Matthew Dean News

Nominations for the 35th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were announced today by theatre veterans Jeremy Jordan and Ashley Spencer. The Awards will be presented during a special online event on Sunday, May 3, broadcast on the official website - www.LortelAwards.org - beginning at 7:00pm ET. A virtual 'host' and presenters will be announced at a later date. As always, the Lortel Awards will be a benefit for The Actors Fund and fans are encouraged to make donations at actorsfund.org/Lortel. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League and the Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation. Additional support is provided by TDF.

Clubbed Thumb's off-Broadway musical Tumacho will play its final performance tonight amid the Covid-19 outbreak. The company has announced that future performances have been canceled. '

Several Downtown legends are congregating at the alt-cabaret hotspot Pangea in Marcha?? Among the headliners taking risks and breaking ground are Penny Arcade with her new show, a?oeNotes from the Undergrounda?? (March 4 & 18); David Cale, with new show a?oeSandraa?? (March 8), and Charles Busch being himself in a new act (March 26).

Tony Award-nominated and five-time Obie Award-winning theater company Clubbed Thumb (Maria Striar, Producing Artistic Director; Michael Bulger, Associate Artistic Director; Quinn Metal Corbin, Advancement Director) announced that, due to popular demand, the return engagement of Ethan Lipton's TUMACHO, directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman will add one week of performances. First seen in the 2016 SUMMERWORKS season, TUMACHO began performances on February 17 and officially opened on Saturday, February 22 at the Connelly Theater (220 East 4th Street). The run will now conclude on Saturday, March 21, 2020. Tickets are on sale now at https://www.artful.ly/clubbedthumb.

The Drama League presents DirectorFest,  the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of contemporary stage directing.  The festival series that began January 10, 2020 continues with an evening of short plays with The Lover  by Harold Pinter, directed by NJ Agwuna,  and Appearances by Tina Howe, directed by Lindsey Hope Pearlman.  

February is coming in HOT at Joe's Pub!

The Drama League (Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Director Bevin Ross) presents the 36th annual Directorfest, the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of contemporary stage directing. Directorfest began January 10 and concludes on February 4, 2020 at various locations around NYC: The New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street), The Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas), LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (31-10 Thomson Avenue), and Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street). For festival details and tickets, visit directorfest.org or call (212) 244-9494 x102. Industry/Theatre Professionals may request tickets by emailingDirectorFest@dramaleague.org.

The Drama League (Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Director Bevin Ross) will present the 36th annual *DirectorFest, the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of contemporary stage directing.

Clubbed Thumb (Maria Striar, Producing Artistic Director; Michael Bulger, Associate Artistic Director; Quinn Metal Corbin, Advancement Director) announced today complete casting for the return engagement of Ethan Lipton's TUMACHO, directed by Tony Award nominee Leigh Silverman.

This winter and spring, Joe's Pub a?" a program and venue of The Public Theater a?" is honoring new voices in musical theater through a variety of shows. From Broadway performers in concert to new musicals presented in the concert setting, there's something for every fan of musicals happening this season. Audiences are invited to celebrate the art of musical theater in non-conventional yet intimate ways with returning artists and new faces alike at Joe's Pub.

The Drama League presents DirectorFest, the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of contemporary stage directing. The festival series that began January 10, 2020 continues with an evening of short plays probing the complexity of relationships with The Sporting Life of Icarus Jones by Marcus Gardley, directed by Chika Ike, and The Drowning Girls by Beth Graham, Charlie Tomlinson, and Daniela Vlaskalic, directed by Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly. The limited engagement begins Friday, January 24, 2020 at 7:30pm for three performances through January 25, 2020 at The New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street). Tickets are priced at $45 Premium Seating | $25 General Seating | $20 Drama League/SDC/AEA/DG Members.

The Drama League presents DirectorFest,  the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of contemporary stage directing. Launching the 2020 series is the musical Hello Again, with Book, Music and Lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa, Music Direction by Jesse Kissel, and Directed by 2019 Drama League Leo Shull Musical Directing Fellow Ben Randle.

The Drama League (Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Director Bevin Ross) announced today the acting company for the 36th annual DirectorFest, the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of contemporary stage directing. Directorfest will take place January 10 - February 4, 2020 at various locations around NYC: The New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street), The Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas), LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (31-10 Thomson Avenue), and Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street). For festival details and tickets, visit directorfest.org or call (212) 244-9494 x102.

Tickets are now on sale for the 36th annual Directorfest, the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of stage directing. Known for its history as an identifier of the next generation of directing talent, the festival will include six fully-staged productions, a showcase concert of a new play-with-music, a town hall, and conversations with directors including 2017 Tony Award Winner Rebecca Taichman (Indecent), 2014 Tony Award Winner & 2010 Drama League Founders Award for Excellence in Directing Kenny Leon (A Soldier's Play), and Intimacy Director Claire Warden (HBO's 'Mrs. Fletcher').

The Drama League announced today the 2020 line-up of DirectorFest: The 36th Annual Directors Festival, the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of contemporary stage directing. For its 36th year, the festival will include six fully-staged productions, a showcase concert of a new musical, a town hall, and conversations with directors including 2017 Tony Award Winner Rebecca Taichman (Indecent), 2014 Tony Award Winner and 2010 Drama League Founders Award for Excellence in Directing Kenny Leon (A Soldier's Play), and Intimacy Director Claire Warden (HBO's Mrs. Fletcher).

Dael Orlandersmith celebrates her 60th birthday with a special benefit evening at the Wild Project. The event takes place on Saturday, November 23 at 7 pm at Wild Project (195 E. 3rd Street, between Avenues A & B). Tickets are $60 - $100 (including food and drink) and will benefit the Wild Project's mission and programming. Advance tickets can be purchased online at http://www.thewildproject.com.

Thomas Wolfe--famed for his novels including “Look Homeward, Angel”--is also remembered for the quotable title of one of his short stories: “Only the Dead Know Brooklyn.” Judging my weekend at Opera Philadelphia's O19 opera festival, and its two world premieres, DENIS & KATYA and LET ME DIE, he could have also written “Only the Dead Know Philadelphia” (though it might have missed the priceless Brooklyn accents used in the story by this southern writer).

The last time a well-known actor not especially noted for singing graced a major New York stage with a one-person autobiographical musical that focused on personal tragedy, it was Suzanne Somer's unmissably jaw-dropping narcissistic spectacle, THE BLONDE IN THE THUNDERBIRD.  But fear not, playgoers, for while David Cale does provide quite a few original ditties to augment his childhood memoir, WE'RE ONLY ALIVE FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, his not-quite-Sinatra-level vocals are way more suited for this captivating presentation than a more elegant songbird's trill.

The New York premiere of WE'RE ONLY ALIVE FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME, written and performed by David Cale, with music co-written by Matthew Dean Marsh, and directed by Robert Falls, runs through Sunday, July 14.