Crystal Skillman News

Theater for the New City (TNC) has announced that Squealer, a new play by Jonathan Blitstein and directed by Daniel Talbott, will open on Thursday May 5th at 8pm at Theater for the New City - 155 First Avenue, between 9th and 10th Streets.

Boomerang Theatre Company (Tim Errickson, Artistic Director; Sue Abbott, Managing Director) will kick off their 2011 season with an outdoor production of Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing, directed by Daniel Talbott and starring Sara Thigpen as Beatrice. The production opens June 18th in Central Park, and is free to the public. Check out www.boomerangtheatre.org for more information.

Danno, Rene and Colette all know the truth: reality is written, reality is planned. As reality TV show writers their job is to pull out the drama - capture that hair pulling, perfect table flip showdown!

Judy Kent, currently represented on Broadway by Driving Miss Daisy, presents an invitation-only reading of Welcome to My Life, a new pop/rock musical with music and lyrics by Bobby Cronin and a book by Alicia Dempster and Bobby Cronin.

Rising Phoenix Rep is pleased to announce that Slipping will have its West Coast premiere at New Conservatory Theatre Center opening on May 18, 2012.

Judy Kent, currently represented on Broadway as a producer of Driving Miss Daisy, presents an invitation-only reading of Welcome to My Life, a new pop/rock musical with a book by Alicia Dempster and Bobby Cronin, music and lyrics by Bobby Cronin. The reading will take place on April 11, 2011 at 2pm.

This summer The Brick Theater, Inc. will invite one of history's newest art forms to meet one of its oldest as part of the first ever Comic Book Theater Festival.

In the middle of its acclaimed Cino Nights series, which runs through April 2012, Rising Phoenix Rep presented a workshop on Sunday, March 27th of Maya Macdonald's new play The Really Important People, directed by RPR artistic associate Julie Kline. The workshop featured Stephen Brown, Laura Ramadei, Amy Staats, and Ali Stroker, and will be followed by a full production at the Seventh Street Small Stage at Jimmy's No. 43 in July.

Playwright and artistic director of Rising Phoenix Rep Daniel Talbott has been named a finalist in the drama category for the 2011 Lambda Literary Awards, which were announced March 16th.

Victory Gardens presents The Chicago One-Minute Play Festival as a benefit for the Victory Gardens Fresh Squeezed series. The event will be held in the Zacek-McVay Theater at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park on May 15 and 16, 2011, at 7:30pm.

Simon Greiff and Phil Sykes (for SimG Productions) will present THE SONGS OF Bobby Cronin on Sunday 27th February 2011 at 8pm at the New Players Theatre featuring a cast of West End guests.

Rising Phoenix Repertory announces the seventh PLAY IN THE CINO NIGHTS SERIES named a new play by lucy thurber / directed by jenna worsham featuring Lila Dupree, Ronete Levenson, Katie Meister, and Sarah Tolan-Mee

Simon Greiff and Phil Sykes (for SimG Productions) will present THE SONGS OF BOBBY CRONIN on Sunday 27th February 2011 at 8pm at the New Players Theatre featuring a cast of West End guests.

Rising Phoenix Repertory announces the seventh PLAY IN THE CINO NIGHTS SERIES named a new play by lucy thurber / directed by jenna worsham featuring Lila Dupree, Ronete Levenson, Katie Meister, and Sarah Tolan-Mee

Following the sold out performances and overflow crowds at its first five Cino Nights presentations (of Gary Sunshine's BEST SEX EVER, Mando Alvarado's (O)N THE 5:31, Courtney Baron's HERE I LIE, Florencia Lozano's BUSTED, and Kristen Palmer's THE STRAY DOG), Rising Phoenix Rep continues the series on February 13th at 7 p.m. with Emily DeVoti's THE UPSTART.

Red Fern Theatre Company presents Gentrifusion at LABA Theatre at the 14th Street Y (344 East 14th Street between First and Second Avenues, NYC).

It is often said that in difficult times, some of the best art is created. If the current array of shows playing downtown are any indication of the future, then that future looks considerably brighter than the weather we've been experiencing lately. From explorations of gentrification to giving the finger to the world of Christian rock, the indie community has tackled it all and with a stunning level of grace. The companies that have provided the Indie theatre scene with such gems? Art. Party Theater Company, Wide Eyed Productions, Clout in the Mug Productions, and La Mama.

Following the sold out performances and overflow crowds at its first five Cino Nights presentations (of Gary Sunshine's BEST SEX EVER, Mando Alvarado's (O)N THE 5:31, Courtney Baron's HERE I LIE, Florencia Lozano's BUSTED, and Kristen Palmer's THE STRAY DOG), Rising Phoenix Rep continues the series on February 13th at 7 p.m. with Emily DeVoti's THE UPSTART.

Simon Greiff and Phil Sykes (for SimG Productions) will present THE SONGS OF Bobby Cronin on Sunday 27th February 2011 at 8pm at the New Players Theatre featuring an all-star West End cast. Catch a preview for the show below!

With 'Gentrifusion: an installation of new work', Red Fern Theater Company continues its community-conscious theatre work with six new plays by New York writers on the theme of gentrification.