Laurence Olivier News

Academy Award, Tony Award and Emmy Award winner Christopher Plummer takes the stage for 16 performances only in a Center Theatre Group special event, "A Word or Two," which opens at the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre tomorrow, January 22, 2014. Written and arranged by Plummer and directed by Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, "A Word or Two" is presented in association with the Stratford Festival of Canada and continues through February 9, 2014. Scroll down for a sneak peek at Plummer onstage!

Academy Award, Tony Award and Emmy Award winner Christopher Plummer takes the stage for 16 performances only in a Center Theatre Group special event, 'A Word or Two,' which opens at the CTG/Ahmanson Theatre on Wednesday, January 22, 2014. Written and arranged by Plummer and directed by Tony Award winner Des McAnuff, 'A Word or Two' is presented in association with the Stratford Festival of Canada and continues through February 9, 2014.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF is thrilled to present the epic theatrical event The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I and II. Written by David Edgar and adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens, the production is produced in Collaboration with Theatre UCF. Co-directed by Artistic Director Jim Helsinger and Theatre UCF Chair/Artistic Director Christopher Niess, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Parts I & II is presented in rotating repertory from today, January 22 to March 9, 2014 at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, under the artistic leadership of Glenn Edgerton, will present its first-ever mixed repertory program devoted to the work of a single choreographer during the Spring Series, March 13-16, 2014. This engagement's four works by Sarabande (1990), for an all-male ensemble and set to Bach's second partita for solo violin with electronically manipulated live vocals; and Falling Angels (1989), for a cast of eight women and set to part one of Steve Reich's phased-percussion composition, Drumming, to be performed live by Third Coast Percussion, Ensemble- in-Residence at the University of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) announces casting for Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night's Dream, a 75-minute abridged production of William Shakespeare's whimsical comedy of misplaced young passions and magical mischief. This new adaptation by Jeff Award-winning director David H. Bell provides a quality, family-friendly introduction to Shakespeare with special opportunities for audiences to interact with the actors at every performance. In addition to public performances each Saturday, this production will welcome 1,000 students each day to the Theater's home on Navy Pier during its five-week run in the Courtyard Theater, followed by a tour to schools across the Midwest. Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night's Dream will be performed for the public Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. from February 22 to March 22 in CST's Courtyard Theater. After each performance, the actors remain on stage for a brief question-and-answer session, before joining the audience in the Lobby for one-on-one conversations and photo opportunities.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the project 'takes place a year after the events of Captain America: The First Avenger and follows Steve Rogers' (Chris Evans) girlfriend Agent Carter (portrayed by Hayley Atwell) as she builds her career as a secret agent while the hero is frozen in ice.'

The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, the oldest theatrical organization in the United States, announces Academy Award-winning actress Dame Helen Mirren as the recipient of its 2014 Woman of the Year Award.

Rehearsal begins today at Chicago Shakespeare Theater CST) for an unprecedented pairing of productions that will illuminate the work of composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim: Gypsy (CST's Courtyard Theater, February 6-March 23) and Road Show (Upstairs at Chicago Shakespeare, March 13-May 4), both directed by CST Associate Artistic Director Gary Griffin.

Following international shows celebrating the 100th year of Vivien Leigh's birth, actress Susie Lindeman brings her highly acclaimed performance Vivien: Letter to Larry to Sydney for one special night at the Independent Theatre on Sunday February 23.

Following its hit production Other People's Money, Shattered Globe Theatre will continue its 2013-14 season with Timberlake Wertenbaker's six-time Tony Award-nominated and Olivier Award-winning drama OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD, directed by Roger Smart, playing now through February 22, 2014 at its new artistic home Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Main Street Theater begins 2014 with Into the Woods, James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim's exploration of everyone's favorite fairytale characters. Main Street Theater's production will return the material to its storytelling roots with a small company and simple accompaniment on its intimate Rice Village stage.

Point Park alumnus and Tony Award-winner Rob Ashford has received a Directors Guild Award nomination for directing The Sound of Music Live! on NBC last month.

The Coachella Valley's Coyote StageWorks will bring to the stage "The 39 Steps" at the Annenberg Theater in Palm Springs, February 28 through March 9, 2014. A two-time Tony® and Drama Desk Award-winner and recipient of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, "The 39 Steps" is a fast-paced whodunit for everyone who loves the magic of theatre. Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have "The 39 Steps," packed with nonstop laughs, more than 150 zany characters, an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers and some good old-fashioned romance.

Following its hit production Other People's Money, Shattered Globe Theatre will continue its 2013-14 season with Timberlake Wertenbaker's six-time Tony Award-nominated and Olivier Award-winning drama OUR COUNTRY'S GOOD, directed by Roger Smart, playing tonight, January 9 - February 22, 2014 at its new artistic home Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director Jeremy Blocker have announced that Love and Information, by Caryl Churchill and directed byJames Macdonald, will begin performances Tuesday, February 4 at 7pm at Minetta Lane Theatre located at 18 Minetta Lane. Opening night is set for Wednesday, February 19 at 7pm. Love and Information is scheduled to run through Sunday, March 23, 2014; tickets are on sale now. Love and Information is produced in association with London's Royal Court Theatre.

Perhaps the greatest disservice ever done to English music was its dismissal by the modernist composer Elizabeth Lutyens as "cowpat music". That statement was a hangover of a common perception from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century that, despite the country's power and reputation, it wasn't actually very good at producing interesting music. But World War One marked the beginning of a new explosion of creative energy, one that saw exciting modern composers pour into England's concert halls, reaching across the sea to America, even to Hollywood. "This England" from Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra brings this England to Carnegie Hall.

American Symphony Orchestra bring an English "creative explosion" (and a musical volcano) to Carnegie Hall. Leon Botstein leads "This England" - four works that helped to change the game for English music, and for the rest of us, on January 31 at 8pm.

Casting has been announced for the upcoming national tour of Green Day's AMERICAN IDIOT, the explosive Broadway hit, which makes its Washington premiere February 18 - 23 at National Theatre as part of the Broadway at the National subscription series.

Following a critically acclaimed and sell-out run at the Finborough Theatre, the first production in sixty years of R. C. Sherriff's supernatural drama, The White Carnation transfers for a limited three week run to Jermyn Street Theatre, opening on Tuesday, 4 February 2014 (Press Night: Thursday, 6 February 2014 at 7.30pm). The show stars Michael Praed (Design for Living - West End, Robin of Sherwood, Dynasty) who joins the existing superlative Finborough Theatre cast, which includes acclaimed newcomer Daisy Boulton and Benjamin Whitrow (Mr. Bennet in BBC's Pride and Prejudice).

On Saturday, January 18, Luna Theater Company continues its captivating Once Upon a Time season with the Philadelphia revival of "THE PILLOWMAN" by Martin McDonagh. Performances run January 18th through February 8th at the new theater in the Bella Vista neighborhood: 620 S. 8th Street Philadelphia, PA 19147. Tickets are $15-$25 and can be purchased by visiting www.lunatheater.org or by calling 215-704-0033.