Jenny Schwartz News

Returning for its 17th season, Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook will continue to broaden its scope in celebrating the best in American singing and songwriting as interpreted by top performers and rising stars, with events at three Lincoln Center venues.

Five time Obie Award-winning theater company Clubbed Thumb has launched a new artistic program aimed at supporting the development of early-career directors. The new directing fellowship is under the mentorship of Obie Award-winning directors and Clubbed Thumb affiliated artists Anne Kauffman (Belleville; Detroit; Clubbed Thumb's Dot, among others) and Ken Rus Schmoll (The Invisible Hand, Iowa, Clubbed Thumb's Card and Gift, among others). The program will be run in partnership with Playwrights Horizons Theater School, where Clubbed Thumb is currently in residence.

Coming off of their Obie Award winning production of A Beautiful Day in November on the Banks of the Great Lakes at City Center in January and the critically acclaimed Heartbreak at The Bushwick Starr in May, New Georges announces their final production of 2015, the World Premiere of HOW TO GET INTO BUILDINGS by Trish Harnetiaux (If You Can Get to Buffalo with Incubator Arts Project) at The Brick (579 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn; www.bricktheater.com) as part of The Brick's Resident Artist program, December 3-19.

New Georges (Susan Bernfield, Producing Artistic Director; Sarah Cameron Sunde, Deputy Artistic Director; Jaynie Saunders Tiller, Managing Director) announce the World Premiere of Trish Harnetiaux's How to Get Into Buildings at The Brick in December, along with a New Georges Supported Production, the Big Benefit in Tribeca at the end of October, and new Audrey Resident projects in The Room all year long.

Kate Mulgrew and Anne-Cecilie Engell Speyer hosted Vineyard Theatre's Annual Emerging Artists Luncheon on Wednesday, September 30 from noon-2 p.m. at the National Arts Club  in Manhattan.

The first show of Vineyard Theatre's 2015-2016 season will be the musical comedy GIGANTIC, presented at The Acorn Theatre @ Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street) due to facility upgrades happening at The Vineyard's space in Union Square.

The Public Theater will kick off the 2015-16 season in September with a free Public Works musical adaptation of Homer's THE ODYSSEY, conceived and directed by Public Works Director Lear deBessonet, with music, lyrics and book by Todd Almond. THE ODYSSEY will once again feature over 200 actors and community members alongside five equity actors, including this year Brandon Victor Dixon as Odysseus and Karen Olivo as Penelope.

 The Theatre School at DePaul University's 2015-2016 season features two world premiere productions, reimagined classics, contemporary pieces, and engaging entertainment for the whole family.  Productions for the general public will continue for the third full season at The Theatre School's award-winning new facility in Lincoln Park, and Chicago Playworks for Families and Young Audiences will continue to welcome young people and their families to the historic Merle Reskin Theatre in the South Loop.

Artistic Directors Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern announce that the musical comedy GIGANTIC will open the Vineyard Theatre's 2015-2016 season, which includes the previously announced new plays INDECENT by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel and DOT by the actor and playwright Colman Domingo. The season will also include a Developmental Lab of Christopher Chen's YOU MEAN TO DO ME HARM in the summer of 2016. Chen is the recipient of the Vineyard's 2013 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award. Vineyard Theatre is located at 108 E. 15 St. in New York City.

The Public Theater will kick off the 2015-16 season in September with a free Public Works musical adaptation of Homer's THE ODYSSEY, conceived and directed by Public Works Director Lear deBessonet, with music, lyrics and book by Todd Almond. THE ODYSSEY will once again feature over 200 actors and community members alongside five equity actors, including this year Brandon Victor Dixon as Odysseus, Karen Olivo as Penelope and Taran Killam as Cyclops.

The Old Globe presents William Shakespeare's delightful and romantic Twelfth Night, directed by Rebecca Taichman, whose production of the time-traveling Time and the Conways fascinated audiences last April, as part of the 2015 Summer Shakespeare Festival. The Old Globe engagement runs through July 26, 2015, with opening night tonight, June 27 at 8:00 p.m., in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre.

The Vineyard Theatre announced today that, due to demand, the world premiere of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' newest play GLORIA will extend its limited engagement by two weeks and will now close on July 18.

The complete cast and creative team have been announced for The Old Globe production of William Shakespeare's delightful and romantic Twelfth Night. Rebecca Taichman, whose production of the time-traveling Time and the Conways fascinated audiences last April, is back to direct the first show of the 2015 Summer Shakespeare Festival. The Old Globe engagement will begin performances on June 21 and run through July 26, 2015, with opening night on Saturday, June 27 at 8:00 p.m., in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre.

Acclaimed Off-Broadway theater company Playwrights Horizons has announced details for its 2015 special online Auction.  Bidding for the auction, which will feature an eclectic array of items and unique opportunities, begins today, Tuesday, May 5 at www.CharityBuzz.com/PlaywrightsHorizons. Online bidding will continue through Tuesday, May 19. 

Acclaimed Off-Broadway theater company Playwrights Horizons held its annual Spring Gala yesterday, May 4 at the event space 583 Park Avenue. Titled CELEBRATING PETER JAY SHARP'S NEW YORK, the evening honored the late philanthropist, hotelier and real estate developer Peter Jay Sharp and The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation (Foundation Directors: the late Mr. Sharp, Edmund Duffy, Dan Lufkin, the late Jack Nash and Norman Peck). Among several theaters in New York City, Playwrights Horizons' more intimate 128-seat theater was named after the late philanthropist. It premiered when the company's new building opened its doors in January 2003. BroadwayWorld takes you insode the special night below!

Trinity Rep closes out Season 51: The Necessity of Human Connection with the world premiere of Tony-nominated playwright Sarah Ruhl and composer Todd Almond's Melancholy Play: a chamber musical, directed by Obie Award-winner Liesl Tommy. Melancholy Play: a chamber musical runs May 28 through June 28, 2015 in Trinity Rep's Dowling Theater.

  Sundance Institute today announced the nine projects selected from 827 submissions for its 2015 Theatre Lab at Sundance Resort in Utah, July 6-26. Under the supervision of Artistic Director Philip Himberg and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, the Lab is the centerpiece of the Institute's year-round work with the theatre community and is one of 24 residency Labs the Institute hosts each year for independent artists in theatre, film, new media and episodic content.

Playwrights Horizons has announced casting for THE QUALMS, the New York premiere of a new play by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Bruce Norris (Clybourne Park and The Pain and the Itch at PH, Domesticated).  Directed by Tony and Obie Award winner Pam MacKinnon (Clybourne Park and Completeness at PH; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; this season's A Delicate Balance and the current The Heidi Chronicles), the play is the final production of the theater company's 2014/2015 Season.   

Five-time Obie Award-winning theater company Clubbed Thumb is proud to announce casting for SUMMERWORKS, its annual series of new plays. Now in its 20th season, SUMMERWORKS will run May 20th through June 29th at The Wild Project (195 E 3rd Street) in Manhattan, and will feature productions of three new plays: D DEB DEBBIE DEBORAH by Jerry Lieblich, directed by Lee Sunday Evans; CARD AND GIFT by Kate E. Ryan, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll; and MEN ON BOATS by Jaclyn Backhaus, directed by Will Davis. Festival passes are now on sale at https://www.artful.ly/clubbedthumb/store/passes, and individual tickets can be purchased at https://www.artful.ly/clubbedthumb.

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company will present the Ninth Season of Keen Teens. This season's offerings will be OLD FOLKS by Max Posner, directed by Mark Armstrong, featuring: Steve Alvarez, Romy Bavli, Maria Broom, Ella Campos, Francesca Iannacone, Jessy Jogodnik, Hillel Rosenshine, Yordy Rosso, Craig Steeley, and Devante Rowe; THE LOST GIRL, OR FIRST CHAIR by Lauren Yee, directed by Liz Carlson, featuring: Chelsea Allison, Kaisheem Bryant, Nicholas Johnson, Bahsil Moody, Elsie Razo, Liv Reis, Hillel Rosenshine, Cory Sierra, Lucille Vasquez, and Karla Ynfante; THE ASTONISHING AND DANGEROUS HISTORY OF MAZEFIELD THE FROG by Jen Silverman, directed by Tyne Rafaeli, featuring: Steve Alvarez, Roza Chervinsy, SaCha Coleman, Olivia Hockenberry, Francesca Iannacone, Jarek Liang, Bahsil Moody, Maya Pagan, Yordy Rosso, and Juwan Wyatt.