James Ortiz News

While the name Walt Disney will certainly be familiar to all those arriving at the Delacorte for Public Works' stage adaptation of the 1997 animated musical feature Hercules, hopefully a good deal of them will leave Central Park remembering the name Lear deBessonet.

The company of Public Works' HERCULES is hard at work in rehearsal and we've got an inside peek!

The Public Theater will soon present the Public Works' musical adaptation of HERCULES with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by David Zippel, book by Kristoffer Diaz, and directed by Lear deBessonet, running for seven nights for free, August 31-September 8 at The Delacorte Theater. The Public has just announced how you can score tickets to the show. 

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced casting for the Public Works' musical adaptation of HERCULES with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by David Zippel, book by Kristoffer Diaz, and directed by Lear deBessonet, running for seven nights for free, August 31­September 8 at The Delacorte Theater. Based on the Disney film written by Ron Clements, John Musker, Donald McEnery, Bob Shaw, and Irene Mecchi and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, HERCULES will feature over 200 New Yorkers from all five boroughs and features choreography by Chase Brock, as well as additional new songs by Menken and Zippel for this Public Works production in addition to six songs from the film's beloved Academy Award-nominated score.

Heritage Theatre Festival is celebrating the 30th anniversary of one of America's most beloved movies by producing the play that started it all - Robert Harling's Steel Magnolias.

If you have a heart, you will love this show. It's way too good to let it pass you by.

In response to popular demand, HERE (Kristin Marting, Founding Artistic Director) extends the world premiere of Nick Lehane's Chimpanzee, to May 5.Currently scheduled to run until March 17, the production will pause and then resume performances April 16-May 5. Visit here.org for the performance schedule.

To endow animals with human emotion has long been a scientific taboo. But if we do not, we risk missing something fundamental, about animals and us. Frans de Waal, primatologist and ethologist

'Bernie and Mikey's Trip to the Moon' is now onstage at 59E59 Theaters through December 2nd. Written by actor and playwright, Scott Aiello, this is his first full-length play. The production enjoys outstanding direction by Claire Karpen and a top-notch cast that brings Aiello's finely written story to life.

59E59 Theaters welcomes the world premiere of BERNIE AND MIKEY'S TRIP TO THE MOON written by Scott Aiello and directed Claire Karpen. Produced by Strangemen Theatre Company (The Woodsman), BERNIE AND MIKEY'S TRIP TO THE MOON begins performances on Thursday, November 8 for a limited engagement through Sunday, December 2.

Since 2015, Adelphi University has given creators an opportunity to showcase their work to new audiences through the Larson Legacy Concert Series. On Sunday, September 23, Jonathan Larson Grant winner Jay Adana will present pieces from her new musical The Loophole in the OlmstedTheatre at the Adelphi Performing Arts Center (PAC), One South Ave, Garden City, New York.

Yale Repertory Theatre (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director), in collaboration with The Sol Project (Jacob G. Padron, Artistic Director), presents the world premiere of EL HURACÁN by Charise Castro Smith, directed by Laurie Woolery, September 28-October 20 at the University Theatre (222 York Street). Opening Night is Thursday, October 4.

The BLUEBARN Theatre, founded in 1989 by graduates of the SUNY Purchase Acting Conservatory, proudly announces a creative partnership with STRANGEMEN THEATRE COMPANY, a New York-based non-profit, originally founded in 2010 by graduates of that same conservatory. In celebration of BLUEBARN's 30th Anniversary and the shared origins of the two companies, we are honored to welcome STRANGEMEN to Omaha for the first time. Members of the original creative team of THE WOODSMAN will again bring this award-winning production to life here at the BLUEBARN, enlisting Omaha's incredible local talent. Based on the forgotten writings of L. Frank Baum, Strangemen Theatre Company's THE WOODSMAN gives this darkly beautiful, haunting, and heart-breaking story new life through original music, physical storytelling, and innovative puppetry. A re-imagined tale of the origin of Baum's 'The Tin Woodman of Oz' that is not to be missed this season!

HERE (Kristin Marting, Founding Artistic Director, and Kim Whitener, Executive Director) is proud to announce its 2018-2019 season, which marks the OBIE-winning institution's 26th year of producing of daring new hybrid performance by new artists from all disciplines - theatre, music, art, dance, puppetry, and media art.

In her third production at JACK, playwright Amina Henry shares a ghost story (with songs) about a homeless man who is approached in the park by the ghost of a murdered prostitute.  The ghost enlists him on a quest to find her remains so that her grieving mother can finally bury her and move past her mourning. Hunter John and Jane approaches trauma, mental illness and violence towards women in a whimsical way, giving the audience the opportunity to engage with difficult topics through poetic language as well as through a rich musical and visual landscape. With this work, Henry re-imagines what a love story can be, re-imagines what a musical can be, and proposes a world in which all lost or missing individuals are worthy of being found.

The American Theatre Wing (Heather Hitchens, President & CEO) announced today that the 2018 Jonathan Larson® Grants recipients areJay Adana (music and lyrics), Andrew R. Butler & Andrew Farmer (music, lyrics, and book), Emily Kaczmarek & Zoe Sarnak (music, lyrics, and book), and Mark Sonnenblick(music and lyrics). Four prestigious, unrestricted grants of $10,000 each, as well as additional support in the form of residencies, concerts, and recording grants, totaling over $48,000, will be presented on Monday, March 19, 2018 at a private event at the WNYC Greene Space. The event will feature special performances of the recipients' work.

At Opera Saratoga's Annual Meeting, Rosemarie Rosen, President of the Board of Directors, announced results from the company's 2017 fiscal year, which closed on September 30, 2017. The company reported another year of artistic and financial success thanks to the generosity, engagement and partnership of communities throughout the lower Adirondack and the New York State Capital Region.

Before every performance by The Public Theater's Mobile Unit, the audience is reminded of Joseph Papp's credo that the plays of William Shakespeare belong to everyone. The theatre pioneer created the world-famous Shakespeare In The Park based on that simple philosophy, and it's the driving force behind this unique outreach branch helping to fulfill the historic company's mission.

The Public Theater opened the MOBILE UNIT's production of THE WINTER'S TALE last night, November 30, and BroadwayWorld has photos from the festivities below!

The Public Theater begins previews for the MOBILE UNIT's production of THE WINTER'S TALE on Sunday, November 26. Directed by Lee Sunday Evans, the free run of THE WINTER'S TALE at The Public follows a three-week tour to the five boroughs bringing Shakespeare to audiences who have limited or no access to the arts. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!