Lloyd Richards News

Playwright August Wilson will be honored with a commemorative Forever stamp next year.

The screen adaptation of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom was brought to life by the legendary Ruben Santiago-Hudson, whose connection to August Wilson spans from the personal to professional - not only was he a close friend of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, but Santiago-Hudson has established himself as a key interpreter of Wilson's work.

Bated Breath Theatre Company will extend performances of its live hit VOYEUR: THE WINDOWS OF TOULOUSE-LAUTREC through January 10, 2021. VOYEUR is an open air, immersive theatrical experience that guides an intimate eight-person audience through the dreams of iconic artist Toulouse-Lautrec.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report the passing of Tony-nominated actor, Anthony Chisholm.  

Under Artistic Director Tim Bonda??s leadership, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has just launched an ambitious new online initiative entitled Voices of Democracy, with the intention of encouraging audiences to get out the vote and stand up for racial justice. Leading up to the 2020 election, Voices of Democracy offers digital theatrical experiences that celebrate diverse voices and build a bridge from empathy to action, including plays, poetry, and curated quotes that shine a light on pressing issues during this election year. It will also feature an interview with Tony Award winner & TheatreWorks alum James Monroe Iglehart (Broadwaya??s Aladdin and Hamilton). BroadwayWorld recently caught up with Tim Bond to learn more about Voices of Democracy and his own history before coming to TheatreWorks. Bond is a fascinating guy to talk to so our conversation took all kinds of interesting twists and turns. A true people person, he is especially committed to using theater to build community and effect change. In conversation, he often takes his time to respond to questions and is apt to speak in complex sentences that show a great deal of thought. He is not someone who needs to shout to make his voice heard and frequently leavens his responses with gentle laughter. At once brainy and comfortable expressing his emotions, Bond is clearly a person of heart and mind.

Yale School of Drama, the only graduate-level professional conservatory in the English-speaking world to offer training in every theatrical discipline, announces newly promoted and newly appointed faculty members, effective for the 2020-21 academic year.

The JOCUNDA MUSIC, FILM & THEATRE FESTIVAL Presents an ENCORE Virtual Play Reading of GREENWOOD by Coolidge Harris, Jr. and Directed by Van Dirk Fisher on Sunday, September 6th at 8PM EST.

The JOCUNDA MUSIC, FILM & THEATRE FESTIVAL will present a Virtual Play Reading of GREENWOOD by Coolidge Harris, Jr. and Directed by Van Dirk Fisher on Sunday, August 23rd at 8PM EST.

SDCF has announced the Lloyd Richards New Futures Residency, to partner a visionary mid-career BIPOC director or choreographer with an Artistic Director who is contemplating significant changes for their theatre as they face a new reality.

Woodie King Jr., founder of New Federal Theatre has penned an article exclusively for BroadwayWorld, discussing New Federal Theatre's past, present and more.

ALL ARTS celebrates LGBTQ+ Pride Month with a special lineup of programming highlighting prominent queer and trans artists and activists, streaming for free on the ALL ARTS app and allarts.org/pride.

Huntington Theatre Company has announced that their annual Spotlight Spectacular Gala will take place virtually on the Huntington's Facebook and YouTube channels Monday, June 15, 2020.

During this time when productions all over the world have been put on pause, we are coming together to celebrate plays that have left their mark on theater history. This week we will be focusing on the plays of August Wilson. Today's play, Fences!

In honor of Black History Month, Theatre Arlington will present Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning play, A Raisin in the Sun, opening on Friday, February 14th. This groundbreaking play is inspired in part by Hansberry's real-life experiences when her parents purchased a house in a a?oewhite neighborhood.a?? It is the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s and the Youngers have received a $10,000 insurance check and each of the adult members of the family has an idea of what they would like to do with the money. Three generations of the family are in conflict: Lena, the matriarch, dreams of moving to a better neighborhood; her son, Walter Lee, dreams of buying a liquor store; daughter Beneatha longs to attend medical school. As the Youngers argue over the best plan, this play brought to light many issues that were rarely discussed at the time, such as women's rights, inequality and lack of opportunity.

From February 27 to March 29, Woodie King, Jr.'s New Federal Theatre will celebrate both Black History Month and Women's History Month with an Off-Broadway production of 'Two Can Play' by Trevor Rhone, directed by Clinton Turner Davis, at Castillo Theater, 543 West 42nd Street. In this two-act comedy, Gloria and Jim, a lower middle-class couple in Kingston, try their wildest schemes to escape gun crime and establish residence in the United States. They survive because they learn to communicate and rediscover each other. Playwright Trevor Rhone was the artistic giant of Jamaican theater. The play celebrates the pent-up need for self-discovery and personal development in Jamaican women, a theme which is also universal. Director is Clinton Turner Davis, who helmed the comedy's New York premiere in 1985.

Dael Orlandersmith celebrates her 60th birthday with a special benefit evening at the Wild Project. The event takes place on Saturday, November 23 at 7 pm at Wild Project (195 E. 3rd Street, between Avenues A & B). Tickets are $60 - $100 (including food and drink) and will benefit the Wild Project's mission and programming. Advance tickets can be purchased online at http://www.thewildproject.com.

Classic Stage Company kicks off its 2019-20 season on Thursday, October 10, when previews begin for artistic director John Doyle's new staging of William Shakespeare's Macbeth, opening October 27 and running through December 15 at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater at CSC (136 E. 13th St, New York). Today CSC announces that Timothy Douglas will direct Tristan Bernays' retelling of Frankenstein (beginning January 30), which the company will pair with Kate Hamill's reimagining of Dracula (starting January 14), directed by Sarna Lapine, to form a thrilling repertory cycle of adaptations of two legendary Gothic nightmares by emerging playwrights.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), today announced that acclaimed Director Joe Mantello will be honored with the a?oeMr. Abbotta?? Award, given to a Broadway Director or Choreographer for a lifetime of outstanding contributions.

The Actors Center has announced the appointment of Alex Birnie as the organization's new executive director. Birnie most recently served as the Center's managing director and enters his first full season in his new role in September 2019.

2019 Tony winner Andre De Shields has been attending The National Black Theatre Festival® (NBTF) in Winston-Salem, N. C. since 1995. Dubbed the 'Black Theatre Holy Ground,' NBTF is the international outreach program of the North Carolina Black Repertory Company, founded by the late Larry Leon Hamlin in 1979. The Festival, also founded by Hamlin, has been held biennially since 1989. The NCBRC celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, while the NBTF celebrated its 30th.