Manhattan Theatre Club News

Previews begin tonight for Manhattan Theatre Club's new Broadway production of Saint Joan! Get to know the cast below as they begin Broadway performances!

New York City Center today announced a studio series of master classes and conversations with artists and other guests as part of the ¡Adelante, Cuba! Festival. This celebration of the rich and vibrant artists of Cuba begins Sunday, April 22, with an evening of music and conversation at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC & WQXR featuring jazz giant Arturo O'Farrill, tap artist Ayodele Casel, and trumpet player Yasek Manzano Silva. Offering an up-close look at the work of these inspiring artists, the festival also includes intimate conversations, held in City Center's studios, exploring the Cuban American Songbook and what it means to be an Afro-Latin artist today. Master classes for advanced students and professionals will be hosted by dancer Carlos Luis Blanco of Acosta Danza and choreographer Ronald K. Brown (City Center Choreography Fellow), and Arturo O'Farrill and Yazek Manzano Silva will deconstruct Afro-Latin jazz in a master class open to the public to observe.

'Each season, Playwrights For A Cause continues to raise awareness on topics of social justice while providing an opportunity for theater artists to share their creations. I couldn't be more excited about this seasons line-up of brilliant playwrights,' says Glory Kadigan, founder and curator of the annual Playwrights for a Cause benefit, hosted by Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. 'I'd also like to thank the Associate Artistic Director of the Theater at the 14th Street Y, David Stallings, for providing a home for our event.'

Rehearsals are in full swing for The 5th Avenue Theatre's production of Kiss Me, Kate, which begins performances next Friday, April 6.

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra hosts its 2018 Spring into Music Gala on Saturday, April 14, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. Tony Award-winning Broadway, film and television star Jason Alexander-world renowned as the iconic George Costanza on "Seinfeld"-headlines a performance of song and comedy at an event that includes cocktails, dinner and a silent auction. The gala's honoree is Merck & Co., Inc., Chairman of the Board and CEO Kenneth C. Frazier.

The addictive, inspiring art of musical theater - and some of its most beloved songs - will be featured in a benefit concert for Area Stage Company and Conservatory. In 5'6", 7, 8 - Lamentations of Two Broadway Bound Showgirls, accomplished performers Rebecca Ashton and Carolina Ordoñez, backed by a group of budding young ASC artists, will perform new and classic Broadway hits, while relating the ups, downs and comic misadventures of performing, auditioning and teaching.

Playwright Kemp Powers knew he'd found something incredible in the personal recollections of former slaves documented by a federal writers project during the Great Depression. Discovering the different voices and views in those first-person histories inspired him to learn more and write Little Black Shadows, which has its world premiere at South Coast Repertory, April 8-29, on the Julianne Argyros Stage. Directed by May Adrales, the show is part of the Pacific Playwrights Festival. Tickets are available now at www.scr.org.  

The Playwrights Realm, led by Founding Artistic Director Katherine Kovner and Producing Director Roberta Pereira, is pleased to present the lineup for their annual INK'D Festival of New Plays.

As a centerpiece of its 25th anniversary season, HERE (Kristin Marting, Founding Artistic Director, and Kim Whitener, Executive Director) is proud to present the world premiere of Assembled Identity, a new theatrical work by Kristin Marting created in collaboration with Purva Bedi and Mariana Newhard. Running April 24 - May 19, Assembled Identity is set to open on May 1 and features performances by Newhard and Lipica Shah, who play multiple characters and speak several languages. Assembled Identity is the 29th hybrid work by Marting, who co-founded HERE in 1993. Her multi-disciplinary work has been noted for its "striking unity of sound and meaning" (New York Times) and for being a "a true treat for the adventurous." (Time Out New York).

Columbia University School of the Arts presents ten new plays written by the Columbia MFA Playwriting Students of 2018. The esteemed faculty who have nurtured these students, including Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and Charles L. Mee, invite you to experience these innovative new playwrights.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the Chicago premiere production of The Roommate by Jen Silverman, directed by Tony Award Winner Phylicia Rashad. A unique story that expresses how early-life choices can lead to mid-life challenges and the humorous, touching and unexpected rewards of bridging the divide, the Steppenwolf production will feature ensemble members Ora Jones as Robyn and Sandra Marquez as Sharon.

Geva Theatre Center's 2017-2018 Season continues with the world premiere of One House Over, by Catherine Trieschmann and directed by Mark Clements, in the Elaine P. Wilson Stage from April 3 through April 29.

THEATRE FORWARD and Chairman JOHN THOMOPOULOUS will lead a celebration to support American theatre at the annual Chairman's Awards Gala on Monday, April 9th at The Pierre New York (2 East 61st Street at Fifth Avenue). The Chairman's Awards Gala supports the work of Theatre Forward, currently celebrating its 40th Anniversary season, which is dedicated to advancing American theatres and its communities through its Educating Through Theatre and Advancing Strong Theatre initiatives.

The Theatre Group at SBCC concludes the 17/18 season with the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, CRIMES OF THE HEART by Beth Henley.

Esther and Schmuli are shy young Orthodox Jews embarking on an arranged marriage, despite barely knowing each other. Abe and Julia are high-profile celebrities embarking on a dangerously flirtatious correspondence, despite being married to other people. On the surface, the lives of these two couples couldn't be more different. But Anna Ziegler's funny, insightful, and mysterious new drama explores the hidden connections between seemingly disparate people, drawing audiences into an intriguing puzzle and a deeply sympathetic look at modern love.

Court Theatre, under the continuing leadership of Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, continues its 2017/18 season with Guess Who's Coming to Dinner by Todd Kreidler (based on the screenplay by William Rose), directed by Marti Lyons with Associate Director Wardell Julius Clark. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner runs March 15 - April 15, 2018 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. The press opening is Saturday, March 24, 2018 at 8:00pm.

The New Black Fest and The Lark, two theater organizations dedicated to celebrating and advocating for stories that explore the intersection of art and social justice, are proud to announce the fifth annual The New Black Fest at The Lark. This week-long event is aimed at showcasing diverse and provocative work in a festival of Black theater artists from throughout the Diaspora, and will feature talkbacks, a panel event, and staged readings of four plays-in-progress. The festival will take place April 9-13, 2018, and will include works by 2017 Djerassi Writer in Residence France-Luce Benson (Deux Femmes On the Edge De La Revolution), 2018 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award recipient Donja R. Love (soft), 2015 Princess Grace Award-Winner Jonathan Payne (Brother Rabbit), and artist, activist, and The New Black Fest alum Liza Jessie Peterson (Sistergurls and the Squirrel) who has performed excerpts of her one-person play The Peculiar Patriot in over 35 penitentiaries across the country.

Obie Award-winning playwright Christopher Chen brings the World Premiere of Passage to The Wilma Theater in collaboration with Wilma Artistic Director Blanka Zizka and the Wilma HotHouse Company of actors. Praised by The New Yorker for his ability to find "ingenious ways to pull the rug out from under the audience's feet," Chen's new play uses the theater's primal evocative powers to examine the most essential questions of our time. Passage begins on Wednesday, April 18th, 2018, and opens on Wednesday, April 25th, 2018. 

Me and My Girl, the final production of the Encores! at 25 season at New York City Center will star Christian Borle, Suzzanne Douglas, Mark Evans, Harriet Harris, Edward Hibbert, John Horton, Simon Jones, Laura Michelle Kelly, Lisa O'Hare, Ken Page, and Don Stephenson.

The Iceman Cometh begins previews tonight at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. Get to know the cast below as they begin Broadway performances!