Katori Hall News

Last night, March 21, theater folk from around the world celebrated the 2010 Olivier Awards at The Society of London Theatre. The winners include Rachel Weisz for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, Mark Rylance for JERUSALEM, Ruth Wilson for A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, Eddie Redmayne for RED, THE MOUNTAINTOP by Katori Hall, THE PRIORY by Michael Wynne, the revival of HELLO DOLLY, SPRING AWAKENING, MORECAMBE, Samantha Spiro for HELLO DOLLY!, Aneurin Barnard for SPRING AWAKENING, Iwan Rheon for SPRING AWAKENING at the Novello, Rupert Goold for ENRON and more!

Video highlights of the 2010 Olivier Awards!

See the stars at last night's ceremony - all photos by Charlie Hopkinson...

Click through to see Charlie Hopkinson's fabulous photos of last night's ceremony - more to follow...

Miriam Zendle talks to the Olivier Award-winning playwright...

All the news from the Grosvenor as UK theatre's most prestigious gongs are given out...Mark Rylance and Rachel Weisz win actor/actress, Iwan Rheon, Samantha Spiro and Aneurin Barnard win the musical awards, with Wicked picking up the brand-new audience award and Spring Awakening getting the nod for best new musical

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater will end its world premiere run of Blind, by Craig Wright (The Pavilion, Lady) on March 21st. The production is directed by Lucie Tiberghein (The Pavilion, Geometry of Fire).

The Olivier Awards take place on Sunday evening - and you can follow all the news here!

Performance dates, directors, initial casting and design team are set for the Cherry Lane Theatre's 12th annual Mentor Project - which includes the world-premiere of three plays by emerging writers: Ruth McKee's STRAY, directed by Giovanna Sardelli (BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO) and mentored by David Henry Hwang, performing March 16th through March 27th; Nate Rufus Edelman's THE BELLE OF BELFAST, directed by Eric Tucker (CLOSER) and mentored by Charles Fuller, performing April 27th through May 8th; and Winter Miller's PATERNITY, mentored and directed by celebrated playwright Craig Lucas, performing May 18th through May 29th, all at the Cherry Lane Theatre Studio Theatre (38 Commerce Street).

The 2010 Olivier Awards will take place on 21 March 2010 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, with Spring Awakening, Enron, Jerusalem and A Little Night Music among the standouts of the season with the most nominations. The Laurence Olivier Awards were established in 1976 as The Society of West End Theatre Awards, and Lord Olivier agreed to have his name associated with them in 1984. The Awards are run by The Society of London Theatre but are adjudicated by panels that are equally made up of members of the theatregoing public and experts chosen for their knowledge and professional experience. For more information and updates, visit www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/olivier_awards.

Performance schedules for the three world-premiere Mentor Project plays have been announced by the Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce St.), where the new plays STRAY by Ruth McKee, THE BELLE OF BELFAST by Nate Rufus Edelman and PATERNITY by Winter Miller will be performed this spring from March 16 to May 29.

Performance dates, directors, initial casting and design team are set for the Cherry Lane Theatre's 12th annual Mentor Project - which includes the world-premiere of three plays by emerging writers: Ruth McKee's STRAY, directed by Giovanna Sardelli (BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO) and mentored by David Henry Hwang, performing March 16th through March 27th; Nate Rufus Edelman's THE BELLE OF BELFAST, directed by Eric Tucker (CLOSER) and mentored by Charles Fuller, performing April 27th through May 8th; and Winter Miller's PATERNITY, mentored and directed by celebrated playwright Craig Lucas, performing May 18th through May 29th, all at the Cherry Lane Theatre Studio Theatre (38 Commerce Street).

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater continues its 15th anniversary season with the world premiere of Blind, by Craig Wright (The Pavilion, Lady). Directed by Lucie Tiberghein (The Pavilion, Geometry of Fire), performances began Wednesday, February 17th, 2010. Opening night is Thursday, February 25th at 7pm. The show is scheduled to run through Sunday, March 21st, 2010.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater continues its 15th anniversary season with the world premiere of Blind, by Craig Wright (The Pavilion, Lady). Directed by Lucie Tiberghein (The Pavilion, Geometry of Fire), performances begin Wednesday, February 17th, 2010. Opening night is Thursday, February 25th at 7pm. The show is scheduled to run through Sunday, March 21st, 2010.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) will present post-show discussions following select performances of NEIGHBORS, the second play of the 2009-2010 Public LAB season.

Jean Doumanian Productions (August: Osage County, Our Town, Superior Donuts, When The Rain Stops Falling), in partnership with Sonia Friedman Productions (The Norman Conquests, The Seagull, Boeing-Boeing, La Cage aux Folles and Rock 'n' Roll) is moving forward to mount a Broadway production of the new play, The Mountaintop, by Katori Hall, following the recent announcement of the 2010 Olivier Award Best New Play nomination in London (actress Lorraine Burroughs also received a nomination for Best Actress for her performance). The Mountaintop will open on Broadway this Fall as part of the upcoming 2010-11 Season. The producers are in negotiations with Kenny Leon (Fences, A Raisin in the Sun) to direct this American premiere.

Producers Jean Doumanian and Sonia Friedman announced today that they hope to bring their Martin Luther King Jr. play, THE MOUNTAINTOP, to Broadway in fall of 2010 according to The New York Times. The play surrounds King's last nights before his assassination. The play premiered in London in summer 2009 and was written by Katori Hall.

The next Olivier Awards will take place on 21 March 2010.

Amid the diffusion of the term 'post black black,' in American society and art, seven up-and-coming playwrights of African descent including Deborah Asiimwe, Radha Blank, Kelley Girod, Katori Hall, Derek Lee McPhatter, Germono Toussaint, and Pia Wilson have come together to answer these questions. The festival will play through February 7, 2010.

Amid the diffusion of the term 'post black black,' in American society and art, seven up-and-coming playwrights of African descent including Deborah Asiimwe, Radha Blank, Kelley Girod, Katori Hall, Derek Lee McPhatter, Germono Toussaint, and Pia Wilson have come together to answer these questions.