Leslie Lee News

It's your last week to vote for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Memphis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 26th. Voting closes at the end of the year, in under one week!

Time is ticking on your last chance to vote for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Memphis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 19th. Voting closes at the end of the year!

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Memphis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Memphis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Memphis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 25th.

From today, October 21 to November 8, August Strindberg Repertory will transport Strindberg's 'Miss Julie' to an antebellum Louisiana plantation in a new interpretation conceived by Artistic Director Robert Greer and adapted by Edgar Chisholm from a translation by Greer. The production will include a ballet sequence, which Strindberg specified in the original manuscript and which has never been performed before. The piece will be directed by Robert Greer and choreographed by Ja' Malik.

From October 21 to November 8, August Strindberg Repertory will transport Strindberg's 'Miss Julie' to an antebellum Louisiana plantation in a new interpretation conceived by Artistic Director Robert Greer and adapted by Edgar Chisholm from a translation by Greer. The production will include a ballet sequence, which Strindberg specified in the original manuscript and which has never been performed before. The piece will be directed by Robert Greer and choreographed by Ja' Malik.

There's a moment in the first act of Nicky Silver's THE LYONS when dying patriarch 'Ben' is asked whether he is in pain; his response, a monosyllabic 'Yes,' hardly ranks with any of the brilliantly barbed lines scattered throughout the play, but as intoned by veteran actor Ron Gephart, it acquires a startling variety of shades. As uttered by this gifted performer, a number of insights can be gained into the unfortunate Ben's character: Frustration, resignation, intolerance. If Mr. Gephart can manage that by simply saying 'Yes,' imagine what he is able to do with the dialogues and monologs that follow.

In this dark comedy, Rita Lyons is the matriarch of a family facing major crossroads. Her husband Ben is dying, her adult children are wrestling with their own secrets, and what's worse - she can't decide how to redecorate her living room! As they gather in Ben's hospital room to say goodbye, these four very isolated people, who are as afraid of closeness as they are of solitude, attempt human connection with hysterical results. 'A terrific gem. You can't stop laughing.' - The Associated Press

In this dark comedy, Rita Lyons is the matriarch of a family facing major crossroads. Her husband Ben is dying, her adult children are wrestling with their own secrets, and what's worse - she can't decide how to redecorate her living room! As they gather in Ben's hospital room to say goodbye, these four very isolated people, who are as afraid of closeness as they are of solitude, attempt human connection with hysterical results. 'A terrific gem. You can't stop laughing.' - The Associated Press

August Strindberg's 'To Damascus, Part 1' will be adapted to Harlem, 1962 in the next production of August Strindberg Repertory Theatre (www.strindberg.org). The play will be presented with a multi-racial cast today, April 18 to May 11 at the Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond Street (East Village).

On Monday, March 24, 2014, The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. (Charles Weldon, Artistic Director; Karen Brown, Executive Director) and Signature Theatre (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) will unite in a day-long celebration of the life and works of Tony Award-nominated playwright Leslie Lee. Lee passed away in New York City on January 20, 2014.

August Strindberg's 'To Damascus, Part 1' will be adapted to Harlem, 1962 in the next production of August Strindberg Repertory Theatre (www.strindberg.org). The play will be presented with a multi-racial cast April 18 to May 11 at the Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond Street (East Village). It is the first part of a trilogy (called 'The Road to Damascus' in earlier translations) that has been described as 'Strindberg's most complex plays' and as 'his greatest plays,' due to their synthesis of a wide variety of myths, symbols and ideas with a profound spiritual analysis in a new dramatic form. August Strindberg Rep will present Part 2 in March, 2015 and Part 3 in 2016. It will be the first time the trilogy will have been presented complete in any language in 99 years.

On Monday, March 17, 2014 The Legendary Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. will unveil the 2014 new works Monday series, NEC'S MONDAY NIGHT READING SERIES AT THE PERSHING SQUARE SIGNATURE CENTER. NEC will hold readings beginning Monday, March 17, 2014. All readings will start at 7:00 pm on The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036. A VIP Reception will immediately follow each reading. The series will feature 4 exceptional plays written by celebrated playwrights. None have been produced for New York audiences. Tickets are on sale now; $20.00 for each Monday night, $30.00 per night with reception. The series may be purchased at a discounted rate through Ticket Central. For ticket information and series package rates, visit www.ticketcentral.com or call 212-279-4200 (Daily 12noon-8pm).

Legacy Month, a celebration of Crossroads Theatre Company's history and contributions to the American cultural landscape, will continue with Richard Wesley's Playbook, a celebration of the prolific playwright and screenwriter's work with performances, video and testimonials on Sunday, March 2.

The League of Professional Theatre Women (LPTW) is pleased to present Quarterly Networking Mondays, Presidents Day: Celebrating LPTW Presidents and Founders--The Ultimate Give and Get on Monday, February 17, 2014 at 6:00 pm at the TheaterLab, 357 West 36th Street, 3rd Floor. This historic event is an opportunity to network with like-minded colleagues and to learn from the seasoned theatre professionals who founded and served as President of LPTW. Tickets are FREE for members, $15 for non-members, available at http://LPTWNetworkingPresidentsDay.bpt.me or by calling: 1-800-838-3006 www.BrownPaperTickets.com

Stealin' Home (A Baseball Fantasy) by Fred Newman is a play about Jackie Robinson, baseball and America's imperfect integration. 'Stealin' Home has much to share on racism, hero worship, cultural changes in the United States…' - The New York Times (November 20, 2004).Stealin' Home locates the impact of integration of the Major League Baseball in 1947 within the social changes that were to follow. The drama opens on October 11 and runs through November 24 at the Castillo Theatre.

Playwright/doctor Marthe Rachel Gold's play Lake Anne is being produced by The Road Theatre Company and is about to open at the new theatre at the NoHo Senior Arts Colony on Magnolia in NoHo on September 20. In our chat, Gold offers us a sneak peek at the play and its background.