Michael Frayn News

Folding Chair Classical Theatre presents Conor McPherson's Olivier Award-winning THE WEIR for a limited run October 14-November 6.

'The New York Post was right,' said Producing Artistic Director Robert Cacioppo, 'this really is the most brilliant and most well constructed farce ever written. This play was Florida Rep's inaugural production in 1998 for a reason. Because it truly is a love letter to the theatre, and because our audiences love to laugh.'

Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company presents Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, Directed by Heather A. Beasley. Winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best New Play and the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Folding Chair Classical Theatre presents Conor McPherson's Olivier Award-winning THE WEIR for a limited run October 14-November 6.

The fall season finally kicked off this past week with a pair of period ensemble pieces from Britain, both imported by New York's two big nonprofit companies, and both receiving solid B+ grades from StageGrade: Brief Encounter at the Roundabout's Studio 54 and The Pitmen Painters at the Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Neither got quite the smash-hit reviews that might have been expected--the Kneehigh's extravagant adaptation of Brief Encounter got raves (and a StageGrade A) when it ran last year at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, but there were a few more dissenting voices on its Broadway transfer. And Lee Hall's miners-as-artists drama, The Pitmen Painters, was not as unanimously adored as its London notices might have promised.

It's always a good sign when you walk into a theatre for a comedy and right away the set is making you laugh.  Such was the case for me with the playful space Jo Winiarski created for the Pearl Theatre Company's uproariously funny mounting of The Sneeze, Michael Frayn's vaudevillian octet of comedies adapted from early Chekhov one-acts and short stories.

Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company presents Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, Directed by Heather A. Beasley. Winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best New Play and the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company presents Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, Directed by Heather A. Beasley. Winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best New Play and the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company presents Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, Directed by Heather A. Beasley. Winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best New Play and the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Michael Frayn's 1975 comedy, Alphabetical Order, is the type of play that, either as a compliment or as a dismissal, American audiences are likely to label as 'very British.'  Its humor is subtle, its themes are sub-textual and the characters all talk in these funny accents.  But even those who appreciate the delicacy of that type of play may find this early work by the versatile writer who went on to pen the riotous Noises Off and the heady Copenhagen a little padded and lacking in both humor and bite.  Still, director Carl Forsman and the Keen Theatre Company serve up a lively production that boasts its charms, particularly in the performances of the engaging ensemble.

Noises Off- A Farce written by Michael Frayn. Directed by Benjamin J. Hamill.

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company (Carl Forsman, Artistic Director/Wayne Kelton, Executive Director) begins its 10th anniversary season celebrating the work of Michael Frayn, author of such acclaimed hits as Noises Off and Copenhagen, with the US premiere of Alphabetical Order, based on the revised version performed at the Hampstead Theater for their 2009 revival.

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company (Carl Forsman, Artistic Director/Wayne Kelton, Executive Director) today announced their 10th anniversary season celebrating the work of Michael Frayn, author of such acclaimed hits as Noises Off and Copenhagen. First will be the US premiere of Alphabetical Order, based on the revised version performed at the Hampstead Theater for their 2009 revival. Mr. Forsman will direct. This will be followed by the 25th Anniversary production of Benefactors this spring.

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company (Carl Forsman, Artistic Director/Wayne Kelton, Executive Director) today announced their 10th anniversary season celebrating the work of Michael Frayn, author of such acclaimed hits as Noises Off and Copenhagen. First will be the US premiere of Alphabetical Order, based on the revised version performed at the Hampstead Theater for their 2009 revival. Mr. Forsman will direct. This will be followed by the 25th Anniversary production of Benefactors this spring.

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company (Carl Forsman, Artistic Director/Wayne Kelton, Executive Director) today announced their 10th anniversary season celebrating the work of Michael Frayn, author of such acclaimed hits as Noises Off and Copenhagen. First will be the US premiere of Alphabetical Order, based on the revised version performed at the Hampstead Theater for their 2009 revival. Mr. Forsman will direct. This will be followed by the 25th Anniversary production of Benefactors this spring.

THE PEARL THEATRE COMPANY (J.R. Sullivan, Artistic Director; Shira Beckerman, Managing Director) announces Lee Stark as the newest member of the Resident Acting Company. The 12th member of the ensemble, Stark will be featured in The Pearl's upcoming production of THE SNEEZE, Michael Frayn's adaptation of Chekhov's short stories and plays which begins performances this week.

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company (Carl Forsman, Artistic Director/Wayne Kelton, Executive Director) today announced their 10th anniversary season celebrating the work of Michael Frayn, author of such acclaimed hits as Noises Off and Copenhagen. First will be the US premiere of Alphabetical Order, based on the revised version performed at the Hampstead Theater for their 2009 revival. Mr. Forsman will direct. This will be followed by the 25th Anniversary production of Benefactors this spring.

The Royal Shakespeare Company today announces its plans to reopen the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres on time and on budget in November 2010, following a four year redevelopment as part of the £112.8 million Transformation project designed to bring actors and audiences closer together.

Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company presents Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, Directed by Heather A. Beasley. Winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best New Play and the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company (Carl Forsman, Artistic Director/Wayne Kelton, Executive Director) today announced their 10th anniversary season celebrating the work of Michael Frayn, author of such acclaimed hits as Noises Off and Copenhagen. First will be the US premiere of Alphabetical Order, based on the revised version performed at the Hampstead Theater for their 2009 revival. Mr. Forsman will direct. This will be followed by the 25th Anniversary production of Benefactors this spring.