Daniel Beaty News

On the heels of the news that Penguin Rep Theatre had extended the run of its acclaimed 2009 season-opener, Tom Dudzick's comedy Our Lady of South Division Street, executive director Andrew M. Horn announced today that the company had just been awarded a grant from The Shubert Foundation, a prominent grant-maker to nonprofit theatres and dance companies throughout the United States.

2009 Tony Award nominee Hallie Foote (Dividing the Estate) will be featured in the cast of THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE, the nine-play three part theatrical event by her late father, the Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award winning playwright Horton Foote, which will be co-produced in the 2009-2010 season by Hartford Stage (Michael Wilson, Artistic Director; Michael Stotts, Managing Director) and Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director).

Penguin Rep Theatre has extended the run of its widely-acclaimed world premiere production of Tom Dudzick's comedy Our Lady of South Division Street, which was originally slated to close June 7, through Sunday, June 14, executive director Andrew M. Horn announced today.

Seattle Theatre Group (STG) presents the 8th annual More Music @ The Moore (MM@M) on Friday, May 8, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. For one night only more than 30 of this region's finest young musicians and market Buskers will storm the Moore Theatre and 'mix it up' with their diverse music styles such as pop, indie rock, Irish fiddle and strings.

Penguin Rep Theatre, under the leadership of artistic director Joe Brancato and executive director Andrew M. Horn, open its 2009 season with Our Lady of South Division Street, a new comedy by Tom Dudzick, directed by Mr. Brancato, from May 15 through June 7 in Stony Point, New York. Our Lady of South Division Street is the story of Clara Nowak, her daughters Beverly and Ruth, and son Jimmy.

Seattle Theatre Group (STG) presents the 8th annual More Music @ The Moore (MM@M) on Friday, May 8, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. For one night only more than 30 of this region's finest young musicians and market Buskers will storm the Moore Theatre and 'mix it up' with their diverse music styles such as pop, indie rock, Irish fiddle and strings.

Miracles, wild women, beautiful music and lots of laughs will entertain and enlighten audiences during the upcoming 2009 season at Penguin Rep Theatre in Stony Point, New York. The nonprofit professional theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Joe Brancato and Executive Director Andrew M. Horn, today announced the four plays selected for the theatre's 32nd season as well as a freeze on prices.

This February, the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia is celebrating the theatre community's commitment to the development of new works. The month of February will be the perfect time to check out a Premiere in America's First Great Theatre City! There are a number of fully staged productions running throughout the month, as well as readings, workshops and discussions. In the coming weeks the Theatre Alliance will be sending information highlighting new play development activities happening in February throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. Stay tuned for our weekly updates about what is coming to your local stages!

This February, the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia is celebrating the theatre community's commitment to the development of new works. The month of February will be the perfect time to check out a Premiere in America's First Great Theatre City! There are a number of fully staged productions running throughout the month, as well as readings, workshops and discussions. On Monday, February 23, starting at 6:00 PM, the Theatre Alliance is hosting a celebration party, sponsored by Philadelphia Weekly, to honor the new works being developed and premiered right here. While the Theatre Alliance has devoted February to new play development, this commitment to producing new works is not limited to any one month of the year. This past December, the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia commissioned a Theatre Snapshot report, with funding, guidance and support from The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage through the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative and additional funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. This Theatre Snapshot report, based upon data in the Pennsylvania Cultural Data Project (PACDP), found that, in 2006, 81 world premieres were presented in Philadelphia; a total that accounts for 26% of all productions. This total is significantly higher than the 12% proportion of world premieres-to-total productions from a comparative set of TCG theatres. In addition, 2006 boasted 63 workshops or readings of new works and Philadelphia Theatres also commissioned 17 new works.

THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE, a world premiere production of nine plays by Horton Foote that have been newly adapted by the Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award-winning playwright into a three-part theatrical event, will be co-produced in the 2009-2010 season by Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) and Hartford Stage (Michael Wilson, Artistic Director; Michael Stotts, Managing Director). The productions will be directed by Michael Wilson and performed at Hartford Stage from August 27, 2009 to October 17, 2009 and at Signature Theatre Company, from October 29, 2009 to April 11, 2010. Each part of the three part cycle will be staged individually as well as in repertory and one-day marathons. Audiences may choose to see the individual parts or the entire trilogy. THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE encompasses nine newly adapted plays by Mr. Foote, together for the first time. Mr. Foote, 92, is actively adapting each of the full-length plays, some previously produced and others never before seen, into one epic cycle.

The Directors Guild of America announced the Guild's nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television, Documentaries and Commercials for the year 2008. Kenny Leon, received a nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television/Miniseries nomination for the TV version of A Raisin in the Sun.

A Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and a famed stage and screen star will both participate in Hartford Stage's, 2008 Brand:NEW Fall Festival of New Work.

Oz Scott directs fabulous cast with original jazz-influenced score

On September 22nd, the 2008 Ovation Award Nominees were announced. Now in its 19th year, the LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards will celebrate the 168 theatre companies, 390 registered productions, and over 2,000 individual artists who participated in the September 1, 2007 to August 31, 2008 season

A composer, performer, violinist, and band leader, Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) seamlessly blends classical music, funk, rock, and hip-hop into a unique musical vision.

Variety is reporting that Christopher Shinn's play Now or Later will be crossing over to the US to Hartford Stage this winter for their BrandNEW play reading series from November 6th through November 20th.

Philadelphia Theatre Company announces 2008/2009 season.

Arena Stage presents the world premiere of Daniel Beaty's Resurrection, a drama with a unique blend of music, poetry and dance. A co-production with Connecticut's Hartford Stage, Resurrection explores the interwoven lives of six African-American men struggling to make a living and to make their lives worth living. Beaty dazzled Arena audiences last summer with sold-out performances of his award-winning solo show Emergency (formerly Emergence-SEE!). He now returns to Arena with his first ensemble production-a talented cast of six actors led by director Oz Scott (director of Broadway's original for colored girls... and the Goodman Theatre's recent premiere The Ballad of Emmett Till). The production harmonizes with an innovative score by Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), a Haitian-American composer who blends classical violin with piano and bass. To keep the interplay between text and score dynamic, Roumain's original score will be musically styled live each performance by his collaborator Elan Vytal a.k.a. DJ Scientific. Resurrection runs August 29-October 5, 2008 at Arena Stage in Crystal City. The press opening performance is Thursday, September 4 at 8:00pm.

The Edgerton Foundation has announced their selected plays for 2008. The plays listed below are funded by the Edgerton Foundation's New American Play Awards. Since 2006, this funding program has provided over twenty TCG member theatres with financial resources to increase rehearsal time with the full production team onsite at the theatre. More recipients will be added soon.

Arena Stages presents RESURRECTION a world premiere drama by Daniel Beaty with music by Daniel Bernard Roumain and directed by Oz Scott from August 29 through October 5, 2008.