Lois Smith News

The 2014 winners of the Lilly Awards, honoring women of distinction in American theater, were announced today by the Lilly Awards Foundation. The winners will be celebrated at the 5th Annual Lilly Awards Ceremony set for Monday, June 2, 2014 beginning at 5 p.m. at Playwrights Horizons (416 W 42nd Street, NYC).

The Freeman Studio, the Tribeca-based acting studio led by Scott Freeman, continues to supplement its acting curriculum with an unusual mix of panels, talks and workshops in May. The so-called extracurricular activities, which give actors a rich environment in which to broaden creatively and even experiment, include free industry panels and talks, and low-cost workshops called Today Specials. Most of these add-ons are led by notable theatre artists, are either free or low-cost, and are open to the public.

The Freeman Studio, the Tribeca-based acting studio led by Scott Freeman, continues to supplement its acting curriculum with an unusual mix of panels, talks and workshops in May. The so-called extracurricular activities, which give actors a rich environment in which to broaden creatively and even experiment, include free industry panels and talks, and low-cost workshops called Saturday Specials. Most of these add-ons are led by notable theatre artists, are either free or low-cost, and are open to the public.

Obie Award-winner Les Waters will direct the world premiere of Jordan Harrison's profound and engaging "Marjorie Prime" at the Center Theatre Group / Mark Taper Forum, September 10 through October 19, 2014. The opening is set for September 21.

The Steppenwolf Theatre Company Ensemble has announced its newest member, playwright Bruce Norris. Among his many accomplishments, Norris is the author of The Qualms, playing July 3 - August 31 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre. Since 2000, Steppenwolf has produced seven of Norris's plays, including Clybourne Park and the world premieres of A Parallelogram, The Unmentionables, The Pain and the Itch, We All Went Down to Amsterdam, Purple Heart and The Infidel.

Signature Theatre just held its Annual Gala celebration last night, April 7, 2014 honoring 108th New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and actor/playwright/director Ruben Santiago-Hudson. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from inside the gala below!

Breaking new ground with award-winning scripted dramas for the digital age, WIGS announced today that Season Three of BLUE, starring Julia Stiles ('The Bourne Ultimatum') as the title character, will be available in four longer-form episodes, each of which runs between 40-60 minutes, on Hulu (www.hulu.com/blue) and the Hulu Plus subscription service, beginning Friday morning today, March 28. Also available on Hulu and Hulu Plus that day will be a new longer-form episode of WIGS series PALOMA, written and directed by Stiles and starring Grace Gummer ('Margin Call').

On the heels of its celebrated production of The Grapes of Wrath, Asolo Rep's Producing Artistic Director/Director of The Grapes of Wrath Michael Donald Edwards and the play's Tony Award-winning adapter Frank Galati will be featured speakers in a special panel entitled Steinbeck on Stage, presented by Smithsonian Associates and the National Steinbeck Center. Select scenes from Asolo Rep's production of The Grapes of Wrath will be performed by Asolo Rep actors Christian Conn (Tom Joad), Peggy Roeder (Ma Joad), and Andrew Sellon (Jim Casy). The panel will be Thursday, April 24, 2014 at 7pm at the National Museum of Natural History Baird Auditorium in Washington, D.C.

WIGS announced today that Season Three of BLUE, starring Julia Stiles (“The Bourne Ultimatum”) as the title character, will be available in four longer-form episodes,

WIGS, a leading digital studio and a FOX series incubator for female-targeted scripted drama, has partnered with script site The Black List on an initiative to identify one writer to develop a series.

The Dramatists Guild of America held their annual awards ceremony last night at The Lambs Club in New York. The ceremony was hosted by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson Lopez. Check out a look back at the festivities below!

David Henry Hwang's Kung Fu, starring Cole Horbie and Phoebe Strole, opened last night, February 24, 2014 in The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center. The production will run through March 30. BroadwayWorld was there for opening night and you can check out photos below!

The Dramatists Guild of America has announced the recipients of their annual awards, which will be presented at an awards ceremony hosted by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson Lopez on Monday, February 24, 2014, at The Lambs Club in New York.

On Monday, January 27 (3pm and 7pm), Cherry Lane Theatre will present Love/Kill by Joe Pintauro. The project will be directed by Valentina Fratti and will feature the talents of Angelina Fiordellisi, Mandy Gonzales, Alex Morgan, Dennis Parlato and Peter McRobbie.

When he died in 1955 at the age of 24 in a car crash, James Dean was mourned by millions of fans throughout the world. Despite only making three films – all of them for Warner Bros. – Dean became one of Hollywood's most spectacular stars

On November 5, Warner Home Video will debut East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant (a George Stevens production), remastered Blu-ray as the James Dean Ultimate Collector's Edition

Abingdon Theatre Company - which has produced more than 80 new American plays in its 21-year history -celebrated its 2013-14 Season with ABINGDON: SWINGING ON A STAR, its Annual Benefit Gala and dinner, on Monday night at Espace (635 West 42nd Street in Manhattan). Dick Cavett, celebrated author, actor and host of the Emmy Award-winning 'The Dick Cavett Show,' hosted. Check out photos from the special event below!

Popular WIGS drama Ruth & Erica, starring Maura Tierney (“ER”, “The Good Wife”) and an all star cast premieres on Hulu and Hulu+ TODAY. The 13-episode series (which originally premiered on YouTube) is now available in three, 30-minute episodes on the platform at www.hulu.com/ruth-and-erica.

Abingdon Theatre Company - which has produced more than 80 new American plays in its 21-year history -celebrates its 2013-14 Season with ABINGDON: SWINGING ON A STAR, its Annual Benefit Gala and dinner, tonight, October 7 at Espace (635 West 42nd Street in Manhattan), beginning at 6pm. Dick Cavett, celebrated author, actor and host of the Emmy Award-winning 'The Dick Cavett Show,' is set to host.

Having presented 2 volumes of The "Lost" Group Theatre Plays, featuring 6 out of print or never before published plays of the Group Theatre, ReGroup will soon be publishing a new volume.