Culture Clash News

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced the three shows that complete the seven plays of its 2019-20 subscription season: the West Coast premiere of the critically acclaimed new drama White Noise by Suzan-Lori Parks; the world premiere of Sarah Ruhl's Becky Nurse of Salem that was developed through The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep's Center for the Creation and Development of New Work; and Samuel Beckett's masterpiece Happy Days directed by James Bundy and starring two-time Academy Award winner Dianne Wiest.

With summer now almost upon us, the Belgrade Theatre Coventry is getting ready for an exciting new season, with classic drama, musicals, opera, live music and more lined up for Autumn/Winter 2019.

Aiden is trying to bring his Argentinian fiance to the UK, but their relationship is cracking under the weight of bureaucracy. After twenty years of marriage, Imran has just discovered his wife cheating and now has to endure a lengthy divorce process. Two men - different in age, ethnicity, and personality - face parallel struggles when it comes to making their marriages work. Told through funny and poignant monologues, Aiden and Imran share intertwining stories that confront an uncomfortable question: when is it worth untying the knot?

The Old Red Lion Theatre has announced its summer season, which includes a revival from 1982 to celebrate its 40th anniversary, four new plays, plus Edinburgh Previews.

Following the recent announcement that Curve, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham and Leeds Playhouse are co-producing a new stage production of Hanif Kureishi's My Beautiful Laundrette this autumn, the full cast for the drama has now been revealed.

A Tony-Award winning Broadway musical based on the British film of the same name, Kinky Boots is inspired by the real-life makeover story of the W.J. Brooks Shoe Company; a family business that went from making conservative footwear to...well...kinky boots.

Toledo, OH singer-songwriter Mat Kerekes has released his new album Ruby, via Black Cement Records. The album is available digitally HERE and physically HERE starting today. Best known as lead vocalist of celebrated alt rock band Citizen, Kerekes presents his softer side and showcases his versatility as a singer-songwriter on his new solo material. Incorporating elements of pop and alternative, Ruby boasts massive choruses, dynamic arrangements, and infectious melodies. Kerekes began writing and demoing Ruby at home with no particular goal in mind besides self-expression. However once longtime collaborator Will Yip (Tigers Jaw, Circa Survive) heard the demos, he asked that Kerekes consider releasing them on his newly formed Elektra Music Group sub-label Black Cement Records. Kerekes tracked most of the instruments himself, and produced and engineered Ruby in a studio that he built with his brother in his garage. “Since I recorded and produced the album myself, without having anyone talking in my ear, it honestly makes me feel more personally attached to it. It feels like mine,” shared Kerekes. Ruby follows 2016's Luna & The Wilde Blue Everything as Kerekes' fourth solo album. Kerekes began unveiling songs from the album late last year with the release of title track “Ruby”. In February, he shared the album's anthemic second single “Diamonds”. Kerekes collaborated with director Johnny Chew on music videos for both tracks, and is expected to release an additional music video for “Hawthorne” in the coming weeks. Last month, Kerekes wrapped a headline tour that saw him debut songs from Ruby to sold-out rooms across North America. This evening, he will celebrate the release of the album with a hometown in-store performance at Toledo, OH's Culture Clash Records. Upcoming live dates and ticket information can be found HERE. Ruby Tracklisting 1. Ruby 2. Young 3. Diamonds 4. Autumn Dress 5. They Appear At Night 6. Hawthorne 7. Welcome To Crystal Cres 8. Spider Silk 9. One For The Wildflowers 10. An Ode

Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, is pleased to present a staged reading of award-winning playwright John Glore's Creep. This staged reading is being directed by Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen as part of Chance Theater's OTR New Works Series. Creep will be presented for one night only on Wednesday, May 8 at 7:30pm at Chance Theater @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center on the Cripe Stage.

San Diego Repertory Theatre is pleased to announce the lineup for the 26th Annual Lipinsky Family San Diego Jewish Arts Festival (JFEST), which brings another fantastic year of Jewish music, theatre and art to the community. This year's festival will take place May 26 - July 11, 2019, and features a slate of 13 performances across multiple San Diego and North County venues celebrating San Diego's diverse performing arts community. The venues include San Diego REP/Lyceum Theatres, Encinitas Library, Leichtag Commons, New Village Arts Theatre, and The Museum of Making Music, Carlsbad.

Curve, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Everyman Theatre Cheltenham and Leeds Playhouse have today announced that they are joining forces to co-produce a new stage production of Hanif Kureishi's screenplay My Beautiful Laundrette. The national press night will be held at Curve on 26 Sep at 7:15pm.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts hosts more than 120 outstanding theater students from colleges and universities across the nation as part of the 50th annual Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF), which runs April 16-20, 2019 in multiple locations throughout the Center. The Center also announced the national awardees for the KCACTF. Selected awardees and representatives will be brought to Washington, D.C. for an expense-paid trip to participate in the National Festival. These student artists from across the United States have been recognized for their outstanding work from the eight regional festivals that were held January 8 through February 28, 2019.

The Actors' Gang presents VIOLENCE: The Misadventures of Spike Spangle, Farmer, written by The Actors' Gang Artistic Director Tim Robbins and Adam Simon and directed by Bob Turton, who was most recently seen at The Actors' Gang as "The Maniac" in Accidental Death of an Anarchist. This no-holds barred satire of militarism and media manipulation begins performances May 2nd (Press Opening May 11th at 8:00pm) and will run Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, through June 22nd. 

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced a compelling slate of productions for its 2019-20 subscription season. Berkeley Rep's newArtistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer revealed four of the seven subscription shows that will comprise her first season at the Theatre.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced the full cast for the world premiere of Kiss My Aztec! John Leguizamo teams up with Artistic Director Tony Taccone for this musical comedy, following their collaboration on the hit one-man show Latin History for Morons, which received its world premiere at Berkeley Rep before heading to Broadway. Leguizamo will serve as co-writer and co-lyricist only for Kiss My Aztec! - 11 other talented actors will perform in this production. Taccone will also direct.

The Actors' Gang presents One Act Festival, featuring two contrasting programs performed in repertory. Show one, entitled The Classic, begins performances March 14th (press opening March 23) and features two classic one-act plays -- Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit, directed by Brian T. Finney, and Samuel Beckett's Krapps's Last Tape, directed by Cynthia Ettinger. Show two, entitled The Original, begins performances March 16 (Press Opening March 29) and features three new one-act plays written, directed, and acted by The Actors Gang ensemble:  Tradition, written by James Edward Bane and directed by Tess Vidal, A Perfect World, written by Lynde Houck and directed by Danielle Powell, and Clean Slate, written by Bob Turton and directed by Zoe Hall. Both programs will run Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, through April 20th.  

San Diego Repertory Theatre (San Diego REP) announced today the line-up for its 2019/2020 season at the Lyceum Theatre. For its 44th season, San Diego REP invites audiences to sing along to the top-40 hits made at Gold Star Recording Studios in the 1950s and 60s in the world premiere musical 33 1/3: House of Dreams by Jonathan Rosenberg and Brad Ross. Enjoy the om pa pa of Banda music from Mexico in Playwright-in-Residence Herbert Siguenza's new comedy Bad Hombres/Good Wives. Delve into powerful dramas with the tour-de-force solo performance of Hold These Truths by Jeanne Sakata and the 2016 Tony Award-winner for Best Play, The Humans by Stephan Karam. Get swept away in a mash-up of classical Indian music and contemporary hip-hop from India in the action-packed House of Joy by Madhuri Shekar; and relish in the genius of Hershey Felder, with A Paris Love Story, featuring the music of Claude Debussy. Season 44 tickets are currently available by subscription only and can be purchased by calling the box office at (619) 544-1000.

All plays were once new plays. That's the idea behind Syracuse Stage's Cold Read Festival of New Plays. Now in its second season, the Cold Read festival has five different events featuring some of the freshest voices writing for theater today, both nationally and locally, scheduled for Thursday, March 7, through Sunday, March 10.

Transform returns with a powerful international performance festival, its most ambitious edition yet, presenting a programme of daring theatre, dance, parties and adventures. The festival fuses explosive new commissions with UK premieres from artists spanning five continents, bringing together everyone from first time community performers to renowned international names for a festival that pushes boundaries and borders.

From February 28 to March 17, Theater for the New City will present comedian/actor/broadcaster Donald E. Lacy Jr. in the New York debut of his one man show, 'ColorStruck.' The play was born in California's Bay Area and has been presented on college campuses around the country and at the National Black Theatre Festival. It was performed twice for the U.S. Congressional Black Caucus.

ZACH Theatre kicks off 2019 with two show openings, one show closing, and a new "Pay-What-You-Will" program for all Mainstage productions. Hedwig returns to Texas in the Austin debut of the 2014 Tony Award-winning incarnation of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's Hedwig and the Angry Inch playing The Topfer at ZACH running January 23-March 3, 2019 with a new "Pay-What-You-Will" program to begin with this production. In collaboration with University of Texas at Austin's Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities (DTYC) MFA Program, This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing will now join the season lineup running January 13, 19, 20, and 26, 2019 in The Whisenhunt at ZACH, performed and devised by the ensemble. Allen Robertson's smash-hit musical for all ages, Tortoise and Hare will close in The Kleberg at ZACH on January 27.