Daniella Topol News

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater has announced details and complete casting for the world premiere of Novenas for a Lost Hospital, a communal experience created by playwright Cusi Cram (A Lifetime Burning) and Rattlestick's Artistic Director Daniella Topol (Ironbound) and starring Tony Award-nominated and four-time Obie-winning actress Kathleen Chalfant (Angels in America, Wit). Novenas for a Lost Hospital sets out to remember and celebrate St. Vincent's Hospital, the 161-year-old Catholic institution that treated victims of calamities from the sinking of the Titanic to September 11th. Guided by Saint Elizabeth Seton (Chalfant) and inspired by the caretakers and patients of St. Vincent's Hospital, this unique event takes a 60-person audience on an uplifting journey from an enclosed West Village garden to Rattlestick's intimate theater to the NYC AIDS Memorial Park. Novenas for a Lost Hospital runs September 5a?"October 13, 2019, at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (224 Waverly Place) with an opening night of September 19. Tickets are on sale now at rattlestick.org.

Doug Nevin and Michael Urie, in partnership with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater closed out the Pride Plays' festival of play readings commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, with a benefit reading of Terrence McNally's Some Men, helmed by Logan Reed, on June 24 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater.

Doug Nevin and Michael Urie, in partnership with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater presented a reading of Jonathan Tolins' The Last Sunday in June on June 23rd as part of Pride Plays, a festival of play readings commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in New York. Nick Mayo serves as Festival Director.

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center announces casting and creative teams for the summer season of new musicals and plays selected for development at the National Music Theater Conference and National Playwrights Conference.

RATTLESTICK PLAYWRIGHTS THEATER announces upcoming programming for June 2019 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (224 Waverly Place New York, NY 10014). 

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) announces 11 awards granted from their Frank Young Fund for New Musicals(formerly known as the National Fund for New Musicals), and six awards granted from their Innovation & Exploration Fund.

New Georges presents the co-world premiere of Leap and the Net Will Appear, by Chana Porter, and directed byTara Ahmadinejad. Leap and the Net Will Appear will play June 16-30, 2019 in The Sam at The Flea Theater (20 Thomas Street New York, NY 10007), with opening night set for June 18, 2019. New Georges is an Anchor Partner at The Flea.

Doug Nevin, Michael Urie, and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater present Pride Plays, an upcoming festival of play readings to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Nick Mayo serves as Festival Director.

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) is proud to announce further selections for 2019 NYMF, which will take place from July 8 - August 4, 2019 at venues in midtown Manhattan in New York City. Scott Pyne serves as Executive Director and West Hyler serves as Producing Artistic Director. 

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater announces its 25th Anniversary season, featuring two World Premiere productions.

INTAR (Lou Moreno, Artistic Director/John McCormack, Executive Director) and Radio Drama Network (Melina Brown, President) today announced the cast for the World Premiere of Then They Forgot About the Rest, a new play by Georgina Escobar, directed by David Mendizabal. Performances will begin April 13th for a limited Off-Broadway engagement through May 12th. Opening Night is set for April 22nd.

The Women in the Arts & Media Coalition will present the 2019 Collaboration Awards. which recognize women who successfully collaborate to create new and influential work, at the SVA Theater (333 West 23rd St, New York, NY 10011) on Saturday, March 30 at 6:30pm. The 2019 Collaboration Awards Gala will be held on International SWAN Day (Support Women Artists Now), along with numerous celebrations around the world supporting women artists. 

The Jewish Plays Project announces the Top 7+ Finalists for the 8th Jewish Playwriting Contest.

New York Stage and Film announces the programming line-up for their 2019 Winter Season at The Lark/Barebones Studio (311 West 43rd Street, 5th Floor): Halley Feiffer's Saying Goodbye to the People I Love From My Bathtub, 2015 Founders' Award Recipient Harrison David Rivers' the bandaged place, and Sharr White's Pictures From Home.

PAGE 73 PRODUCTIONS has named Sanaz Toossi the 2019 Page 73 Playwriting Fellow. Selected from nearly 400 applicants, Toossi will receive a $10,000 award and an additional $10,000 budgeted for developing several new plays over the course of the year.

The Drama League (Executive Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks) has announced casting for DirectorFest 2019: The 35th Annual Directors Festival, the only festival in the United States exploring the art of contemporary stage directing. DirectorFest takes place at various locations around NYC: New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street), The Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas), LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (31-10 Thompson Avenue, Long Island City), and Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street). Festival programming, tickets and additional details are available at www.directorfest.org, or by calling (212) 244-9494.

The League of Professional Theatre Women (Kelli Lynn Harrison & Catherine Porter, Co-Presidents) has published the fourth in a series of reports authored by Martha Wade Steketee with Judy Binus, on the status of women employed in New York City theaters. The fourth report, Women Count: Women Hired Off Broadway, available at theatrewomen.org/women-count/, analyzes employment in 13 professional roles - playwrights, directors, designers, stage managers, and others - in 515 Off- and Off-Off-Broadway productions by 22 theater companies for 5 complete seasons, 2013-14 through 2017-18 to show where women are and are not being hired. 

Jacob G. Padron, 38, has been named the new Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre and will begin his role February 1, 2019.

The hit comedy A Doll's House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath, nominated for eight Tony Awards during its 2017 Broadway run, will premiere at George Street Playhouse's current venue, 103 College Farm Road in New Brunswick, NJ, featuring Kellie Overbey (Broadway's The Coast of Utopia) in the leading role of Nora Helmer.

Page 73 announces complete casting for the first production in its 20th Anniversary Season, Catch as Catch Can, written by Mia Chung (You For Me For You) and directed by Ken Rus Schmoll (Judy, Grounded).  Performances begin on Monday, October 22 at the New Ohio Theatre for a limited run through Saturday, November 17.