Kevin Depinet News

The world premiere of Jon Robin Baitz's "Vicuña," directed by Robert Egan, opens this Sunday, October 30, 2016, at 6:30 p.m. at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre. Performances for "Vicuña" continue through November 20. The cast includes Linda Gehringer, Brian George, Harry Groener, Ramiz Monsef and Samantha Sloyan. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

In a monumental move, Tony Award nominee Robert Longbottom will serve as director and choreographer for a newly conceptualized production of Into The Woods at Theatre Under The Stars this holiday season.

The cast is set and rehearsals are underway for the world premiere of Jon Robin Baitz's 'Vicuña,' with previews beginning October 23 and opening set for October 30, 2016, at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre. Directed by Robert Egan, 'Vicuña' plays through November 20. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company in rehearsal below!

The three 'developmental productions' featured in Goodman Theatre's 13th annual New Stages festival, a free celebration of new works by some of the country's finest established and emerging playwrights, are underway. These three plays, which are staged in repertory with modest production values following three weeks of rehearsal, include Blue Skies Process by Abe Koogler, directed by Henry Wishcamper; Support Group for Men by Ellen Fairey, directed by Kimberly Senior; and The King of Hell's Palace by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, directed by Tea Alagi. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the casts in action below!

Casting is complete for the three 'developmental productions' featured in Goodman Theatre's 13th annual New Stages festival, a free celebration of new works by some of the country's finest established and emerging playwrights. These three plays, which are staged in repertory with modest production values following three weeks of rehearsal, include Blue Skies Process by Abe Koogler, directed by Henry Wishcamper; Support Group for Men by Ellen Fairey, directed by Kimberly Senior; and The King of Hell's Palace by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, directed by Tea Alagi. Full cast lists are included below.

The unquestioned immortality of Mamma Mia! took a hit last year when its Broadway run came to an end after playing fourteen years, two theatres and 5,773 performances. Now comes the question of its unavoidability. Somehow, I've managed to - okay, maybe not avoid it, which implies snobbishness on my part - but Mamma Mia! has just never been on my radar. It'll be around forever - or at least as long as Boomer nostalgia sells - so that leaves plenty of time to catch up on other things, my thought process went. But now begins what will presumably turn into a licensing blitz, and Aurora's Paramount Theatre leads the bell-bottomed charge into Chicagoland. So here we go again for the first time, I guess.

Casting is complete for the three 'developmental productions' featured in Goodman Theatre's 13th annual New Stages festival, a free celebration of new works by some of the country's finest established and emerging playwrights. These three plays, which are staged in repertory with modest production values following three weeks of rehearsal, include Blue Skies Process by Abe Koogler, directed by Henry Wishcamper; Support Group for Men by Ellen Fairey, directed by Kimberly Senior; and The King of Hell's Palace by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, directed by Tea Alagi. Full cast lists are included below.

The Old Globe presents the West Coast premiere of OCTOBER SKY, which will blast off the Globe's 2016-2017 Season with a tale of boys, rockets, and big dreams. OCTOBER SKY will run tonight, September 10, through October 23, 2016 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run now through September 21. Opening night is Thursday, September 22. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company below!

More than 60 million people in 40 countries on six different continents have reveled in Mamma Mia!, the iconic musical about love and friendship, of lost dreams and that last chance to make it right, all set to the music of ABBA, one of the most popular bands in the world. 

Drury Lane Theatre presents Smokey Joe's Cafe, the musical revue celebrating the renowned musical duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Smokey Joe's Cafe is directed and choreographed by internationally-acclaimed director Marcia Milgrom Dodge and runs now through October 23, 2016 at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace. The Press Opening is Thursday, September 8 at 8:00 p.m. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Drury Lane Theatre announces complete casting for its production of Smokey Joe's Cafe, the musical revue celebrating the renowned musical duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

Six world premiere plays and four new adaptations seen first by Chicago audiences were among those receiving nominations by The Jeff Awards Committee. 178 nominations in 32 categories honor Chicago Equity theatrical productions that opened between August 1, 2015 and July 31, 2016.

The Old Globe presents the West Coast premiere of OCTOBER SKY, which will blast off the Globe's 2016-2017 Season with a tale of boys, rockets, and big dreams. OCTOBER SKY will run September 10 - October 23, 2016 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Preview performances run September 10 - September 21. Opening night is Thursday, September 22. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the company below!

When the audience arrives at American Players (APT) Up the Hill Theatre for the opening of William Shakespeare's King Lear, they might believe a presidential press conference will be staged. Green lawn expands into the audience, actors place contemporary white chairs in a distinct pattern and a glass podium greets the audience--and plenty of paparazzi appear to capture the King, the Duke of Gloucester and Duchess of Kent, and Lear's three daughters entering the lawn party. At night under the stars, the royal staging opens when the King appears announcing his 'retirement,' dividing his kingdom to his three progeny. Two dutiful daughters ascend to the podium pronouncing their love, while Cordelia speaks from the back row of chairs, the front of the Up The Hill Theatre. Goneril, Regan and Cordelia were 'dressed to kill', so to speak in sophisticated, fashion worthy coats and the appropriate fascinators, for English royalty, as were the men.This beginning places the audience firmly in a King Lear crafted for the current day, up to the very minute audiences.

Could life be portrayed similar to a steaming cup of tea that eventually grows cool, and finally stone cold? That premise represents one possible physical property of energy, specifically heat, in Tom Stoppard's 1993 play titled Arcadia. At American Players Theatre (APT) Up the Hill stage, Stoppard's contemporary, complex and cunning production poses the duality to life and questions theoretical polar opposites such as order versus chaos. In this absorbing and provocative play where the heat of romantic love interferes with life's scientifically charted course, where the unpredictable and predetermined meet, this APT cast features excellent poetic form when playing what Stoppard also contemplated: 'It is a defect of God's humour that he directs our hearts everywhere but to those who have a right to them.'

The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team of the West Coast premiere of OCTOBER SKY, which will blast off the Globe's 2016-2017 Season with a tale of boys, rockets, and big dreams.

Drury Lane Theatre announces complete casting for its production of Smokey Joe's Cafe, the musical revue celebrating the renowned musical duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

This past week I saw two different musicals that have taken their inspiration from classic Jane Austen novels and, while completely different in size and scale, both have considerable merits. The first is in San Diego where Paul Gordon's to-die-for new musical SENSE AND SENSIBILITY is gracing the stage at The Old Globe.

The Old Globe presents the West Coast premiere of Paul Gordon's delightfully romantic new musical SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, developed with Rick Boynton and presented in association with Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where it was commissioned and had its world premiere in April 2015. CST Artistic Director Barbara Gaines returns to the show as director of the Globe production. SENSE AND SENSIBILITY will play now through August 14, 2016 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The Old Globe presents the West Coast premiere of Paul Gordon's delightfully romantic new musical SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, developed with Rick Boynton and presented in association withChicago Shakespeare Theater, where it was commissioned and had its world premiere in April 2015. CST Artistic Director Barbara Gaines returns to the show as director of the Globe production. SENSE AND SENSIBILITY will play now through August 14, 2016 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!