Goodman Theatre News

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is pleased to announce the publication of Stage Kiss, the sixth title from acclaimed playwright Sarah Ruhl to be published by TCG. The play originally premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in 2011, with a subsequent production at Playwrights Horizons in New York in the spring of 2014.

The Pulitzer Prize winning drama Ruined by Lynn Nottage makes its Baltimore premiere at Everyman Theatre this winter. The epic play features a cast of 17, led by Everyman Resident Company Member Dawn Ursula, who was seen last season as Vera Stark in Nottage's comedic drama By the Way, Meet Vera Stark. The production is directed by internationally acclaimed director Tazewell Thompson and will run from tonight, February 4th through March 8th.

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness, the new play by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, directed by Eric Ting, begins performances tonight, February 3 at MTC's New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street).

First Folio Theatre presents Neil Simon's witty modern classic LAUGHTER ON THE 23rd FLOOR, running now through March 1, 2015. The show opened on January 31, and BroadwayWorld has photos from the festivities below!

A first look at THE WORLD OF EXTREME HAPPINESS!

The Geffen Playhouse announces the cast for its West Coast premiere production of Conor McPherson's The Night Alive, helmed by Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Randall Arney. This production will feature Paul Vincent O'Connor (August: Osage County at the National Theatre, London), Fiona O'Shaughnessy (Utopia), Dan Donohue (The Lion King on Broadway), Denis Arndt (Basic Instinct), and Peter O'Meara (Band of Brothers).

Enter the world of Chicago real estate in the Maltz Jupiter Theatre's production of the cutthroat drama (onstage February 8 - 22); a world in which 'the sale' is all that matters. In the middle of a high stakes sales competition, a group of tough-talking agents will do anything to close a deal and stay in the game: blackmail, bribery, intimidation and even burglary. This high-octane masterpiece will keep you in suspense as the businessmen fight to stay on top. But at the end of the day, will it all be worth it?

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) today announced that Jen Bender has been named as the new Director of Programming and Artist Services for the organization. Jen returns to NYMF after having served as a founding producer of the Festival in 2004.

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of The World of Extreme Happiness, the new play by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, directed by Eric Ting, begins performances tomorrow, Tuesday, February 3 at MTC's New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street).

Pivot Arts is pleased to announce the February/March 2015 line-up of its monthly POP UP! PERFORMANCE SERIES, connecting artists, local businesses and arts patrons throughout Edgewater, Andersonville and Uptown.

With the metallic clink of a coin in a jukebox and the scratch of a needle on a record, the character Willie utters the conclusive words, 'Let's dream.' And so they do. Caught up in a whirlwind of post-World War II traumas and the suffocating tensions of racism in 1950s South Africa, the three actors of this masterpiece by Athol Fugard bang and clash against their fluctuating society in this tale of hope, escapism, dark secrets, and the cruel power of language - creating one of the 20th century's greatest plays. 'MASTER HAROLD'...and the boys will play at Wharton Center for Performing Arts tonight, January 30, and Saturday, January 31 in the Pasant Theatre.

The distinguished Cuban-American playwright Eduardo Machado has created a touchstone piece by taking a one-act play with music, written in 1982, and turning it into a full-length, two-act musical. His 'Rosario and the Gypsies,' with songs by composer Rick Vartorella and lyrics by Mr. Machado and Mr. Vartorella, was a short, wild rock 'n roll play with music about the backstage romances and melodramas of a hippie performance troupe in southern California who were devoted to the art of change. Its songs were a combination of street pop and 60's-70's rock. It was produced in NYC by Ensemble Studio Theater in 1982 and it got Machado recognized as a writer to be reckoned with. Machado and Vartorella have now revised the piece and completed its story, adding a second act, in which we learn the future for its characters. Theater for the New City will present this revised and expanded version of 'Rosario and the Gypsies' from February 18 to March 8, directed by Machado.

First Folio Theatre (Mayslake Peabody Estate, 31st St. & Rt. 83) will present Neil Simon's witty modern classic LAUGHTER ON THE 23rd FLOOR, previewing tonight, January 28, opening Saturday, January 31 at 8 p.m. and running through March 1, 2015. The production stars First Folio Artistic Associate Rene Ruelas (Rough Crossing, The Rainmaker, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Design for Living at First Folio Theatre) as 'Max Prince,' First Folio Artistic Associate Kevin McKillip (Jeeves Takes A Bow, The Merchant of Venice, The Turn of the Screw and Unnecessary Farce at First Folio Theatre, Making God Laugh at Theatre at the Center) as 'Ira,' Callie Johnson (National Tour of Evil Dead The Musical and Next to Normal at Drury Lane Theatre) as 'Helen,' First Folio Artistic Associate Hayley L. Rice (The Rainmaker, The Merchant of Venice, Blithe Spirit, The Castle of Otranto at First Folio Theatre) as 'Carol,' and First Folio Artistic Associate Joe Foust (The Merry Wives of Windsor, Unnecessary Farce and the Woman in Black at First Folio Theatre, A Christmas Carol and Measure for Measure at Goodman Theatre) as 'Val.' LAUGHTER ON THE 23rd FLOOR is directed by Jeff Award nominee and First Folio Theatre Co-Founder, Alison C. Vesely (First Folio's A Moon for the Misbegotten). The production is dedicated to the memory of Molly Glynn.

The Old Globe today announced it will open its 2015-2016 Season with In Your Arms, a World Premiere dance-theatre musical featuring direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Christopher Gattelli (Newsies, Godspell, Lincoln Center Theater's South Pacific) and original music by Tony Award winner Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Once on This Island; two-time Oscar nominee for Anastasia). Co-conceived by Gattelli and Jennifer Manocherian, In Your Arms features 10 dance vignettes written by an incredible and diverse lineup of theatre powerhouses, including Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry. Among them, the creators have amassed 14 Tony Awards, five Pulitzer Prizes, six Pulitzer finalist designations, and one Academy Award.

England's most storied rivalry takes center stage at Folger Theatre in Friedrich Schiller's classic drama Mary Stuart from tonight, January 27- March 8, 2015.

First Folio Theatre (Mayslake Peabody Estate, 31st St. & Rt. 83) will present Neil Simon's witty modern classicLAUGHTER ON THE 23rd FLOOR, previewing January 28, opening Saturday, January 31 at 8 p.m. and running through March 1, 2015.

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL star Jessie Mueller recently had her picture added to the many Broadway caricatures at Sardi's. BroadwayWorld was on the same to bring you photos of the event, which you can check out below!

Launching the Fountain Theatre's 25th Anniversary Season, Simon Levy directs Kristin Carey, Ryan Doucette, Joanna Strapp - and some very unusual, one-of-a-kind dolls - in the Los Angeles premiere of Reborning by Zayd Dohrn. How far would you go to create a family? A darkly funny psychological thriller that takes an unsettling look at work, motherhood and the power of healing, Reborning opens at the Fountain Theatre on Jan. 24. Check out photos from the show below!

Marin Theatre Company begins 2015 with the Bay Area premiere of The Convert, which marks the Bay Area debut of award-winning Zimbabwean-American playwright Danai Gurira, running Feb 19-March 15.

Profiles Theatre continues its 26th Season with the Chicago premiere of The Other Place by Sharr White, directed by Artistic Director Joe Jahraus. The production runs February 13 - April 5, 2015 at Profiles Theatre's The Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway. The press opening is Thursday, February 19 at 8pm.