Joan Allen News

Today's Theater Stories features the John Golden Theatre! Learn about the shows to have graced the stage of the theatre including, The Normal Heart, A Doll's House, Part 2, Eclipsed, Slave Play, and many more!

Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley announced today that stage and screen icon Annette Bening will return to the role that earned her her first Tony nomination - Holly Dancer in Coastal Disturbances - LIVE on 'Plays In The House.'

Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley announced today that 'Stars In The House's' 'Plays In The House' series will feature The Smell of the Kill by Michele Lowe LIVE on Sunday, August 30 at 2 PM ET in support of The Actors Fund.

Stars in the House continues today (2pm) with Plays In The House. Today, enjoy STICK FLY, by Lydia R. Diamond. Starring Jelani Alladin, Caroline Innerbichler, Keith Randolph Smith, Tiffany Rachelle Stewart, Daniel J. Watts and Renika Williams.  DIRECTOR: Dell Howlett.  ASSISTANT DIRECTOR & STAGE MANAGER: Kayla Coleman.  Live music by Crystal Monee Hall.  Hosted by Antoine Smith.

Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley announced today that Dell Howlett will direct a reading of Lydia R. Diamond's 'Stick Fly' on Saturday, August 1st at 2 PM ET as part of 'Stars In The House's' 'Plays In The House' series.

Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley announced today that Charles Busch will reprise his iconic performance as Angela Arden in a reading of his classic comedy 'Die, Mommie, Die!' on Wednesday, July 1st at 2 PM ET as part of 'Stars In The House's' 'Plays In The House' series.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company replaced its 2020 Gala with a live online event, Pants Optional: A Steppenwolf Soirée, celebrating the power of theatre and raising vital funds to keep it alive during a time of necessary social-distancing.

'Stars In The House' will expand its popular 'Plays In The House' series with 'Plays In The House Jr.'  The series kicks off with Andrew Barth Feldman and Samantha Williams in 'I And You.'

Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley announced today that as part of 'Stars In The House's' 'Plays In The House' series, Leslie Uggams will star as Madame Arcati in a reading of BLITHE SPIRIT, presented in support of The Actors Fund with special permission from the Noël Coward Foundation.

Steppenwolf's artistic team and ensemble have announced three new virtual projects that the company will be sharing exclusively with Members.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company is replacing its 2020 Gala with a special online event, Pants Optional: A Steppenwolf Soirée, celebrating the power of theatre and raising vital funds to keep it alive during a time of necessary social-distancing.

The Actors Fund announced today that SiriusXM Broadway host Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley, will also produce and host Plays in the House as part of its weekly lineup of Stars in the House, a daily online show at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. ET.

Stars in The House continues today (2pm) with the original cast of The Heidi Chronicles: Joan Allen, Peter Friedman, Boyd Gaines, Ellen Parker, Joanne Camp, Anne Lange, Drew McVety, and Cynthia Nixon; and tonight (8pm) with a Frasier reunion: Kelsey Grammer, Peri Gilpin, David Hyde Pierce, Jane Leeves, Dan Butler.

Stars in The House continues tomorrow with the original Broadway cast of Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles.

'We close things out with a look at the 48th production of City Center's famed Encore's, the glorious musical Finian's Rainbow, which starred Kate Baldwin, Cheyenne Jackson, Jim Norton and Terri White. It was directed and choreographed by Warren Carlyle. Kate told me, 'I get to sing the most beautiful songs. I think Burton Lane was a master of melody.' Cheyenne said he knew the songs but didn't really know the story, 'It's very, very current. I was actually surprised. The main crux of the plot is a bigoted white man in power from the south who is being replaced by an open-minded black man. Hmmm. So, it's very current.''

'What I loved the most about this episode', says BroadwayWorld's own Richard Ridge, 'was following the journey of the 2009 musical The Story of My Life. This episode of Broadway Rewind looks at the ill- fated musical, which featured two wonderful performances by Will Chase and Malcolm Gets, but we start off at a rehearsal for Michael Jacobs play 'Impressionism' directed by Jack O'Brien. It welcomed back to Broadway, Tony Award winners Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen along with Marsha Mason, Aaron Lazar and Andre de Shields. Director Jack O'Brien told me why he had to do this play, 'It's about us. We haven't had a really witty, wise, romantic comedy in New York, in a long time and I've got this gorgeous cast.' Joan Allen said,

As part of Virtual Broadway, Aaron Lazar filmed himself singing (Ya Got) Trouble from The Music Man!

Steppenwolf Theatre Company will celebrate 44 years of trailblazing theatre and with an unforgettable evening inspired by the art and artists of our past, present and future. This phenomenal event will be emceed by esteemed ensemble member Gary Cole (Veep, The West Wing, Office Space), who will also tread the Steppenwolf boards for the first time in 20 years in this summer's production of Catch as Catch Can. A dynamic collaboration between artists and board members, Gala 2020 co-chairs include ensemble member Joan Allen; trustee Susan Berghoef; ensemble members Gary Cole and Sandra Marquez; and trustee Anne Phillips and Don Phillips. The Gala will take place at a new location, the stunningly renovated Old Post Office (415 S. Canal St., Chicago).

In November 1940, days after the Nazis sealed 450,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, a secret band of journalists, scholars and community leaders decided to fight back. Led by historian Emanuel Ringelblum and known by the code name Oyneg Shabes, this clandestine group vowed to defeat Nazi lies and propaganda not with guns or fists, but with pen and paper. Now, for the first time, their story is told in the documentary WHO WILL WRITE OUR HISTORY. Featuring the voices of three-time Academy Award® nominee Joan Allen and Academy Award® winner Adrian Brody, WHO WILL WRITE OUR HISTORY mixes the writings of the Oyneg Shabes archive with new interviews, rarely seen footage and stunning dramatizations (shot on location in Lodz and Warsaw, Poland) to transport audiences inside the Ghetto and the lives of these courageous resistance fighters. 

Deadline reports that Sung Kang has joined 'Lisey's Story,' a series at Apple Plus.