Negro Ensemble Company News

A reading of 'ON THE WAY TO O'NEILL'S: JFK IN IRELAND', a new drama by ANN G. BAUER and DAVID BECKETT that imagines the later years of John F. Kennedy, will be presented as part of the MIDTOWN INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL'S Reading Series.

THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE, the world premiere of a three part theatrical event by the late Academy Award and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Horton Foote, will feature a company of 22 actors under the direction of Michael Wilson. The exciting, sweeping work will be co-produced in the 2009-2010 season by Hartford Stage (Michael Wilson, Artistic Director; Michael Stotts, Managing Director) and Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director).

The Midtown International Theatre Festival (MITF) announces the 2009 Season, running from July 13 - August 2, 2009. 43 plays and musicals have been chosen, as well as three Studio Series shows and five readings.

A reading of 'ON THE WAY TO O'NEILL'S: JFK IN IRELAND', a new drama by ANN G. BAUER and DAVID BECKETT that imagines the later years of John F. Kennedy, will be presented as part of the MIDTOWN INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL'S Reading Series.

The Midtown International Theatre Festival (MITF) announces the 2009 Season, running from July 13 - August 2, 2009. 43 plays and musicals have been chosen, as well as three Studio Series shows and five readings.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo have announced that Things of Dry Hours, written by Naomi Wallace and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, will begin performances Friday, May 22, at NYTW, 79 East 4th Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery. Opening night is scheduled for Monday, June 8 at 7:00pm. The production will run through Sunday, June 28.

2009 Tony Award nominee Hallie Foote (Dividing the Estate) will be featured in the cast of THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE, the nine-play three part theatrical event by her late father, the Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award winning playwright Horton Foote, which will be co-produced in the 2009-2010 season by Hartford Stage (Michael Wilson, Artistic Director; Michael Stotts, Managing Director) and Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director).

Following a six week sold-out run earlier this year, Brooklyn's famed Billie Holiday Theatre will present a nine week return engagement of THE HIGH PRIESTESS OF DARK ALLEY, a new play by playwright/director Jackie Alexander.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo have announced that Things of Dry Hours, written by Naomi Wallace and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, will begin performances Friday, May 22, at NYTW, 79 East 4th Street, between Second Avenue and Bowery. Opening night is scheduled for Monday, June 8 at 7:00pm. The production will run through Sunday, June 28.

Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) will celebrate Douglas Turner Ward, founder of the Negro Ensemble Company, with their 2009 Annual Gala on Monday, March 30th at Espace (635 West 42nd Street). Cocktails will begin at 6:30pm with dinner at 7:30 PM and performance/tribute to follow. The evening will be hosted by Phylicia Rashad and Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Individual ticket prices range from $600-$1,200 with table prices ranging from $6,000-$25,000.

Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) will celebrate Douglas Turner Ward, founder of the Negro Ensemble Company, with their 2009 Annual Gala on Monday, March 30th at Espace (635 West 42nd Street). Cocktails will begin at 6:30pm with dinner at 7:30 PM and performance/tribute to follow. The evening will be hosted by Phylicia Rashad and Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Individual ticket prices range from $600-$1,200 with table prices ranging from $6,000-$25,000.

Signature Theatre Company celebrated the Opening Night performance of Charles Fuller's ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN on Tuesday March 24th, the play is the final production of Signature Theatre Company's (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) 2008-2009 season celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company (NEC). BroadwayWorld's cameras were there to celebrate to opening of the production!

Signature Theatre Company's (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) production of ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN, written by Charles Fuller and directed by Stephen McKinley Henderson, opens tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24. ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN is the final production of Signature's 2008-2009 Season, celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company (NEC).

As part of our Emerging Playwrights Reading Series, please join us on Saturday, March 7 th , 2009 at 2:00 PM for the First Annual Douglass Turner Ward Playwriting Award, to be presented by the Negro Ensemble Company to a graduating BFA senior or MFA Graduate from the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing, the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.

Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) is proud to announce casting for ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN, by Charles Fuller and directed by Stephen McKinley Henderson. ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN is the final production of Signature's 2008-09 season celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company (NEC).

As part of our Emerging Playwrights Reading Series, please join us on Saturday, March 7 th , 2009 at 2:00 PM for the First Annual Douglass Turner Ward Playwriting Award, to be presented by the Negro Ensemble Company to a graduating BFA senior or MFA Graduate from the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing, the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.

Signature Theatre Company's (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) production of ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN, written by Charles Fuller and directed by Stephen McKinley Henderson, will begin previews tomorrow, Tuesday, March 3. ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN is the final production of Signature's 2008-2009 Season, celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company (NEC).

Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) is pleased to announce that artists from Signature's 2008-2009 Season celebrating the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) will participate in a special program, In Conversation: Signature Theatre Company, at Macy's Herald Square and Brooklyn stores. Macy's is hosting a month-long series of activities and special events for Black History Month, showcasing black culture through theatrical, art, song, prose and cuisine presentations. The events are free and open to the public.

On Monday Evening, February 23 at 7:00 PM, six New York theater institutions will participate in a special panel discussion featuring five current and upcoming Off-Broadway shows. Harlem Stage (150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street) will host producing companies Classical Theatre of Harlem, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater and Signature Theatre Company in an evening titled I'VE KNOWN RIVERS: A Conversation with Christina Anderson, Charles Fuller, Lynn Nottage & Liesl Tommy. The event marks a unique collaborative effort between six New York theater institutions: a panel discussion in which five gifted African-American theater artists - all of whom have projects happening almost simultaneously at five of New York's most respected non-profit theaters - will discuss their lives, work, and current projects. Moderated by actress Sabrina LeBeauf (Three Sisters, Classical Theatre of Harlem in partnership with Harlem Stage, February/March), the evening's four panelists will be Christina Anderson (author, Inked Baby, Playwrights Horizons, March/April), Charles Fuller (author, Zooman and the Sign, Signature Theatre Company, March/April), Lynn Nottage (author, Ruined, Manhattan Theater Club, January-March) and Liesl Tommy (director, The Good Negro, The Public Theater, March/April). The event title comes from a poem by Langston Hughes, 'The Negro Speaks of Rivers.'

On Monday Evening, February 23 at 7:00 PM, six New York theater institutions will participate in a special panel discussion featuring five current and upcoming Off-Broadway shows. Harlem Stage (150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street) will host producing companies Classical Theatre of Harlem, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater and Signature Theatre Company in an evening titled I'VE KNOWN RIVERS: A Conversation with Christina Anderson, Charles Fuller, Lynn Nottage & Liesl Tommy.