Jessica Blank News

Awards were handed out for 14 categories and 2 special awards are announced by the Off-Broadway League for the Lucille Lortel Awards recognizing Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway.

Awards were handed out for 14 categories and 2 special awards are announced by the Off-Broadway League for the Lucille Lortel Awards recognizing Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway. This year?s ceremony benefits The Actors Fund. A list of nominees follows below.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo have announced plans for NYTW's 2009-10 season. One of New York's leading non-profit theatre companies, NYTW will present a 27th season that includes work by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, Rebecca Gilman, and Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons. A fourth production, scheduled for spring 2010, will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Fire Dept Artistic Directors Erica Gould and Audrey Rosenberg presented The Minotaur, the first installment of the company's 2009 Salon Series, the cast for the performance included Mario Cantone, Jill Clayburgh, Phoebe Neidhardt, Ethan Peck, Campbell Scott, and Jeremy Webb. The Minotaur, written by Anna Ziegler; directed by Erica Gould; and produced by Audrey Rosenberg, took place Friday, March 27 at 7:30pm at the historic Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park South at 20th Street.

The Fire Dept Artistic Directors Erica Gould and Audrey Rosenberg have announced that the return of the company's Salon Series-staged readings of new plays, presented in non-proscenium environments that encourage an intimacy between audience and performer, followed by a discussion with the artists and noted guest speakers whose life experiences speak to the issues raised by the material-will begin with The Minotaur by Anna Ziegler (BFF), directed by Erica Gould (Neil LaBute's autobahn and Stand Up), and starring Mario Cantone (Sex and the City), Jill Clayburgh (Dirty Sexy Money, An Unmarried Woman), Campbell Scott (Dying Young, Singles, Longtime Companion), and Jeremy Webb (The Glorious Ones, Kander & Ebb's The Visit) on Friday, March 27 at 7 pm at the historic Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park South at 20th Street. The event will be produced by Audrey Rosenberg (Infamous with Sandra Bullock, upcoming documentary about Barack Obama).

In this new American era of hope, fresh with the promise of new beginnings, The Actors' Gang is pleased to present Our Town by Thornton Wilder. Wilder's evocative play with its timeless themes of love and loss opens on Saturday, April 25 with performances continuing through May 30. Low-priced previews begin April 18.

The Fire Dept Artistic Directors Erica Gould and Audrey Rosenberg have announced that the cast for The Minotaur, the first installment of the company's 2009 Salon Series, will be Mario Cantone, Jill Clayburgh, Phoebe Neidhardt, Ethan Peck, Campbell Scott, and Jeremy Webb.

The Fire Dept Artistic Directors Erica Gould and Audrey Rosenberg have announced that the return of the company's Salon Series-staged readings of new plays, presented in non-proscenium environments that encourage an intimacy between audience and performer, followed by a discussion with the artists and noted guest speakers whose life experiences speak to the issues raised by the material-will begin with The Minotaur by Anna Ziegler (BFF), directed by Erica Gould (Neil LaBute's autobahn and Stand Up), and starring Mario Cantone (Sex and the City), Jill Clayburgh (Dirty Sexy Money, An Unmarried Woman), Campbell Scott (Dying Young, Singles, Longtime Companion), and Jeremy Webb (The Glorious Ones, Kander & Ebb's The Visit) on Friday, March 27 at 7 pm at the historic Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park South at 20th Street. The event will be produced by Audrey Rosenberg (Infamous with Sandra Bullock, upcoming documentary about Barack Obama).

On May 17th, 1968, two Catholic priests, and seven Catholic activists including a nurse, a nun, an artist and four others all walked into the selective service office Local Board 33, located in the Knights of Columbus building in Catonsville, Maryland, grabbed hundreds of 1-A draft files and burned them with homemade napalm in protest against U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The publicity and news coverage from the ensuing trial was instrumental in galvanizing the American anti-war movement. The Actors' Gang presents The Trial of the Catonsville Nine, Daniel Berrigan's free-verse dramatization based on the actual records of the trial in which he and eight other defendants were convicted. The Trial of the Catonsville Nine opens on Saturday, February 14 with performances continuing through March 21. Low-priced previews begin February 5.

LIBERTY CITY will make its Miami premiere on the crest of its New York success where Thompson was nominated for Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance. Variety, the 'bible' of show business, welcomed LIBERTY CITY as an 'exceptional performance with scorching insight on how history both frees and chains us at the same time.'

As composer, Hamlisch has won virtually every major entertainment award that exists: three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globe awards; his groundbreaking show, A Chorus Line, received the Pulitzer Prize. He is the composer of more than forty motion picture scores including his Oscar-winning score and song for The Way We Were and his adaptation of Scott Joplin's music for The Sting, for which he received a third Oscar.

On May 17th, 1968, two Catholic priests, and seven Catholic activists including a nurse, a nun, an artist and four others all walked into the selective service office Local Board 33, located in the Knights of Columbus building in Catonsville, Maryland, grabbed hundreds of 1-A draft files and burned them with homemade napalm in protest against U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The publicity and news coverage from the ensuing trial was instrumental in galvanizing the American anti-war movement. The Actors' Gang presents The Trial of the Catonsville Nine, Daniel Berrigan's free-verse dramatization based on the actual records of the trial in which he and eight other defendants were convicted. The Trial of the Catonsville Nine opens on Saturday, February 14 with performances continuing through March 21. Low-priced previews begin February 5.

The Actors' Gang puts the 'X' in Xmas with Aah! Scrooge Must Die!, a rambunctious and very raunchy retelling of Dickens' beloved classic tale. Leave the kids at home - this one is uproariously NC-17. Performances take place Saturday, December 6 through January 10 at The Actors' Gang in the Ivy Substation at 9070 Venice Blvd. in downtown Culver City.

The Actors' Gang puts the 'X' in Xmas with Aah! Scrooge Must Die!, a rambunctious and very raunchy retelling of Dickens' beloved classic tale. Leave the kids at home - this one is uproariously NC-17. Performances take place Saturday, December 6 through January 10 at The Actors' Gang in the Ivy Substation at 9070 Venice Blvd. in downtown Culver City.

The League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers presented the 23rd Annual Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway on Monday night, May 5, 2008.

A cocktail reception to congratulate all of the nominees was held on April 21st at The Penthouse at American Airlines Theatre (227 West 42nd Street).

NEW THIS WEEK: Galas for FPCT and Spotlighters! Audition Notices! A new discount! More!

THE LEAGUE OF OFF-BROADWAY THEATRES AND PRODUCERS today announced the nominations for THE 23rd ANNUAL LUCILLE LORTEL AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT OFF-BROADWAY, which will be presented on Monday, May 5th at the Union Square Theatre (100 East 17th Street).

The final performance of The Fire Dept Theatre Company's At War: American Playwrights Respond to Iraq is Monday, February 4 at The Bleeker Street Theatre, with special guests, Bebe Neuwirth, Bobby Cannavale, Denis O'Hare and more.

The Fire Dept will present an expanded and updated version of its acclaimed At War: American Playwrights Respond to Iraq, an evening of alternately moving, haunting, and funny material by noted and emerging American playwrights, woven together to present a kaleidoscope of views on the war. Featuring a rotating repertory of celebrity hosts and guest performers including Bebe Neuwirth, Josh Hamilton, Bobby Cannavale, Derek Phillips, Daniel Sunjata and Fire Dept company members David Strathairn, Janeane Garofalo, Gloria Reuben and Tony Award winner Denis O'Hare.