SPACE on Ryder Farm announces its inaugural benefit - SPACE in the City - set for Monday, December 3rd from 7-10pm at Ars Nova loft at 511 W. 54th Street in New York City. The event will feature artist performance and readings from theater artists including Gabriel Ebert (4,000 Miles, Brief Encounter), Adam Rapp (Through the Yellow Hour, Red Light Winter), Teddy Bergman (Peter and the Starcatcher), Damon Daunno (Brief Encounter) and Grace McLean (www.gracemclean.com).
In celebration of its 35th anniversary landmark year, The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has announced a global celebration where theatres across the English-speaking world will produce 75 plays by past winners and finalists.
Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith has announced eight productions on subscription for the company's third year in its new home, the Mead Center for American Theater.
Following its celebrated opening at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Pullman Porter Blues travels across the country to sweep D.C. audiences along for a ride in its world-premiere co-production at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Inspired by her grandfather's work on the postal trains, playwright Cheryl L. West, whose work at Arena Stage includes Jar the Floor and Play On!, returns with the tale of three Pullman train porters whose journey is underscored by Midwest blues songs, including "Sweet Home Chicago" and "This Train." Directed by Lisa Peterson (Arena's The Rainmaker and The Quality of Life), Pullman Porter Blues runs November 23, 2012 - January 6, 2013 in the Kreeger Theater.
The Velocity of Autumn by Eric Coble, which had its World Premiere at Boise Contemporary Theater in the spring of 2011, will play Arena Stage in spring 2013. Molly Smith, the Artistic Director of Arena Stage in Washington D.C. has signed on to direct , and Academy Award winner Estelle Parsons and Tony Award winner Stephen Spinella will star in this two-character play.
Deadline.com reports that a deal is now in place for Belle Pictures and the Mark Gordon Company to head a film adaption of Memphis at Warner Brother's Aclon Entertainment.
The film will be produced by Mark Gordon, Molly Smith and Alcon's Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson with a new script by Tony-winner Joe DiPietro.
According to The Washington Post, Molly Smith, artistic director of Arena Stage has signed on to direct a production of Eric Coble's THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN on Broadway in the Spring of 2013, a production that'll mark Broadway debuts for both. Lead producer Larry Kaye has said that signed on to star will be Estelle Parsons and Stephen Spinella.
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!
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.
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!
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.
