Laura Marks News

Leah Ryan's FEWW is hosting an evening of celebratory cocktails and performances on Monday, October 6 at Joe's Pub in New York. The benefit will commemorate the fifth year of Leah Ryan's Fund for Emerging Women Writers and the announcement of The Vladimir, a new emergency fund for writers facing medical emergencies. Hosted by Lisa Kron and directed by Leigh Silverman, the party will feature performances by, among others, Julie White, Christopher Durang, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Jennifer Westfeldt. Tickets are $100 and may be purchased through the website: http://leahryansfeww.com. For information call Tessa LaNeve at 917-841-4879. Joe's Pub is located at 425 Lafayette St, New York, NY.

Derek Klena (Wicked, Bridges of Madison County, Second Stage's DogFight), Natalie Weiss (Everyday Rapture, Wicked, Les Miserables), and Stephen C. Anthony (The Book of Mormon, Catch Me If You Can) are all set to guest star in Danielle Wade sings Carner & Gregor at the Metropolitan Room (34 W. 22nd St., New York, NY) on October 13th at 9:30pm.

As the 2014 season draws to an end, Davis McCallum, Artistic Director of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF) gave friends and fans something to look forward to when he announced the 2015 season at a special Sneak Peak event on Saturday evening. Noting that the pieces that he has chosen share in the deep belief in the magic of storytelling, McCallum announced that the 2015 productions will be The Winter's Tale, A Midsummer Night's Dream, An Iliad by Lisa Peterson and Dennis O'Hare, and a fourth, soon to be revealed production. 'Each of these pieces aims to transport the audience with the simplest and most powerful of theatrical means - language, wit, movement, commitment, and passion,' he told the assembled crowd.

The Gift Theatre artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton announces the Chicago premiere of Bethany written by Laura Marks and directed by Marti Lyons, who previously collaborated on Mine last season at The Gift. Bethany features Gift ensemble members Hillary Clemens (Mine), Paul D'Addario (Thinner Than Water) and James D. Farruggio (Northwest Highway) with guest artists Mary Anne Bowman (last seen in Backstage Theatre's production of A Scent of Flowers), Susaan Jamshidi (Theater Wit's Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England) and Kirby O'Connell (founding member of The Gift's Natural Gas).

The final selected cast of musical theater writing team Sam Carner and Derek Gregor's 6th Annual "Barely Legal Show-Tune Extravaganza" were announced today.

Haven Theatre Company announces their 2014-2015 season. The company's second full season features two Chicago premiere productions: Catherine Trieschmann's Hot Georgia Sunday, directed by Marti Lyons, at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave., and Stephen Belber's Don't Go Gentle, directed by Cody Estle, at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. Tickets will go on sale at a later date and will be announced on the Haven Theatre Company website: www.HavenTheatreChicago.com.

During last night's Season Release Bash at Fischman Liquors and Tavern, artistic director and co-founder Michael Patrick Thornton proudly announced The Gift Theatre's 2015 season of three world premieres. The all-new season will include the debuts of David Rabe's expanded Good For Otto, Gift Ensemble member William Nedved's Body and Blood and Naperville native Mat Smart's The Royal Society of Antarctica.

This summer, The Gift Theatre debuts an annual artist-friendly fundraiser it's calling The Season Release Bash, targeting friends and colleagues in the theater community.

Second Stage Theatre presents Bess Wohl's AMERICAN HERO, opening tonight, May 22, and running through June 15th. Directed by Tony nominee Leigh Silverman, American Hero features Ari Graynor (2st Trust), Daoud Heidami (Bengal Tiger at The Baghdad Zoo), Jerry O'Connell (Seminar) andErin Wilhelmi (The Great God Pan). Let's see what the critics had to say...

Building on the success of five years of sold out shows and an incredible list of alumni, writing team Sam Carner and Derek Gregor will once again host their annual "Barely Legal Show-Tune Extravaganza" concert on August 21st at 7pm and 9:30pm at 54 Below, New York's premier cabaret venue.

The Flea Theater has announced the extension of the World Premiere of THE MYSTERIES - a radical retelling of the Bible. Playwrights commissioned by Jim Simpson and Carol Ostrow including Tony Award and Academy Award winners and nominees David Henry Hwang, Craig Lucas, Billy Porter, Jose Rivera and Jeff Whitty; Flea alumni, Mallery Avidon, Trista Baldwin, Erin Courtney, Yussef El Guindi, Amy Freed, Sean Graney, Nick Jones, Qui Nguyen, and Jenny Schwartz; and a host of notable newcomers, Marc Acito, Johnna Adams, Liz Duffy Adams, Bill Cain, CollaborationTown, Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas, Eisa Davis, Gabriel Jason Dean, Chris Dimond, Madeleine George, Kate Gersten, Sevan K. Greene, Kirsten Greenidge, Lillian Groag, Jordan Harrison, Lucas Hnath, Ann Marie Healy, Meghan Kennedy, Kimber Lee, Kenneth Lin, Laura Marks, Ellen McLaughlin, Michael Mitnick, Don Nguyen, Dael Orlandersmith, A. Rey Pamatmat, Max Posner, Kate Moira Ryan, Najla Said, Jordan Seavey, Matthew Stephen Smith, Lloyd Suh, Jason Williamson and Bess Wohl join together to tell the entire History of Man's Salvation in 52 episodes from The Fall of Lucifer through and including Judgment Day.

Atlantic Theater Company has announced full casting for Nancy Harris' play OUR NEW GIRL, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch. Lisa Joyce, Henry Kelemen and CJ Wilson will join previously-announced Atlantic Theater Company founding member Mary McCann for the US premiere production.

There's a plot device that has annoyed me since I was a kid. Sitcoms use it a lot. It's where the main character keeps lying and/or making obviously poor decisions which keeps digging them deeper and deeper into a hole until you just want to scream at them, "Just tell the truth and do the right thing already!" In sitcoms it all gets resolved in a fun way in 22 minutes and everyone learns a valuable lesson. But when this plot device is combined with the nation's current economic woes as is the case with Laura Marks' play "Bethany", currently playing at ACT, that frustration with the characters never seems to end leading to a bleak evening which left me asking, "why?" Is this a journey we need to take or is it simply frustration for frustration's sake and shining a spotlight on the plight of some to make others without the plight feel better about their lives?

Last fall NATURAL GAS, the five-year-old house improv team of The Gift Theatre, took up an open run on Friday nights at Wicker Park's The Den Theatre, performing entirely improvised group sets in addition to their standing Wednesday night set at The Gift in Jefferson Park. Now, NATURAL GAS presents YOU & ME-a two-person, entirely improvised show featuring NATURAL GAS ensemble member/The Gift artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton with a special guest from the Chicago improv/theatre community. Upcoming performances of YOU & ME are Fridays Feb. 28 (with NATURAL GAS' Jim Kozyra), March 14 (with Susan Messing) and April 4 (with Keith Neagle) at 10:30 p.m. An ongoing schedule can be found at thegifttheatre.org/shows-events/gas-the-den.

Sharon Bush, Philanthropist & Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Teddy Share, Arianna Huffington, Chair, President & Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, and Joan Vail Thorne, playwright and director, are Women's Project Theater's 2014 Women of Achievement who will be inducted at its 29th Annual Gala Celebration at the Mandarin Oriental, 80 Columbus Circle, Monday, March 10, at 6:00pm.

The Gift Theatre Artistic Director Michael Patrick Thornton announces the Chicago premiere of Thinner Than Water written by Melissa Ross and directed by The Gift ensemble member John Gawlik (2013 Jeff Award winner for When the Rain Stops Falling at Circle Theatre). The production marks Thornton's return to The Gift main stage since ensemble member Andrew Hinderaker's Jeff Nominated Dirty in 2012. Thornton recently appeared in Les Waters' production of Our Town at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Thornton joins guest artists Donna McGough (last seen in Coriolanus with The Hypocrites) and Darci Nalepa (Dirty) and fellow Gift ensemble members Brittany Burch (The Lonesome West), Paul D'Addario (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), Gabriel Franken (Broadsword), Lynda Newton (Absolute Hell) and Jay Worthington (Vigils).

The Flea Theater presents the World Premiere of THE MYSTERIES - a radical retelling of The Bible.

A Contemporary Theatre single tickets go on sale to the public for all 2014 Mainstage shows February 12, 2014. ACT is offering 50% off of adult price tickets for previews of Bethany one-week only February 12-18.

On June 3, 2013 Julia Jordan, Theresa Rebeck, Marsha Norman, Tim Sanford and The Committee for Recognizing Women in Theatre will present the 4th Annual Lilly Awards at Playwrights Horizons. Named for playwright Lillian Hellman, The Lilly Awards were created to recognize the extraordinary contributions made by women to the American Theater. Producers, playwrights, actors, designers, and directors will be honored for their continued excellence in the theater community.

The Vineyard Theatre in collaboration with Naked Angels will co-produce the world-premiere of Zayd Dohrn's play OUTSIDE PEOPLE, directed by Evan Cabnet at The Vineyard (108 East 15th Street), with previews expected to begin late December prior to an official opening in early January 2012, it has been announced by Douglas Aibel, Artistic Director of Vineyard Theatre and Sarah Stern, The Vineyard's Co-Artistic Director.