Goodman Theatre News

Blackfriars Repertory Theatre celebrates their 20th anniversary with a new production of N. Richard Nash's The Rainmaker, co-producing with The Storm Theatre Company.Performances begin on April 27 with opening night scheduled for May 5 in the Black Box Theater at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture.

First Floor Theater is thrilled to continue their sixth season with the world premiere of Lucas Baisch's poetic and poignant drama REFRIGERATOR, directed by artistic director Hutch Pimentel. REFRIGERATOR will play May 13 - June 9, 2018 at The Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are on sale now at firstfloortheater.com. The press opening is Wednesday, May 16 at 7:30 pm.

Playwright Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize-winning DISGRACED will be preserved for wide audience accessibility in a series of live performance recordings by Susan Albert Loewenberg's L.A. Theatre Works April 19 through April 22, 2018. We had the chance to pick the mind of a very frequent collaborator of Ayad Akhtar, actor/producer/activist Behzad Dabu who will be reprising 'Abe' at the L.A. Theatre Works production, in the role he originated.

Victory Gardens Theater continues its 43rd season with the World Premiere of Lettie, written by Boo Killebrew and directed by Artistic Director Chay Yew. Lettie runs April 6 - May 6, 2018, with the press performance on Friday, April 13, 2018 at 7:30pm at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue.

In the blue collar Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn sits a rundown neighborhood institution called The Alamo; the last great American bar. Today, with an aging clientele, the place is fighting to keeps it's doors open and the only hope seems to be the arrival of artist/gentrifiers who are moving into the neighborhood and wanting to adopt the bar as an entertainment hangout. Bay Ridge locals and The Alamo regulars don't want to surrender their bar, much less their neighborhood, to these young neo-carpetbaggers. The Alamo paints a humorous and dramatic portrait of eight working class Bay Ridge natives who always seem to find themselves on the front lines of change in America.

Rebel Theatrical Management, LLC (Harvey Butler, producer), in association with The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, have announced, today, the cast and the creative team for the New York premiere of the new play Little Rock, written and directed by Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj. Performances are set to begin Wednesday, May 30, 2018 for a limited run through September 8, 2018 at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street). Opening Night is set for Thursday, June 14, 2018 at 7:00PM.

RATTLESTICK PLAYWRIGHTS THEATER (Daniella Topol, Artistic Director; Annie Middleton, Managing Director) is proud to announce that their annual F*CK!NG GOOD PLAYS FESTIVAL will take place May 7 through May 12 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. The F*CK!NG GOOD PLAYS FESTIVAL is a long-standing tradition at Rattlestick of doing readings of bold new works from Rattlestick Alumni Writers and from Rattlestick's apprentice company, Middle Voice; as well as welcome new writers to Rattlestick for the first time.  On the final day of the F*CK!NG GOOD PLAYS FESTIVAL, Rattlestick will present TheaterJam, a day-long event featuring over 20 writers.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce casting for the New York premiere production of The Great Leap, written by Lauren Yee and directed by Taibi Magar.

Following its critically acclaimed hit LIZZIE, Firebrand Theatre, the first musical theatre company committed to employing and empowering women by expanding opportunities on and off the stage, is pleased to conclude its inaugural season with the musical comedy 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL featuring music and lyrics by Dolly Parton, book by Patricia Resnick, direction by Artistic Director Harmony France, music direction by Andra Velis-Simon and choreography by Kasey Alfonso.

RATTLESTICK PLAYWRIGHTS THEATER is proud to announce that their annual F*CK!NG GOOD PLAYS FESTIVAL will take place May 7 through May 12 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater.

Haven Theatre is pleased to announce its 2018-19 Season, kicking off this fall with its fourth consecutive DIRECTOR'S HAVEN, three short plays showcasing the talents of early career directors. Helming this year's productions are Charlotte Drover, Anna Sung-En Medill and Dani Wieder.

The Actors Fund, the national human services organization for everyone in performing arts and entertainment, will hold its Annual Gala on Monday, May 14, 2018. The evening will celebrate Academy Award-winning actor and filmmaker Warren Beatty, Tony Award-winning Broadway and film director Kenny Leon, currently director of Children of a Lesser God on Broadway, two-time Tony Award-winning actress, singer and dancer Chita Rivera, and Golden Globe-winning, Academy Award and Emmy-nominated actress Uma Thurman. Mr. Beatty, Mr. Leon, Ms. Rivera and Ms. Thurman will be awarded The Actors Fund's Medal of Honor. The event begins with 6 pm cocktails followed by a 7 pm dinner and tribute at the New York Marriott Marquis. The evening will include special tribute performances by guests to be announced.

The Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs end their 2017-18 season with two plays in rep, Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl, and Prowess by Ike Holter. Eurydice, directed by Addie Gorlin ('19), tackles grief and growing up through the lens of the reimagined Greek myth, and will be performed May 4-19, 2018. Prowess, directed by Ken-Matt Martin ('19) explores accountability in a world of vigilante justice, and can be seen May 5-20, 2018. All performances take place on the same set at the Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire Street, Providence. Tickets are on sale now at Trinity Rep's box office, by phone (401) 351-4242, or online at www.TrinityRep.com.

Sundance Institute announces the slate of theatremakers from the U.S. and Middle East / North Africa who will convene at the Theatre Program's second annual Theatre Lab in Morocco next month. The Lab, which will take place from May 6 - 27 at the Fellah Hotel outside Marrakech, comprises three uninterrupted weeks of consultation, mentorship and workshop performance of new work for the stage. The Theatre Lab alternates locations each season, moving between the Sundance Resort in Utah, and a venue in the Middle East/North African region, as part of a multi-year commitment to international work and a means of facilitating cultural exchange between artists. Led by Sundance Institute Theatre Program Director Philip Himberg and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, teams of creative advisors, actors and dramaturgs will collaborate with writers and directors, independent from commercial or public pressures, as they develop their projects.

Abingdon Theatre Company (Tony Speciale, Artistic Director; Denise Dickens, Producing Director) has announced casting for the first production of its 25th Anniversary main stage season, The Gentleman Caller, a new play by Philip Dawkins (Charm, Le Switch, The Homosexuals).

In response to popular demand and critical acclaim, Ars Nova 'one of the most adventurous Off-Broadway companies' (New York Times), piece by piece productions and Z Space extends the world premiere of The Lucky Ones until April 28. This 5-time Lucille Lortel award nominated new musical by The Bengsons and Sarah Gancher (Hundred Days) was commissioned and developed by Ars Nova.

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC) is pleased to announce that its Annual Gala, held at the Taj Hotel in Boston on Saturday, April 7, raised $230,000 to support this summer's Free Shakespeare on the Common production of Richard III.

Vietgone by Qui Nguyen is the Vietnamese-American playwright's own creation story-a telling of his parents' 1975 refugee camp romance in a "geek theater" spectacle that's at turns affecting, sage, raucous, and fantastical. A screenwriter for Marvel Studios and founder of Obie Award-winning company Vampire Cowboys, Nguyen's work champions representation and diversity on stage while dripping with pop culture nods, contemporary music, and action-adventure narrative. The production pairs this Studio-commissioned playwright with director and Studio Cabinet member Natsu Onoda Power. Drawing on Vietgone's comic book aesthetics, Studio's Stage 4 is transformed into a garage concert with a live band and original funk-rock-punk-n-roll score, giving audiences a front row seat to this anything-but-typical story of boy meets girl.

Updated this week! Check out upcoming Equity Auditions from Sunday, April 8, 2018 for both productions in your area and around the country including what/when/where and how to audition!

Award-winning pioneer playwright Qui Nguyen brilliantly chronicles the love story of his parents' meeting in an Arkansas refugee center after fleeing Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975. It's a buddy story, an all-American romance, and a motorcycle road-trip adventure that reexamines how we think about the heroes and victims of the Vietnam War. Vietgone skips through time and roams the globe with snarky humor, hip-hop, and lots of sex. It's one ironic, foul-mouthed, bad-ass new play.