Gertrude Stein News

Josh Kornbluth, the renowned playwright, performer and former host of KQED TV's 'The Josh Kornbluth Show,' will debut his new one-man show, Andy Warhol: Good for the Jews?, at the Contemporary Jewish Museum on January 10, 2009.

Hold on tight, because Victory Gardens Theater's smash hit winter musical The Snow Queen - conceived by Chicago folk music legend Michael Smith, Tony Award-winning director Frank Galati, and master puppeteer Blair Thomas & Co - is sledding back into town for her third season as Chicago's #1 alternative to traditional holiday fare.

Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans announce the Chicago premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical Grey Gardens, book by Doug Wright, lyrics by Michael Korie and music by Scott Frankel. The production, directed by BJ Jones with musical direction by Doug Peck, choreography by Marla Lampert and featuring Hollis Resnik, Tempe Thomas and Ann Whitney, has already been extended and will now run November 12-December 28, 2008, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie.

Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans announce the Chicago premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical Grey Gardens, book by Doug Wright, lyrics by Michael Korie and music by Scott Frankel. The production, directed by BJ Jones with musical direction by Doug Peck, choreography by Marla Lampert and featuring Hollis Resnik, Tempe Thomas and Ann Whitney, has already been extended and will now run November 12-December 28, 2008, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie.

Arizona-based actress SUSAN CLAASSEN has just returned from a highly successful engagement on London's West End as legendary Hollywood designer Edith Head in 'A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD'.

The Living Theatre will begin its 2008-2009 season with the limited run of Judith Malina and Hanon Reznikov's 'Eureka!', based on an Edgar Allen Poe essay about the origin of the Universe. Previews begin on Saturday, September 27, 2008 and will officially open on Wednesday, October 1. The production is directed by Judith Malina and features an original score by Patrick Grant.

The Living Theatre (21 Clinton St.) will begin its 2008-2009 season with the limited run of Judith Malina and Hanon Reznikov's EUREKA!, based on an Edgar Allen Poe essay about the origin of the Universe. Previews begin on Saturday, September 27, 2008 and will officially open on Wednesday, October 1. The production is directed by Judith Malina and features an original score by Patrick Grant.

Northlight Theatre opens its 2008-2009 Season with the Chicago Premiere of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, in a fresh adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Jessica Thebus. The production runs September 17-October 26, 2008, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie.

The Living Theatre will begin its 2008-2009 season with the limited run of Judith Malina and Hanon Reznikov's 'Eureka!', based on an Edgar Allen Poe essay about the origin of the Universe. Previews begin on Saturday, September 27, 2008 and will officially open on Wednesday, October 1. The production is directed by Judith Malina and features an original score by Patrick Grant.

Northlight Theatre opens its 2008-2009 Season with the Chicago Premiere of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, in a fresh adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Jessica Thebus. The production runs September 17-October 26, 2008, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie.

Arizona-based actress SUSAN CLAASSEN stars on London's West End as legendary Hollywood designer Edith Head in 'A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD'.

New York City Center will present the second annual season of Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, October 1 - 5, 2008.

Barrington Stage Company - under the artistic direction of Julianne Boyd - has announced casting for its Mainstage production of Richard Greenberg's 'The Violet Hour' and the Musical Theatre Lab workshop production of 'My Scary Girl.'

The second production of Barrington Stage Company's Musical Theatre Lab will be a workshop production of 'My Scary Girl.'

Arizona-based actress SUSAN CLAASSEN stars on London's West End as legendary Hollywood designer Edith Head in 'A CONVERSATION WITH EDITH HEAD'.

Barrington Stage Company - under the artistic direction of Julianne Boyd - has announced casting for its Mainstage production of Richard Greenberg's 'The Violet Hour' and the Musical Theatre Lab workshop production of 'My Scary Girl.'

San Francisco's cutting-edge Cutting Ball Theater continues its 2008 season of critically acclaimed stage-work with Avant GardARAMA! Like Cutting Ball's 2004 edition of Avant GardARAMA!

Beginning Thursday, June 19, Encompass New Opera Theatre, in association with Opera Index, will present the NY Premiere of 'SHAW SINGS!' for five performances at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space, Broadway & 95th Street.

Heavy ticket demand has prompted Urban Stages to extend its hilarious drawing room musical, 27 Rue de Fleurus, for two weeks through Sunday, April 13th. Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein are delighting audiences with wit and one-up(wo)manship in repartee and song as they confront each other about love, marriage, jealousy, genius and other delicious topics... Add into the salon Pablo Picasso, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mabel Dodge, Sylvia Beach and the smashing Jean Harlow, and you have a highly memorable and amusing night of theatre. Unlike most of the stage works about Gertrude and Alice, 27 RUE DE FLEURUS is told from Alice's point of view as 'her muse.' When Gertrude becomes embarrassed by Alice's revealing tell-all, she attempts to hijack the play as only the author of such lines as 'sugar is not a vegetable' can. But Alice has secrets to share with the audience that silence the famously verbose Gertrude. Quelle surprise! Critical reviews have praised Frances Hill's 'smart direction,' the 'strong performances' of the cast (New York Times), as well as 'luscious' costumes by Carrie Robbins (Variety). Curtain Up says, ' Add this small charmer to this season's cornucopia of off-beat new musicals,' and Theatermania declared, 'Director Frances Hill's production has a zest that matches the unbridled creativity of the creators, unfolding on a handsome scenic design from Roman Tatarowicz, who's created a surreal white salon with skewed walls that's backed by a series of overlapping frames into which Alex Koch's collage-like video is projected. It's the perfect canvas for this haphazard look into Toklas and Stein's world.' The critically acclaimed cast includes Cheryl Stern as Alice, Barbara Rosenblat as Gertrude, and Sarah Chalfy, Susan Haefner and Emily Zacharias in various celebrity parts. John Bell is Musical Director. ARTSHOW. During the run of the show, photographs and other artworks from the Gertrude and Alice collection of San Francisco collector Hans Gallas are on display in the theater lobby. Gallas coordinated events around the world last year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the meeting of Gertrude and Alice on Alice's first day in Paris. Works exhibited include original Carl Van Vechten photographs, wood-block prints, caricatures, and mixed media pieces created by artists from around the world. Gertrude and Alice have been the subjects of visual artists from the beginning of the 20th century and continue to inspire artists in all media. Urban Stages produces new plays with themes that reflect our diverse society. Their most recent productions were the critically acclaimed Oxford Roof Climbers Rebellion by Stephen Massicotte, Marion Bridge by Daniel MacIvor, the Pulitzer Prize finalist Bulrusher by Eisa Davis and Apostasy by Gino DiIorio. Since 1983, director Frances Hill has overseen more than 600 staged readings and workshops, plus over 75 productions of new work for the stage. Recent directing credits include Jim Lehrer's Chili Queen (Urban Stages and The Kennedy Center), John C. Picardi's Seven Rabbits on a Pole and The Sweepers (Urban Stages and Capital Rep), Comfort Women by Chungmi Kim and last season's Apostasy by Gino DiIorio. As Artistic Director of Urban Stages, she has moved two plays to commercial off-Broadway runs: Minor Demons and Men on the Verge of a His-Panic Breakdown, which won an Outer Critics Circle Award. SCHEDULE for 27 RUE DE FLEURUS: Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8PM, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3PM. Tickets are $40.00; all Wednesday performances are specially priced at $25. Tickets may be purchased by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444, or online at www.urbanstages.org. There will be talkbacks every Wednesday and Saturday night, check www.urbanstages.org for schedule of speakers. 27 RUE DE FLEURUS A New Musical; Book and lyrics by Ted Sod, music and lyrics by Lisa Koch; Directed by Frances Hill At Urban Stages, 259 West 30th Street (between 7th and 8th avenues) Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8PM, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3PM. TICKETS: $40; College and High School Students, $15; Half-Price Wednesdays: All seats $25.00 EXTENDED! NOW THROUGH APRIL 13th Call 212-868-4444, or order online at www.urbanstages.org

Urban Stages is pleased to announce the final production of their 2007/2008 season: 27 Rue de Fleurus, a new musical derived from the imagination of Alice B. Toklas. Alice tries to set the record straight about being Gertrude Stein's 'wife' for nearly 40 years. 27 Rue de Fleurus will be directed by Urban Stages Artistic Director Frances Hill. Performances will be at 259 West 30th Street (between 7th and 8th). Previews will begin on Saturday, March 1st with the opening date scheduled for Thursday, March 6th and will run through Sunday, April 6th.