Jerry Stiller News

The 6th Annual Shorty Awards, handed out in New York last night, honor the best of social media, recognizing the people and organizations producing real-time short form content

It was announced today that this year's Daryl Roth Creative Spirit Award will be presented to Playing on Air, which produces short plays by prominent, contemporary American playwrights for a national audience via public radio and the Internet. Dedicated to nurturing and supporting theatre artists, The Daryl Roth Creative Spirit Award, named for the multi-Award-winning producer, is a financial grant given annually to a theatre artist or organization who has demonstrated exceptional promise in their field.

Playing on Air, which presents readings of short plays by prominent, contemporary American playwrights for a national audience via public radio and the Internet, inaugurates a new initiative next month. On consecutive Mondays in March, Playing on Air presents its first plays for radio broadcast taped in front of live audiences.

The Public Theater announced the line-up today for the 2014 free Shakespeare in the Park season, continuing a 52-year tradition of free theater in Central Park. Since 1962, over five million people have enjoyed more than 150 free productions of Shakespeare and other classical works and musicals at the Delacorte Theater. Conceived by founder Joe Papp as a way to make great theater accessible to all, The Public's free Shakespeare in the Park continues to be the bedrock of the Company's mission to increase access and engage the community. This summer, free Shakespeare in the Park will feature a comedy and a tragedy with Jack O'Brien directing MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING and Daniel Sullivan directing KING LEAR.

MCC THEATER as announced the preliminary lineup of performers for the annual Miscast 2014 gala, which will feature one-night-only performances from stars of stage and screen including Zosia Mamet, Christian Borle, Anika Noni Rose, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Steven Pasquale, Jesse L. Martin, Sasha Allen, Keala Settle, and Nicole Parker. Phil Reno will serve as Musical Director. Additional performers will be announced at a later date. Miscast 2014 will be held Monday, March 31, 2014 at The Hammerstein Ballroom (311 West 34th Street). The evening will begin with a cocktail hour and gala dinner followed by the Miscast performances. Show-only tickets are now on sale at www.mcctheater.org.

Warner Archive Collection announces new releases!

Ted Sod: I was wondering if you'd tell us where you were born, where you were educated and when you decided to become a playwright.

Cherry Lane Theatre, under the direction of Angelina Fiodellisi, presents the world premiere of Fist In Mouth, a new play written and directed by Dan Hasse.

Al Hirschfeld, whose legendary quill pen captured virtually every well-known performing artist of the 20th century, is celebrated by Henri Bendel with the 'Hirschfeld Spectacular.' It all takes place at Henri Bendel, 712 Fifth Avenue at 56th Street, where visitors can see the main window of the Henri Bendel flagship store transformed into the resplendent formal dining room of a classic New York townhouse in the midst of a holiday party.

Building on the success of its two previous cycles, Sony Pictures Television will begin selling a third cycle of the hit comedy series THE KING OF QUEENS, it was announced today by John Weiser, President of U.S. Distribution, Sony Pictures Television.

HBO Documentary Films presents a weekly series this fall, debuting provocative new specials every Monday, now through December 9. Featuring recently unearthed photographs, rediscovered performance footage and the words of entertainers and historians, WHOOPI GOLDBERG PRESENTS MOMS MABLEY includes interviews with Eddie Murphy, Joan Rivers, Sidney Poitier, Kathy Griffin, Harry Belafonte, Bill Cosby, Quincy Jones, Arsenio Hall, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, who emphasize how Mabley paved the way for female comedians and performers everywhere in provocative stand-up routines that challenged racism, sexism and ageism. WHOOPI GOLDBERG PRESENTS MOMS MABLEY debuts as part of the HBO Documentary Films Fall Series on Monday, November 18. Watch a promo for the doc below!

Often referred to as 'the funniest woman in the world,' the iconic African-American standup comedienne Jackie 'Moms' Mabley broke racial and sexual boundaries and continues to inspire comedians to this day. In her directorial film debut, a modern-day comedy favorite pays homage to this pioneering talent when WHOOPI GOLDBERG PRESENTS MOMS MABLEY debuts MONDAY, NOV. 18 (9:00-10:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Tune in this Wednesday, October 16th, 2013 at 12:35 PM (ET) to join in the celebration with 'Mr. Showbusiness' on Jimmy Ferraro's THEATRE CHAT AND THIS 'N THAT, broadcasting live on WWJB -- regionally and nationally on the world wide web: www.wwjb.com/pages/4395150.php. This week's guest is legendary Broadway, television, film star, and author Kaye Ballard.

Stage and screen star Whoopi Goldberg was on hand at the BIG FISH opening last night, and while she was there she chatted with Richard Ridge about her upcoming projects. When asked if she would be returning to Broadway soon, she responded: 'Eventually I think I probably will, but it's gonna be a little while. I've just finished a documentary on Moms Mabley, so that would probably be the next thing that I would do on a stage.'

Hot off yet another successful, critically acclaimed cross country touring season of'Sandy Hackett's Rat Pack Show,' producer and star Sandy Hackett is in high creative gear preparing to star in another show dear to his heart - 'My Buddy,' an intimate show about his father, legendary comedian and actor Buddy Hackett.

Angelina Fiordellisi, Founding Artistic Director of Cherry Lane Theatre, announces the following productions for the company's 2013-14 season:

Before Marv Albert and Bob Costas, there was Marty Glickman. A gifted Jewish-American athlete who was denied the chance to represent the U.S. at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he went on to become one of the most revered and influential sportscasters in history, pioneering many of the techniques, phrases and programming innovations that are commonplace in sports reporting today. Chronicling his remarkable life and career, GLICKMAN debuts MONDAY, AUG. 26 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

If ever a show has become part of the 'fabric' of New York and pop culture, it is the Tony Award-winning musical AVENUE Q -- with its colorful cast of humans and puppets. The ground-breaking musical hits a new landmark this summer when it celebrates its 10th anniversary on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 with a 'Thank Q' to fans for the decade of laughter and love: starting at 10 a.m., the first 100 patrons in line can purchase $10 seats (cash only) to the special 7 p.m. 10th anniversary performance at New World Stages (340 W. 50 St.), where AVENUE Q has performed for the past four years following its triumphant six-year run on Broadway.

If ever a show has become part of the 'fabric' of New York and pop culture, it is the Tony Award-winning musical AVENUE Q -- with its colorful cast of humans and puppets. The ground-breaking musical hits a new landmark this summer when it celebrates its 10th anniversary on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 with a 'Thank Q' to fans for the decade of laughter and love: starting at 10 a.m., the first 100 patrons in line can purchase $10 seats (cash only) to the special 7 p.m. 10th anniversary performance at New World Stages (340 W. 50 St.), where AVENUE Q has performed for the past four years following its triumphant six-year run on Broadway.

Why are there so many Jewish comedians? When Comedy Went to School answers this question with an entertaining portrait of this country's greatest generation of comics - the generation that includes the likes of Jerry Lewis, Sid Caesar, Jackie Mason, Mort Sahl, and Jerry Stiller, all of whom make appearances in the film, telling jokes and telling their stories.