Ferocious Lotus Theatre Company, with the support of Intersection for the Arts, presents the world premiere of Leah Nanako Winkler's TWO MILE HOLLOW directed by Lily Tung Crystal. Ferocious Lotus is proud to produce Winkler's work since she was announced as the 2018 winner of the coveted Yale Drama Series Prize for her new play, GOD SAID THIS, and the 2018-2019 Jerome Fellow at The Lark. TWO MILE HOLLOW is part of a simultaneous world premiere with Artists at Play in Los Angeles, First Floor Theatre in Chicago, and Theatre Mu/Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis.
Once again, Dear Readers, we've ventured into the realm of one of my favorites. We recently had my all-time number one in town, but I'd have to say Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman's "Hairspray", is certainly in the top five with its infectious and rousing score and incredible book from Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan. I've seen countless productions including the original cast and even had the honor of being in the show. And now Village Theatre has thrown their wig in the ring with their own production and I have to say in some ways it surpasses all those others. With its Beat, Power, and Humor it's a true show triple threat.
Today Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein of the Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company announced the Twelfth Season of Keen Teens. This season's offerings will be Winifred & Myrtle Go to High School by Leah Nanako Wrinkler, directed by Michael Goldfried; Around 2 by James Anthony Tyler, directed by Estefania Fadul; and The Caribbean Queen with book & lyrics by Jamie Cowperthwait, music & lyrics by Salomon Lerner, directed and choreographed by Ilana Ransom Toeplitz with musical direction by Salomon Lerner. An-Lin Dauber will provide scenic design, with costume design by Karen Boyer, lighting design by Kate August and sound design by Karl Berntson.
The Barn Theatre, Michigan's oldest professional summer theatre, under the artistic leadership of Brendan Ragotzy, announced today the 72nd season of plays and musicals to be presented for the 2018 summer season at the landmark theatre. The Barn structure itself is celebrating 75 years in existence and has housed the Barn Theatre for 72 of them!
Hairspray originally opened on Broadway in 2002. The stage musical by Marc Shaiman, Mark O'Donnell, Thomas Meehan, and Scott Whittman, is based on the 1988 film written and directed by John Waters. The show takes place in 1962 in Baltimore and follows the story of teenager Tracy Turnblad. In many ways, Tracy is a typical teenager-longing for fame, wanting to be accepted, falling in love. But Hairspray is about more than teenage drama. It explores racism, segregation, integration, fat shaming, standards of beauty, and controversial relationships. Theatre Harrisburg's Hairspray opened at the Whitaker Center on April 26, 2018.
In a Grease-meets-Romeo & Juliet type of tale, the Tony nominated musical Cry-Baby brings loads of laughs. The Long Island premiere - running through May 12th at The Noel S. Ruiz Theatre at CM Performing Arts Center (CMPAC) - is superbly directed by Patrick Grossman - the Artistic Director of the Oakdale venue - and boasts an extraordinary cast. I've long admired the top notch comedic talent we have here on Long Island and the artists in this production certainly deliver sidesplitting performances.
Hook & Eye Theater is proud to present the world premiere of She-She-She, a vibrant new devised play with writing by Cynthia Babak that centers on six women whose lives intertwine across generations against the backdrop of one great mountain. Directed by Chad Lindsey, She-She-She is inspired by the real-life friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and leading black activist Pauli Murray.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) Artistic Director Bill Rauch announced the Festival's 2019 playbill today. The season, which will be Rauch's last at the artistic helm, celebrates Shakespeare, classics and new plays, including two American Revolutions commissions and a pilot Community Visit Project that will take a bilingual Play on! translation into community venues throughout the region.
One of the theater world's most prestigious playwriting prizes, the Yale Drama Series Prize, will be given to Leah Nanako Winkler for her play God Said This. The 2018 award recipient was chosen by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ayad Akhtar. The winning play will receive a private staged reading at Lincoln Center Theater's Claire Tow Theater onOctober 30, 2018.
Brooklyn Ballet, a unique and interdisciplinary dance company rooted in the classical idiom, presents Revisionist History, a provocative and diverse Spring season of broad range and repertoire. Brooklyn Ballet's programming is ever-expanding, embracing multifaceted dance styles and refashioning historical works. April's offerings include works of legendary dance makers George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, Isadora Duncan and Michel Fokine, as well as premieres of mixed genre and interdisciplinary works by Artistic Director Lynn Parkerson. The Company presents 5 performances, April 19-22, in The Mark O'Donnell Theater at The Actors Fund Arts Center in downtown Brooklyn.
Producer, Mark Goucher announced today that he has managed to extend his rights to tour Hairspray the Musical, with another tour being booked through 2020/21. This tour of Hairspray has taken to date over £10million at the box office with 4 months of performances still to come. Playing to packed houses, it has been a commercial and critical smash hit. A tour for 2020/21 is currently being booked.
Brooklyn Ballet, a unique and interdisciplinary dance company rooted in the classical idiom, presents Revisionist History, a provocative and diverse Spring season of broad range and repertoire. Brooklyn Ballet's programming is ever-expanding, embracing multifaceted dance styles and refashioning historical works. April's offerings include works of legendary dance makers George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, Isadora Duncan and Michel Fokine, as well as premieres of mixed genre and interdisciplinary works by Artistic Director Lynn Parkerson. The Company presents 5 performances, April 19-22, in The Mark O'Donnell Theater at The Actors
SOKOLOW THEATRE/DANCE ENSEMBLE, in its first season under the artistic direction of Samantha Geracht, will appear in rarely seen works by legendary American modern dance pioneer Anna Sokolow, including her Moods, which has not been performed since the late 1970's, along with Dreams and Preludes. The Company will be joined by guests Jennifer Conley, former soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Company, performing Sokolow's solo Poem, and Clarence Brooks, former Company member, in ?Sweet in the Morning, ?by choreographer Leni Wylliams. Four performances, March 8-11 at the Mark O'Donnell Theater at the Actors Fund Arts Center, 160 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn.
Artistic Director Ray Jivoff unveiled Skylight Music Theatre's 2018-19 Season line-up of "firsts" -- five shows that have never been produced at Skylight. "We are thrilled to announce this exciting season of well-known and well-loved shows that have not been produced by Skylight before," said Jivoff. "These are blockbuster titles that perfectly capture Skylight's mission of presenting the full spectrum of music theatre, from musicals to revues to classical repertoire. Each show is joyful and exuberant in its own way and highlights our dedication to producing inventive and theatrical musical storytelling."
The AT&T Performing Arts Center and Dallas Theater Center jointly announced today an unprecedented new collaboration to coproduce the Broadway musical HAIRSPRAY which will be the first title on the AT&T Performing Arts Center's Broadway Series 2018/2019 season. The smash hit musical comedy HAIRSPRAY will play 12 performances July 7 through July 15, 2018 at the Winspear Opera House in the downtown Dallas Arts District.
Audible Inc., the world's largest producer and provider of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, today announced the first class of theater commissions selected to receive support from its fund dedicated to the commission and development of innovative English-language works from playwrights around the globe. Announced earlier this year, the $5 million fund will enable the creation of one- and two-person audio plays driven by language and voice, in keeping with Audible's core commitment to elevating listening experiences through powerful performances of brilliantly composed words.
SOKOLOW THEATRE/DANCE ENSEMBLE, in its first season under the artistic direction of Samantha Geracht, will appear in rarely seen works by legendary American modern dance pioneer Anna Sokolow, including her Moods, which has not been performed since the late 1970's, along with Dreams and Preludes. The Company will be joined by guests Jennifer Conley, former soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Company, performing Sokolow's solo Poem, and Clarence Brooks, former Company member, in ?Sweet in the Morning, ?by choreographer Leni Wylliams. Four performances, March 8-11 at the Mark O'Donnell Theater at the Actors Fund Arts Center, 160 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn.
Red Bull Theater (Jesse Berger, Founding Artistic Director Jim Bredeson, Managing Director) today announced that their eighth annual festival of 10-minute plays of heightened language and classic themes will feature two brand new commissions from Tina Howe and Doug Wright, alongside 6 brand new plays chosen from hundreds of submissions from playwrights across the country. Selected plays will receive a staged reading performance in the festival on Monday July 16th (7:30 PM), directed by Pamela Berlin and Evan Yionoulis, performed by a company of some of New York's finest actors.
Lauren Beirne Dance Works and Six Degrees Dance present an evening of contemporary dance showcasing six emerging choreographers and companies from New York and New Jersey: Lauren Beirne Dance Works, Six Degrees Dance, Nikki Manx Dance Project, Robin Aren, Kristina Bermudez, and Joe Monteleone.
With the phenomenal success of the recent UK, Hairspray is back on the road touring the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland. Starring ITV comedy legend, Norman Pace, the production opened on 16th August to incredible public and critical acclaim and will go on to tour over 30 more venues across until June 2018.
