Mark Bedard News

Whether she's in the lead role or in the chorus of the latest musical, Ann Michels is a Twin Cities actor/singer who stands out and who finds a connection with her audiences.

The Pearl Theatre Company begins its 2015-2016 season with Bedlam Theater Artistic Director Eric Tucker's fresh take on William Shakespeare's classic A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, following a highly successful engagement of the production at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival this summer. Check out photos from the production below!

The Pearl Theatre Company begins its 2015-2016 season with Bedlam Theater Artistic Director Eric Tucker's fresh take on William Shakespeare's classic A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, following a highly successful engagement of the production at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival this summer.

The Pearl Theatre Company (Artistic Director, Hal Brooks) will begin its 2015-2016 season with Bedlam Theater Artistic Director Eric Tucker's fresh take on William Shakespeare's classic A Midsummer Night's Dream,following a highly successful engagement of the production at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival this summer. Midsummer kicks off the Pearl's 32nd season, which will continue in the spring with the New York Premiere of Aaron Posner's Stupid Fu**ing Bird in and a World Premiere adaptation by Mark Shanahan of George Feydeau's Le Dindon, entitled The Dingdong.

The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival's popular reading series, HVSF2, curated by Christine Scarfuto, will highlight the work of some of America's most celebrated playwrights. Members of the HVSF acting company will be featured in the readings along with several renowned stage and film actors. Readings will take place at The Depot Theatre in Garrison on August 5, 7, 12, and 20. All Readings begin at 7:30pm. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased online at the Depot Theater website http://www.philipstowndepottheatre.org/.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) has annonced that that audiences across the country will be able to enjoy OSF productions in their own theatres.

The Guthrie Theater today announced the nine productions that will be included in the theater's 2015-2016 subscription season, including To Kill a Mockingbird, Pericles, Harvey and South Pacific on the Wurtele Thrust Stage and The Events, The Cocoanuts, The Real Inspector Hound/The Critic, Trouble in Mind and Disgraced on the McGuire Proscenium Stage.

Mint Theater today announced that their current acclaimed production of Fashions For Men by Ferenc Molnar featuring Mark Bedard, Joe Delafield, Shawn Fagan, Zachary Fine, Jeremy Lawrence, Rachel Napoleon, Annie Purcell, Kurt Rhoads, Michael Schantz, Maren Searle, John Seidman, Jill Tanner, John Tufts, and Gabra Zackman, would now continue through April 12th at Mint's home (311 West 43rd Street).

Mint Theater today announced the cast for their next production, Fashions For Men by Ferenc Molnar: Mark Bedard, Joe Delafield, Jeremy Lawrence, Rachel Napoleon, Annie Purcell, Kurt Rhoads, Michael Schantz, Maren Searle, John Seidman, Jill Tanner, John Tufts, and Gabra Zackman. Performances began February 3rd and continue through March 29th. Opening Night is Sunday March 1st (7pm) at Mint's home (311 West 43rd Street).

Mint Theater presents Fashions For Men by Ferenc Molnar, starring Mark Bedard, Joe Delafield, Jeremy Lawrence, Rachel Napoleon, Annie Purcell, Kurt Rhoads, Michael Schantz, Maren Searle, John Seidman, Jill Tanner, John Tufts, and Gabra Zackman. Performances began February 3rd and continue through March 29th. Opening Night is set for Sunday March 1st (7pm) at Mint's home (311 West 43rd Street). BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

Mint Theater today announced the cast for their next production, Fashions For Men by Ferenc Molnar: Mark Bedard, Joe Delafield, Jeremy Lawrence, Rachel Napoleon, Annie Purcell, Kurt Rhoads, Michael Schantz, Maren Searle, John Seidman, Jill Tanner, John Tufts, and Gabra Zackman. Performances begin February 3rd and continue through March 29th. Opening Night is set for Sunday March 1st (7pm) at Mint's home (311 West 43rd Street).

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival invites the public to its 27th annual Daedalus Project, a benefit for HIV/AIDS organizations, on Monday, August 18. This year's project will include a variety of events and fund-raising sales, beginning now and throughout the week of August 12-18.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) will open its sixth production of the 2014 season in the Angus Bowmer Theatre at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, April 20. A Wrinkle in Time, based on the book by Madeleine L'Engle and adapted and directed by Tracy Young, will run through November 1.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) will present a play reading of Ajax by Sophocles on Thursday, April 3 at 1:30 p.m. in the Thomas Theatre. The reading is directed by 2014 Phil Killian Directing Fellow Tom Ridgely.

The Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2014 preview performances begin tonight, February 14, and the season will open Friday night, February 21 in the Angus Bowmer Theatre with Shakespeare's The Tempest (director, Tony Taccone). On Saturday, Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window (Juliette Carrillo) takes the stage, as does the classic Marx Brothers musical The Cocoanuts (David Ivers), and Sunday afternoon Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors (Kent Gash) opens in the Thomas Theatre.

The Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2014 preview performances begin February 14, and the season will open Friday night, February 21 in the Angus Bowmer Theatre with Shakespeare's The Tempest (director, Tony Taccone). On Saturday, Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window (Juliette Carrillo) takes the stage, as does the classic Marx Brothers musical The Cocoanuts (David Ivers), and Sunday afternoon Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors (Kent Gash) opens in the Thomas Theatre.

Holy Crap! That's really the most emphatic sentiment I can use to describe the internal battles I had when trying to pick my top picks for this past year. There were so many amazing performances and achievements that to pick just one was almost an impossibility (and as you'll see, WAS an impossibility for one category). But the battle is over and it's my distinct pleasure to announce my picks for the 2013 Broadway World Seattle Critic's Choice Awards (or Jay's Picks, if you prefer).

In MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN, Olympia Dukakis delivers a searing performance in its title role. Dukakis is more than just a masterful actor, she delivers a Mother Courage who is strong, sassy and simply astonishing in her complexity. The entire ensemble of sixteen actors raises the reputation of Shakespeare & Company - already renowned for its lush, intelligible renditions of the Bard's greatest works - to new heights.

Considered by many to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century, MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN is set against the backdrop of the Thirty Years War of the seventeenth century. The play follows the fate of Mother Courage, an artful canteen woman with the Swedish Army, intent on keeping her business and family alive amidst the destruction of war. Written by Bertolt Brecht, directed by Artistic Director Tony Simotes and starring Academy Award-winner Olympia Dukakis, this play still resonates today providing a profound insight into the moral implications of war. MOTHER COURAGE AND HER WOMEN runs tonight, July 26 - August 25, in S&Co.'s Tina Packer Playhouse.

Considered by many to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century, MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN is set against the backdrop of the Thirty Years War of the seventeenth century. The play follows the fate of Mother Courage, an artful canteen woman with the Swedish Army, intent on keeping her business and family alive amidst the destruction of war. Written by Bertolt Brecht, directed by Artistic Director Tony Simotes and starring Academy Award-winner Olympia Dukakis, this play still resonates today providing a profound insight into the moral implications of war. MOTHER COURAGE AND HER WOMEN runs July 26 - August 25, in S&Co.'s Tina Packer Playhouse.