Mike Lew News

Blue Note Hawaii, the state's premier venue for the world's most celebrated artists, is honored to shine the spotlight on local, Hawaii-based artists this spring with upcoming shows featuring award-winning artists such as Kalapana, Robert Cazimero, Willie K, and The Rough Riders. Expanding its commitment to showcase local artists and stars of the Hawaii music industry, Blue Note Hawaii begins a series of one-night only performances featuring Ginai on April 11, Natalie Ai Kamauu on April 18, the incomparable Willie K on April 19, trumpeter Mike Lewis on May 2 and Hiroshima-known for their unique East Meets West contemporary jazz sound-from April 26 to May 1.

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company will present a benefit reading in honor of the Tenth Season of Keen Teens on Monday March 21st at The Clurman Theatre, Theatre Row.   Casts will feature current Keen Teens, KT alumni, and professional actors including Heidi Armbruster, Laura Esterman, Peter Jay Fernandez, Autumn Hurlbert, Ted Koch, KK Moggie, Lauren Molina, Chris Perfetti, Jay Russell, Conor Ryan, and Keen Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein as 'Principal Forsman.' All proceeds from the 10th Anniversary Readings will help support the continued growth of the Keen Teens program.

Huntington Theatre Company, the 2013 recipient of the Regional Theatre Tony Award and Boston magazine's Best Theatre of 2014 and 2013, announces its 2016-2017 Season.

HOUSE RULES, a new play by A. Rey Pamatmat, will be given its NY premiere by the award-winning Asian-American Off-Broadway MA-YI THEATER COMPANY at HERE (145 Sixth Avenue, NYC), with previews set to begin March 25 prior to its official opening night on April 1. HOUSE RULES is directed by Ralph B. Peña. This limited-engagement will conclude on April 16, 2016. 

In this third year, PUBLIC STUDIO will present PRETTY HUNGER by Public Theater Emerging Writers Group alumna Patricia Ione Lloyd, directed by Martha Banta, running March 10 through March 19. The second show, TEENAGE DICK by Mike Lew, will be directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel and run March 24 through April 2.

The Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition continues to spotlight the best emerging playwrights with a full production for the competition winner and staged readings for four competition finalists. START DOWN, the 12th competition winner, will premiere on the Hertz Stage February 13 - March 6, 2016. Opening night is tonight, February 18, 2016.

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company (Jonathan Silverstein - Artistic Director, Mark Armstrong - Keen Teens Producer) will present the Tenth Season of Keen Teens.  This season's offerings will be Thirty Million, a new musical with music and lyrics by Max Vernon; book by Jason Kim, directed by Mark Armstrong, with choreography by Brad Landers and musical direction by Lena Gabrielle; Landlines by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, directed by Liz Carlson; and How The Moon Would Talk by Nick Gandiello, directed by Sash Bischoff. Auditions will be February 3rd through 5th. To more information about auditions, please visit http://www.keencompany.org/ktaudition/.

The Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition continues to spotlight the best emerging playwrights with a full production for the competition winner and staged readings for four competition finalists.  Start Down, the 12th competition winner, will premiere on the Hertz Stage February 13 - March 6, 2016.  Opening night is February 18, 2016. 

In what has become an annual ritual, a total of 36 established and emerging composers, lyricists, and librettists will converge on the Goodspeed campus from mid-January through mid-February 2016 to participate in the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals. The writing teams, representing 19 new musicals, will populate the campus, creating a truly exciting environment for discovery and inspiration. BroadwayWorld is excited to report that Goodspeed has announced its 2016 participants. Scroll down for details!

Adelphi University Performing Arts Center (AUPAC) is proud to present the first Larson Legacy Concert showcasing the work of composer-lyricist Sam Willmott, a recipient of The American Theatre Wing's 2015 Jonathan Larson Grants, on Sunday, October 4th at 3:00 PM.

The Obie and Drama Desk Award-winning MA-YI THEATER COMPANY - one of the country's leading producers of new works for the stage by Asian-American writers - will present two new plays- Nandita Shenoy's WASHER/DRYER and A. Rey Pamatmat's HOUSE RULES-- during the company's 2015-16 season, it has been announced by Ralph Peña, Ma-Yi's Artistic Director.

The Alliance Theatre has announced its world premiere production of Tiger Style!  From Mike Lew, the award-winning playwright of Bike America, comes a hilarious new play about family influence and finding personal success without an academic framework.  The Alliance's production, directed by Tony Award nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel, runs on the Alliance Stage from September 30 - October 18, 2015.  This production marks the first time that a past winner of the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition has returned for a world premiere on the main stage.     

The 24 Hour Company (producers of The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway and around the world, as well as The 24 Hour Musicals) and their longtime collaborator The New School College of Performing Arts, School of Drama will present The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals in New York City this summer.

Kathy Evans, Founding Executive Director of Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, announced the 17 writers and 8 new musicals selected for the fifth summer of weeklong retreats. For eight consecutive weeks beginning July 5th, each writing team will have a residency in Rhinebeck, New York. Writers are provided a private home, transportation, food, and a $400 stipend. This year's writers include Obie winner Kirsten Childs, Tony nominee Elizabeth Davis, and 2015 Jonathan Larson award-winners Charlie Sohne, Tim Rosser, and Sam Willmott, who also just won the Kleban Prize. 

The Exchange today announced the artists and companies who will participate in its 2015 Orchard Project summer residency program. Twenty-two artists and ensembles (listed below) were selected from a competitive field of nearly 500 applicants to develop their big, new ideas at the Orchard Project. This will be the eighth summer - and the first summer in Saratoga Springs, NY - for the Orchard Project, a laboratory program where theatre artists and companies come to innovate, develop, and refine new shows. Past productions developed at the Orchard Project have gone on to be performed around the globe for over 500,000 people and to win awards from TONYs to Obies to Oliviers.

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company will present the Ninth Season of Keen Teens. This season's offerings will be OLD FOLKS by Max Posner, directed by Mark Armstrong, featuring: Steve Alvarez, Romy Bavli, Maria Broom, Ella Campos, Francesca Iannacone, Jessy Jogodnik, Hillel Rosenshine, Yordy Rosso, Craig Steeley, and Devante Rowe; THE LOST GIRL, OR FIRST CHAIR by Lauren Yee, directed by Liz Carlson, featuring: Chelsea Allison, Kaisheem Bryant, Nicholas Johnson, Bahsil Moody, Elsie Razo, Liv Reis, Hillel Rosenshine, Cory Sierra, Lucille Vasquez, and Karla Ynfante; THE ASTONISHING AND DANGEROUS HISTORY OF MAZEFIELD THE FROG by Jen Silverman, directed by Tyne Rafaeli, featuring: Steve Alvarez, Roza Chervinsy, SaCha Coleman, Olivia Hockenberry, Francesca Iannacone, Jarek Liang, Bahsil Moody, Maya Pagan, Yordy Rosso, and Juwan Wyatt.

Atlanta's nationally acclaimed Alliance Theatre and Jennings Hertz Artistic Director Susan V. Booth are pleased to announce the 2015/16 Season for the Alliance Stage, Hertz Stage, Theatre for Youth and Families, and Theatre for the Very Young series. The 47th season includes five world premieres, a musical by BeBe Winans and Charles Randolph-Wright, a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, a literary classic featuring an all-Atlanta cast, and exceptional productions for youth and families.

The American Theatre Wing recognizes the recipients of the 2015 Jonathan Larson Grants: writing team Tim Rosser (composer) & Charlie Sohne (composer) receiving $10,000, Sam Willmott (composer/lyricist) receiving $10,000 and a week-long residency at the Running Deer Musical Theatre Lab, and Max Vernon (composer/lyricist) receiving $10,000.