Lauren Gunderson News

Follow the true story of the 19th-century astronomer, Henrietta Leavitt as she maps distant stars in galaxies beyond our own during a time when women's ideas were dismissed until a man claimed credit for them. Social progress and astronomical advances are realized as Henrietta and her fellow female “computers” change the way we see the heavens and the earth in this incredible story of bold love, boundless determination, and the vast grandeur of the cosmos. It’s an unparalleled treat for the heart, mind, and senses. The show runs June 10th thru the 26th, 2022 at Red Herring Theater, 3723 S High ST, Columbus OH 43207. For more information visit: https://www.redherringtheater.org/ or call (614) 723-9116.

San Francisco Playhouse  continued its commitment to developing new plays and nurturing the voices of active writers with the selection of seven playwrights comprising the fourth and fifth years of the company's Five-Year Commission Program.

Following up on a successful outdoor run of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Switchyard Theatre Company continues their inaugural season with the production of The Half-Life of Marie Curie. Written by Lauren Gunderson, “the most produced playwright in the country” according to Variety Magazine, the play brings to life the very human struggle of Madame Curie as she recovers from a nearly career-breaking scandal shortly before winning her second Nobel prize and helping her adopted country in the first World War.

After celebrating its ten-year anniversary in 2021, HowlRound Theatre Commons announces its first published anthology, featuring essays from each year of the last decade, available for preorder now.

Peninsula Players Theatre is thrilled to return to a five-show season with no seating restrictions in 2022 and seeks volunteer ushers for each of its performances. Starting June 1, those interested in helping with ushering duties may call the Box Office at (920) 868-3287 to register for open dates. 

The Keegan Theatre is pleased to announce the cast and creative team of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, adapted by Lee Hall from the acclaimed screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard. The celebrated play is making its Regional Premiere as one of the final offerings of Keegan’s 25th Anniversary Season, running in repertory with THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF DR. WONDERFUL (AND HER DOG!), by Lauren Gunderson with music by Bree Lowdermilk, a Keegan PLAY-RAH-KA production for families.

The Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) has announced three of Broadway's bright stars are joining us to encourage and entertain attendees at this year's International Thespian Festival (ITF). They'll also join in celebrating the best in high school theatre as multiple productions are performed on the Main Stage daily.

First, a bit of background. Prolific American playwright Lauren Gunderson is a Phoenix favorite; think SILENT SKY at Phoenix College (and the Hale Centre Theater in 2023), JUSTICE and THE HEATH at Arizona Theatre Company, THE BOOK OF WILL at Phoenix Theatre and THE REVOLUTIONISTS at Stage Left Productions through May 29 (adult cast).

Broadway performers Tina Fabrique (How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying) and David M. Lutken (Ring of Fire) will headline Merrimack Repertory Theatre’s 43rd Anniversary Gala on Friday, June 17.

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center has announced its 2022 summer season, which features the return of some beloved in-person public events put on pause during the virtual and hybrid seasons of 2020 and 2021. 

Playwrights Foundation, the West Coast's premier launchpad for exceptional new plays and playwrights, has announced its lineup for the 45th Annual Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF) which will be presented as a hybrid (in-person and streamed) festival July 29 - August 7, 2022. Selected from 240 applicants via a committee process with 150 readers (the majority of whom are also playwrights), five powerful plays by five exciting new voices will receive public readings and workshops in this year's festival.

Playwrights Horizons today announced an additional one-week extension of Sanaz Toossi’s Wish You Were Here, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch, to June 5.

WAM Theatre joins the Berkshire Community in celebrating Pride Month with a Fresh Takes Play Reading of Bright Half Life by Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Nominated writer Tanya Barfield (The Call, Blue Door). The play is directed by Gina Kaufmann (Professor of Performance and Directing at University of Massachusetts, Amherst) and will be presented on Sunday, June 5, at 2pm at MASS MoCA in North Adams. Tickets are on sale now. This reading is being presented as part of Berkshire County’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride celebration in partnership with Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition and MASS MoCA.

Gunderson’s characters are two high school seniors who could not be more unlike each other. Yet, as we find out, they end up soulmates in the most surreal way imaginable.

I was curious to see how Lauren Gunderson (book), Bree Lowdermilk (music) and Kait Kerrigan (lyrics) could make a musical about former Supreme Court judges Sandra Day O'Connor and the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And how does local performer Chanel Bragg figure into this Arizona Theatre Company world premiere?

Theatre 40, the award-winning professional theatre company in Beverly Hills, announces its fifty-sixth season.

MainStage Irving-Las Colinas has announced their 2022-2023 season to be produced and performed in the Dupree Theater of the Irving Arts Center. This season features five main productions each running for three weekends – Gypsy, Ada and the Engine, Intimate Apparel, The Light in the Piazza, and The Underpants.  

Blackfriars Theatre has announced its 2022-2023 Season. In the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blackfriars made a point of raising the bar and the community's expectations of what local theater can look like.

This free festival, running May 16–22, explores and celebrates new voices in American Theater. With workshops, a panel discussion, and talk-backs—both in-person and online—the New Work Festival strengthens TheaterWorks Hartford’s commitment to the development of important new plays.

TheaterWorks Hartford is thrilled to present the 2022 edition of its New Work Festival. This free festival, running May 16–22, explores and celebrates new voices in American Theater. With workshops, a panel discussion, and talk-backs—both in-person and online—the New Work Festival strengthens TheaterWorks Hartford’s commitment to the development of important new plays. Participants include playwrights Brooke Berman, Melissa Crespo & Sarah Saltwick, Terry Guest, and James Anthony Tyler who are joined by directors Shariffa Ali, Michael Barakiva, Mikael Burke, and Caitlin Sullivan. Reservations are required and can be made at www.twhartford.org.