Lauren Gunderson News

The Long Beach Playhouse opens its 2019 Studio Season with Lauren Gunderson's play entitled Exit, Pursued by a Bear. The play's subtitle is 'A Revenge Comedy.' It's a play that feels like a mashup between Shakespeare and the Coen Brothers. The protagonist, Nan, is trapped in an unhappy marriage with a man named Kyle. She and her best friend, Simon, along with a stripper named Sweetheart, cook up a plot to reenact scenes from Nan and Kyle's miserable marriage in hopes of helping Kyle understand the ways he's failed her.

"Cambodian Rock Band" by Lauren Yee has been named the winner of the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, recognizing playwrights for the best scripts that premiered professionally outside New York City during 2018.

Arizona Opera and Arizona Theatre Company are pleased to announce they have reached an agreement to share administrative office space in their respective headquarters in both Phoenix and Tucson. As the organizations share the distinction of serving the communities of both cities, this unique collaboration will strengthen Arizona Opera and Arizona Theatre Company's ability to create impact in those cities.

Silent Sky is a marvelous one act play by Lauren Gunderson which tells the story of Henrietta Leavitt, a brilliant woman who worked as a "computer" - not unlike the women in Hidden Figures - at the Harvard Astronomy Lab in the early 1900s.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) will present Molly Smith Metzler's Cry It Out, an insightful comedy about the absurdities of being a new mom, as the final show of its 40th Anniversary Season, from April 24 to May 19, directed by Amanda Charlton at the Nancy L. Donahue Theatre at Liberty Hall, according to Artistic Director Sean Daniels and Executive Director Bonnie J. Butkas.

Company of Fools (COF) announces its 24th season, which features four mainstage productions at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey. The 2019-2020 lineup includes Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley; Cry It Out by Molly Smith Metzler; Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon; and The Niceties by Eleanor Burgess.

Lauren Gunderson's play, Silent Sky, is based on the true story of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt. Nearly 20 years before American women could vote, Henrietta Leavitt graduated from Radcliff College, took a job in Harvard's Observatory and, working from slides because women weren't allowed to touch the telescopes, she discovered the amount by which the star's brightness is dimmed by distance allows the star's distance from the earth to be calculated. Leavitt turned a two-dimensional picture of the sky into a three-dimensional one.

Theatre Unleashed is very excited to announce an extension of the hit show 'Ada and the Engine' for two more performances next weekend, Friday, April 5 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 7 at 7 p.m.

While director Heidi Powers knew about Ada Byron's Lovelace contribution to the birth of the modern computer, she was stunned to discover that not only was Ada Lord Byron's daughter, but that she was also an accomplished poet and musician. "I love how she tried to embrace both her artistic and analytical sides," Powers said. "I think that humanity's most powerful inventions come from the combination of the arts and sciences."

Sonorous Road Repertory, the in-residence professional theatre company at Sonorous Road Theatre, brings the critically acclaimed EMILIE: La Marquise du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight, by Sarah Gunderson, to the Triangle opening Friday, March 29th through Sunday, April 14th, 2019.

MAW opens 18th Season with Gunderson's play about Ada Byron Lovelace: First Computer Programmer & a pioneering woman in the field of mathematics and science.

I And You is the final play in Wharton Center's Illuminate Series that runs this weekend, Friday and Sunday, for two performances only and the limited-engagement of Lauren Gunderson's play is sure to leave audiences wanting more. One afternoon, Anthony (Greg Hunter) arrives unexpectedly at classmate Caroline's (Tess Galbiati) door bearing a beat-up copy of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, with an urgent assignment from their English teacher. Homebound, Caroline hasn't been to school in months, but she is as quick and funny as Anthony is athletic, sensitive, and popular. As these two let down their guards and share their secrets, this poetry project unlocks the deep mystery that has brought them together. I And You is a funny and touching ode to youth, life, love, and the strange beauty of human connectedness with an eye-popping, heart-pounding, and totally unexpected ending. BroadwayWorld Detroit had a chance to speak with Bert Goldstein, the director of I And You, about the show and how it's special. Check out what he had to say below:

California Repertory Company (CSULB Theatre Arts Department) presents the Southern California premiere of The Revolutionists, a comedic play written by Lauren Gunderson.  The Revolutionists takes a step backward in time, following the lives of four rebellious, uncompromising women who fight for friendship, liberty and equality. Cal Rep is honored to introduce this bold comedy to the residents of Southern California.

While director Heidi Powers knew about Ada Byron's Lovelace contribution to the birth of the modern computer, she was stunned to discover that not only was Ada Lord Byron's daughter, but that she was also an accomplished poet and musician. "I love how she tried to embrace both her artistic and analytical sides," Powers said. "I think that humanity's most powerful inventions come from the combination of the arts and sciences."

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) announces today that Nataki Garrett will become its sixth artistic director in August 2019, succeeding Bill Rauch. The announcement by OSF Emeritus Board Chair and Search Committee Chair Gail Lopes ends a nearly yearlong search.

Lauren Gunderson's play, Silent Sky, is based on the true story of astronomer Henrietta Leavitt. The play opens in 1900, when Leavitt is working in the Harvard Observatory in the 'woman's room.' These women 'computers,' are tasked with measuring and cataloging stars. They work from photographic plates because women were not allowed to touch the telescopes. The astronomer for whom they work calculates projects in 'girl hours,' has no time for the women's probing theories and has no problem taking credit for their ideas.

Arizona Theatre Company (Sean Daniels, Artistic Director; Billy Russo, Managing Director) has announced that the final two plays for the 2019/20 season are Marco Ramirez' riveting The Royale, inspired by the real-life experiences of Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight world champion, and Wendy MacLeod's riotous comedy, Women in Jeopardy!

Tacoma Little Theatre's Off the Shelf program is excited to present Lauren Gunderson's, The Revolutionists, directed by Jennifer York and featuring a powerhouse of Tacoma actors. This production will play Today, March 14, 2019 at 7:30pm.

Registration is now open for the MRT Young Company summer program, a professional theatre training program for high school students, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for three weeks, July 15 to August 2, in downtown Lowell. Nationally recognized creative producer, director, and performer Will Rogers will return to lead the program.

The long awaited final production of Unicorn Theatre's 45th season will be the Regional Premiere of THE REVOLUTIONISTS by Lauren Gunderson. Gunderson has topped the American Theatre Magazine list of most produced playwrights for the past several years. The production will feature an all-female cast and will be helmed by kickass director Missy Koonce. The play will feature all-star local actors Vanessa Severo, Chioma Anyanwu, Amy Attaway, & Elise Poehling.