Jay Presson Allen News

The New Group and Tectonic Theater Project proudly present One Arm, set to play May 19 - July 2 in a limited Off-Broadway engagement marking a New York premiere.

The New Group will honor Wallace Shawn and Fred Wistow with their 2011 Michael Mendelson Award for Outstanding Commitment to Theater. The gala will take place on May 9 at Capitale, and will include a dinner, rection and auction.

Bay Street Theatre is celebrating its 20th season and has announced the 2011 Mainstage productions. From the insightful look into the life of Truman Capote, to the wild comedy of Christopher During, and a Broadway bound musical.

Today we lost one of the greats: the gentle giant of directors, Sidney Lumet. What a resume! Just to pick seven of perhaps the best known of the bunch, the bunch in question being over 100 titles strong: 12 ANGRY MEN, LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, SERPICO, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NETWORK and BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD - the films spanning fifty years from MEN in 1957 and DEVIL in 2007 - it is clear to see why Lumet was one of the most cherished and celebrated directors in Hollywood, especially known for his tough, gritty New York stories and his pristine stage-to-screen transfers. For an excellent example of the latter (in addition to LONG DAY'S JOURNEY and the others) check out DEATHTRAP - based on Ira Levin's play, the longest-running thriller in Broadway history - featuring Michael Caine in one of his best roles and Christopher Reeve and Dyan Cannon in their finest performances on film. For an example of the former genre, look no further than NETWORK, containing one of the strongest screenplays ever penned, from the fiery and ferocious pen of Paddy Cheyefsky, and Faye Dunaway in her Oscar-winning performance for all the ages. As far as theatrical screenplays on screen, Lumet would be hard-pressed to even come close to the power, prescience and transformative brilliance at the core of the conceit of that film - yet he did just that; with his final, 2007 film no less. I am speaking, of course, of the underrated and riveting BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, with Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris. Taking an original screenplay that could just as well have been written for the stage - shades of 12 ANGRY MEN, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NETWORK and SERPICO, certainly - Lumet made a bristling, biting brilliant work of staggering craft and ingenuity - all with verve, energy and drive of a man a quarter of his age at the time (80). His films were classics in his own time and, now, in his passing, they are just as timeless - if not more so. With each passing year, new layers of truth, beauty, sadness and soulfulness can be found in the countless frames in the innumerable unforgettable scenes in his many masterpieces.

The New Group proudly presents the first major New York revival of Wallace Shawn's Marie and Bruce in a limited Off-Broadway engagement March 14 - May 7.

The New Group proudly presents the first major New York revival of Wallace Shawn's Marie and Bruce in a limited Off-Broadway engagement March 14 - May 7.

The New Group proudly presents the first major New York revival of Wallace Shawn's Marie and Bruce in a limited Off-Broadway engagement March 14 - May 7.

The New Group announces that BLOOD FROM A STONE will extend through February 19 (the final performance was previously slated for Feb 5.

The New Group proudly presents the world premiere of a new play Blood From A Stone as the first production of its 2010-11 season.

The New Group proudly presents the world premiere of a new play Blood From A Stone as the first production of its 2010-11 season.

On July 9, The Sherman Playhouse will premiere the Tony Award-winning comedy-drama, THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE, by Jay Presson Allen, based on the novel by Muriel Spark.

The Sherman Playhouse presents THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE. From July 9 to 31. The show is by Jay Presson Allen, based on the novel by Muriel Spark.

On July 9, The Sherman Playhouse will premiere the Tony Award-winning comedy-drama, THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE, by Jay Presson Allen, based on the novel by Muriel Spark.

On July 9, The Sherman Playhouse will premiere the Tony Award-winning comedy-drama, THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE, by Jay Presson Allen, based on the novel by Muriel Spark.

This July, The Sherman Playhouse will debut the Tony Award-winning comedy-drama, THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE by Jay Presson Allen, based on the novel by Muriel Spark.

The Sherman Playhouse is seeking four men, ages 30 to 65, and six women, ages 25 to 65, and 15 girls ages 12 to 16 for the Tony Award-winning comedy-drama, THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE by Jay Presson Allen, based on the novel by Muriel Spark.

The Sherman Playhouse is seeking four men, ages 30 to 65, and six women, ages 25 to 65, and 15 girls ages 12 to 16 for the Tony Award-winning comedy-drama, THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE by Jay Presson Allen, based on the novel by Muriel Spark.

Today, in honor of the DVD release of Rob Marshall's film version of the 1982 Tony-winning Best Musical NINE, Maury Yeston was gracious and generous enough to grant me a few hours in which I could ask him intimate questions about his life, career and the future of theatre itself. Not one to mince words, Yeston is a veritable font of knowledge and it became clear during the interview that he may be as gifted and talented in his educational and mentorship skills as he is as a two-time Tony-winning composer and lyricist. His stage musicals include two Tony-winning Best Musicals, NINE and TITANIC, as well as: IN THE BEGINNING, GRAND HOTEL, PHANTOM, and the forthcoming DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY, as well as a full-length ballet of TOM SAWYER premiering later this year. From the handwritten letter sent by Katharine Hepburn to Frederico Fellini after seeing the workshop of NINE thirty years ago to this very day when NINE hits DVD, we will take a look at this magnanimous maestro's starry career in this inaugural InDepth InterView. Enjoy!

Northern Stage's production of the Off-Broadway smash Greater Tuna will end its run May 2nd. This madcap romp features two veteran Northern Stage actors, Scott Cote (Beauty & the Beast, Cabaret, Moon Over Buffalo) and Kevin Loreque (I Am My Own Wife, The Full Monty, CATS, The Elephant Man, Cabaret,) playing 19 characters-men, women, even Yippy the dog-in 90 minutes. With 15-second costume changes and rapid-fire humor, this promises to be an audience favorite.

The Sherman Playhouse is seeking four men, ages 30 to 65, and six women, ages 25 to 65, and 15 girls ages 12 to 16 for the Tony Award-winning comedy-drama, THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE by Jay Presson Allen, based on the novel by Muriel Spark.