Mark Cohen News

LeakyCon, a convention that grew out of the worldwide Harry Potter fan community, will be held at the Oregon Convention Center June 27 through 30, 2013.

One of Greater Boston's most beloved traditions, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's 'Free Shakespeare On The Common' celebrates its 18th season with the comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Inspired by Rat Pack-era Vegas, this production brings together the talents of CSC's Artistic Director Steve Maler, music director Colin Thurmond and choreographer Yo-el Cassel. Playing July 6 - 28, 2013, performances are free and open to the public.

The old adage that the show must go on was put to the test at Hudson Theatre during the opening night performance of Jonathan Larson's musical RENT presented by the 2Cents Theatre Group. Not only did the air conditioning go out, the sound equipment was on the blink! Even so, the produciton still packs a punch.

The San Francisco Playhouse (Bill English, Artistic Director; Susi Damilano, Producing Director) concludes its fourth season of the Sandbox Series of new plays in alliance with theNational New Play Network (NNPN) to present the 'Rolling World Premiere' of Grounded by George Brant. The one-woman play will be directed by Susannah Martin and feature Lauren English*. The San Francisco Playhouse is proud to host the first production for this year's 'Rolling World Premiere.'

Colt Coeur's Play Hotel reading series will present an industry reading of Laura Jacqmin's Dental Society Midwinter Meeting on Monday, May 20th at 3pm at TheaterLab, 357 West 36th Street, 3rd Floor in Manhattan. Directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt (Recall, Fish Eye, Seven Minutes in Heaven), the cast includes Matt Stadelmann, Katya Campbell (The Big Knife, Broadway), Adam Harrington (HIT-LIT, Queens Theater), Sue Jean Kim (Water By the Spoonful, 2nd Stage), Hubert Point-Dujour (A Map of Virtue, 13P) and Kate Cullen Roberts (Breakfast at Tiffany's, Broadway).

Rent is Jonathan Larson's musical about a group of friends struggling to make ends meet. In his critically acclaimed show, he tells the story of love, loss, and struggle. Larson tells the story through the experiences and relationships of his colorful and complex characters whom audiences have grown to know and love. In the Lower Ossington Theatre's production of this award winning show, these iconic characters are portrayed to a tee. The production manages to stay true to the legendary show while also taking artistic license. While elements of the show, especially characterization, mirrors the original, the main place where artistic license is taken is with the character of Roger.

Celebrity Cruises today announced an exclusive partnership with Manhattan's noted '54 Below,' which will bring guests on Celebrity's newly 'Solsticized' Celebrity Summit the rare opportunity to enjoy entertainment by some of Broadway's brightest stars while sailing to the pink-sand paradise of Bermuda. Broadway stars will light up the stage of Celebrity Summit during its Bermuda vacation season from Cape Liberty (Bayonne), NJ, from this Sunday, May 5, through October 2013.

Horse Trade Theater Group and StrangeDog Theatre will present the New York Premiere of BOOTSTRAPS by Ben Clawson, June 13-22 at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place). The production will be directed by Artem Yatsuov with Assistant Director Amanda Mae Cohen and will feature Scott Cagney, Rob Hille, Paul Romano, and Sebastian Smeureanu. The creative team will include Lighting Design by Rebecca Bickley, Costume Design by Jason Caballero, Set Design by Peter Martino, and Sound Design by Artem Yatsunov. The production will be Stage Managed by Keila Fontanez-La Salle.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts previously announced national awardees for outstanding work from the regional festivals that were held January 8 through March 3, 2013. Individual awardees and a representative from each of the outstanding productions will travel to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. for an expenses-paid trip to participate in the 45th annual Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF), today, April 15-20, 2013.

Pavement Group previously announced participants for their 3rd Annual Amuse Bouche festival - a one-week celebration of some of the most exciting new voices in American Theatre - which will feature involvement from Steppenwolf's Young Adult Council as the first project to launch an annual programming relationship.

The NATIONAL NEW PLAY NETWORK (NNPN), the country's alliance of non-profit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, announces its 37th Rolling World Premiere: George Brant's Grounded will receive three productions through the Network's Continued Life of New Plays Fund in the 2013/14 season. Grounded will begin its Rolling World Premiere at the San Francisco Playhouse (San Francisco, CA, August - September, 2013), followed by performances at Borderlands Theater (Tucson, AZ, September - October, 2013) and Unicorn Theatre (January - February, 2014). Grounded won the 2012 Smith Prize for a new play on American political themes.

In all honesty, there really is nothing more fun than seeing the next generation of musical theatre talent put on a great production of one of Broadway's mega-hits. Fortunately for Houston audiences, that's exactly what is happening in HSPVA's Black Box Theatre, as the school presents Jonathan Larson's RENT. Even with some altered lyrics and cut songs, the edgy production pushes envelopes as far as a public high school production can. Please note, the production is still recommended for mature audiences only.

Argus Eyes Drama Society of Saint Peter's University will open their production of 'RENT' in April.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced national awardees for outstanding work from the regional festivals that were held January 8 through March 3, 2013. Individual awardees and a representative from each of the outstanding productions will travel to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. for an expenses-paid trip to participate in the 45th annual Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF), April 15-20, 2013.

Stageworks Theatre presents the Florida premiere production in a staged reading format of Bellini and the Sultan: A Comedy in Istanbul by local playwright Ed Stevens, one of the 2013 winners of Stageworks' Breaking New Ground Playwrights Competition. The Competition is part of Stageworks' landmark program to encourage and nurture new works of theater, which includes Stagewrights, the company's longstanding bi-monthly playwriting workshop and its highly successful TampaWorks evening of plays about the Tampa Bay area.

Pavement Group has announced participants for their 3rd Annual Amuse Bouche festival - a one-week celebration of some of the most exciting new voices in American Theatre - which will feature involvement from Steppenwolf's Young Adult Council as the first project to launch an annual programming relationship.

Ocean State Theatre Company (OSTC), the not-for-profit which brought new life to the historic Theatre By The Sea for the past five years, continues their Inaugural Season with Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking musical, RENT, which opens in previews tonight, February 20.

Stageworks Theatre presents the Florida premiere production in a staged reading format of Bellini and the Sultan: A Comedy in Istanbul by local playwright Ed Stevens, one of the 2013 winners of Stageworks' Breaking New Ground Playwrights Competition. The Competition is part of Stageworks' landmark program to encourage and nurture new works of theater, which includes Stagewrights, the company's longstanding bi-monthly playwriting workshop and its highly successful TampaWorks evening of plays about the Tampa Bay area.

Ocean State Theatre Company (OSTC), the not-for-profit which brought new life to the historic Theatre By The Sea for the past five years, continues their Inaugural Season with Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking musical, RENT, which opens in previews on Wednesday, February 20.

It's been said that an artist's primary goal is to create something unique and specific that is at the same time universally identifiable. As a performer, Anthony Rapp has been doing just that since the age of 9, most notably as Mark Cohen in the hit musical "Rent". Now, Rapp has added author to his list of artistic credits and the results are simultaneously unique and universal.