7 p.m. A Red Orchid Theatre is located at 1531 N Wells.

The new original series 'Greenleaf,' featuring Oprah Winfrey's first recurring scripted television role in two decades, will launch with a two-night premiere on OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK on Tuesday, May 24

Brown played an awkward dive bar Elvis impersonator who finds his true calling as a drag artist in MCC's production of Matthew Lopez's comedy.

The Sixth Annual Clive Barnes Awards for Theatre and Dance will be held this afternoon, January 11, at 3 p.m. at The Walter Reade Theatre, Lincoln Center. One recipient from each category will be chosen and the winners announced today. All finalists will receive a cash prize, with the winners in each category receiving an award of $5,000.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the Chicago premiere of Annie Baker's 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, The Flick. Under the direction of Dexter Bullard, who also directed the Chicago premiere of Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation, the cast features Danny McCarthy, Caroline Neff and Travis Turner as the three hapless employees of The Flick movie house. Previews begin February 4 (opening night is February 14; press performances are Saturday, February 13 at 3pm and Tuesday, February 16 at 7:30pm) and runs through May 8, 2016 in Steppenwolf's Upstairs Theatre (1650 N Halsted St). Tickets ($20 - $89) are available through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted), 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org.

Interrobang Theatre Project is pleased to continue its 2015-16 Season, exploring 'Unnatural Disasters,' with RECENT TRAGIC EVENTS, a dark comedy set against the backdrop of 9/11, by Emmy-nominated playwright Craig Wright, directed by Co-Artistic Director Georgette Verdin*. RECENT TRAGIC EVENTS will play March 11 - April 10, 2016 at The Athenaeum Theatre (Studio 2), 2936 N. Southport Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.interrobangtheatre.org, by calling (773) 935-6875 or in person at The Athenaeum Theatre Box Office. The press opening is Sunday, March 13 at 2 pm.

Center Theatre Group and HUMANITAS will be accepting submissions from Los Angeles-based playwrights from January 15 to February 29, 2016, for the second edition of its PLAY LA Workshop.

The National Theatre of Great Britain's North American wing (Tim Levy, Producer) in collaboration with Scott Morfee, Jean Doumanian, Tom Wirtshafter, and Patrick Daly have announced the North American premiere of playwright Lucy Prebble's award-winning new play The Effect. With direction by David Cromer, the entirely American production of The Effect will open at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street at 7th Avenue) in March 2016. Additional information will be announced shortly.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater's Artistic Director David Van Asselt and Managing Director Brian Long have announced that WHAT HAPPENED WHEN, a workshop production written and directed by Daniel Talbott, will play for one week begining tonight, December 15, at 7pm. Produced in association with {Your Name Here}, the workshop will play Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (224 Waverly Place).

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater's Artistic Director David Van Asselt and Managing Director Brian Long have announced that WHAT HAPPENED WHEN, a workshop production written and directed by Daniel Talbott, will play for one week begining Tuesday, December 15, at 7pm.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater announces the 2015 F*ck!ng Good Plays (festival, VI). The festival, to be presented at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (224 Waverly Place - off 7th Avenue South between West 11th & Perry Streets) will begin Saturday, December 5th, and continue thru Saturday, December 20th. The festival will kick off with readings of new plays by today's hottest playwrights! Playwrights include: Keith Josef Adkins, Dan Aibel, Dipika Guha, Mary Hamilton, Basil Kreimendahl, Laura Marks, Lucy Thurber, and Emily Zemba. The festival will then continue with Rattlestick's annual Theater Jam ending with a workshop production of Daniel Talbott's play, What Happened When.

Actor/writer Jason Lott and writer Helen Murray Pafumi collaborated on writing Wonderful Life currently onstage at the Malibu Playhouse. I caught up with both of them to see how all of this got started and what they feel they have accomplished with their Christmas play. What motivated both of you to adapt It's a Wonderful Life? JL: Honestly, it was all Helen's idea. She wanted to do a one-person holiday show at her theatre, but wasn't finding the right script. She approached me about doing the show (whatever it might turn out to be) and mentioned that she was planning to adapt It's A Wonderful Life. I asked if she'd mind if I co-wrote it with her and she was gracious enough to say 'Yes.' You could make the argument that I only asked to co-write because I knew it would be easier to memorize that way, but that's only half-true (because, honestly, it is easier for me to memorize something I've written). The other side is that I only knew a little bit about It's A Wonderful Life. I knew it was an 'American classic' and I knew that I loved Jimmy Stewart's work in other movies, but the embarrassing fact is that I'd only seen bits and pieces over the years. I'd never watched the whole thing in one sitting. Once I did, though, I fell in love with the movie and absolutely wanted to help bring that story to the stage.

Sandra Mae Frank and Katie Boeck share a nomination for their performance as Wendla.

MCC Theater presents the New York premiere of John Pollono's LOST GIRLS. The production is directed by Jo Bonney who last collaborated with playwright John Pollono on MCC's critically acclaimed production of Small Engine Repair. LOST GIRLS opens tonight, November 9. It is scheduled through November 29, 2015.

'WONDERFUL LIFE!' - A new holiday classic, premiering benefit November 28 at the Malibu Playhouse, launches their 2015-16 season under the helm of Jeremy Skidmore, world-renowned theater director and formerly Artistic Director of Theater Alliance in Washington, D.C.

Crashbox Theater Company announces an extension of its World Premiere production of KITCHEN SINK EXPERIMENT(S) by Colby Day. Director Andrew J Scoville has staged the production in an authentic Brooklyn apartment with a limited audience of 20 per performance. Performances will now run through November 13 at Brian & Simone's Apartment.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the highly anticipated Chicago premiere production of Annie Baker's The Flick, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Directed by Dexter Bullard, the cast features Will Allan, Danny McCarthy, Caroline Neff and Travis Turner. The Flick runs February 4 - May 8, 2016 in the Upstairs Theatre. Tickets ($20 - $89) are now on sale through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted), 312-335-1650 or steppenwolf.org.

MCC Theater presents the New York premiere of John Pollono's LOST GIRLS. Golden Globe nominated star of stage and screen, Piper Perabo-who recently completed five seasons of the USA's popular drama series 'Covert Affairs' for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination, and was last seen onstage in the Broadway and MCC Theater productions of Neil LaBute's Reasons to be Pretty-stars alongside Ebon Moss-Bachrach (HBO's 'Girls'), Meghann Fahy (Next to Normal), Tasha Lawrence (Good People, The Whale), and newcomers Lizzy DeClement and Josh Green.

Kansas City Repertory Theatre continues its 2015-16 season and its commitment to the creation of unforgettable new plays with the WORLD PREMIERE of Blueprints to Freedom: An Ode to Bayard Rustin, written by and starring Michael Benjamin Washington and directed by the critically acclaimed Lucie Tiberghien. This story is more than relevant. It's riveting. Those who stand up for equality in 2015 are following in the footsteps of Bayard Rustin, the lesser known but powerfully influential civil rights leader who orchestrated the March on Washington and stepped forward himself as an openly gay man at a time when few had the courage to do so. In this ode, an exiled Rustin masterminds 'a tribute to the ancestors' 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. This exciting production begins tonight, Oct. 16 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 15 at KC Rep's Copaken Stage in the Power & Light District in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.