Manhattan Theatre Club News

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of CASA VALENTINA, the play by four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello is now in previews for a Wednesday, April 23, 2014 opening on Broadway at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). BroadwayWorld has new photos of the cast in action below!

Co-Hosts Judith Light and Christopher Sieber announced the nominations for the 2014 Drama League Awards, including Distinguished Production of a Play, Distinguished Production of a Musical, Distinguished Revival of a Play, Distinguished Revival of a Musical, and the much coveted Distinguished Performance Award. The 2014 Drama League Nomination announcement begins the month of celebrations leading up to the 80th Annual Drama League Awards, which will be held at the Marriott Marquis Times Square (1535 Broadway) on Friday, May 16, 2014 at noon hosted by Broadway veteran Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

Malcolm Gets will join Jennifer Bowles and Rob McClure in the New York City Center Encores! production of Irma La Douce, running for seven performances, May 7 - 11, 2014. Mr. Gets replaces Allan Corduner, who has had a scheduling conflict. The final production of the 2014 Encores! season will also feature Sam Bolen, Ben Crawford, Stephen DeRosa, Zachary James, Ken Krugman, and Chris Sullivan. Irma La Douce will be directed by John Doyle and choreographed by Chase Brock, with music direction by Rob Berman. Jack Viertel is Encores! Artistic Director.

Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma announce Writers Theatre's World Premiere production of Days Like Today, with music and lyrics by Alan Schmuckler and book by Laura Eason, directed by Artistic Director Michael Halberstam, music direction by Doug Peck and choreography by Tommy Rapley. The production runs May 6-July 13, 2014 at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe. The press opening is May 22, 2014 at 7:30pm.

For the twelfth year in a row, the North Wildwood Beach Writers' Conference (NWBC), now in conjunction with Atlantic Cape Community College, brings together prestigious and inspiring speakers who discuss the craft of writing. This year, the dates are Tuesday, June 3, and Wednesday, June 4 and the location is the Wildwoods Convention Center, 4501 Boardwalk.

The New Group presents the New York premiere of Annapurna by Sharr White, directed by Bart DeLorenzo and featuring Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman, in a limited Off-Broadway engagement through June 1. Official Opening Night is tonight, April 21 at 7:00pm, at The New Group @ Theatre Row (The Acorn Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street).

The Geffen Playhouse has announced four plays for the eight-play 2014-2015 season, including the Co-World Premiere, with the Sydney Theatre Company, of the Geffen commissioned, Switzerland, written by Joanna Murray-Smith (The Female of the Species); the West Coast Premieres of The Night Alive, written by Olivier and Evening Standard Award winner and Tony nominee Conor McPherson (The Weir, The Seafarer) and directed by Geffen Artistic Director Randall Arney; and The Power of Duff, written by Stephen Belber and directed by Peter DuBois (Rapture, Blister, Burn); and The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord, written by Scott Carter.

David Ives' seductive play of gender politics and power VENUS IN FUR brings Broadway's hottest date night to the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's Robert S. Marx Theatre today, April 19 through May 17.

The Harold Clurman Lab Theater, the professional wing of the Art of Acting Studio, is proud to present The West Coast premiere of Muckrakers by Zayd Dohrn (Long Way ago Down, Outside People, Haymarket, Sick). Directed by Don K. Williams (Off-Broadway Lebensraum, Turn of the Screw, Look Back in Anger, Libidoff), Muckrakers will play Fridays & Saturdays at 8PM, May 30 - July 2, 2014, with the final two performances playing Monday and Tuesday, respectively. The Lab Theater's most recent work in Los Angeles include the Ovation-recommended run of Lebensraum by Israel Horovitz, and Ovation-nominated run of Long Way Go Down by Zayd Dohrn.

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.

Yale Repertory Theatre, in a co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, presents the world premiere of The House that will not Stand by Marcus Gardley, directed by Patricia McGregor. The House that will not Stand will be performed at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street) today, April 18-May 10. Opening Night is Thursday, April 24.

Second Stage Theatre kicks off the 2014 Uptown Series with the New York premiere of AMERICAN HERO, written by Bess Wohl and directed by Leigh Silverman. AMERICAN HERO will feature ARI GRAYNOR (2ST Trust), DAOUD HEIDAMI (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), JERRY O'CONNELL (Seminar) and ERIN WILHELMI (The Great God Pan). Previews begin Monday, May 12th and opening night is Thursday, May 22nd.

The Wild Root Company, a New York City-based production endeavor committed to the development of new work from emerging playwrights and screenwriters, will present two industry readings of rising playwright Jonathan Kravetz's hysterical farce The Beast in My Pants. The readings will be held today, April 17, 2014 at 3:00 and 8:00 pm at The Creative Center at Manhattan Theatre Club. Jessi D. Hill (Associate Artistic Director of terraNOVA Collective) will direct. Sean Hudock will produce the readings.

force/collision announces its current performance project, Jarman (all this maddening beauty) will be livestreamed on HowlRound TV on April 20th at 4:00pm. Inspired by queer avant-garde artist, activist and filmmaker, Jarman (all this maddening beauty) invades the mind and artistic aesthetic of Derek Jarman (The Last of England, Sebastiane, The Tempest) to create a poetic and visually dynamic mash-up of video and live performance. This project will premiere in 2014 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Jarman's death.

Theatre Exile closes its 17th season with the Philadelphia premiere of Annapurna, a moving and explosive new play by critically acclaimed, emerging Broadway playwright Sharr White. Driven by the emotionally charged relationship between a husband and wife, Exile's production stars Barrymore Award-winning actors Pearce Bunting (Exile's A Behanding in Spokane, HBO's Boardwalk Empire) and Catharine Slusar (Iron, Any Given Monday) as Ulysses and Emma. Performances run today, April 17 - May 11 in Theatre Exile's South Philadelphia Studio X.

The Wild Root Company, a New York City-based production endeavor committed to the development of new work from emerging playwrights and screenwriters, will present two industry readings of rising playwright Jonathan Kravetz's hysterical farce The Beast in My Pants. The readings will be held on Thursday April 17, 2014 at 3:00 and 8:00 pm at The Creative Center at Manhattan Theatre Club. Jessi D. Hill (Associate Artistic Director of terraNOVA Collective) will direct. Sean Hudock will produce the readings.

The Colony Theatre is thrilled to present Ian Buchanan and Mariette Hartley starring in THE LION IN WINTER, written by James Goldman and directed by Stephanie Vlahos. THE LION IN WINTER will preview tonight, April 16; Thursday, April 17; and Friday, April 18 at 8:00pm and will open on Saturday, April 19 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, May 18 at The Colony Theatre, 555 N. Third Street (at Cypress) adjacent to the Burbank Town Center Mall.

Talie Melnyk presents Maison des Reves at the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. Maison des Reves is written and performed by Talie Melnyk and directed by Gretchen Cryer. Performances are Wednesday, May 21 at 7:00pm, Friday, May 23 at 7:00pm, and Saturday, May 24 at 4:00pm at the Paradise Factory in NYC. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased at www.planetconnections.org.

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center announced today its six new plays selected for development at the 50th annual National Playwrights Conference (NPC):

Seattle Repertory Theatre's full 2014-2015 season was announced today by Artistic Director Jerry Manning. The season is headlined by the first-ever presentation of Seattle writer Robert Schenkkan's striking meditation on power and morality in his two-part Lyndon B. Johnson plays, All the Way and The Great Society, in repertory format.