John Steinbeck News

Tony Award-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike will feature Resident Actor Jeffrey Bean as Vanya, Sharon Lockwood returning to the Alley as Sonia, Alley Artist Josie de Guzman returning as Masha, and Resident Actor Jay Sullivan as Spike. Rounding out the cast and making their Alley debuts are Rachael Holmes as Cassandra and Sarah Nealis as Nina. Jonathan Moscone, Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater, helms the production and returns after having directed the Alley's 2011 production of Amadeus.

Just yesterday the cast of OF MICE AND MEN gathered at Sardi's for the official portrait unveilings of for 2014 Tony Award, Drama Desk and Drama League nominee Chris O'Dowd, James Franco, Leighton Meester and Tony Award winner Jim Norton. BroadwayWorld was there for the special occasion and you can check out complete photo coverage below!

Word for Word presents '36 Stories by Sam Shepard' arranged for the stage and directed by Amy Kossow opening with a press night on Saturday May 24 8pm, running through June 22 (previews May 21-23) at Z Space's second venue, Z Below, at 470 Florida Street. Last year the Magic Theatre spearheaded a multi-theater celebration of Shepard's 70th birthday when they opened their season with Shepard's Pulitzer Prize-winning 'Buried Child.' Other companies participating in the celebration have been Crowded Fire, American Conservatory Theater in collaboration with Intersection for the Arts/Campo Santo and Word for Word.

The 80th Annual Drama League Awards Ceremony and Luncheon is being held this afternoon, May 16, at the Marriott Marquis Times Square, where winners will be announced for Distinguished Production of a Play, Distinguished Production of a Musical, Distinguished Revival of a Play, Distinguished Revival of a Musical, and the much coveted Distinguished Performance Award. This year's event, which began at noon, is hosted by Broadway veteran Jesse Tyler Ferguson. BroadwayWorld is updating the winners live! Check back in to find out who took home the big awards!

Geva Theatre Center's 2014 Fielding Studio Series concludes with the world premiere of Tinker to Evers to Chance by Mat Smart and directed by Sean Daniels. The production begins performances tonight, May 15 and runs in the Fielding Nextstage through June 1.

Geva Theatre Center's 2014 Fielding Studio Series concludes with the world premiere of Tinker to Evers to Chance by Mat Smart and directed by Sean Daniels. The production begins performances on May 15 and runs in the Fielding Nextstage through June 1.

Chris O'Dowd, currently starring in Broadway's 'Of Mice and Men' stopped by last night's LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS and talked about being nominated for a Tony, cheating Airbnb and photobombing Whoopi Goldberg.

Bay Street Theatre presented its Second Annual Steinbeck Festival in Sag Harbor on May 1-4, 2014, in conjunction with the annual celebration held by the National Steinbeck Center based in Salinas, California. Activities to honor John Steinbeck's contributions to our community featured events including thre days of films, a VIP waterfront cocktail party where guests enjoyed short boat excursions to view Steinbeck's home from the water, and the Second Annual 'Travels with Charley' Dog Walk, in partnership with the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation. Scroll down for photos from the festival!

Lenny Henry is due to return to the West Midlands to headline Birmingham Repertory Theatre's Autumn and Winter 2014 season. The Dudley-born comedian and actor will star in the stage premiere of Rudy's Rare Records from 4-20 September (press night Tue 9 September), his first role at the theatre.

The Kleban Foundation just announced that the 24th annual Kleban Prize for the most promising musical theatre lyricist has been awarded to Nathan Tysen and the 24th annual Kleban Prize for the most promising musical theatre librettist has been awarded to Arthur Perlman.The 2014 prizes will be presented on Monday, June 23, 2014, in a private ceremony (by invitation only) hosted by ASCAP and BMI.

Trinity Rep brings its 50th anniversary season to a close with Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind, directed by Brian Mertes in Trinity Rep's Dowling Theater from May 29-June 29, 2014, considered by many to be a modern masterpiece of American familial dysfunction. Brimming with enormous vitality and humor the play asks us to look deeper into the human heart and the destructive power of love. Two mid-western families are joined together by marriage and torn apart by a life-changing incident. "Sam Shepard is surely the only dramatist alive who could tell a story as sad and frightening as this one and make such a funny play of it without ever skimping on its emotional depth,' The New Yorker asserts. Tickets are on sale now at www.trinityrep.com, by calling (401) 351-4242, or at the theater's box office at 201 Washington St., Downtown Providence.

GREENWAY ARTS ALLIANCE, Artistic Directors, Whitney Weston and Pierson Blaetz present, as part of Greenway's Workshop Series, a Workshop Production of CARDBOARD CAPITAL, written by Gabriel Rivas Gomez, directed by Madeleine Dahm and produced by Ty Donaldson. CARDBOARD CAPITAL will open tonight, May 1 at 8pm for ten performances only through Sunday, May 18 at the Greenway Court Theatre, 544 North Fairfax Avenue in Hollywood.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for recent Tony Award-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Appearing in titles roles are Resident Actor Jeffrey Bean as Vanya, Sharon Lockwood returning to the Alley as Sonia, Alley Artist Josie de Guzman returning as Masha, and Resident Actor Jay Sullivan as Spike. Rounding out the cast and making their Alley debuts are Rachael Holmes as Cassandra and Sarah Nealis as Nina. Jonathan Moscone, Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater, helms the production and returns after having directed the Alley's 2011 production of Amadeus.

Geva Theatre Center's 2014 Fielding Studio Series concludes with the world premiere of Tinker to Evers to Chance by Mat Smart and directed by Sean Daniels. The production begins performances on May 15 and runs in the Fielding Nextstage through June 1.

LOS ANGELES, April 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ Critically-acclaimed novelist Don Winslow, author of such bestsellers as Savages (which was made into the 2012 Oliver Stone-directed film of the same name) and The Kings of Cool, has written a three-part serial titled Extreme exclusively for Playboy magazine. Winslow's newest work of fiction debuts in the magazine's May 2014 issue (on newsstands and Playboy SFW now) and will continue to run through its July/August 2014 edition.

Recognizable small screen star and mainstage newcomer Leighton Meester discusses her role in the new Broadway production of John Steinbeck's OF MICE AND MEN as well as comments on the differences between theatre and film as part of a new interview.

James Franco, Chris O'Dowd and Leighton Meester stopped by ABC's THE VIEW this week to talk about being on Broadway for the first time in 'Of Mice and Men.'

Co-Hosts Judith Light and Christopher Sieber announced the nominations for the 2014 Drama League Awards, including Distinguished Production of a Play, Distinguished Production of a Musical, Distinguished Revival of a Play, Distinguished Revival of a Musical, and the much coveted Distinguished Performance Award. The 2014 Drama League Nomination announcement begins the month of celebrations leading up to the 80th Annual Drama League Awards, which will be held at the Marriott Marquis Times Square (1535 Broadway) on Friday, May 16, 2014 at noon hosted by Broadway veteran Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

The new Broadway production of Of Mice and Men has officially arrived on Broadway! FeaturingJames Franco, Chris O'Dowd, and Leighton Meester, and with direction by Tony Award winner Anna D. Shapiro, the show just opened last night, April 16, 2014 at the Longacre Theatre. BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was at the after party to chat with the full company about the production, and you can check out what Franco, O'Dowd, and the rest of the gang had to say below!

Directed by Tony Award winner Anna D. Shapiro, the new Broadway production of Of Mice and Men officially opened last night, April 16, 2014 at the Longacre Theatre, to mostly positive reviews from the critics. James Franco, who stars as George in the play, wasn't satisfied with a review by New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley. Franco recently wrote a comment about the review from his official Instagram account (which has since been removed), which was captured by Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson. Franco writes: Sadly Ben Brantley and the NYT have embarrassed themselves. Brantley is such a little bitch he should be working for Gawker.com instead of the paper of record. The theatre community hate him, and for good reason, he's an idiot.