Macy News

Partial Comfort Productions will present the 4th annual BATTLE OF THE BARDS on Friday February 20, 2009 at The Canal Room (285 West Broadway at Canal Street). BATTLE OF THE BARDS is a one-night-only theater competition pitting New York City's hottest emerging theater companies against each other in a stage-fight to the finish. With an audience of nearly 1000 last year, this benefit for Partial Comfort Productions has rapidly become Off-Off Broadway's biggest annual event. The panel of judges for the event include Pulitzer Prize winning playwrights David Auburn (Proof) and Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog), actors John Slattery (Mad Men) and Daniel Sunjata (Rescue Me), casting director Marcia Debonis (Bride Wars) and theater journalist David Cote (Time Out New York). This year, seven theater companies will compete in BATTLE OF THE BARDS: Naked Angels, Ma-Yi, EST's Youngblood, The Fire Department, Electric Pear, Flux and Partial Comfort. Each company assembles its own artistic team consisting of playwright, director and actors. On Feb 6th, each team will be given the parameters by which to write, cast, and rehearse a world premiere one-act play; all plays must incorporate the use of a prop that will be personally selected by William H. Macy (currently starring on Broadway in Speed the Plow). Two weeks later, on February 20th, these plays will be performed publicly at The Canal Room and the winner will be determined by a panel of celebrities and industry professionals. An audience favorite award will also be presented. Winning companies receive prize packages donated by area businesses that specialize in theater production (rehearsal spaces, lighting packages, sound rentals, etc.) that help offset costs of future productions.

On Thursday, January 29th & Friday, January 30th DanceTracks NYC will present 'Let's Dance.' at The Clark Studio Theater, Samuel B. and David Rose Building, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, 7th Floor. DTNYC, established in 1999, presents choreographic works to the public by emerging artists, as well as, provides production support for established choreographers demonstrating high artistic merit.

Mad Men and SPEED-THE-PLOW star Elizabeth Moss and Saturday Night Live cast member Fred Armisen have recently gotten engaged. Mad Men star Moss accepted Armisen's proposal last week. She told USAWeekend.com this past weekend that, 'I don't want to share the details of how it happened, but I will say it was perfect.' The two talented stars have been very low key regarding the romance, but Armisen has been seen at 'SPEED' quite frequently and as a matter of fact shared the 'BWW TV' screen with Moss for our 'Night Before Christmas' video! We wish the happy couple all the very best.

William H. Macy has a long association with playwright David Mamet, having starred in New York in productions including Oleanna and American Buffalo. He received an Academy Award nomination for his work in the film Fargo. He also appeared in Benny & Joon, Mr. Holland's Opus, Seabiscuit, Magnolia, Pleasantville, Boogie Nights and Air Force One. In 2002, he won Emmy Awards for both Lead Actor in a Miniseries and Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries with the TV film 'Door to Door'.

Broadway producers Jeffrey Richards announced in an official statement on Friday that, 'The producers of SPEED THE PLOW have officially filed a grievance with Actors' Equity re: Jeremy Piven's departure. A date for the arbitration is to be determined.' Piven countered with his own response stating, 'The claims made by the producers of Speed-the-Plow are absurd and outrageous. Mr. Piven's serious medical condition has been well documented by multiple physicians. He withdrew from the play due to medical necessity on the advice of his doctors, after he was hospitalized and warned by his physicians that enforced rest was necessary in order to avoid serious medical problems, including a heart attack.' There is now rumors on the street intimating that the grievance was actually filed a week earlier than first reported but was kept quiet as SPEED producers didn't want any more negative press for the hit show. Sources also reveal that Piven's exit from the Broadway drama has given Hollywood producers pause regarding the Emmy winning actor. That being said up until the SPEED-THE-PLOW scandal he was sought after by industry executives and was celebrated by his peers in relation to his work in television and film.

William H. Macy has a long association with playwright David Mamet, having starred in New York in productions including Oleanna and American Buffalo. He received an Academy Award nomination for his work in the film Fargo. He also appeared in Benny & Joon, Mr. Holland's Opus, Seabiscuit, Magnolia, Pleasantville, Boogie Nights and Air Force One. In 2002, he won Emmy Awards for both Lead Actor in a Miniseries and Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries with the TV film 'Door to Door'.

Tender Thread Productions and WOW Cafe Theater will present previews of playwright/director Theresa Diamond's Ridiculous play WAITING FOR THE SHOW at WOW Caf? Theatre (59 E4th St.), an Obie-winning women's theater collective, in NYC's East Village on Thursday, January 8, 2009. The official opening will be on Saturday, January 17, 2009.

The following statement has just been released to the media by Jeremy Piven's publicist. Stay tuned to BroadwayWorld.com for future updates as they become available.

SPEED-THE-PLOW producer Jeffrey Richards is not taking Piven's 'fishy' pleas regarding his departure from the show sitting down. Richards announced in a statement that, 'The producers of SPEED THE PLOW have officially filed a grievance with Actors' Equity re: Jeremy Piven's departure. A date for the arbitration is to be determined.' Jeremy Piven defended his sudden and shocking exit from SPEED-THE-PLOW in an exclusive interview on 'Good Morning America' yesterday morning. Piven told GMA host Diane Sawyer was 'brought to my knees' by his condition and said that on doctor's orders he 'couldn't do it.' 'You talk about 'the show must go on,' this is in my DNA. To have the rap be on me that I walked out on this thing. ... This was the greatest moment of my life,' he revealed to Sawyer. To watch the entire video visit the official ABC GMA site by going here.

Jeremy Piven, for the first time on a national news program defended his sudden and shocking exit from SPEED-THE-PLOW in an exclusive interview on 'Good Morning America' this morning. Piven told GMA host Diane Sawyer was 'brought to my knees' by his condition and said that on doctor's orders he 'couldn't do it.' 'You talk about 'the show must go on,' this is in my DNA. To have the rap be on me that I walked out on this thing. ... This was the greatest moment of my life,' he revealed to Sawyer. To watch the entire video visit the official GMA site by going here.

New York City Opera is proud to present the company premiere of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra in concert on January 15 and 16, 2009 at 8 PM in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium. Soprano Lauren Flanigan sings the role of Cleopatra opposite baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes, in his New York City Opera debut, as Antony. The cast includes rising tenor Simon O'Neill as Caesar and City Opera favorites David Pittsinger as Enobarbus, Sandra Piques Eddy as Charmian and Laura Vlasak Nolen as Iras. City Opera Music Director George Manahan will conduct. The company's celebration of Samuel Barber's upcoming centennial will also include a Symposium on Antony and Cleopatra on Saturday, January 10, co-presented by and taking place at Miller Theatre at Columbia University, which will feature City Opera soprano Elizabeth Futral in a unique recital of musical depictions and evocations of Cleopatra.

South Coast Repertory today announced the cast and creative team for Michael Frayn's ingenious comedic masterpiece, Noises Off. Directed by Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award winner Art Manke, Noises Off will run from Feb. 6 through March 8 on the Segerstrom Stage. Low-priced previews are available from Feb. 6 through Feb. 12. Opening night is Feb. 13. Press night is Saturday, Feb. 14 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets to Noises Off may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office. Noises Off follows the on-and off-stage antics of an inept acting troupe as they stumble from bumbling dress rehearsal to disastrous closing night. Everything that can go wrong does, as actors desperately try to hang on to their lines, their performances and the furniture. Add a slippery plate of sardines and many slamming doors, and you have the most hilarious backstage farce ever written. Art Manke received his fifth Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for directing SCR's West Coast premiere of Bach at Leipzig in 2006. Other work with SCR includes last season's Taking Steps, the world premiere musical version of The Wind in the Willows and choreography for numerous productions. Elsewhere in Southern California, Manke has directed The Constant Wife, Private Lives and the American premiere of Noel Coward's Star Quality for Pasadena Playhouse and the world premiere of The Ice-Breaker at Laguna Playhouse. Manke was a co-founder and artistic director (1991-2001) of A Noise Within where he directed the works of Shakespeare, Moli?re, Wilde, Coward and Sophocles. Other credits include work with Denver Center Theatre Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Old Globe Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, American Players Theatre, among others. The cast features Nancy Bell (Belinda Blair), Bill Brochtrup (Garry Lejeune), Kandis Chappell (Dotty Otley), Winslow Corbett (Poppy Norton-Taylor), Kaleo Griffith (Lloyd Dallas), Brian Hostenske (Tim Allgood), Timothy Landfield (Frederick Fellows), Jennifer Lyon (Brooke Ashton) and Nick Ullett (Selsdon Mowbray). The creative team for Noises Off includes John Iacvelli (Set Design), Angela Balogh Calin (Costume Design), York Kennedy (Lighting Design), Vincent Olivieri (Sound Design), Ken Merckx (Movement Consultant), David Newell (Dialect Coach), Linda Sullivan Baity (Dramaturg) and Jamie Tucker (Stage Manager). Dee and Larry Higby are the Honorary Producers of Noises Off. OC Metro is the Media Partner. Associated events taking place during the run of Noises Off include: POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS Wednesday, Feb. 18 & Tuesday, Feb. 24 Discuss the play with members of the Noises Off cast during free post-show discussions led by South Coast Repertory's literary team after the 7:30 p.m. performances on Feb. 18 and Feb. 24. INSIDE THE SEASON: Noises Off Saturday, Feb. 21, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. $12 Inside the Season is a series of interactive classes that provide a comprehensive inside look at the theatrical production process. Each two-hour class is led by School and Community Programs Director Linda Sullivan Baity and features creative personnel from South Coast Repertory's current production. Tickets are $12 each and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at (714) 708-5555. (Tickets to Noises Off are sold separately.) TICKETS to Noises Off can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Performances begin on Feb. 6 and continue through March 8. Ticket prices range from $20 to $64. Low-priced preview performances are available from Feb. 6 to Feb. 12. Performance times: Previews: Friday, Feb. 6 and Saturday, Feb. 7 at 8:00 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 8, Tuesday, Feb. 10 and Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m.; and Thursday, Feb. 12 at 8:00pm. Regular Performances: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m.; and Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, educators, seniors and groups of 15 or more. There will be a 'Pay-What-You-Will' performance on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2:30 p.m. ($10 Minimum) and an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, March 7 at 2:30 p.m.

Jeremy Piven has been talking mercury poisoning for the past number of days and he'll continue his toxicity talking points tour on tomorrow's GOOD MORNING AMERICA between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. Jeremy Piven claimed he was too sick with 'mercury poisoning' to show up for his Broadway show and abruptly left the production under a cloud of questions and mystery. In a Dec. 18 statement the play's producers gave a statement regarding the Piven exit, 'We have been advised by Jeremy Piven's medical representatives that he is seriously ill and is unable to fulfill his contractual obligation to Speed-the-Plow. Consequently, he has left the production ten weeks early.'

Former Speed-The-Plow star and mercury poisoning victim Jeremy Piven hit the red carpet at Sunday night's Golden Globe Awards, and was vocal regarding his bailing on Broadway scandal. In an exchange with The New York Daily News' GATECRASHER gossip column, Piven continued his tale of medicial woe, but seems to have bounced back to full 'Hollywood' level health.

Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz and Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominee William H. Macy have come to the rescue of the acclaimed production of David Mamet's SPEED-THE-PLOW, in the wake of the unexpected departure of Jeremy Piven.

Atlantic Theater Company and Druid are proud to announce a four week extension of Martin McDonagh's hit dark comedy THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN, which will now play through Sunday, March 1st, 2009 Off Broadway at Atlantic's Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street).

Tender Thread Productions and WOW Cafe Theater will present previews of playwright/director Theresa Diamond's Ridiculous play WAITING FOR THE SHOW at WOW Caf? Theatre (59 E4th St.), an Obie-winning women's theater collective, in NYC's East Village on Thursday, January 8, 2009. The official opening will be on Saturday, January 17, 2009.

Variety is reporting that former SPEED-THE-PLOW star Jeremy Piven's physician said that the actor's 'mercury malady' is a genuine health scare and concern for the actor.

Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz and Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominee William H. Macy have come to the rescue of the acclaimed production of David Mamet's SPEED-THE-PLOW, in the wake of the unexpected departure of Jeremy Piven.

For the role of prolific nonfiction writer James Reston, Jr., the author of 13 books, including 'The Conviction of Richard Nixon: The Untold Story of the Frost/Nixon Interviews' (which recounts the author's time spent as the prime Watergate researcher on the Frost interview team), Howard would turn to Sam Rockwell.