Kirk Douglas News

La Jolla Playhouse is pleased to announce projects for the sixth Latinx New Play Festival taking place at the Playhouse October 27 – 29, 2023, produced by Dr. Maria Patrice Amon, the Playhouse’s 2023/2024 Artist-in-Residence.

Top stories: Read reviews for The Cottage, Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada will lead The Great Gatsby musical at Paper Mill Playhouse, and more!

Center Theatre Group has announced upcoming 2023 – 2024 programming at the Ahmanson Theatre, plus a show for all ages at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

Named a New York Times Critics Pick, “Our Dear Dead Drug Lord” by playwright Alexis Scheer, directed by Center Theatre Group Associate Artistic Director Lindsay Allbaugh, and produced in association with IAMA Theatre Company, comes to the Kirk Douglas Theatre from August 20 to September 17, 2023 with the press opening on August 27.

IATSE was able to notch a win for their members this week as a new touring contract was ratified. However, the news wasn’t all bright in the theatre world as the Public Theater became the latest major institution to announce layoffs of their staff - laying off 19%, and announcing a deeper restriction on programming for next season.

Get ready for the world premiere of 'Kill Shelter' at Theatre of NOTE. This compelling drama written by Ashley Rose Wellman delves into themes of choice, autonomy, and power dynamics. Don't miss this highly anticipated production that challenges the easy categorization of its characters and highlights the paths of compassion and empathy.

The American Theatre Wing (Heather Hitchens, President & CEO) has announced its 2023 panel of judges and eligibility details for The Obie Awards. Now in its 67th year, the annual event, celebrating the best of Off and Off Off Broadway, is co-chaired by Obie-winning director David Mendizábal and veteran theater critic Melissa Rose Bernardo.

The Shark is Broken officially begins previews tonight, July 25, at the John Golden Theatre. Meet the cast of The Shark is Broken here!

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will kick off its 20th Anniversary New Works Festival with Before the Ink Dries: A Special TheatreWorks Fundraiser with David Henry Hwang and Rajiv Joseph. 

From the intersection of politics and school plays to the evolving landscape of Broadway, we explore the trends and developments that are shaping the industry. We look at the industry as companies continue to battle headwinds - with Signature Theatre off-Broadway and Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago the latest to announce reductions in programming.

In FETCH CLAY, MAKE MAN, Will Power investigates the friendship as a fascinating dual study in individual character and cultural identity. Under Debbie Allen’s rocking direction at the Douglas, the play is as exciting as it is thoughtful.  THE BEAR’s Edwin Lee Gibson and Ray Fisher act the daylights out of it.

First Floor Theater has revealed its 11th Season, featuring a world premiere, a Chicago premiere and more.

Amber Iman, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Annie Golden and more will be featured in Williamstown Theatre Festival's Fridays@3 reading series.

As regional theatres continue to deal with shortfalls, news of another closing (Triad Stage) and gap fundraising came to light last week. American Theater Magazine reported on the labor shortages and significantly higher materials costs that scenic and costume shops across the country are dealing with putting further strains on theater budgets.

Playwrights receive a week-long workshop to develop their new plays followed by a public presentation in OPC's 26th Annual New Works Festival, August 2 - 6.

After a national search, the Alliance Theatre Board of Directors has named Tinashe Kajese-Bolden and Christopher Moses as Artistic Directors. 

It isn’t just the organizations - as cities and regions struggle with keeping their mass transit organizations afloat, this puts a further strain on theatre groups whose audiences and artists often rely on these methods of transportation to get to and from the theatre - as the San Francisco Chronicle reported this week.

Hundreds of lovers of new theatre will gather this August for an advance look at tomorrow's hits at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's 20th Anniversary New Works Festival. This unique festival returns to Palo Alto's Lucie Stern Theatre with its extraordinary opportunity for audiences to experience new plays and musicals in their early stages of development and see their evolution over multiple performances.

Center Theatre Group is pausing a portion of its programming beginning this summer and continuing through the 2023/24 Season. 

Will Power’s Fetch Clay, Make Man (a co-production of Center Theatre Group and The SpringHill Company) will open June 18, 2023, at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Debbie Allen, in her CTG directorial debut, directs this account of the unlikely (but real life) friendship between the great Cassius Clay and the controversial Stepin Fetchit; with the cast of Ray Fisher, Edwin Lee Gibson, Wilkie Ferguson II, Alexis Floyd and Bruce Nozick. I managed to spar with Will over a few behind-the-scenes queries.