John Guare News

Starry Night Entertainment has announced that performances of the New York premiere of White People, written by J. T. Rogers and directed by Gus Reyes, will begin Wednesday, January 28, at 8pm, at the Atlantic Stage 2, 330 West 16 Street. The opening night is Tuesday, February 3, at 8pm.

NahNotOutsideMyHouse! Productions Inc. in association with Shortened Attention Span Theater and Producer Al Messina is proud to announce the World Premiere Staged Reading of Charles Messina's new play A Room of My Own at the The Players Theatre Main Stage. A Room of My Own is a comedy set in the late 1970s and revolves around one wacky Italian-American family living in a small tenement apartment in Greenwich Village. Headed by a conniving, thieving matriarch, a gambling addicted patriarch, and an uncle with a secret that everyone knows, The Morelli Clan of Thompson Street is one outrageous bunch. Their struggles with debt, poverty and a Nun who they welcome into their lives is seen through the eyes of little 10 year old Carlo Morelli, a would-be writer, whose vocabulary consist mainly of four letter words. Playwright/Director Messina is best known for his work on the critically acclaimed, off-Broadway hits Mercury, about the life of rocker Freddie Mercury, and Cirque Jacqueline, about former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. He is also directing Richard Vetere's musical Be My Love, about the life of legendary tenor Mario Lanza, which is being produced by Sonny Grosso and Phil Ramone. The cast of A Room of My Own features Tony ?n Tina's Wedding stars Johnny Tammaro, Gina Ferranti, Chris DePierro, Gina Musumeci, and Carlo Rivieccio. Rounding out the stellar cast is Monica Arazi, who was last seen in John Guare's Cop Out and Talking Dog at The Gene Frankel Theater, and young John Barbieri, who starred in Messina's play Klepto last season at The Players.

THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE, a world premiere production of nine plays by Horton Foote that have been newly adapted by the Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award-winning playwright into a three-part theatrical event, will be co-produced in the 2009-2010 season by Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) and Hartford Stage (Michael Wilson, Artistic Director; Michael Stotts, Managing Director). The productions will be directed by Michael Wilson and performed at Hartford Stage from August 27, 2009 to October 17, 2009 and at Signature Theatre Company, from October 29, 2009 to April 11, 2010. Each part of the three part cycle will be staged individually as well as in repertory and one-day marathons. Audiences may choose to see the individual parts or the entire trilogy. THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE encompasses nine newly adapted plays by Mr. Foote, together for the first time. Mr. Foote, 92, is actively adapting each of the full-length plays, some previously produced and others never before seen, into one epic cycle.

Academy and Tony Award-winning actor Joel Grey returns to television in a new episode of ABC's 'Private Practice.' Grey, whose recent TV credits include 'Brothers & Sisters' and a critically acclaimed appearance on FOX's hit drama 'House,' will guest star as Dr. Alexander Ball in the January 22, 2009 episode titled 'Nothing to Fear.' In 'Nothing to Fear,' Violet finds out she's pregnant but isn't sure who the father is; Addison struggles with her own guilty conscience after her kiss with Wyatt; and Sam and Pete clash when an old friend and colleague (Grey) asks them to help him die. Meanwhile Charlotte proposes marriage to Cooper. 'Private Practice' stars Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery, Tim Daly as Dr. Pete Wilder, Audra McDonald as Dr. Naomi Bennett, Paul Adelstein as Dr. Cooper Freedman, KaDee Strickland as Dr. Charlotte King, Chris Lowell as William Dell Parker, with Taye Diggs as Dr. Sam Bennett and Amy Brenneman as Dr. Violet Turner. 'Private Practice' airs on ABC-TV from 10:01 - 11:00 p.m. For more information, visit http://abc.go.com/primetime/privatepractice.

The Broadway company of CHICAGO is pleased to announce additional offerings for its expanded 'Talkback Tuesdays' program, the new series offering a post-show discussion and audience Q&A session with members of the Broadway company of the record-breaking hit musical. Designed to provide theatergoers with an exclusive, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of CHICAGO, the nlast 'Talkback Tuesdays' on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 offered a chat with Tony Award winner and the revival's original Amos Hart, Joel Grey. BroadwayWorld's cameras were there to capture the post show razzle dazzle! Tickets for performances are available by calling Telecharge.com at 212-239-6200. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Ambassador Theatre Box Office, located at 219 W. 49th St. Regular Box Office hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and Noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. Now celebrating twelve glorious years of girls, glitz and glamour on the Great White Way, the record-breaking smash hit musical CHICAGO is currently the eighth longest-running production in Broadway history, as well as Broadway's longest-running musical revival...and it shows no sign of ever slowing down!

Academy and Tony Award-winning actor Joel Grey returns to television in a new episode of ABC's 'Private Practice.' Grey, whose recent TV credits include 'Brothers & Sisters' and a critically acclaimed appearance on FOX's hit drama 'House,' will guest star as Dr. Alexander Ball in the January 22, 2009 episode titled 'Nothing to Fear.' In 'Nothing to Fear,' Violet finds out she's pregnant but isn't sure who the father is; Addison struggles with her own guilty conscience after her kiss with Wyatt; and Sam and Pete clash when an old friend and colleague (Grey) asks them to help him die. Meanwhile Charlotte proposes marriage to Cooper.

Tony Award-winners Nathan Lane and Anika Noni Rose are set to participant in The Vineyard Theatre's star-studded tribute to Tony Award-winning actress Marian Seldes and The Union Square Partnership at the theatre's annual gala on Monday, February 9th at 6 PM at The Rainbow Room (30 Rockefeller Plaza, 65th floor) in Manhattan. The Gala, which will benefit the Vineyard Theatre, one of the nation's leading theatres devoted to producing new works, will include salutations to Ms. Seldes -- who originated her role in Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning play THREE TALL WOMEN in 1993 at The Vineyard -- and celebrate its theme of community spirit and neighborhood involvement by also honoring The Union Square Partnership. Nathan Lane, who will host the evening, starred opposite Ms. Seldes Off-Broadway in Terrence McNally's DEDICATION, OR THE STUFF OF DREAMS. Mr. Lane is best-known for his Tony Award-winning performances in THE PRODUCERS, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, and LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION!. Anika Noni Rose, who received an Obie Award for her work in the musical ELI'S COMIN' at The Vineyard, won a Tony Award for her performance in CAROLINE, OR CHANGE, and co-starred with Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Hudson in the film version of 'Dreamgirls,' is set to perform.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe presents the Pulitzer Prize-winning Six Degrees of Separation, by John Guare (The House of Blue Leaves, Landscape of the Body), directed by Trip Cullman, to run in the Old Globe Theatre January 10 - February 15 (press opening: Thursday, January 15 at 8pm). Broadway veteran Karen Ziemba, who will play 'Ouisa,' won the Tony for the musical Contact and was nominated for her work in Steel Pier, Never Gonna Dance and Curtains!.

Broadway's most talked about new musical and the biggest Tony Award?-winner in years is coming to the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis. Spring Awakening, the 8-time Tony Award? winning Broadway musical, will play a two-week engagement from February 10-22, 2009. Curtain times for the U.S. Bank Broadway Series presentation are Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 & 8 p.m.; Sunday, February 15 at 2 & 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, February 22 at 2 p.m. There is also a weekday matinee on Thursday, February 19 at 1 p.m.

First Light Festival 2009 is a presentation of new works commissioned by the EST/Sloan Project, an initiative designed to stimulate artists to create credible and compelling work exploring the worlds of science and technology and to challenge the existing stereotypes of scientists and engineers in the popular imagination. Now in its eleventh season, The Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project (Graeme Gillis, Program Director) program has received proposals now numbering in the hundreds, and EST/Sloan has commissioned some two hundred projects for development with grants ranging from $500 to $10,000. Each season the EST/Sloan Project commissions and develops new works, and presents the results, at various stages from first readings to fully mounted productions, in the FIRST LIGHT Festival.

Starry Night Entertainment has announced that performances of the New York premiere of White People, written by J. T. Rogers and directed by Gus Reyes, will begin Wednesday, January 28, at 8pm, at the Atlantic Stage 2, 330 West 16 Street. The opening night is Tuesday, February 3, at 8pm.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe presents the Pulitzer Prize-winning Six Degrees of Separation, by John Guare (The House of Blue Leaves, Landscape of the Body), directed by Trip Cullman, to run in the Old Globe Theatre January 10 - February 15 (press opening: Thursday, January 15 at 8pm). Broadway veteran Karen Ziemba, who will play 'Ouisa,' won the Tony for the musical Contact and was nominated for her work in Steel Pier, Never Gonna Dance and Curtains!.

Whats happening at THE OLD GLOBE from January - March, 2009, full season announced.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2008-09 season with John Guare's Rich & Famous, directed by John Rando (Urinetown, The Musical and Wedding Singer on Broadway) in its first major revival since its 1976 New York debut. From the ingenious mind of John Guare, who brought Six Degrees of Separation and The House of Blue Leaves to the American stage, this delicious dark comedy springs to life with twisted humor, rapid-fire dialogue, and outrageous plot twists. The revival script includes significant rewrites to the original text, as well as hilarious songs freshly scribed by Guare himself. In Rich and Famous, playwright Bing Ringling yearns to savor the sweet taste of celebrity, and he's hoping play number 844 will be his lucky break. But on opening night, he slips into a nightmarish phantasmagoria that shows him just how wrong things can go.

The SF Playhouse (Bill English, Artistic Director; Susi Damilano, Producing Director) is pleased to announce casting for its third show of the 2008-09 season, a long overdue revival of Landscape of the Body by John Guare.

Whats happening at THE OLD GLOBE from January - March, 2009, full season announced.

Babel Theatre Project (Geordie Broadwater, Artistic Director, Jeremy Blocker, Producing Director) is excited to present readings by six of New York's finest up-and-coming playwrights in their festival of readings entitled GROUNDWORK The readings will take place at the 78th Street Theatre Lab, Saturday, January 24th and Sunday, January 25th beginning at 1PM.

James Naughton and Joanne Woodward Join Cast of "A Holiday Garland"at Westport Country Playhouse. Two-time Tony Award winner James Naughton and Academy Award winner Joanne Woodward have joined the cast of "A Holiday Garland" at Westport Country Playhouse (Joanne Woodward and Anne Keefe, artistic directors, Jodi Schoenbrun Carter, managing director). Staged December 13 - 21, the production will feature holiday songs, funny stories, poignant readings, jokes and poems compiled to celebrate the season and enchant the family. Performances are Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 4 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2008-09 season Koret Visiting Artist Series with a conversation with leading American playwright John Guare, author of Six Degrees of Separation, The House of Blue Leaves and A.C.T.'s upcoming Rich & Famous. Guare will talk about four decades in the American theater and his new version of Rich and Famous that includes significant rewrites in preparation for the show's first revival since 1976. A.C.T. Dramaturg and Director of Humanities Michael Paller moderates. The conversation will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience. The event is free and open to the public and takes place on the A.C.T. stage on Saturday, December 13, 2009, at 10 a.m. Reservations are required and can be made by visiting www.act-sf.org/koret or by calling 415.749.2ACT.

Two-time Tony Award winner James Naughton and Academy Award winner Joanne Woodward have joined the cast of ?A Holiday Garland? at Westport Country Playhouse (Joanne Woodward and Anne Keefe, artistic directors, Jodi Schoenbrun Carter, managing director). Staged December 13 ? 21, the production will feature holiday songs, funny stories, poignant readings, jokes and poems compiled to celebrate the season and enchant the family. Performances are Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 4 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m.