Giovanna Sardelli News

BWW Review: ARCHDUKE at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is Rajiv Joseph's biting satire on modern terrorism filtered through the lens of 'the shot heard round the world'.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the Northern California premiere of Archduke. Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph, Archduke explores how one man, one moment, can derail an entire century. Focusing on the cataclysmic 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, three hapless insurgents embark on a darkly comic quest for immortality and purpose, unaware that their actions will launch World War I.

Dorset Theatre Festival, under the leadership of Artistic Director Dina Janis, will mount two world premiere productions during the 42nd Season. DIG, written and directed by Theresa Rebeck (July 11-27, 2019), and MRS. CHRISTIE by Heidi Armbruster (August 1-17, 2019) fall between the Festival's previously announced runs of Noel Coward's PRIVATE LIVES (June 20-July 6, 2019) and SLOW FOOD by Wendy MacLeod (August 22-31, 2019) at the Dorset Playhouse (104 Cheney Road, Dorset, VT 05251).

HEY PROMISED HER THE MOON, now playing at The Old Globe through May 12th is a lovely portrayal of a young woman who chose to defy the expectations of her based on her sex and shoot for the moon.

As the Globe deepens its commitment to making theatre matter to more people, their work expands in service to the public good. The Globe today announced that its signature arts engagement program, Globe for All, will tour Laurel Ollstein's They Promised Her the Moon to four community venues this spring, following its West Coast premiere at the Globe's Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center.

The Old Globe today announced that the West Coast premiere of Laurel Ollstein's They Promised Her the Moon has been extended by popular demand and will run through May 12, 2019. The first of two shows in the 2018-2019 Season developed in the Globe's Powers New Voices Festival, it wowed Festival audiences with the story of the powerful forces that kept one woman from reaching orbit. Directed by Giovanna Sardelli (the Globe's The Whipping Man and Somewhere), They Promised Her the Moon runs April 6 - May 12, 2019 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run April 6-10. 

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the Northern California premiere of Archduke. Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph, Archduke explores how one man, one moment, can derail an entire century. Focusing on the cataclysmic 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, three hapless insurgents embark on a darkly comic quest for immortality and purpose, unaware that their actions will launch World War I.

Dorset Theatre Festival announces its 42nd Season, featuring the classic revival of Noel Coward's Private Lives directed by Evan Yionoulis (June 20 - July 6), the World Premiere of Dig, written and directed by Theresa Rebeck (July 11 - 27), the World Premiere of Mrs. Christie by Heidi Armbruster, directed by Giovanna Sardelli  (August 1 - 17), Slow Food by Wendy MacLeod, directed by Jackson Gay (August 22 - 31), and Pipeline Series: Three New Works in Process (July 2, July 23, and August 13). All performances will take place at the Dorset Playhouse (104 Cheney Rd, Dorset, VT 05251)

The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team for the West Coast premiere of Laurel Ollstein's They Promised Her the Moon. The first of two shows in the 2018-2019 Globe Season developed in the Globe's Powers New Voices Festival, it wowed Festival audiences with the story of the powerful forces that kept one woman from reaching orbit. Directed by Giovanna Sardelli, They Promised Her the Moon will run April 6 - May 5, 2019 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run April 6-10. Opening night is Thursday, April 11 at 8:00 p.m. Single tickets start at $30.00 and are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. They Promised Her the Moon will also have a short Globe for All Spring tour to several of our Community Partner venues following performances at the Globe, details to be announced shortly.

Theatre enthusiasts packed the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts last night to hear Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley and Executive Director Phil Santora of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley reveal the lineup for the company's 50th season, which launches this summer. Kelley's 50th and final season as Artistic Director of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley includes triumphant returns of TheatreWorks favorites, bold premieres developed at the company's annual New Works Festival, and celebrated works from the nation's leading playwrights.

Tired of the same old Christmas Carol? Downtown Music Productions presents A Chamber Christmas Carol at the gorgeous St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery. Composer Ray Leslee (Avenue X, Standup Shakespeare) has created a brand-new take on the holiday season's most prolific tale. This ONE NIGHT ONLY event features a virtuoso company of five musicians and five actors who play 35 roles, telling the classic tale through Leslee's music and selections from Dickens' masterpiece. Tom Ligon (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo) stars as Scrooge. The cast includes Mark Boyett, Jack McCarthy, JD Mollison and Alex Sunderhaus. The musicians are Broadway veterans Jack Bashkow (woodwinds), Jeff Carney (bass), Marshall Coid (violin), Ron Hay (trombone) and Mimi Stern-Wolfe at the piano. Margarett Perry directs.

Sprout Works's world premiere of Roller Dynasty' written by Ryan Drake and directed by Emma Miller, will open on November 8, 2018 at 8pm.

This November, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley invites guests to sip from the fountain of youth and travel through time celebrating nearly 50 years of innovative theatre with its fall gala TheatreWorks Everlasting, inspired by the themes of its upcoming holiday production Tuck Everlasting. Established in Palo Alto in 1970, TheatreWorks has grown over the past 48 years into one of the largest theatre companies in the Bay Area, and one of the nation's leading presenters of new works. This magical adventure will include delectable food, wine, and an original show, as well as guest theatre luminaries, and an exceptional benefit auction featuring fabulous trips and behind-the-scenes theatre experiences.

Sprout Works's world premiere of Roller Dynasty' written by Ryan Drake and directed by Emma Miller, will open on November 8, 2018 at 8pm.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre opens it 40th anniversary season with NATIVE GARDENS, #8 on American Theatre magazine's list of the top 10 most-produced plays of 2018-2019. With a dozen theaters mounting Karen Zacarias' delightful tale that pits a millennial, Latinx couple against a white, baby boomer couple, across a shared backyard fence, my prediction is that there will be lots of happy patrons debating the definition of good neighbors after seeing this show. To complicate matters, all four are basically good and decent people, just like us, but circumstances change. When they are tested and show new colors, are they a temporary aberration or their true ones?

In post-show surveys, the audiences for Karen Zacharias' Native Gardens, playing at Merrimack Repertory Theatre through October 7, are intrigued by the real 18-foot-tall, two-ton oak tree, which is essential to the plot.

Native Gardens will be the 263rd play produced by MRT. Directed by Giovanna Sardelli, the comedy, which questions whether good fences really do make good neighbors, will play September 12 through October 7.

September 12, Karen Zacarias' topical comedy Native Gardens will kick off a season of cutting-edge contemporary voices, including three world premieres and five plays by women, in celebration of Merrimack Repertory Theatre's 40th Anniversary, according to Artistic Director Sean Daniels and Executive Director Bonnie J. Butkas.

This November, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley invites guests to sip from the fountain of youth and travel through time celebrating nearly 50 years of innovative theatre with its fall gala TheatreWorks Everlasting, inspired by the themes of its upcoming holiday production Tuck Everlasting. Established in Palo Alto in 1970, TheatreWorks has grown over the past 48 years into one of the largest theatre companies in the Bay Area, and one of the nation's leading presenters of new works. This magical adventure will include delectable food, wine, and an original show, as well as guest theatre luminaries, and an exceptional benefit auction featuring fabulous trips and behind-the-scenes theatre experiences.

September 12, Karen Zacarias' topical comedy Native Gardens will kick off a season of cutting-edge contemporary voices, including three world premieres and five plays by women, in celebration of Merrimack Repertory Theatre's 40th Anniversary, according to Artistic Director Sean Daniels and Executive Director Bonnie J. Butkas.