McCarter Theatre News

BroadwayWorld Presents The 2009 Tony Award Nominees: 'Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play'

Ars Nova (Jason Eagan, Artistic Director; Jon Steingart and Jenny Wiener Steingart, Executive Producers) presents the World Premiere of MEL & EL: SHOW AND TELL. This new comedy with original music, best described as a musical Laverne & Shirley-meets-Sex and the City, is written and performed by Melanie Adelman and Ellie Dvorkin, with music by Patrick Spencer Bodd, and developed with and directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel. Previews begin May 6 at Ars Nova, with an official press opening on May 15.

After a 48 year absence, Bye Bye Birdie will return to Broadway this fall presented by Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) in a production starring John Stamos (Albert Peterson), Gina Gershon (Rose Alvarez), Bill Irwin (Mr. Harry MacAfee) and Jayne Houdyshell (Mrs. Mae Peterson). Directed & choreographed by Robert Longbottom, Bye Bye Birdie has a book by Michael Stewart, lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse. Roundabout is proud to welcome back three artists who have previously worked at the theatrical institution: John Stamos, Gina Gershon and Bill Irwin.

CockEyed Optimists Theatre Company is proud to present ONE THING I LIKE TO SAY IS, a new play by Amy Fox, directed by Terry Berliner; starring: Brenda Jean Foley, Kendra Mylnechuk, Jolie Curtsinger, Brian Gillespie, and Michael Mattie. The Production will run April 15 thru May 3 at Access Theater, 380 Broadway NYC 10013.

Westport Country Playhouse will present a Sunday Symposium, 'A Conversation with Mark Brown,' following the Sunday, April 26, 3 p.m. matinee performance of 'Around the World in 80 Days,' written by Brown, based on the novel by Jules Verne.

The stage will brighten with Philadelphia Theatre Company's mainstage season finale Grey Gardens, book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie, on May 22 - June 28 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (Broad and Lombard Streets). Directed by Lisa Peterson, the ensemble cast features Todd Almond, Cole Burden, Kim Carson, Maggie Fitzgerald, Joy Franz, James Ijames, John Jellison, Anastasia Korbal, and Hollis Resnik.

Natacha Roi and Don Reilly take on the historical roles of Emilie Du Châtelet and Voltaire in the World Premiere of Lauren Gunderson's Emilie - La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life at the Petit Théâtre at Cirey Tonight at South Coast Repertory. Commissioned by SCR and directed by Producing Artistic Director David Emmes, Emilie will run from April 19 through May 10, 2009 on the Julianne Argyros Stage. Low-priced previews are available from April 19 through April 23. Opening night is April 24. Press night is Saturday, April 25 at 7:45 p.m. Tickets to Emilie may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.

CockEyed Optimists Theatre Company is proud to present ONE THING I LIKE TO SAY IS, a new play by Amy Fox, directed by Terry Berliner; starring: Brenda Jean Foley, Kendra Mylnechuk, Jolie Curtsinger, Brian Gillespie, and Michael Mattie. The Production will run April 15 thru May 3 at Access Theater, 380 Broadway NYC 10013.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce casting and dates for the world premiere production of Academy Award® winning film maker Ethan Coen's OFFICES, directed by Neil Pepe (Speed-the-Plow).

The Brown University Literary Arts Program and the Brown/Trinity Repertory Consortium are pleased to announce the second installment of the 27th annual NEW PLAYS FESTIVAL. A celebration of the diversity and strength of new theatrical voices, the NEW PLAYS FESTIVAL has been instrumental in bringing the work of America's finest emerging playwrights to life for nearly three decades.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce casting and dates for the world premiere production of Academy Award winning film maker Ethan Coen's OFFICES, directed by Neil Pepe (Speed-the-Plow).

March 2, 2009 Los Angeles - The Off-Broadway hit ?Back to Bacharach and David? will have a short 23 performance engagement at The Music Box @ Fonda April 15 to May 17 (opening April 19).

George Street Playhouse has announced full casting for New Year's Eve a world premiere from the pen of ARTHUR LAURENTS. George Street Playhouse Artistic Director DAVID SAINT will direct a starry cast comprised of WALTER BELENKY, KEITH CARRADINE, PETER FRECHETTE, MARLO THOMAS and NATASHA GREGSON WAGNER. New Year's Eve marks the ninth collaboration between Saint and Laurents at the New Brunswick Playhouse, and the return engagement of Ms. Thomas, who starred in Elaine May's Roger is Dead last season.

It's a known fact that actors like to talk. Stereotypically, they like to talk about themselves: about their latest endeavors, about their past performances and about their upcoming projects. Zach Grenier is a different kind of actor. He likes to talk about Ludwig Van Beethoven. The fact that he's currently playing the composer in Moisés Kaufman's brilliant play entitled 33 VARIATIONS has him talking about the play, too. It's a very special production and it's brought Jane Fonda back to Broadway after 43 years in film, television and activism. Still it is obvious that Grenier is in love with the art of acting and enjoys discussing his current project and the musical giant he portrays in it.

Writers' Theatre Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma announce the World Premiere of A Minister's Wife, a new musical adapted from George Bernard Shaw's Candida, conceived and directed by Michael Halberstam with musical direction by Richard Casey. A Minister's Wife was adapted by Austin Pendleton with music by Joshua Schmidt and lyrics by Jan Tranen.

Passage Theatre Company in Trenton, NJ, will begin performances on Thursday, April 16 of Instructions for Breathing, a world premiere by acclaimed playwright Caridad Svich. Performances run through May 10 (opening night: Saturday, April 18) at the Mill Hill Playhouse, 205 East Front Street, at the corner of Montgomery Street in historic downtown Trenton.

The Tony Award® -winning McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ, has announced the complete cast for the world premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's landmark trilogy The Brother/Sister Plays. Presented in two parts, the production will be presented with a single cast and performed in repertory in McCarter's Berlind Theatre. The Brother/Sister Plays is co-produced with New York's Public Theater.

The Tony Award® -winning McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey, is preparing to launch the world premiere of the groundbreaking trilogy The Brother/Sister Plays, written by one of the most celebrated young playwrights of his generation: Tarell Alvin McCraney.

Ars Nova (Jason Eagan, Artistic Director; Jon Steingart and Jenny Wiener Steingart, Executive Producers) presents the World Premiere of MEL & EL: SHOW AND TELL. This new comedy with original music, best described as a musical Laverne & Shirley-meets-Sex and the City, is written and performed by Melanie Adelman and Ellie Dvorkin, with music by Patrick Spencer Bodd, and developed with and directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel. Previews begin May 6 at Ars Nova, with an official press opening on May 15.

The Brown University Literary Arts Program and the Brown/Trinity Repertory Consortium are pleased to announce the second installment of the 27th annual NEW PLAYS FESTIVAL. A celebration of the diversity and strength of new theatrical voices, the NEW PLAYS FESTIVAL has been instrumental in bringing the work of America's finest emerging playwrights to life for nearly three decades.