Dramatists Guild News

Project Y Theatre Company presents the 3rd Annual WOMEN IN THEATRE FESTIVAL from May 30 - June 24 at IRT Theatre (154 Christopher Street, between Washington & Greenwich Streets in the West Village). The Festival seeks to broaden the opportunities for women in the entertainment industry by producing new work by women with more than 50% female representation of all artists involved.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Tess Jonas in "ANYTHING BUT QUIET: THE LIT(ERARY) WOMEN OF MUSICAL THEATRE" on Saturday, April 7. This show is a celebration of the "lit" women of musical theater, ladies lifted from literature, who love literature, and many who were penned by female authors. Jonas creates an evening of feminist literary history from Pride and Prejudice to Fun Home, from Jane Eyre to The Color Purple. Don't miss an evening of the intellectual, empowered, witty, and, most of all, loud women of musical theatre!

Yoga apparel giant Jojomon are at the top of their game when a terrible scandal sends them into freefall. Newly hired CEO Joan stakes everything on a wild plan to recover their earnings and their reputation. YOGA PLAY is a comedy about enlightenment in a world determined to sell it.

Citadel Theatre will follow up their Jeff-recommended production of SEX WITH STRANGERS with Nell Benjamin's comedy THE EXPLORERS CLUB - a spoof of all those bold Victorian adventurers who ravaged foreign lands and annihilated indigenous cultures in the name of science. It's London 1879 and the prestigious Explorers Club is in crisis: a brilliant, beautiful woman who has discovered a legendary Lost City wants to join, but letting her in might shake the very foundations of the British Empire! THE EXPLORERS CLUB, which enjoyed a successful run off-Broadway in 2013, was honored with awards including the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, the Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award, and an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant.

The hit new Broadway musical THE BAND'S VISIT will launch a digital lottery on Friday, March 16, 2018, making a limited number of $40 tickets available for all performances at www.thebandsvisitlottery.com.

When you think Broadway, a lot of things come to mind. For me one of them is unions because I've had to cover many a threatened strike in my day. Except Actors' Equity, the union that represents actors and stage managers, doesn't have a hold on every Broadway show. It has a contract with the Broadway League for 'First Class Performances,' as defined by the Dramatists Guild. That generally means what we think of as Broadway plays or musicals, though the actual definition is way more confusing: 'live stage productions of [a] play on the speaking stage. . . under Producer's own management, in a regular evening bill in a first class theatre in a first class manner, with a first class cast and a first class director.' The trouble hits for Equity when shows come that aren't what we traditionally think of as a play or a musical with people we traditionally call actors. In those cases, if the producer is a member of The Broadway League, which has a production contract with Actors' Equity, that producer has an obligation to at least try to negotiate with Equity, at least according to an Equity spokesperson Brandon Lorenz. If a producer is not a member of the League, and is bringing in a show that is not a 'First Class Performance,' there is no obligation for that producer to even speak to Equity. Except Equity wants all producers to speak with them and they are willing to put pressure on producers to do just that. The latest example is the current situation with ROCKTOPIA.

Pocket Universe, producer of last summer's acclaimed Julius Caesar set in an all-girls high school, has announced a new production of Francis Beaumont & John Fletcher's THE MAID'S TRAGEDY, set in present-day Hollywood. Conceived by Alyssa May Gold (Julius Caesar, Brilliant Traces) and directed by Lucy Gram, it will play from June 13-30, 2018 at the Access Theater (380 Broadway) in TriBeCa.  Tickets are on-sale now here.

The Monologue Project announced today their online resource featuring 30 original monologues from nationally recognized writers for theater is now available to the public.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) will begin previews on Tuesday, March 27 for the world premiere of MLIMA'S TALE, written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and directed by Obie Award winner Jo Bonney.

TimeLine Theatre Company, acclaimed for presenting plays inspired by history that connect to today's social and political issues, is thrilled to announce its 22nd season and to preview an upcoming partnership with Firebrand Theatre.

The DGF Fellows program is accepting applications until April 27. DGF will host a live Q&A information session on March 15 at 11:30am Eastern on their facebook page, facebook.com/dramatistsguildfdn

Imagine knowing that every mouthful of food you ate could be your last. Inspired by the true story, Michelle Kholos Brooks' Hitler's Tasters will make its world premiere at Centenary Stage Company April 6 through April 22 in the Lackland Performing Arts Center.

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera and the nation's leading champion for American opera, is pleased to announce the latest recipients of Discovery Grants from the Opera Grants for Female Composers program, made possible through the generosity of the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.

The Muny announced today that Broadway director and writer Gordon Greenberg will revise the book for Meet Me In St. Louis, August 4 - 12. This production, the 8th in Muny history, will also include several songs new to the stage adaptation of Meet Me In St. Louis, including 'Boys and Girls Like You and Me,' a song written by Rodgers & Hammerstein for Oklahoma! and then recorded for, but ultimately cut, from the film of Meet Me In St. Louis. This production will also include the first stage use of 'You and I,' a song in the film by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed.

The Dramatists Guild Foundation celebrated the work of Matt Gould at a salon hosted by Michael McCorry Rose on Monday, March 12. Matt spoke about his writing process and played selections from a number of his new works.

"Life is short, and it's up to you to make it sweet." - Sadie Delany (1889 -1999). Goodman Theatre revives Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years, Emily Mann's "warming theatrical event" (Variety)that celebrates the lives of "two strong, vibrant women dispensing joy and wisdom" (Chicago Tribune). Goodman Theatre Resident Director Chuck Smith's production features Ella Joyce and Marie Thomas as the Delany centenarians, Bessie (1891 - 1995) and Sadie (1889 -1999), respectively, as they trace their lives in a heartfelt reflection of their family history and triumphs over prejudices in times of social unrest.

The Dramatists Guild Foundation (DGF) will toast the life and work of one of American theatre's greatest writers, Stephen Schwartz, on Monday April 23rd at 7PM EST at the Hudson Theatre (141 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036). The star-filled concert, sponsored in part by the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) and the Hudson Theatre, will showcase and shine a spotlight on Schwartz's beloved songs, stories, and legacy in celebration of his 70th Birthday.

The Signature Theatre (Paige Evans, Artistic Director; James Houghton, Founder) Annual Gala will take place on Monday, March 12, 2018 at The Pershing Square Signature Center (located at 480 West 42nd Street between 9th & 10th Avenues). The event will celebrate the late Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee and honor the passionate and visionary leadership of former President of the Signature Board of Trustees, Michael Rauch. The Gala is taking place on what would have been Edward Albee's 90th Birthday.

Verzet Amsterdam [Resistance Amsterdam] dramatizes the true story of artists in World War II occupied Amsterdam who band together to resist fascism and protect Jews from deportation and death. Written by Barbara Kahn. Directed by Robert Gonzales Jr. and Barbara Kahn. Set and light design by Mark Marcante. Costume design by Everett Clark. Sound design by Joy Linscheid. Vintage prop design by Lytza Colon. Featuring Steve Barkman, Benjamin Cardona, Robert Gonzales Jr., Carl Ellis Grant, Jared Johnston, Anya Krawcheck, Christopher Lowe, Paolo Solis, Steph Van Vlack. April 5-22, 2018. Theater for the New City 155 1st Ave (9th & 10th Sts.)

'Today is T?t, the first day of the lunar calendar.' With these words, 10-year-old Ha begins her story of escaping war-ravaged Saigon with her mother and brothers and starting a new life as a refugee in Alabama.