David Ogden Stiers News

TMD PRODUCTIONS is thrilled to announce a special return engagement of its critically acclaimed premiere production of ELECTRICITY, written by Terry Ray, produced by Michael Darner and directed by Steven Rosenbaum.

With today's news on the passing of playwright Peter Shaffer, The Acting Company will be dedicating their one night only staged reading of Lettice and Lovage on Monday, June 13 at 7 p.m. to his memory.  Angela Lansbury and Dana Ivey will head an all-star cast featuring Patricia Connolly and original Broadway cast member, Paxton Whitehead at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues. 

The Acting Company's (Ian Belknap, Artistic Director; Elisa Spencer-Kaplan, Executive Director) 2016 John McDonald Salon Series will conclude with a reading of acclaimed writer Marcus Gardley's The House that Will Not Stand on Monday, May 16th at 7 PM at the Lynn Redgrave Theater at The Culture Project, 45 Bleecker Street (at Lafayette), New York, NY 10012. Single tickets are $35 and include a post-show reception with the cast. For tickets, visit www.theactingcompany.org or call (212) 258-3111.

The 25TH Anniversary of the animated feature film BEAUTY AND THE BEAST will be celebrated by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Monday, May 9th at 7:30 pm PDT at Beverly Hills' Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Angela Lansbury and Dana Ivey will head an all-star cast in the staged reading of the beloved British comedy, Lettice and Lovage, a benefit for The Acting Company, to be held one night only, Monday, June 13, at 7 PM, at The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, 68th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues, it was announced this afternoon.

The Acting Company will continue its 2016 John McDonald Salon Series with a reading of Oscar Wilde's beloved comedy An Ideal Husband on Monday, April 18th at 7 PM at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater at the West Side YMCA, 10 W. 64th Street, New York, NY. Single tickets are $35 and include a post-show reception with the cast. The performance is sold out. For waitlist information, call (212) 258-3111 or visit www.theactingcompany.org. 

TMD PRODUCTIONS will present the World Premiere of ELECTRICITY, written by Terry Ray, produced by Michael Darner and directed by Steven Rosenbaum.  ELECTRICITY will preview on Thursday, April 21 at 8pm; will open on Friday, April 22 at 8pm and run through Sunday, May 22 at the Two Roads Theatre, 4348 Tujunga Blvd. in Studio City.

Just announced, The Acting Company will continue its 2016 John McDonald Salon Series with a reading of Noel Coward's charming comedy PRESENT LAUGHTER on Monday, February 22nd at 7 PM at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater at the West Side YMCA, 10 W. 64th Street, New York, NY. The reading, set to star Tony winners Kevin Kline and Nina Arianda, is already sold out!

The Acting Company (Ian Belknap, Artistic Director; Elisa Spencer-Kaplan, Executive Director) will launch its 2016 John McDonald Salon Series with a reading of Harley Granville-Barker's controversial British drama Waste on Monday, January 25th at 7 PM at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater at the West Side YMCA, 10 W. 64th Street, New York, NY. Single tickets are $35 and include a post-show reception with the cast. Series subscriptions are also available. Purchase at www.theactingcompany.org or call (212) 258-3111.

On an all-new THEATER TALK, journalist Ben Yagoda discusses the history of the record industry in his new book, The B Side: The Death of Tin Pan Alley and the Rebirth of Great American Song (Riverhead Books), and Margot Harley, Co-Founder and Producing Director of The Acting Company, shares rich stories of the company's history upon her retirement after 43 years of inspired artistic leadership.

 Margot Harley, who co-founded The Acting Company with John Houseman in 1972, will step down as its Producer effective the end of this year.  The Acting Company began with the first graduating class of Juilliard's Drama Division, which included Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, David Schramm and David Ogden Stiers.  "They were classically trained, superbly talented and had worked together for four years," stated Ms. Harley.

Kevin Kline returns to his Acting Company roots to talk about Shakespeare following the Company's April 8th, 8pm performance of Macbeth at the Pearl Theatre, 555 West 42nd Street. One of America's finest classical actors, Kevin Kline is a founding member of The Acting Company, having spent four years touring with the Company right out of Juilliard. The talkback is in conjunction with The Acting Company's 42nd national tour of Macbeth and Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. The New York run is April 1 - 12. Tickets are available by phone: 212-563-9261 or online:www.pearltheatre.org.

Margot Harley, producer of The Acting Company, has announced the Company's New York Season in conjunction with its 42nd National Tour.

'Our newly commissioned adaptation of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Jeffrey Hatcher (Tuesdays with Morrie, Columbo) will have its world premiere mid-February at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis prior to our 42nd national tour,' announced The Acting Company's producer and co-founder, Margot Harley. 'Connecticut Yankee will tour to 14 states running in repertory with a new production of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, stopping in New York for two weeks at Off-Broadway's Pearl Theater April 1-12. This is our seventh tour in association with the Guthrie.'

The Acting Company's sleek, accessible, and characteristically bloody production of Shakespeare's Macbeth is the perfect production for first timers as well as Shakespeare buffs.

The Acting Company will present a staged reading of Bell, Book and Candle, John Van Druten's delightful play about a beautiful witch who casts a spell over a publisher when she finds herself quite smitten. One small problem arises: witches cannot fall in love. The reading is at 7 pm on Monday, December 15 at the Pearl Theater, 555 West 42nd Street (10th - 11th Avenues). The performance-starring four-time Academy Award nominee Marsha Mason, Tony Award nominee Kate Baldwin and Acting Company Alums Andy Prosky (King Lear), Chris Thorn (Pig Iron's Twelfth Night) andGrant Fletcher Prewitt (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead)-will be followed by a reception with the cast and director, Tom Fontana (Borgia, Oz, Homicide). Tickets @ $35 and $60 (Patron) are available from212-258-3111.

The Acting Company will present a staged reading of The Millionairess, George Bernard Shaw's delightful satire on romance, religion, capitalism and how the other half lives at 7 pm on Monday, November 24 at the Pearl Theater, 555 West 42nd Street (10th - 11th Avenues).

Jesse L. Martin, Billy Porter, David Rockefeller, Jr., and Stephen DeRosa will salute NYU Tisch School of the Arts' Dean Emerita Mary Schmidt Campbell and Municipal Arts Society's President Vin Cipolla at The Acting Company's Gala on November 17 at 360 Degrees Tribeca.

Tickets for the U.S. premiere of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame at La Jolla Playhouse are now on sale at LaJollaPlayhouse.org.

Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles (SCLA), under the artistic direction of Ben Donenberg, returns to the Japanese Garden at the Greater Los Angeles VA Healthcare Campus for the third consecutive summer, with a Los Angeles-centric summer production of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet -- directed by Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal National Theatre alum Kenn Sabberton -- for seventeen performances only, July 8 to 26 (press opening July 13).