John Patrick Shanley News

Westport Country Playhouse, closed since March 2020 due to the pandemic, will kick-off its 90th anniversary year by bringing patrons back into its Jason Robards Theatre for a one-night-only virtual production of the new comedy, “Tiny House,” projected on a big screen mounted above the stage.

Learn about each of the new trustees, who bring the total up to 30, led by Ania Czekaj-Farber of Westport, chair.

Ninety years ago on June 29, 1931, Westport Country Playhouse opened its doors to its very first stage production. This year, on the exact same day, the Playhouse will mark its 90th anniversary with the opening of the virtual production, “Tiny House,” written by Michael Gotch, and directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director. The regional premiere of the timely comedy about escaping urban life in an isolated mountain paradise will stream on demand from Tuesday, June 29 through Sunday, July 18.

It was just announced by the Pulitzer Prize organization that Katori Hall's The Hot Wing King has officially won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This year's finalists included Circle Jerk by Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley and Stew by Zora Howard.

Westport Country Playhouse announces its 2021 Joanne Woodward Internship class of three theater career aspirants who will enhance their professional skills and gain on-the-job experience working directly with Playhouse senior staff from June through mid-August.

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre will present a special virtual event: NuWorks 2021, the annual experimental series of self-created work from innovative artists exploring an eclectic range of genres and techniques using poetry, text, dance and music.

Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand play reading of the comedy, “The Savannah Disputation,” filmed on the Playhouse stage and broadcast virtually, premiering Monday, June 14, at 7 p.m., and streaming on-demand from Tuesday, June 15 through Sunday, June 20.

Westport Country Playhouse’s New Works Initiative begins its 2021 season with a virtual workshop of ““The Immaculate Perfection of F---ing and Bleeding in the Gender Neutral Bathroom of an Upper-Middle Class High School,” written by Daniel Halpern and directed by Margot Bordelon, on Wednesday and Thursday, May 26 and 27.

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY have announced the Twelfth Annual Summer Playwrights Festival returns to its online format making new plays more accessible than ever.

Westport Country Playhouse has been approved for a $10,000 Grant for Arts Projects Award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support the musical, “Ain't Misbehavin,” set to take the Playhouse stage during the 2022 Season, co-produced with Barrington Stage.

Westport Country Playhouse will open its all-virtual 2021 production season with the regional premiere of “Tiny House,” a timely new comedy about downsizing, going green, escaping urban life, and fresh starts, written by Michael Gotch, and directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director.

It was inevitable, perhaps, that post-truth politics would seep into 21st century absurdist theater. One sunny example is 'Occasionally Nothing' by Natalie Menna, which takes us to an upsetting time-to-come when something can become a profound, obvious nothing. Life becomes the time in between the sometimes which sometimes happen.

Citadel Theatre Company will return to live, in-person, indoor performances in September with a season of four productions – three plays plus the company's traditional holiday musical - according to Artistic Director Scott Phelps.

The JOCUNDA FESTIVAL will present MY MOMMA THE SUPER ACTION HERO by Kenthedo Robinson and directed by Van Dirk Fisher, on Sunday, May 9, 2021 at 8PM ET and 5PM PT on Zoom. A mother goes as far as putting her son's life in danger to inspire him. Can she save him? Can she be his Super Action Hero?

Single tickets for Westport Country Playhouse’s all-virtual 2021 Season will go on sale, beginning Tuesday, May 4, at noon EDT.  The Playhouse’s 2021 Season, from June 15 through December 19, has been reconceived as a diverse entertainment offering that can excel in a virtual environment.

AstonRep Theatre Company will present a live virtual discussion about John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Doubt: A Parable on Wednesday, April 14 at 7 pm CST.

Sean Cercone (CEO/President, Broadway Licensing) and David J. Moore (Acting President, Dramatists Play Service, Inc.) jointly announced today that their respective companies have entered into a landmark agreement under which Dramatists Play Service, Inc. has been acquired by Broadway Licensing.

Westport Country Playhouse has announced an all-virtual 2021 Season, featuring two productions- a new comedy and a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning drama; two archival productions recorded in HD video; and four Script in Hand play readings.  

The 35th annual Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival will offer two consecutive weekends of virtual programming in March 2021: a virtual Writer’s Retreat followed by a weekend of traditional events presented online. The Writer’s Retreat, March 19-21, will include online writing workshops, author events, and a writing marathon. 

As the lights descend on the stage set on the inside of the Coral Gables Police precinct, not a sound is heard. With bated breath, I and the sold-out opening night audience awaited what was to be on display in a matter of seconds. At rising we see Kendra a woman alone in the police station, only the sound of rolling thunder is heard. Kendra anxious and silent, paces and sends a text message, lost in thought, lost in panic, in a world all too close to home in this present timeline we, like Kendra, fear the worst. Similarly, over the past two years, books have been written, protests have been done, all in support of one initiative, and Christopher Demos-Browns’ script bears witness to the present struggle.