Melia Bensussen News

Hartford Stage has announced its 2020/2021 season.

One week after cancelling the four remaining performances of Jane Eyre, and the entire run of The King's Speech as well as the financial impact of having to cancel its premier annual fundraising gala, Hartford Stage has announced that it has taken action to reduce its employee workforce by way of position eliminations and furloughs.

Actors' Shakespeare Project (ASP) continues its 16th season with The Merchant of Venice, performed at the Plaza Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA. Performances run March 11-April 5, 2020.

Red Bull Theater (Jesse Berger, Artistic Director | Jim Bredeson, Managing Director) today announced the cast for the next offering of their season of REVELATION READINGS, the OBIE Award-winning series: Ana Caro's The Courage To Right A Woman's Wrongs (Valor, agravio y mujer), directed by Melia Bensussen, featuring Helen Cespedes, Kelley Curran, Carson Elrod, Anita Castillo-Halvorssen, Anthony Michael Martinez, Sam Morales, Lorenzo Pisoni, Ryan Quinn, Luis Quintero, and Matthew Saldivar.

Former Artistic Director Michael Wilson will return to Hartford Stage in March to direct the original play which inspired the Academy Award-winning film The King's Speech. Written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter David Seidler, the play tells the true story of King George VI, his speech therapist Lionel Logue, and a friendship that helped steer the course of history. The King's Speech will run Thursday, March 19, through Sunday, April 19.

Huntington Theatre Company has announced the lineup of their 2020-2021 season of destination theatre that features an incredible range of compelling stories -culturally and artistically diverse - unified by the Huntington's commitment to vital, fresh and inclusive entertainment. From stories deeply rooted in Boston's history to star-studded classics, the next chapter in Huntington history is perhaps, the most exciting yet.

As we embark on our voyage through the 2020s, it will be exciting to see if Lopez's lofty ambitions become a reality. After all, Boston theatre has just come through a huge decade of change in which our city's pertinence to the theatre world has grown. Let's look at how our relevance as a city has changed in regards to theatre as an art form in the past decade: 

Huntington Theatre Company will present We All Fall Down, a new comedy about a family trying out tradition for the first time, written by Boston area local playwright and Huntington Playwriting Fellow Lila Rose Kaplan. Directed by Obie Award winner and artistic director of Hartford Stage Melia Bensussen, We All Fall Down will begin performances at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA (527 Tremont Street, Boston) on Friday, January 10, 2020 and run through February 15, 2020. 

Shakespeare Project (ASP) continues its 16th season with Bright Half Life by Tanya Barfield, performed at the Plaza Theatre, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA. Performances run January 23, 2020 - February 16, 2020.

Red Bull Theater (Jesse Berger, Artistic Director | Jim Bredeson, Managing Director) today announced the cast for the next offering of their season of REVELATION READINGS, the OBIE Award-winning series: Thomas Middleton's Women Beware Women, adapted by Jesse Berger, directed by José Zayas, featuring Juliana Canfield, Kathleen Chalfant, Robert Cuccioli, Zachary Fine, Sam Lilja, Matthew Rauch, Julia McDermott, Diana Oh, Luis Quintero, Laila Robins, Derek Smith, and John Douglas Thompson. This one-night-only event will take place on Monday January 27th at 7:30pm at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, between Bleecker and Hudson Streets).

Huntington Theatre Company has announced the extension of We All Fall Down written by Boston area playwright and Huntington Playwriting Fellow Lila Rose Kaplan and directed by Obie Award winner and artistic director of Hartford Stage Melia Bensussen. 

Obie Award-winning playwright and actor Nilaja Sun will perform her acclaimed solo show, Pike St., at Hartford Stage Thursday, January 9, to Sunday, February 2, 2020. Pike St. will be directed by Ron Russell, who also serves as Sound Designer.

Red Bull Theater (Jesse Berger, Artistic Director | Jim Bredeson, Managing Director) today announced the cast for the next of the 2019-'20 season of REVELATION READINGS, its OBIE Award-winning series: Beaumont & Fletcher's Love Lies A-Bleeding, directed by Carl Cofield and featuring Zach Appelman, Susan Heyward, Ezra Knight, Dela Meskienyar, Howard Overshown, Bhavesh Patel, Amelia Pedlow, Cara Ricketts and more to be announced. This one-night-only event will take place on Monday December 16th at 7:30pm at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, between Bleecker and Hudson Streets).

Huntington Theatre Company has announced the casting for We All Fall Down, a new comedy about a family trying out tradition for the first time, written by Boston area playwright and Huntington Playwriting Fellow Lila Rose Kaplan. Directed by Obie Award winner and artistic director of Hartford Stage Melia Bensussen, We All Fall Down will begin performances at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA (527 Tremont Street, Boston) on Friday, January 10, 2020 and runs through Sunday, February 9, 2020. The official press opening night will be Wednesday, January 22, 2020. Tickets are on sale now.

Who knew that cavemen told a?oerock rocka?? jokes or that Molière was a comedian? Audiences will discover these untold secrets and more when Hartford Stage presents The Reduced Shakespeare Company in The Complete History of Comedy (abridged), written and directed by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, for a limited engagement run, June 11-21. Tickets will go on sale Friday, November 29.

Red Bull Theater (Jesse Berger, Artistic Director | Jim Bredeson, Managing Director) today announced the cast for the first of the 2019-'20 season of REVELATION READINGS, its OBIE Award-winning series: James Shirley's The Traitor, directed by Nathan Winkelstein, will star Oge Agulue, Keith Hamilton Cobb, Christian Coulson, Sarah Herrman, Hubert Point-Du Jour, Daniel Jose Molina, Max Gordon Moore, Nneka Okafor, Antoinette Robinson, Socorro Santiago, and more to be announced.

Huntington Theatre Company has announced the creative team for We All Fall Down, a new comedy about a family trying out tradition for the first time, written by Boston area local playwright and Huntington Playwriting Fellow Lila Rose Kaplan. Directed by Obie Award winner and artistic director of Hartford Stage Melia Bensussen, We All Fall Down will begin performances at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA (527 Tremont Street, Boston) on Friday, January 10, 2020 and run through Sunday, February 9, 2020. The official press opening night will be Wednesday, January 22, 2020. Tickets are on sale now.

Hartford Stage and Christ Church Cathedral are partnering to provide free babysitting services for theatregoers. PlayDate will offer reliable, convenient babysitting for parents and guardians eager to relax and enjoy a live theatre performance. The service will be available during the 2 p.m. matinee performances of Cry it Out on Saturday, November 2, and Sunday, November 3.

Single and group tickets for Hartford Stage's 2019/2020 season are now on sale. The Tony Award-winning regional theatre's upcoming season will captivate audiences with classic and contemporary stories of redemption, reconnection, rediscovery, resilience, reinvention and resplendence.