Howard Shalwitz News

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company announces its next production in Season 35: Cherokee, by Obie Award-winning playwright Lisa D'Amour. Enlarging on the themes explored in D'Amour's 2013 Woolly hit Detroit, Cherokee follows a fresh cast of characters pushed to the brink as their escape from the trappings of civilization opens the path to a new life. Woolly Company Member John Vreeke, who also directed Detroit, will direct the new production. Cherokee will run from Monday, February 9 to Sunday, March 8, 2015.

New York's home for the Classics announces its inaugural exploration of what modern language brings to timeless stories. With 12 days of readings and discussions, The Pearl's Resident Acting Company and three contemporary playwrights will investigate the power of language, the fortitude of classic stories, and the tricky role of the adapter in tackling these often-told tales.

In a continued outpouring of solidarity among a giant consortium of the American theater's artistic directors, more than 30 additional artistic directors have signed the open letter that was issued yesterday in support of Ari Roth, following his recent dismissal from the Jewish Community Center in Washington, D.C., where he has served as Artistic Director of Theater J for the past 18 years.

In an unprecedented display of solidarity among a giant consortium of the American theater's artistic directors, an open letter has been issued in support of Ari Roth, following his recent dismissal from the Jewish Community Center in Washington, D.C., where he has served as Artistic Director of Theater J for the past 18 years. The letter, released earlier today represents the views of top theater brass from coast-to-coast, who believe that his dismissal was an act of politically motivated censorship in retaliation for Roth's choice to produce and publicly defend challenging and provocative work.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company has announced that the Old Trout Puppet Workshop will bring Famous Puppet Death Scenes to DC this December. Since its premiere in January 2006 at the PuSh International Theatre Festival in Vancouver, the show has enjoyed over 150 performances, playing to sold-out houses from Calgary to Seville. Woolly is thrilled to offer Famous Puppet Death Scenes as a darkly comedic alternative to more typical seasonal theatre fare.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater's Stackner Cabaret once again welcomes the glittering costumes and chandeliers of Liberace!. Brilliant local musician and performer Jack Forbes Wilson will reprise his triumphant portrayal of Liberace, the man who defined four decades of music and pop culture, after an acclaimed world premiere production which ran during The Rep's 2010/11 Season. This loving tribute to Liberace is written and directed by Rep Associate Artistic Director Brent Hazelton, with original music direction and composition by Jack Forbes Wilson. Liberace! runs in The Rep's Stackner Cabaret from November 7, 2014 - January 11, 2015 and opens Sunday, November 9.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company announces the inaugural APPETIZERS series, designed to curate a conversation between the community and Woolly's artists in the creation and development of the theatre's work. For three evenings this fall, Woolly will invite the public to play a unique role in ongoing workshops of Season 35 shows. Each APPETIZERS event will be devoted to one of the upcoming new plays in Woolly's 2014-15 season: Cherokee, Lights Rise on Grace, and Zombie: The American.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company announces the first offering of its 35th season: David Adjmi's Marie Antoinette, a highly contemporary look at the famously iconic and controversial queen of France, from her growing celebrity to her ultimate demise at the hands of those who had once extolled her. Woolly Company Member Kimberly Gilbert will take on the role of Marie in a production directed by new Woolly Company Member Yury Urnov, who last directed at Woolly in 2012, with the World Premiere production of You For Me For You. Marie Antoinette will run from Monday, September 15 to Sunday, October 12, 2014.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) announces the 2014 Round 2 recipients of the Leadership U[niversity]-One-on-One program. Through the support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, grants of $75,000 have been awarded to six exceptionally talented early-career leaders from all areas of theatre for professional development via mentorships at a TCG Member Theatre, with an additional $5,000 honorarium for their mentor. The goal of this program is to strengthen the field by developing the individuals who are the core and the future of theatre.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company has announced the appointment of Meghan Pressman as Managing Director. Previously, Pressman served as the Director of Development for New York City's Signature Theatre, a $12 million nonprofit Off-Broadway theatre organization, which exists to honor and celebrate the playwright. Pressman will begin her tenure at Woolly Mammoth at the beginning of Season 35 on Monday, September 15, 2014.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is bringing back the bird and reuniting the entire cast and creative team of Aaron Posner's Stupid f**king Bird after its runaway success in the summer of 2013. Nominated for eight Helen Hayes Awards and winner for Outstanding Resident Play and Outstanding New Play or Musical, Stupid f**king Bird is directed by Woolly Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz and runs for three weeks, beginning tonight, July 28, 2014, and continuing through August 17, 2014.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is bringing back the bird and reuniting the entire cast and creative team of Aaron Posner's Stupid f**king Bird after its runaway success in the summer of 2013. Nominated for eight Helen Hayes Awards and winner for Outstanding Resident Play and Outstanding New Play or Musical, Stupid f**king Bird is directed by Woolly Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz and runs for three weeks: July 28, 2014 through August 17, 2014. Scroll down for a first look at the cast in action!

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is bringing back the bird and reuniting the entire cast and creative team of Aaron Posner's Stupid f**king Bird after its runaway success in the summer of 2013. Nominated for eight Helen Hayes Awards and winner for Outstanding Resident Play and Outstanding New Play or Musical, Stupid f**king Bird is directed by Woolly Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz and runs for three weeks: July 28, 2014 through August 17, 2014.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company announces the run of Roger Guenveur Smith's 'deeply moving' (The New York Times) Rodney King, an electrifying solo show that explores the legacy of a complex historical American icon. Smith, a celebrated artist noted for his performances in Spike Lee films such as Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X, was last at Woolly in 1996 with his stirring solo performance piece, A Huey P. Newton Story. A part of The Capital Fringe Festival, all tickets to this limited two-week engagement of Rodney King will be $35.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company announces a very "Woolly" alternative to The Russians are Coming! A Festival of Radical New Theatre from Moscow.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company announces the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's The Totalitarians, a high-energy political comedy. The play explores the vacuous double-speak we invent for political gain and how this language insinuates itself into our everyday lives, relationships, and culture. Nachtrieb's work was last seen at Woolly with Season 29's Boom (2008), which went on to become the most widely produced new play in the country. Woolly Company Member and Andrew W. Mellon Playwright in Residence Robert O'Hara-the playwright and director of Season 31's Bootycandy (2011) and the playwright of Season 29's Helen Hayes Award winning Antebellum (2009)-will direct.

Washington theatre celebrated its highest honors for achievement at the 30th Annual Helen Hayes Awards tonight, April 21, 2014 at the National Building Museum. Scroll down for the full list of winners!

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company has announced the cancellation of The Russians are Coming! A Festival of Radical New Theatre from Moscow. The project, announced in partnership with Philip Arnoult's Center for International Theatre Development (CITD) as part of Woolly Mammoth's 35th anniversary season, included productions helmed by some of Russia's most radical and well-respected theatre artists.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company announces that at the end of its Season 34 this June, Jeffrey Herrmann will step down as Managing Director following a seven-year tenure. He will be heading to the Pacific Northwest to take on the role of Managing Director at Seattle Repertory Theatre, where he will replace Ben Moore, who is retiring after 28 years as the theatre's current Managing Director. He leaves behind a great artistic and financial legacy, having almost doubled Woolly's size during his time here in DC, spearheading the theatre's innovative Connectivity initiative, providing leadership for Woolly's "Free the Beast!" campaign, and purchasing the theatre's building.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company will present Elevator Repair Service's Arguendo, a playful and incisively witty theatricalization of the 1991 Supreme Court case in which a group of go-go dancers, citing the First Amendment, challenged an Indiana state ban on public nudity. Elevator Repair Service's Artistic Director John Collins will direct the Company in its first extended stay in Washington, DC. Originally slated to close April 20, Arguendo will be extended for an additional weekend, performing April 25-27.