Neil LaBute News

Rising Sun Performance Company will host a one-night-only event Shhh... It's a SpeakEasy tonight, June 24th, 2013, from 7 to 11:30 p.m.

Taking a cue from last season's artistically (and commercially!) successful 'Season of Family', the 2013/2014 Ringwald season also adheres to a theme: the power of words.

The Irish Repertory Theatre announces a two-week extension of GIBRALTAR-Patrick Fitzgerald's acclaimed two-character adaptation of James Joyce's 'Ulysses'-with Off-Broadway performances now set to run through July 14 in the company's W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre (132 West 22nd Street). Terry Kinney directs.

Prospect Theater Company will offer a $20 ticket lottery for their upcoming Off-Broadway production of UNLOCK'D. Performances began June 16, 2013 at The Duke on 42nd Street, a New 42nd Street project. Producers have also announced that a post-performance talkback with Carner and Gregor will be held following tonight's June 19 performance.

Berkeley's acclaimed Aurora Theatre Company presents the final Aurora Script Club meeting of the season with Lynn Nottage's RUINED on July 15, 2013.

FOX announced today that it will widen the availability of content developed by WIGS, currently the No. 1 channel for scripted drama on YouTube, to include the free, ad-supported Hulu.com and Hulu Plus subscription service.

Theater Breaking Through Barriers (TBTB), the renowned Off-Broadway company known for its productions that integrate artists with disabilities with able-bodied actors, presents its third annual short play festival, STILL MORE OF OUR PARTS - an evening of six ten-minute plays about disabilities -- with performances running through June 28 at Theatre Row's Clurman Theatre (410 West 42nd Street). BroadwayWorld has photos of the casts in action below!

Victory Gardens and the One-Minute Play Festival (OMPF) present the Third Annual Chicago One-Minute Play Festival, an evening of micro-plays by sixty of Chicago's top playwrights, directed by ten Chicago directors. OMPF benefits the Miller Match campaign and will be presented for two performances only, today, June 17 and Tuesday, June 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park.

MCC Theater presents a one-night only reading of Playwright-in-Residence Neil LaBute's acclaimed play, The Mercy Seat, tonight, June 17, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC).

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, June 16, 2013 - Sunday, June 16, 2013.

The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity Gala 'One Acts for a Cause' is set for tonight, June 16 at 7:30pm at the Alice Griffin Jewelbox Theatre in the Pershing Square Signature Center. The evening will raise funds for the non-profit Safe Horizon and showcase three new one-act plays by acclaimed playwrights Neil LaBute, John Patrick Shanley and Winter Miller (Neil LaBute and Winter Miller's pieces will be world premieres).

Profiles Theatre announces an extended run for the World Premiere of Resident Artist Neil LaBute's revised stage version of In the Company of Men, now playing at The Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway. Directed by Profiles Resident Artist and Steppenwolf ensemble member Rick Snyder, In the Company of Men opened May 16 to critical acclaim and has been extended for another four weeks through July 28, 2013.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: Broadway celebrates its biggest night, the Public brings back PENZANCE, CINDERELLA gets a cast album and so much more!

Closing Aurora Theatre Company's 21st season is the Bay Area Premiere of Neil LaBute's dark, edgy comic drama THIS IS HOW IT GOES, directed by Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross (A Delicate Balance). Ross helmed LaBute's The Shape of Things, the first LaBute play produced in the Bay Area, in 2003. Featuring Aldo Billingslea (Collapse), Gabriel Marin (Collapse, Jack Goes Boating), and Carrie Paff (A Delicate Balance, Collapse, Betrayal), THIS IS HOW IT GOES presents a one-two punch after LaBute's Fat Pig (staged at Aurora in 2009).

WIGS (www.watchwigs.com and www.youtube.com/wigs), the No. 1 channel for scripted drama on YouTube, today announced the premiere of the all-new drama SUSANNA. Exploring the issue of postpartum depression, the series launches today, June 14 (9:00 AM ET/6:00 AM PT) with six new episodes. The remaining six episodes will debut Friday, June 21 (9:00 AM ET/6:00 AM PT).

Acclaimed playwright, screenwriter and director Neil LaBute discusses the upcoming star-studded one-night-only benefit performance of his unique 9/11-themed play THE MERCY SEAT in a new featurette just released.

Prospect Theater Company will offer a $20 ticket lottery for their upcoming Off-Broadway production of UNLOCK'D. Performances begin June 16, 2013 at The Duke on 42nd Street, a New 42nd Street project.

Theater Breaking Through Barriers (TBTB), the renowned Off-Broadway company known for its productions that integrate artists with disabilities with able-bodied actors, presents its third annual short play festival, STILL MORE OF OUR PARTS - an evening of six ten-minute plays about disabilities, featuring world premieres by Jerrod Bogard, Bekah Brunstetter, Bruce Graham, Samuel D. Hunter, Neil LaBute, and Lynn Manning, with performances to run tonight, June 13-28 at Theatre Row's Clurman Theatre (410 West 42nd Street). Christopher Burris, Nicholas Viselli, Christina Roussos, Russell Treyz, Karen Case Cook, and Roberto Cambeiro direct.

Reviews are in for the show, and playwright Neil LaBute took particular offense to some harsh words from David Cote- a theatre critic for TimeOut New York. Cote wrote: 'If Neil LaBute were to teach a course on playwriting, I bet his lesson plan would look something like this: 'Week 1: Dumbing down characters to pad out dialogue and pump up conflict.' 'Week 2: 'Stringing together two-person scenes, no matter how monotonous it gets.' 'Week 3: Embracing flat, shallow protagonists whose poor life choices are both predictable and banal.' And finally, 'Week 12: Blasting tracks by Nirvana during changes to simulate tension and edginess.' Luckily, there is no Professor LaBute, so we're not overrun with relationship clunkers such as Reasons to Be Happy.'