Eric Schaeffer News

This fall, Signature Theatre continues its commitment to presenting bold new contemporary plays with the DC area premiere of Sex with Strangers by Laura Eason. After its New York premiere at Second Stage Theatre this summer, Signature is proud to introduce this play to DC audiences. Running October 14 - December 7, Sex with Strangers will be presented in Signature's intimate 110-seat ARK Theatre.

Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre has released the first in a series of mini-documentaries exploring Signature's 25 year history. Each month throughout the 2014/2015 season, Signature Theatre will release in-depth interviews with artists that helped bring Signature Theatre to the forefront of the American theatre.

Last night, the third annual Summer Hummer added more than $18,000 to the coffers of Taking Care of Our Own, an emergency fund administered by theatreWashington that provides short term assistance to theatre artists in need.

'We're opening doors, singing 'Here we are'!' So sing the three fast friends of Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, and that was the message of Washington-area (and Sondheim specialist) Signature Theatre to the overflowing crowd of thousands last weekend at their Open House celebrating the 25th Anniversary Season.

Signature's Open House will celebrate the very best in theatre, music and fun today, August 2nd from noon to 10:00pm. Free and open to the public, this special event is an entire day full of exciting performances, demonstrations, master classes, exhibits, a concert on the plaza, and kids' activities offered both inside and outside the Signature Theatre complex.

Signature's Open House will celebrate the very best in theatre, music and fun on Saturday, August 2nd from noon to 10:00pm. Free and open to the public, this special event is an entire day full of exciting performances, demonstrations, master classes, exhibits, a concert on the plaza, and kids' activities offered both inside and outside the Signature Theatre complex. The entire schedule and list of performers can be viewed by visiting our website at http://www.signature-theatre.org/open-house-2014

Artistic Director Molly Smith announces D.C.-area based playwright John Strand will join Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater for a yearlong playwright residency as part of the American Voices New Play Institute, effective this month through June 2015. Through the residency Strand will receive a salary; health benefits; a budget to be used at his discretion to cover collaborator fees, workshop costs and research expenses to support his new play development process; and a commitment from Arena Stage to produce a new work in a future season and to continue cultivating an ongoing, long-term relationship.

On Monday, August 18, the third annual Summer Hummer, a bawdy, naughty burlesque bonanza of more than 60 stars of the Washington stage, will again raise funds to benefit Taking Care of Our Own, a program of theatreWashington.

Are you the next Broadway or pop sensation? The Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA is looking for the next 'Signature Idol,' as the popular Signature Idol Competition returns for one day only during the theatre's annual Open House on August 2nd. Held in Signature's MAX Theatre, the competition enters its fifth year with a panel of three celebrity judges in search of the best undiscovered singers in the DC region.

Signature Theatre is proud to announce the cast of Sunday in the Park with George, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®-winning musical

Part concert, part history lesson, and a lot of rock 'n roll-- that's 'Million Dollar Quartet', now on stage at the Ohio Theatre in PlayhouseSquare.

Virginia's Signature Theatre opens its' air-conditioned doors once again for the annual Sizzlin' Summer Nights Series. For two and a half weeks, Signature's intimate cabaret venue hosts an eclectic mix of Signature favorites, DC-area stars, and some of New York's most exciting performers. The cabaret series runs today, July 9 through July 26, with a different performance each night.

On July 1, 2014, single tickets go on sale for Signature Theatre's 25th Anniversary Season. The 2014/15 season will bring three new musicals to life in world premieres including the world premiere of the Sheryl Crow and Barry Levinson penned musical adaptation of the 1982 movie Diner; Kid Victory by John Kander (Chicago, Cabaret) and Greg Pierce; and Soon by Nick Blaemire. The season begins with Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Sunday in the Park with George; and continues with the musical version of Sinclair Lewis's best-selling novel Elmer Gantry; the DC area premiere of Sex with Strangers by Laura Eason; a world premiere concert event Simply Sondheim celebrating the work of Stephen Sondheim; and Kander & Ebb's classic musical Cabaret. Tickets to all of these events as well as Signature's Cabaret and Holiday Follies concerts go on sale to the public July 1 at 10AM.

On July 1, 2014, single tickets go on sale for Signature Theatre's 25th Anniversary Season. The 2014/15 season will bring three new musicals to life in world premieres including the world premiere of the Sheryl Crow and Barry Levinson penned musical adaptation of the 1982 movie Diner; Kid Victory by John Kander (Chicago, Cabaret) and Greg Pierce; and Soon by Nick Blaemire. The season begins with Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Sunday in the Park with George; and continues with the musical version of Sinclair Lewis's best-selling novel Elmer Gantry; the DC area premiere of Sex with Strangers by Laura Eason; a world premiere concert event Simply Sondheim celebrating the work of Stephen Sondheim; and Kander & Ebb's classic musical Cabaret. Tickets to all of these events as well as Signature's Cabaret and Holiday Follies concerts go on sale to the public July 1 at 10AM.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced its 2014- 2015 theater season today, including the pre-Broadway engagement of Gigi featuring a re-envisioned book by Heidi Thomas with direction by Eric Schaeffer. The Kennedy Center will also produce the world premiere musical Little Dancer with book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty, and direction and choreography by Susan Stroman; touring productions of Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Once; and back by popular demand following its record-breaking six week engagement in 2013, the multi-Tony Award®-winning musical from the creators of South Park, The Book of Mormon, will return for a limited engagement. The season also brings the eighth season of Barbara Cook's Spotlight series, individually showcasing five Broadway performers in a cabaret setting. From March 2 - 24, Iberian Suite: arts remix across continents will bring a multitude of theatrical offerings to the Kennedy Center. As part of the Center's efforts to support the creation of new works, the Kennedy Center will host the 13th annual Page-to-Stage new play festival and the 47th annual Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

'Cloak & Dagger' has a couple of things going for it that make it an attractive viewing opportunity as we ease into the summer months.

World Premiere musical by Ed Dixon features a talented cast and a superb director. But is that enough?

Million Dollar Quartet, the longest-running Broadway musical production in Chicago's history, has been extended through January 4, 2015. With over 2,000 performances and nearly 6 smash years in Chicago, the Tony Award-winning rock 'n' roll musical holds the record for the longest-running Broadway musical in Chicago. Tickets will go on sale Friday, June 20, 2014, at 10:00am.

Virginia's Tony Award®-winning Signature Theatre closes out its 2013/2014 season with the world premiere musical Cloak and Dagger, directed by Signature Theatre's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer (Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet). From Helen Hayes Award Winner Ed Dixon (Signature's Sunset Boulevard) comes this screwball musical comedy send-up of the 1950s film noir.

Virginia's Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre closes out its 2013/2014 season with the world premiere musical Cloak and Dagger, directed by Signature Theatre's Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer (Broadway's Follies, Million Dollar Quartet). From Helen Hayes Award Winner Ed Dixon (Signature's Sunset Boulevard) comes this screwball musical comedy send-up of the 1950s film noir.