Jonathan Moscone News

California Shakespeare Theater opens its 2015 season with Shakespeare's comic masterpiece, Twelfth Night, directed by Christopher Liam Moore. Twelfth Night plays at the Bruns Amphitheater from tonight, May 27 through June 21.

Acclaimed Off-Broadway theater company Playwrights Horizons held its annual Spring Gala yesterday, May 4 at the event space 583 Park Avenue. Titled CELEBRATING PETER JAY SHARP'S NEW YORK, the evening honored the late philanthropist, hotelier and real estate developer Peter Jay Sharp and The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation (Foundation Directors: the late Mr. Sharp, Edmund Duffy, Dan Lufkin, the late Jack Nash and Norman Peck). Among several theaters in New York City, Playwrights Horizons' more intimate 128-seat theater was named after the late philanthropist. It premiered when the company's new building opened its doors in January 2003. BroadwayWorld takes you insode the special night below!

Jo Schuman Silver, producer of Steve Silver's Beach Blanket Babylon, announced today the nine Bay Area seniors selected as finalists for the Steve Silver Foundation and Beach Blanket Babylon 'Scholarship for the Arts.' Each of the finalists will perform live in front of friends, family and a panel of celebrity judges on Monday, June 1. One winner in each category will be presented with a check for $10,000 towards their college education. The nine high school seniors who will perform are:

American Revolutions is the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 10-year commissioning program (2008-2018) of up to 37 new plays that look at moments of change in America's past, with the goal of helping to establish a shared understanding of our national identity and illuminate the best paths for our nation's future.

California Shakespeare Theater opens its 2015 season with Shakespeare's comic masterpiece, Twelfth Night, directed by Christopher Liam Moore. Twelfth Night plays at the Bruns Amphitheater from May 27 through June 21.

San Francisco's elegant Four Seasons hotel, its ballroom transformed into a mesmerizing swirl of vibrant, electric colors, provided the dramatic setting for California Shakespeare Theater's 20th annual gala, Play It Forward, on Saturday, March 14, 2015. Led by Gala Chair Maureen Knight, the event grossed $600,000 and welcomed more than 300 attendees.

Women's Project Theater, under the leadership of newly-appointed Producing Artistic Director Lisa McNulty, is pleased to present the World Premiere of BRIGHT HALF LIFE - a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Tanya Barfield and directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman - in a five-week limited engagement at New York City Center Stage II (131 W. 55th Street) through March 22, 2015. Opening night is set for tonight, February 25.

Women's Project Theater, under the leadership of newly-appointed Producing Artistic Director Lisa McNulty, is pleased to present the World Premiere of BRIGHT HALF LIFE - a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Tanya Barfield and directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman - in a five-week limited engagement at New York City Center Stage II (131 W. 55th Street) from Tuesday, February 17 to March 22, 2015. Opening night is set for Wednesday, February 25.

California Shakespeare Theater Board President Jean Simpson today announced that Artistic Director Jonathan Moscone has decided to step down from his position in August 2015, after 15 years with the company. Moscone will conclude his tenure with his production of Charles Ludlam's The Mystery of Irma Vep, August 12-September 6, which will be his 22nd production for Cal Shakes. Moscone has accepted a position as the Chief of Civic Engagement with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, and also plans to continue directing plays around the country. The Board has formed a committee to lead a nation-wide search to identify Moscone's successor, working with Gregory Kandel with Management Consultants for the Arts, Inc. as search consultants.

In a continued outpouring of solidarity among a giant consortium of the American theater's artistic directors, more than 30 additional artistic directors have signed the open letter that was issued yesterday in support of Ari Roth, following his recent dismissal from the Jewish Community Center in Washington, D.C., where he has served as Artistic Director of Theater J for the past 18 years.

In an unprecedented display of solidarity among a giant consortium of the American theater's artistic directors, an open letter has been issued in support of Ari Roth, following his recent dismissal from the Jewish Community Center in Washington, D.C., where he has served as Artistic Director of Theater J for the past 18 years. The letter, released earlier today represents the views of top theater brass from coast-to-coast, who believe that his dismissal was an act of politically motivated censorship in retaliation for Roth's choice to produce and publicly defend challenging and provocative work.

Yale Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of WAR by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, running tonight, November 21, through December 13 at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street).

Just in time for All Hallows' Eve, the world premiere of playwright Sarah Lawrence's ESCAPE FROM CIRCLE 8 - an immersive new play that draws inspiration from Dante's "Inferno" set in Tijuana's hottest cantina - directed by Todd Conner and presented Off-Broadway at the Huron Club at Soho Playhouse (15 Vandam Street) in Manhattan.

Just in time for All Hallows' Eve, the world premiere of playwright Sarah Lawrence's ESCAPE FROM CIRCLE 8 - an immersive new play that draws inspiration from Dante's 'Inferno' set in Tijuana's hottest cantina - directed by Todd Conner and presented Off-Broadway at the Huron Club at Soho Playhouse (15 Vandam Street) in Manhattan.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, welcomes new officers and nine new members to its board of directors. Sarah Bellamy, co-artistic director of Penumbra Theatre Company, and Kevin Moriarty, artistic director of Dallas Theater Center, succeed Robert Hupp and Lydia R. Diamond as joint vice presidents. Jonathan Moscone, artistic director of California Shakespeare Theater, succeeds Ralph Bryan as secretary. Diane Rodriguez, associate artistic director of Center Theatre Group, and Tim Jennings, managing director of Children's Theatre Company, remain as president and treasurer, respectively.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE presents the world premiere of WAR by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, November 21–December 13 at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street). The company opening is scheduled for Friday, November 28. The official press opening will follow on Saturday, November 29.

A Jewish, Midwestern, Chekhovian comic drama for the 21st century will be the third offering in The Echo Theater Company's 2015 season at Atwater Village Theatre, the company's new permanent home. Jennifer Chambers directs the world premiere of Better, a gentle examination of family and mortality by Jessica Goldberg, opening Oct. 4.

A Jewish, Midwestern, Chekhovian comic drama for the 21st century will be the third offering in The Echo Theater Company's 2015 seaason at Atwater Village Theatre, the company's new permanent home. Jennifer Chambers directs the world premiere of Better, a gentle examination of family and mortality by Jessica Goldberg, opening tonight, Oct. 4.

Just in time for All Hallows' Eve, the world premiere of playwright Sarah Lawrence's ESCAPE FROM CIRCLE 8 - an immersive new play that draws inspiration from Dante's 'Inferno' set in Tijuana's hottest cantina - directed by Todd Conner and presented Off-Broadway at the Huron Club at Soho Playhouse (15 Vandam Street) in Manhattan.