Mark Twain News

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is bringing back the bird and reuniting the entire cast and creative team of Aaron Posner's Stupid f**king Bird after its runaway success in the summer of 2013. Nominated for eight Helen Hayes Awards and winner for Outstanding Resident Play and Outstanding New Play or Musical, Stupid f**king Bird is directed by Woolly Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz and runs for three weeks: July 28, 2014 through August 17, 2014.

Julio Martinez-hosted Arts in Review - celebrating the best in live theater and cabaret in Greater Los Angeles - airs Friday (2-2:30pm) on KPFK (90.7FM). On Friday, July 4, The Air Repertory Players present a radio dramatization of Mark Twain's The Diary of Adam and Eve, featuring Irene Arranga, James Green and Nick Rogers. Arts in Review streams live worldwide over kpfk.org.

'The Apple Tree' features three short musicals based on stories by Mark Twain, Frank R. Stockton and Jules Feiffer with each musical comedy vignette highlighting a message about moral values. The first act is based on Mark Twain's 'The Diary of Adam and Eve,' the second act is based on Frank R. Stockton's 'The Lady or the Tiger?' and the third act is based on Jules Feiffer's 'Passionella.'

Sideshow Theatre Company is pleased to launch its 2014/15 season with the Midwest premiere of STUPID f**kING BIRD, Aaron Posner's comic spin on Chekhov's The Seagull, directed by Artistic Director Jonathan L. Green, playing August 16 - September 21, 2014 at Victory Gardens Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago.

First Floor Theater is thrilled to announce its Second Annual LitFest, TWAIN'S WORLD, a kaleidoscope of new work inspired by the life and work of one of America's greatest writers. Last year's GrimmFest brought together some of Chicago's most exciting writers and directors, including Bonnie Metzgar, Seth Bockley, Philip Dawkins and Greg Allen. Given the choice of three classic authors, the attendees of this year's annual season kick-off party selected Mark Twain. This moved an exciting, diverse group of playwrights to bring their voice to a conversation around themes in Twain's work, like establishing a new American identity, racism, and the satirization of civilized society. This year's fest promises a full range of adaptation, with everything from page-to-stage to a shadow puppet musical. The press opening will be Friday, July 11, 2014 at 8 pm. Tickets are available at firstfloortheater.com.

The Theatre @ Boston Court and Circle X Theatre Co. present Stupid f**king Bird, by Aaron Posner, directed by Michael Michetti. Opening night is Today, June 28, 2014 on the Main Stage at Boston Court Performing Arts Center, 70 North Mentor Avenue.

American actor/director Frank Ferrante known for his stage performances as legendary comedian Groucho Marx in New York, London and over 400 cities worldwide debuts his 'An Evening With Groucho' in Australia beginning today, June 27th. The tour plays eleven cities closing July 19th. Dreya Weber directs. Pianist Eric Ebbenga provides musical accompaniment. Australian based Jally Entertainment produces.

I see them occasionally - white shirts (usually with pockets), black trousers, clean-shaven, and cradling folders and totes. They often are on a corner; at times, they are walking through the parking lots of apartment complexes. They are unfailingly polite; more often than not, they respect our 'Puh-lease'-don't-bother-me looks or our efforts to look as if more important business is calling us elsewhere. These sweet-natured people are usually more interested in our welfare than we ourselves are, and, well, that's nice.

The State Theatre Center for the Arts, Easton, PA, announces its 88th Season. Tickets for the new season will go on sale to State Theatre Members on Thursday, August 5th, to the public on Tuesday, August 19th.

Last week, Wall Street Journal drama critic Terry Teachout received the Bradley Prize from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. An abridged version of his acceptance remarks were printed by the Wall Street Journal and appear below!

The nation's renowned auction house, Profiles in History, (www.profilesinhistory.com) has set July 11, 2014 (11 a.m. PST) to present the highly anticipated The Property of a Distinguished American Private Collector IV, the next auction of the series. Following the immensely successful Parts I, II, and III, the newest auction will represent a wide array of single lots, meticulously compiled groups and comprehensive archives.

California Shakespeare Theater continues its 2014 season with Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, directed by Aaron Posner. The Comedy of Errors plays at the Bruns Amphitheater from today, June 25 through July 20.

Las Vegas— Following a sold-out performance in March, iconic funny man Bill Cosby brings his signature comedy back to the Treasure Island Theatre July 18 at 8 p.m.

AFTERLOVE: LOVE LIFE IN THE AFTERLIFE, written by and performed by Ron Hanks and Betsy Reisz is one of the most brilliant and inventive shows I have seen at this year's Hollywood Fringe Festival. In the dating pool of the afterlife, there are a LOT of choices, and this show presents 8 couples of public figures across time and space as they attempt to create new and continued love with each other in Heaven.

Adobe Theater has announced today's opening of Tina Howe's Painting Churches (Pulitzer Prize Finalist 1984), directed by Brian Hansen.

Unbound Productions Executive Director Jonathan Josephson, Artistic Director Paul Millet, and Producing Artistic Director Jeff G. Rack have announced the cast for the World Premiere Wicked Lit installation of Algernon Blackwood's THE DOLL, adapted by Rack and directed by Millet (July 11-26, 2014; Fridays-Sundays, 7:00 p.m., 8:15 p.m., and 9:30 p.m.): Asia Aragon (Unbound Productions debut), Jennifer Novak Chun (The Lurking Fear, The Masque of the Red Death Experience, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Wicked Lit2013), Amelia Meyers (Unbound Productions debut), Tanya Mironowski (The Unnamable, Wicked Lit 2010, 2011), and Andrew Thatcher (Wake Not the Dead, Wicked Lit 2012). The play will be performed as a full production in and around Strub Mansion (a 100-year-old Italianate Beaux Arts home) on the campus of the historic Mayfield Senior School of the Holy Child Jesus in Pasadena.

The 2014-15 Performing Arts Season of The Grand 1894 Opera House promises countless opportunities to 'Celebrate with The Grand!'

A number of years ago, I was ordering breakfast at the Dogwood Cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and before the food arrived, a barbershop quartet began to harmonize. 'How delightful,' I thought - and then there was another song, followed by yet another: A barbershop quartet convention was in town, and several groups were scattered throughout the restaurant and waiting for their opportunity to perform. Before my pancake syrup was even out of the bottle, I was already craving some antidotal 'heavy metal.' Such experiences remind me of Mark Twain's story CAPTAIN STORMFIELD'S VISIT TO HEAVEN: Upon first arriving behind the Pearly Gates, the Captain is delighted to hear the heavenly harps; but as time passes, the harmonies become stultifying. Thankfully, the barbershop quartet that strolls through Theatre Memphis' colorful new production of Meredith Willson's THE MUSIC MAN never overstays its welcome.

freeFall Theatre's upcoming production of THE BURNT PART BOYS takes you out of St. Pete, Florida and deep into West Virginia's coal mines, following the very human experience of fourteen-year-old Pete, his brother Jake and their friends. As these daring young people journey into the coal mine known as "the burnt part", the same mine that took their fathers' lives, audiences are challenged to experience and perceive the streaks of light and the depths of the darkness that lie in each of us. By turns magical, inspiring, raucous, and playful it is a coming-of-age tale in the finest vein of the genre that people from all walks of life can relate to.

One of America's most beloved comedians of all time, Bill Cosby, whose comedy transcends age, gender, and cultural barriers, is making a rare appearance at the Aronoff Center, Today, June 14 at 8:00 PM. Cosby has captivated generations of fans with his comedy routines, iconic albums, and best-selling books, including Fatherhood, TimeFlies, and his current bestseller, I Didn't Ask to Be Born, (But I'm Glad I Was).