Laurence Klavan News

The Wilma Theater announced today that Fête 2022 will honor retiring Co-Founding Artistic Director Blanka Zizka, who recently departed the company after 40 years in the position. Fête 2022 will be held on Monday June 13, 2022.

The Wilma Theater's Co-Artistic Director Blanka Zizka has announced that on July 31, 2021, she will step back from the theater she co-founded. During her 40 years of work at the Wilma, she has become one of the most renowned theater artists in Philadelphia and in the country.

What Comes Next, or Meet the Dunnes, a new comedy by award-winning playwright Drama Desk nominee and Edgar Award recipient Laurence Klavan, is now available online from the 21st Century Players with free access to all. What Comes Next asks the question to which just about everyone who has ever lived has sought an answer: where do we go after we die, and can a person get a decent meal there?

It's the summer of 1977 and 22-year-old Lenka is fleeing authoritarian Czechoslovakia for the art and beauty of New York City. At the start of her journey, Lenka is confronted by an Old Woman from an extinct Slavic tribe who guides her through a dream-like world where the past and future meet and multiple realities collide.

The Addams Family topped the list for the most-produced high school musical for the second consecutive year, and Mary Poppins made its list debut at second place, in an annual survey conducted by the Educational Theatre Association's flagship Dramatics magazine.

Andrew Bovell's When the Rain Stops Falling continues the Wilma Theater's 2016-17 season. A fish falls from the sky in the year 2039. A man named Gabriel prepares to meet his adult son after being estranged for twenty years. He wonders why his son is coming and what he wants: to know who he is? Where he comes from? Where he belongs? Gabriel knows nothing; his own past escapes him. As the story of Gabriel's family unfolds onstage, his ancestors come alive around him to fill in the gaps. With its web of intricately overlapping connections, When the Rain Stops Falling follows four generations of a family from 1959 to 2039, and from London to Australia. As this family and their world evolve over time, one question remains: in the face of climate change, can we break our habits and change the way we live?

We're so lucky to have the privilege of having the St. Louis Actors' Studio present the Labute New Theater Festival each year. Submissions come from around the country, are whittled down to a few, and then presented in two parts, with each section receiving a full two week run. In addition, there are staged readings of the High School finalists who also submit their new works. While I was unable to attend the first part, I did get a chance to see the second, and was pleased with the results of this years' choices. It was a good mixture of styles and approaches, and it continues to be something our region should be very proud of.

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF), previously known as The New York Musical Theatre Festival, has announced that they have partnered with The ASCAP Foundation, The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), and SDC Foundation to curate three panel conversations with industry professionals, aimed at providing more insight into the musical development process.

Tom Stoppard's first new play since Rock 'n' Roll introduces us to Hilary, a 22-year-old psychology student applying for a coveted position with the Krohl Institute for Brain Science. As Hilary prays for strength to move beyond personal regrets, she passionately explores the blurred lines between science and psychology with her colleagues and her sometimes-lover Spike. Ethics are called into question as they delve into the 'hard problem' of consciousness versus gray matter, and debate whether altruism even exists. Following a sold-out run at the National Theatre in London, the Wilma-'America's foremost interpreter of the playwright's work' (Philadelphia Magazine)-is proud to be among the first to bring The Hard Problem to U.S. audiences.

In Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, which will mark the Wilma's 11th production of a work by Tom Stoppard, minor characters take center stage as they journey on a boat taking Prince Hamlet to England with players from the royal court. As these characters unknowingly sail to a fate Shakespeare has already scripted for them, arguments of free will and determinism abound, all set to the constant travel game of flipping coins. In this battle of wits, Stoppard's characteristic wordplay and case of mistaken identities create a spectacle that's philosophical, clownish, and complete with a pirate-ambush.

This year's New Ideas Festival of 15 new plays promises to be an exciting and eclectic mix ranging from dystopian drama to royal shenanigans.

This year's New Ideas Festival of 15 new plays promises to be an exciting and eclectic mix ranging from dystopian drama to royal shenanigans.

The Platform Group announces The Ladder Series, a staged reading series aimed at getting new plays to the next rung. Out of more than 100 submissions, ten new plays will receive a staged reading at The Creek and Cave in Long Island City, N.Y. The Ladder series is scheduled to begin on July 15th and continue into early October.

The Platform Group announces The Ladder Series, a staged reading series aimed at getting new plays to the next rung. Out of more than 100 submissions, ten new plays will receive a staged reading at The Creek and Cave in Long Island City, N.Y. The Ladder series is scheduled to begin on July 15th and continue into early October.

The Wilma Theater is pleased to present the United States Premiere of Our Class, written by one of Poland's leading playwrights, Tadeusz S?obodzianek (ta-DAY-use swo-bode-ZYAN-eck), in an English version by Ryan Craig, directed by the Wilma's Artistic Director Blanka Zizka.

The Wilma Theater is pleased to present the United States Premiere of Our Class, written by one of Poland's leading playwrights, Tadeusz S?obodzianek (ta-DAY-use swo-bode-ZYAN-eck), in an English version by Ryan Craig, directed by the Wilma's Artistic Director Blanka Zizka.

Bed and Sofa, a ‘silent movie musical', is to receive its European Première at the multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre, with a cast led by Kaisa Hammurland and featuring the voice of Penelope Keith. With music by Polly Pen and libretto by Laurence Klavan, it will play from 29 th March - 23rd April as part of 'In Their Place', a three month season of work by women playwrights and composers.

Bed and Sofa, a ‘silent movie musical', is to receive its European Première at the multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre, with a cast led by Kaisa Hammurland and featuring the voice of Penelope Keith. With music by Polly Pen and libretto by Laurence Klavan, it will play from 29 th March - 23rd April as part of 'In Their Place', a three month season of work by women playwrights and composers.

'In Their Place' is a three month season dedicated entirely to the voice of the female playwright. Running from March to June 2011 at the multi-award winning Finborough Theatre, the season celebrates the work of four inspirational women.