Mark Twain News

Lincoln Center Theater (under the direction of Andre Bishop, Artistic Director, and Bernard Gersten, Executive Producer) has announced its 2009 Fall productions of two new plays which will mark the Broadway and New York debuts for their respective playwrights: IN THE NEXT ROOM or The Vibrator Play, by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Les Waters; and BROKE-OLOGY a new play by Nathan Louis Jackson, directed by Thomas Kail. IN THE NEXT ROOM or The Vibrator Play, which will be presented on Broadway while LCT's Tony Award winning production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC continues its run at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, will begin previews on Thursday, October 22 and open on Thursday, November 19 at a Shubert theater to be announced.

Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities will hold auditions for 'Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' on Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at the Arvada Center. This production will be directed and choreographed by Stephen Bourneuf. Musical Director is David Nehls. Producer is Rod A. Lansberry. Denver auditions will be held on March 16 and March 17, 2009. Auditions are by appointment only and can be scheduled by calling (720) 898-7200.

Michael Donald Edwards, Asolo Repertory Theatre's producing artistic director, announced today his selections for the 2009-2010 season of plays, his fourth season with the company. Asolo Rep's 51ST season kicks off in October with CONTACT, an exciting new musical produced by Asolo Rep in collaboration with the Sarasota Ballet. Other titles on the schedule are THE PERFUME SHOP, SEARCHING FOR EDEN: THE DIARIES OF ADAM AND EVE, THE LIFE OF GALILEO, HEARTS, MANAGING MAXINE, DANCING BACKWARDS IN HIGH HEELS: THE GINGER MUSICAL, and THE LAST FIVE YEARS.

ON THE BOARDS THIS WEEK at *Cascia Hall Performing Arts Center* 2520 S. Yorktown Ave. UTICA Entrance *The Will Roger's Follies* March 5-7th 7:00pm March 8th at 2:00pm Tickets are $5 & $10 For Tickets: 918-596-7109 www.myticketoffice.com

Theater News from Broadway and the Baltimore/Washington Area

Composer, singer and mandolin player Chris Thile and The Punch Brothers bring their unique sound - a creative fusion of bluegrass, jazz and classical music - to the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced the Center and the National Symphony Orchestra's complete season for 2009- 2010. In wide ranging programming that covers theater, dance, classical music, jazz and productions for young people, the Center continues its commitment, as the nation's center for the performing arts, to producing and presenting the best of national and international arts.

Broadway's most talked about new musical and the biggest Tony Award-winner in years is coming to Cleveland. Spring Awakening, the 8-time Tony Award? winning Broadway musical, will open at PlayhouseSquare's PalaceTheatre and play for 16 performances, March 3-15. Spring Awakening is part of the KeyBank Broadway Series at PlayhouseSquare. Spring Awakening swept the 2007 Tony Awards? winning eight out of its eleven nominations, including Best Musical, Best Director (Michael Mayer), Best Book (Steven Sater), Best Choreography (Bill T. Jones), Best Orchestrations (Duncan Sheik), Best Lighting Design (Kevin Adams), Best Featured Actor (John Gallagher Jr.).

After receiving rave reviews and playing to sold out audiences & standing ovations in over 200 performances, Marion J. Caffey's 3 Mo' Divas (www.3MoDivas.com) has been awarded its first PBS television special. '3 Mo' Divas (Smashing Musical Barriers)' will air nationally March 1st-10th and June 1st-15th. (check local listings for exact dates and times). In celebration of the PBS Special, 3 Mo' Divas will also release their debut CD 'Smashing Musical Barriers' on March 1st and a Hi-Def & Blu-Ray DVD recording of the PBS special on May 12th. 3 Mo' Divas brings down the house with thrilling performances of an amazing 10 styles of music, including Opera, Broadway, Jazz, Blues, R&B, Soul, Disco, Rock & Roll, Spiritual & Gospel. The show begins with the classical sounds of Puccini then segues into songs from hit Broadway musicals like Wicked, Ragtime and Rent. This is soon followed by hot and familiar tunes of Billie Holiday, Whitney Houston and Tina Turner. By the end of every performance, the Divas have audiences up out of their seats rockin', singing and dancing in the aisles. 3 Mo' Divas is an extraordinary musical event - all music, all passion and all fun. 3 Mo' Divas performs 10 styles of music, spanning 233 years and sung in 3 languages.

Emmy-nominated Paul Anthony Stewart stars as Raskolnikov in a gripping 90-minute adaptation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment at The Cleveland Play House. In addition to numerous New York and regional theatre roles, Stewart, who was nominated for his recurring role on 'Guiding Light,' recently appeared on Broadway in the revivals of Fiddler on the Roof and Cyrano - The Musical. Performed with only three actors, the adaptation of Crime and Punishment by Marilyn Campbell and Cut Columbus is being helmed by the acclaimed director of the 2005 Play House production of I Am My Own Wife, Anders Cato. Crime and Punishment begins in the Drury Theatre at The Cleveland Play House on Friday, February 27 and runs through Sunday, March 22, 2009. Tickets are on sale now at The Cleveland Play House box office by calling 216.795.7000 ext 4 or online at www.clevelandplayhouse.com. Crime and Punishment is presented in promotional partnership with National City and Baker & Hostetler.

The producers of Blithe Spirit are pleased to announce the show will play The Shubert Theatre (225 West 44th Street). Rehearsals are scheduled to begin Monday, January 26, 2009 with the first performance on Thursday, February 26, 2009.

Hal Holbrook in 'Mark Twain Tonight' Saturday, March 21 - 7:30pm A LIVING, BREATHING, AMERICAN MASTERPIECE! The actor was Hal Holbrook. The man was Mark Twain. It is, quite simply, one of the most acclaimed and enduring performances in the history of theatre. Nearly 50 years ago, a young actor took the stage in a tiny off-Broadway theatre and introduced the world to a man they'd never forget. The actor was Hal Holbrook. The man was Mark Twain. (Mark Twain biography attached).

Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities will hold auditions for 'Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' on Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17, 2009 at the Arvada Center. This production will be directed and choreographed by Stephen Bourneuf. Musical Director is David Nehls. Producer is Rod A. Lansberry. Denver auditions will be held on March 16 and March 17, 2009. Auditions are by appointment only and can be scheduled by calling (720) 898-7200.

Marion J. Caffey?s 3 Mo? Divas has been awarded its first PBS Television Special! After receiving rave reviews and playing to sold out audiences & standing ovations ?3 Mo? Divas (Smashing Musical Barriers)? will air nationally March 1st-10th and June 1st-15th (WLIW in NYC on March 10th @ 8pm - check local listings for exact dates and times in other areas). In celebration of the PBS Special, 3 Mo' Divas will also release their debut CD ?Smashing Musical Barriers? on March 1st and a Hi-Def & Blu-Ray DVD recording of the PBS special on May 12th.

Theater News from Broadway and the Baltimore/Washington Area

When is anyone morally sanctioned to take another's life? Is redemption possible for anyone who has committed the sin of murder? These questions lie at the heart of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment-the classic, celebrated Russian novel of motive and murder, perhaps the greatest and most insightful crime story ever written. Thrillingly adapted for only three actors, this absorbing and highly theatrical drama will unfold in a heart-stopping 90 minutes at the Jungle Theater, March 27 - May 3.

BUoYANT BILLIoNS by George Bernard Shaw Monday ? 16 FEBRUARY 7pm @THE PLAYERS 16 Gramercy Park South (20th St. east of Park Av) with Bryan Batt? Veanne Cox ? Loni Ackerman? Emma Archid Ezra Barnes ? Ashley Wren Collins? William DeMeritt? Ed Dixon Teddy Eck? Marsh?ll Factora? George S. Irving? John Martello Charlotte Moore? Graham Rowat and host David Sheward Produced and directed by David Staller Join us for one of Shaw's wittiest and least known plays, written towards the end of his VERY long life. The plot: after WWII, a rich young man (Bryan Batt) decides to venture forth into the world and become a professional 'world betterer.' Along the way he meets the saxophone playing Buoyant heiress, (Veanne Cox) who treats him so curiously that he becomes utterly fascinated by her... and her eccentric family. Don't miss this one: it's a rich opportunity!

Broadway's most talked about new musical and the biggest Tony Award?-winner in years is coming to the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis. Spring Awakening, the 8-time Tony Award? winning Broadway musical, will play a two-week engagement from February 10-22, 2009. Curtain times for the U.S. Bank Broadway Series presentation are Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 & 8 p.m.; Sunday, February 15 at 2 & 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, February 22 at 2 p.m. There is also a weekday matinee on Thursday, February 19 at 1 p.m.

Theater News from Broadway and the Baltimore/Washington Region

This January, hundreds of theater enthusiasts from across the region convened at the Goodspeed Opera House to experience the newest works in musical theater. Welcoming many new visitors to Goodspeed Musicals, it was very exciting to see wintertime at Goodspeed Landing bustling with so many eager to be a part of this exciting gathering of creative voices. Audiences in record numbers participated in the 2009 Festival of New Artists throughout the Goodspeed campus highlighted by staged readings of new musicals at the Goodspeed Opera House.