Edgar Allan News

Six world premiere plays and four new adaptations seen first by Chicago audiences were among those receiving nominations by The Jeff Awards Committee. 178 nominations in 32 categories honor Chicago Equity theatrical productions that opened between August 1, 2015 and July 31, 2016.

Discover a world haunted by the escaped works of Edgar Allan Poe, re-imagined as local stories.

Now that "Dracula," after enjoying many sold out evenings and ovations, is in its final week, the actor playing Van Helsing, James Rana, had time to answer a few questions asked by Gayle Stahlhuth, East Lynne Theater Company's artistic director who also directed this spellbinding play based on Bram Stoker's gothic novel.

Theater House of Black, whose members recently staged the Filipino adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca's 'The House of Bernarda Alba, ' seems to have a penchant for houses that are shrouded in mystery. Next off from the group is '#14 Leandro Road,' a Filipino theatrical adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's most celebrated short story, 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' first published in 1839.

The House of Usher, created by Luke Adamson & Dan Bottomley, inspired by Edgar Allan Poe, will play at The Hope Theatre, 207 Upper Street, Islington, N1 1RL. Press night: 7.45pm, Thursday 20th October 2016.

Come experience the legend of Dracula anew, as First Folio Theatre (Mayslake Peabody Estate, 31st St. & Rt. 83) presents the Chicago premiere of DR. SEWARD'S DRACULA, opening Saturday, October 8, 2016 at 8:15 p.m., and running through November 6, 2016, with previews October 5-7.

This Halloween weekend the creative team of Aaron Washington and Keith Eisenstadt will be providing audiences with a different style of haunting. On the evening of Saturday October 29th and afternoon of Sunday October 30th, Washington and Eisenstadt will present 'Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe'. The show will be a collaboration between directors; Aaron Washington, Keith Eisenstadt, and Lauren Rodriguez. To support literature and the arts in local classrooms, producers will be donating a portion of each ticket sold through DonorsChoose.org. Performances will be held in The Studio @ The Carrollwood Cultural Center.

The romance, passion and fears of Edgar Allan Poe are brought to life by actor Lucien Douglas in this dramatic, solo performance that includes The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, Eleonora, To Helen, selected letters, and more. The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance presents A Shadow Among Strangers: Performing the Life and Works of Edgar Allan Poe September 7-9, 2016 at the Oscar G. Brockett Theatre. Admission is free.

For their inaugural offering, Great Circle Productions will present the world premiere of EDWIN, The Story of Edwin Booth, a dramatic musical that commemorates the 150th Anniversary (1866-2016) of the legendary actor's return to the stage, as well as the 400th Anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare, with music by Marianna Rosett, and book & lyrics by Eric Swanson.

The Bushwick Starr presents the very first performance of The Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment's Off Broadway in the Boros inaugural series. For one night only, tonight, July 29th, 2016, Dave Malloy, composer/playwright of the Broadway-bound Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, brings his award-winning chamber musical GHOST QUARTET, a haunted song cycle about love, death, and whisky, to Bushwick's Maria Hernandez Park for a very special outdoor performance at sunset.

The Bushwick Starr is thrilled to present the very first performance of The Mayor's Office of Media & Entertainment's Off Broadway in the Boros inaugural series. For one night only, July 29th, 2016, Dave Malloy, composer/playwright of the Broadway-bound Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, brings his award-winning chamber musical Ghost Quartet, a haunted song cycle about love, death, and whisky, to Bushwick's Maria Hernandez Park for a very special outdoor performance at sunset.

The new musical, A SCYTHE OF TIME is being presented as part of the New York Musical Theatre festival at the June Havoc Theatre (312 W 36th Street). A SCYTHE OF TIME is written by Alan Harris with music and lyrics by Mark Alan Swanson. It will be directed by David Alpert (IF/THEN), with musical direction by Ryan Cantwell (National Tour: Pippin, Finding Neverland). It began performances last night, July 21, and will run through July 26, 2016. BroadwayWorld has photos from the opening festivities below!

SAN DIEGO, July 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education, and media company, has announced a contest to find talent to debut on its acclaimed Graphix imprint for children and teen readers. Graphix focuses on creator-driven books that bring exceptional art, rich content, and strong storytelling to realistic fiction, memoir, fantasy, and more. The Graphix imprint is committed to finding and championing new voices in the children's graphic novel space. This contest will seek submissions from debut comic artists who are U.S. residents, 18 years or older, and who are unpublished and not currently under contract to publish a book with another publisher. Up to five winning entries will be selected to receive an offer to publish their work with Graphix and a $15,000 advance. The full contest rules and submission requirements, including information about what the Graphix editorial team looks for in manuscript proposals, can be found at the contest's dedicated website: www.Scholastic.com/GraphixContest. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited.

LOS ANGELES, July 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, today announced it has acquired world rights in several languages to two books by New York Times bestselling author Don Winslow.

From Beyond, Anansi and the Demons and The Shadowy Third, are the 28th, 29th and 30th  plays to receive their world premiere from Unbound Productions. Several of these plays have been produced by schools and theatre companies across the country and around the world including England, Scotland and Cameroon.October 1 - November 12, 2016, Limited engagement!

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF), previously known as The New York Musical Theater Festival, has announced extensions for nine productions - A SCYTHE OF TIME, LISA AND LEONARDO, CHILDREN OF SALT, EH DAH? QUESTIONS FOR MY FATHER, TINK!, DUST CAN'T KILL ME, SINGLE, NEWTON'S CADLE and CAMP ROLLING HILLS.

Wild Eye Releasing has unleashed a new trailer and artwork for the acclaimed indie anthology TALES OF POE.

 First Folio Theatre presents A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM as part of its annual outdoor Shakespeare Under the Stars series, which opened Saturday, July 9, 2016 at 8:15 p.m., and runs through August 14, 2016. Shakespeare's magical story about the difficulties of love is directed by Hayley Rice and produced by David Rice, author ofThe Madness of Edgar Allan Poe and composer, adaptor and lyricist of Shakespeare's Cymbeline: A Folk Tale with Music.

First Folio Theatre (Mayslake Peabody Estate, 31st St. & Rt. 83) presents A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM as part of its annual outdoor Shakespeare Under the Stars series, opening tonight, July 9, 2016 at 8:15 p.m., and running through August 14, 2016. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The New York Musical Festival regularly attracts Broadway favorites, Tony nominees and even a legend or two.