Mary Frances News

67 years after her Broadway debut and 23 years since she was last seen on Broadway, Lois Smith will be 89 when The Inheritance opens on November 17. On Saturday, the company surprised her onstage as she celebrated the big day!

Turntables turn to turmoil in the heart of Detroit when a mysterious woman enters the lives of siblings Chelle and Lank. Underground basement parties are the talk of the town as the spirit of Motown breaks barriers across neighborhoods. As race riots erupt in their beloved city, tensions escalate at home. How will this family keep it together as their community falls apart?

Fountain Hills Theater announces the EXTENSION of the hit ABBA musical Mamma Mia! through Sept 29th.

ABBA's hits tell the hilarious story of a young woman's search for her birth father. This sunny and funny tale unfolds on a Greek island paradise. On the eve of her wedding, a daughter's quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother's past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago. The story-telling magic of ABBA's timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship, creating an unforgettable show. A mother. A daughter. Three possible dads. And a trip down the aisle you'll never forget!

Day is a busy actor who's in and out of town on her days off from FLOYD'S so this time we get six questions and no plug but I recommend checking this quick interview out, and then call the box office and get over to see her on stage at the Guthrie before Aug. 31.

Come see the 'revolting children living in revolting times' as Red Mountain Theatre Company presents Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical, running July 12 through Aug. 4.

The OBIE Award-winning NAATCO, National Asian American Theatre Company, kicks off their 29th season with the World Premiere of Gordon Dahlquist's [Veil Widow Conspiracy]. Aneesha Kudtarkar directs a cast that will include Edward Chin-Lyn, Kimiye Corwin, Bruce McKenzie, David Shih, James Seol, Karoline Xu, and Aaron Yoo. This Off-Broadway limited engagement at Next Door at New York Theatre Workshop (79 East 4th Street) will begin performances Saturday June 8th with Opening Night set for June 15th (7pm).  Performances continue through July 6th only.

The OBIE Award-winning NAATCO, National Asian American Theatre Company, kicks off their 29th season with the World Premiere of Gordon Dahlquist's [Veil Widow Conspiracy].

Playwrights Horizons (Artistic Director Tim Sanford, Managing Director Leslie Marcus) today announces that its 2019 Spring Gala will honor the beloved and prolific actress Lois Smith, a two-time Tony Award nominee whose six-decade career in theater, film, and television has included memorable performances in numerous Playwrights Horizons productions. The event will convene Playwrights Horizons' diverse community of writers, artists, and supporters on Monday, May 6 at 583 Park Avenue.

NYLON, a new play by Sofia Alvarez (Netflix's To All The Boys I've Loved Before) opens tonight, Saturday March 9th, at Theaterlab (357 West 36th Street) in New York City. Performances run through March 24th (see above schedule) and tickets, priced at $22, can be purchased by visiting www.theaterlabnyc.com/events/nylon.

Off-Broadway's The New Group will honor Edie Falco and Serge Nivelle at the company's Annual Gala on Monday, March 11 at Tribeca Rooftop (2 Desbrosses Street between Hudson & Greenwich).  The event will feature a performance by Brandon Victor Dixon and appearances by Peter Dinklage, Warren Leight, Erica Schmidt and Tarik Trotter. The evening, 6:00-10:00pm, includes cocktails, dinner and live auctions.

Ars Nova, "one of the most adventurous Off-Broadway companies" (New York Times), under the leadership of Founding Artistic Director Jason Eagan and Managing Director Renee Blinkwolt, is proud to announce that tickets are on sale for Mrs. Murray's Menagerie, created by The Mad Ones and Phillip James Brannon, Brad Heberlee, Carmen M. Herlihy and January LaVoy. Directed by Lila Neugebauer, Mrs. Murray's Menagerie kicks-off Ars Nova at Greenwich House and marks The Mad Ones' first production since their critically acclaimed play Miles For Mary.

Ars Nova, "one of the most adventurous Off-Broadway companies" (New York Times), under the leadership of Founding Artistic Director Jason Eagan and Managing Director Renee Blinkwolt, is proud to kick-off Ars Nova at Greenwich House with the world premiere commission of Mrs. Murray's Menagerie, created by The Mad Ones and Phillip James Brannon, Brad Heberlee, Carmen M. Herlihy and January LaVoy. Directed by Lila Neugebauer, Mrs. Murray's Menagerie marks The Mad Ones' first production since their critically acclaimed play Miles For Mary and celebrates 10 years of "triumphantly original" and "skillfully acted" (New York Times) theater that is saturated with "precision, invention, and richness" (Time Out New York). The Mad Ones has been Ars Nova's Company-in-Residence since 2015, developing Mrs. Murray's Menagerie and Miles For Mary.

Blockchain Theater Project (BTP), founded by Sofia Alvarez and Nicola Korzenko, is a new theater company that empowers artists to produce the work they create, funded in part by cryptocurrency donations. Like Bitcoin and other blockchains, BTP eliminates the institutional gatekeeper, creating a peer-to-peer model of support where the next play to be produced will be nominated by the playwright of the current production. Alvarez's NYLON will start this chain.

Building on 40 years of producing powerful contemporary theatre, Studio Theatre is pleased to announce a new class of commissioned playwrights and directors to Studio R&D, its incubator to support the creation of new work from inception to first production. Incoming Studio R&D artists are playwrights James Fritz, James Ijames, Steph Del Rosso, and Emily Schwend, as well as directors Carl Cofield, Lila Neugebauer, and Eric Ruffin. These exciting talents from the US and UK will have Studio's full support in creating aesthetically diverse new work to be presented in future seasons and introduced into the international repertoire. As they create Studio-specific works, commissioned artists will visit Studio to get to know its theatres, programming, and audiences in person.

The New Group has just announced complete casting and the design team for Clueless, The Musical by Amy Heckerling.  This world premiere production, with choreography by Kelly Devine, directed by Kristin Hanggi, features Ephie Aardema, Lori Alan, Sara Andreas, Gilbert L. Bailey II, Dove Cameron, Will Connolly, Danielle Marie Gonzalez, Tessa Grady, Talya Groves, Chris Hoch, L'ogan J'ones, Darius Jordan Lee, Justin Mortelliti, Brett Thiele, Dave Thomas Brown and Zurin Villanueva; with Scenic Design by Beowulf Boritt; Costume Design by Amy Clark; Lighting Design by Jason Lyons; Sound Design by Gareth Owen; Projection Design by Darrel Maloney; Music Supervision, Arrangement and Orchestration by Ethan Popp and Music Direction by Matthew Smedal.  Previews begin November 20 in advance of an Official Opening Night on Tuesday, December 11.  A limited Off-Broadway engagement is slated through January 12 at The Pershing Square Signature Center (The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre, 480 West 42nd Street).

Soho Rep. announces its 2018-2019 season, with two world premieres that demonstrate the small but flexible space's 'indispensible' (New York Magazine) presence as 'a 70-seat house filled with big ideas' (Hilton Als, The New Yorker). Through singular and irreverent stylistic approaches, Kate Tarker's Thunderbodies,directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz (October 16-November 18, 2018), and Christopher Chen's Passage, directed by Saheem Ali (April 23-May 26, 2019),interrogate the staggering ramifications of U.S and global imperialism.

Manhattan Theatre Club's 2018-2019 season has kicked off with the American premiere of The Nap, get to know the cast below as they begin Broadway performances!

Adjusted Realists will present a public reading of Spa Play ,a new play by Relentless Award winner Gracie Gardner on Wednesday, August 8th at 8pm in the Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre at the A.R.T./New York Theatres (502 West 53rd Street at 10th Avenue). The reading will be directed by Will Taylor and the cast features Dominique Brillion and Brian Miskell (Peace For Mary Frances).