Molly Smith News

Fresh off its acclaimed run at the Cleveland Play House, One Night with Janis Joplin will take D.C. audiences on a musical journey into the life and inspirations of one of rock 'n' roll's greatest legends. The production is led by Cleveland native Mary Bridget Davies, who performs with Joplin's original band Big Brother and the Holding Company, and also features Sabrina Elayne Carten as the Blues Singer who pays homage to the artists that influenced Joplin's incomparable blues-rock blend. Created, written and directed by Randy Johnson, the production is produced in partnership with Cleveland Play House in association with Todd Gershwin and Daniel Chilewich of Premiere Media, with support from The Estate of Janis Joplin and Jeff Jampol of JAM, Inc. One Night with Janis Joplin runs September 28 - November 4, 2012 in the Kreeger Theater. Check out photos from the show's opening night party below!

Take a first look at the talented cast of My Fair Lady, featuring Manna Nichols and Nicholas Rodriguez, in rehearsal at Arena Stage below!

Based on George Bernard Shaw's classic play Pygmalion, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's musical My Fair Lady follows the transformation of Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle into an aristocratic lady through lessons in manners, language and dress. After directing the production at the 2011 Shaw Festival, Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith reunites with members of her original design team, along with noted Canadian actor Benedict Campbell who reprises his role as Henry Higgins, to bring a completely fresh interpretation to audiences in D.C. As previously announced, Manna Nichols makes her Arena debut as Eliza Doolittle, and Nicholas Rodriguez returns as Freddy Eynsford-Hill, leading a cast that features many D.C.-area actors. My Fair Lady became the best-selling production in the Shaw Festival's 50-year history and runs at Arena Stage November 2, 2012-January 6, 2013 in the Fichandler Stage.

Before rehearsals began, Education Dramaturg Ted Sod interviewed playwright Joshua Harmon to discuss his work on Bad Jews.

The official teaser trailer for BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, based on The Caster Chronicles Trilogy of books has been released. The film stars Jeremy Irons, Emmy Rossum, Viola Davis and Emma Thompson. Check out the trailer below!

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company for My Fair Lady, directed by Artistic Director Molly Smith.

Clay Steakley and Jennifer Richmond will take on the roles of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald this fall as Actors Bridge Ensemble presents the world premiere of Bill Feehely's Outside Paradise, November 9-18 at Belmont University's Black Box Theatre. Outside Paradise follows the life and love of literary legends F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald through the jazz age and into infamy. Funded by a Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission Creation Grant, this new work examines the volatile passion, deep commitment and remarkable work of this iconic pair and their closest confidants.

Iconic stage and screen actress Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater to star in Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, as the feisty, unforgettable political journalist. Written by twin-sister journalists Margaret Engel and Allison Engel and directed by David Esbjornson (Broadway's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? and Driving Miss Daisy), the D.C. premiere kicks off Arena Stage's 2012/13 season playing tonight, August 23 through October 28, 2012 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle.

Main Street Theatre has been a staple in the Houston theatre scene since Rebecca Udden found the company in the 1970s. Over time, the company has continued to evolve and grow. It seems that Houston audiences may not be fully aware of just how dynamic this stellar theatre company is. To help set the record straight, Rebecca Udden, Founding and Executive Artistic Director, and Vivienne St. John, Theater For Youth Producing Director, spoke with me about this fantastic and multifaceted theatrical company.

Fresh off its acclaimed run at the Cleveland Play House, where The Plain Dealer called it "a feel-good, fist pumping, must-see concert," One Night with Janis Joplin will take D.C. audiences on a musical journey into the life and inspirations of one of rock 'n' roll's greatest legends.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces that Obie Award-winning playwright Samuel D. Hunter will join the American Voices New Play Institute (AVNPI) as a yearlong resident playwright in 2013.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater's Community Engagement department has been selected to participate in a pilot program with the United States Department of State to set up theater education workshops in cities across India this fall. These workshops are based on theVoices of Now program, a drama program created 10 years ago at Arena Stage that offers young artists the unique opportunity to devise and perform a piece of theater based on their own writing. Four members of Arena Stage's Community Engagement department will leave October 8 for a two-and-a-half-week journey to four cities in India.

Iconic stage and screen actress Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater to star in Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, as the feisty, unforgettable political journalist. Written by twin-sister journalists Margaret Engel and Allison Engel and directed by David Esbjornson (Broadway's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? and Driving Miss Daisy), the D.C. premiere kicks off Arena Stage's 2012/13 season playing August 23 through October 28, 2012 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle.

Coinciding with AIDS 2012, the biennial International AIDS Conference in D.C. July 22-27, 2012, Arena Stage hosted a special benefit performance of The Normal Heart along with the Washington AIDS Partnership Monday, July 23 at the Mead Center for American Theater. View photos below!

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Theatre Communications Group (TCG) announce the inaugural round of recipients for the Leadership U[niversity] program. Six early-career theatre leaders will receive One-on-One grants for professional development via mentorships at TCG Member Theatres. Eight mid-career and veteran theatre professionals at TCG Member Theatres will receive Continuing Ed grants for learning opportunities to advance their leadership skills. The overall intent of this program is to strengthen the field by developing the individuals who are the core and the future of theatre.

13P, the innovative collective of 13 playwrights, is about to culminate the mission it set forth upon its founding in 2003: to produce one play by each of its members. Pulitzer Finalist, TONY Award nominee and MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship recipient Sarah Ruhl (P#13) is creating a new, chamber version of her Melancholy Play (2001) with the composer Todd Almond and Davis McCallum, who directed a version of the work in 2002.

Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA), the company's professional training school, has announced its Fall 2012 schedule of classes now open for enrollment. ESPA will offer new classes including Comedy Writing, Advanced Libretto and Lyric Writing and Dialects 2: Russian. ESPA will also be offering two new workshops: Writing for TV: Making the Transition from Stage to Screen and The Pilot. Additionally, Tanya Barfield, whose show The Call is part of Primary Stages mainstage 2012-2013 season, will be teaching a special workshop, Finding Your First Draft.

2011 Tony Award-winning production plays until July 29, 2012