Neil LaBute News

Lanford Wilson's 'Talley Trilogy' continues on the Aurora Theatre Company main stage with FIFTH OF JULY. Aurora Artistic Director Tom Ross (A Bright New Boise, This Is How It Goes, Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance, The Shape of Things) helms FIFTH OF JULY, featuring Craig Marker (The Shape of Things, The Persians), Elizabeth Benedict, John Girot, Jennifer Le Blanc, Oceana Ortiz, Harold Pierce, Josh Schell, and Nanci Zoppi. FIFTH OF JULY plays April 17 through May 17 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($32-60) and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org.

MCC THEATER has announced that the New York premiere of Jennifer Haley's The Nether directed by Anne Kaufman has now extended through Sunday, March 22, 2015 due to popular and critical acclaim. The production opened on Tuesday, February 24th and was previously scheduled through March 15, 2015 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street). A production of The Nether also just opened to great critical acclaim in London's West End at the famed Royal Court Theatre. The play had its world premiere in Los Angeles in 2013 at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre. For info and tickets, please visit www.mcctheater.org.

The School of Theatre at Florida State University has announced its 2015-2016 season. Internationally renowned School of Theatre faculty will team up with the talented students and community members of Tallahassee, FSU alumni, and visiting artists from around the country to present a season that will inspire and entertain audiences throughout the southeast. Through the development and presentation of challenging classic and contemporary work, the School of Theatre at Florida State University continually uses the evolving, live, collaborative art of theatre to develop artists and scholars who have a lifelong passion for the arts.

Classic Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick, Managing Director Jeff Griffin and Executive Director Greg Reiner, announced complete casting today for their upcoming production of William Shakespeare's HAMLET, starring acclaimed actor Peter Sarsgaard as Hamlet, and directed by Austin Pendleton.

Green Light Productions present 'shorties', five short, comedic plays written and directed by women, running March 19th-29th at The Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica, Calif.

The Nether runs now through March 15, 2015 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street), with opening night set for tonight, February 24th.

Last night, the Independent Spirit Awards ceremony took place in LA, and Kristen Bell and Fred Armisen had a little surprise for viewers: a parody on the award-winning film BIRDMAN. Check out the clip below!

Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards, Los Angeles Film Festival and Film Independent at LACMA, handed out top honors to Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Boyhood, Whiplash and Nightcrawler at this afternoon's 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards.

COMEDIAN Robert Webb leads the cast of Jeeves And Wooster In Perfect Nonsense at The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury, next month.

Profiles Theatre continues its 26th Season with the Chicago premiere of The Other Place by Sharr White, directed by Artistic Director Joe Jahraus. The production runs tonight, February 13 - April 5, 2015 at Profiles Theatre's The Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway. The press opening is Thursday, February 19 at 8pm.

The Fox and Boulder, written and directed by Sarah Victoria Bennett, will be presented by Ophelia Theatre Group on Fridays and Saturdays: March 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28 at 8pm and Sundays: March 15, 22, 29 at 6pm.

The Central Park Five, the group of five young black and Latino youths falsely arrested and convicted in 1989 for the brutal beating and rape of a white woman in Central Park, will attend a performance of The Bullpen, the one-man - 18-character comedy written and performed by Joe Assadourian, (now playing through March 21) at The Playroom Theater (151 West 46th Street -- just east of Broadway) it was announced by producer Eric Krebs (in association with The Fortune Society).

Broadway Play Publishing Inc is pleased to announce that Michael Q. Fellmeth has joined as a managing partner. Mr. Fellmeth spent seventeen years with Dramatists Play Service, the last seven as Vice President, and brings a reputation for innovation and business growth in the play publishing and licensing industry.

MCC Theater presents the New York premiere of Jennifer Haley's The Nether directed by Anne Kaufman. Ben Rosenfield, memorably of the final two seasons of 'Boardwalk Empire,' and rising talent Sophia Anne Caruso will take on the roles of Woodnut and Iris, respectively. As previously announced, The Nether will also star 'Nurse Jackie' Emmy Award winner Merritt Wever, New York theater veteran Peter Friedman and Tony Award winner Frank Wood.

The Central Park Five, the group of five young black and Latino youths falsely arrested and convicted in 1989 for the brutal beating and rape of a white woman in Central Park, will attend a performance of The Bullpen, the one-man - 18-character comedy written and performed by Joe Assadourian, (now playing through March 21) at The Playroom Theater (151 West 46th Street -- just east of Broadway) it was announced today by producer Eric Krebs (in association with The Fortune Society).

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? This weekend's big news: BROOKLYNITE begins off-Broadway, THE NETHER starts at the Duke of York's in London, and PHANTOM marks 27 years on the Great White Way!

It's going to be a hot ticket! Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) has just announced that film star Amanda Seyfried (Les Miserables, Dear John, Mamma Mia!, upcoming Ted 2 and Pan) will make her off- Broadway debut opposite Thomas Sadoski (The Newsroom, Wild, upcoming in NBC's The Slap) in the upcoming world premiere production of NEIL LaBUTE's drama, THE WAY WE GET BY. Directed by Tony nominee LEIGH SILVERMAN, the production will begin previews on April 28, 2015 and officially open on May 20, 2015 at Second Stage Theatre, 305 West 43rd Street.

THE PIECE PROJECT and VS. THEATRE COMPANY present an exclusive Los Angeles reading of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Joe Derrick's CARDAMOM on Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 8pm. Founded by Devon Gummersall and Andrew Carlberg, THE PIECE PROJECT is a celebrity-based theater ensemble. Every two-three months, The Piece Project hosts a play reading to benefit a local Los Angeles theater company. Devon Gummersall will direct this reading of CARDAMOM, whose cast includes JB Blanc, James D'Arcy, Anastasia Griffith and Alicia Witt.

Profiles Theatre continues its 26th Season with the Chicago premiere of The Other Place by Sharr White, directed by Artistic Director Joe Jahraus. The production runs February 13 - April 5, 2015 at Profiles Theatre's The Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway. The press opening is Thursday, February 19 at 8pm.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director, Casey Reitz Executive Director) will conclude its 2014-15 season with the world premiere of WHORL INSIDE A LOOP, a new play by Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott, co-directed by Michael Mayer and Mr. Scanlan, the creative team behind the Tony-nominated, critically acclaimed hit, Everyday Rapture, which had its world premiere at Second Stage Theatre in 2009.