Jim Simpson News

The Flea Theater has announced the newest Dance @ The Flea series, featuring four choreographers for three nights only. Molissa Fenley, Amanda Loulaki, Nina Winthrop, and Roxanne Steinberg will be presenting original works October 9-11 at 7pm.

Playwright A. R. ("Pete") Gurney, one of the most-produced playwrights in the history of Westport Country Playhouse, was celebrated for his body of work at the theater's one-night-only fundraising gala, "A Perfect Party: A Gala Evening Honoring A. R. Gurney," on Monday, September 22. Fourteen productions of Gurney's plays have been staged at Westport Country Playhouse, including one world premiere. Scroll down for photos!

Playwright A. R. ('Pete') Gurney, who has had 14 of his plays staged at Westport Country Playhouse, will be celebrated at the Playhouse's annual fundraiser, 'A Perfect Party: A Gala Evening Honoring A. R. Gurney,' tonight, September 22. Westport's Arthur Levitt, a valued trustee and longtime supporter of the Playhouse, will also be honored with the Playhouse Leadership Award.

Due to critical acclaim and popular demand, The Flea Theater announces the extension of the World Premiere of Kim Davies' SMOKE, directed by Flea Resident Director Tom Costello. Extension performances will run October 9- November 9.

Slightly Altered States Theater Company presents the World Premiere of MR. LANDING TAKES A FALL, an absurdist comedy by Sari Caine, directed by Sherri Eden Barber. Inspired by Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the play was a PlayPenn 2013 semi-finalist and short-listed for both the 24/7 (UK) and the Ronald Duncan Award (UK). Previews begin tonight, September 12 at The Flea Theater with opening slated for Monday, September 22.

Billy Magnussen joins his previously announced chums - Kristine Nielsen, David Hyde Pierce and Sigourney Weaver - for a reading of Noel Coward's A SONG AT TWILIGHT. The VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE friends are reuniting for a benefit performance to kick off the 2014/2015 season of The Flea Theater. The performance will take place on Monday, September 15. A cocktail reception begins at 6 pm followed by the reading at 7pm and then a talkback with the actors. Flea Artistic Director, Jim Simpson directs the event at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center (199 Chambers St).

Beyond the bright lights of Broadway - the electric signage that led to its moniker as 'The Great White Way' -- exists another world: Off-Broadway, a varied and rich wellspring of creativity and innovation.

Kathryn Rossetter, who appeared on Broadway opposite Dustin Hoffman in Death Of a Salesman and is currently head of the MFA Acting Program at the New School for Drama, will join Adam LeFevre (Broadway's Footloose, Mamma Mia, Guys and Dolls) in the World Premiere of MR. LANDING TAKES A FALL, an absurdist comedy by Sari Caine. Inspired by Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the play was a PlayPenn 2013 semi-finalist and short-listed for both the 24/7 (UK) and the Ronald Duncan Award (UK). It is produced by Slightly Altered States Theater Company and directed by Sherri Eden Barber. Previews begin September 12 at The Flea Theater with opening slated for Monday, September 22.

The Flea Theater will present the World Premiere of Kim Davies' SMOKE, directed by Flea Resident Director Tom Costello (The Wundelsteipen) and featuring members of The Bats, the resident acting company at The Flea. Previews begin tonight, August 22 with opening slated for September 7. Says Producing Director Carol Ostrow, 'where 50 Shades of Grey dances on the surface of BDSM, Smoke cuts to the core.

Melissa Schlachtmeyer, a costume designer for theater, dance and opera, passed away Wednesday August 6th while traveling in Florence, Italy. She was 41. The cause was complications from breast cancer.

The Flea Theater will present the World Premiere of Kim Davies' SMOKE, directed by Flea Resident Director Tom Costello (The Wundelsteipen) and featuring members of The Bats, the resident acting company at The Flea. Previews begin August 22 with opening slated for September 7. Says Producing Director Carol Ostrow, "where 50 Shades of Grey dances on the surface of BDSM, Smoke cuts to the core.

#serials@theflea is a raucous late night play competition featuring The Bats and some of NYC's hottest young playwrights and directors. This event, which runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 11pm*, includes 1 FREE beer with the purchase of a ticket. All tickets are only $12.

Slightly Altered States Theater Company presents the World Premiere of MR. LANDING TAKES A FALL, an absurdist comedy by Sari Caine, directed by Sherri Eden Barber. Inspired by Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the play was a PlayPenn 2013 semi-finalist and short-listed for both the 24/7 (UK) and the Ronald Duncan Award (UK). Previews begin September 12 at The Flea Theater with opening slated for Monday, September 22.

The Flea Theater previously announced the extension of the World Premiere of THE MYSTERIES - a radical retelling of the Bible.

James Joyce's Dubliners, once considered scandalous, sacrilegious - and, for a decade, unpublishable -- this year celebrates its 100th year in print. The stories in the collection peer into the lives of everyday Irishmen and women - the poor, the ordinary, working girls and wandering men -- portraying otherwise unremarkable people in some of the most luminous prose in the English language, recording their hopes and dreams, triumphs and tragedies in all their ragged humanity.

Playwright A. R. ("Pete") Gurney, who has had 14 of his plays staged at Westport Country Playhouse, will be celebrated at the Playhouse's annual fundraiser, "A Perfect Party: A Gala Evening Honoring A. R. Gurney," on the evening of Monday, September 22. Westport's Arthur Levitt, a valued trustee and longtime supporter of the Playhouse, will also be honored with the Playhouse Leadership Award.

The Flea Theater has announced the addition of two key members to the small but mighty Flea team. Joshua Cohen comes to The Flea following seven years at Roundabout Theatre Company, where he rose to the position of Manager for Financial Reporting.

James Joyce's Dubliners, once considered scandalous, sacrilegious - and, for a decade, unpublishable -- this year celebrates its 100th year in print. The stories in the collection peer into the lives of everyday Irishmen and women - the poor, the ordinary, working girls and wandering men -- portraying otherwise unremarkable people in some of the most luminous prose in the English language, recording their hopes and dreams, triumphs and tragedies in all their ragged humanity.

The world premiere of 17 Orchard Point, a new play starring Tony Award-winner Michele Pawk, began performances on Friday, April 25 for a limited four-week Off-Broadway run at The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues) through today, May 24.

The Flea Theater has announced Stephen Lang's BEYOND GLORY. Lang brings the stories of eight Medal of Honor recipients to the stage in this exciting one-man show adapted from Larry Smith's bestselling book, Beyond Glory. As a tribute to fallen soldiers, Lang has performed the show on military bases and on the floor of Congress as well as on Broadway. In the fall of 2013 filming began on a documentary Beyond Glory: Tour of Duty, following Lang as he toured the show throughout the Heartland and to the front lines in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Now he brings the show and the film crew to The Flea, in order to document the play in its entirety.