Neil LaBute News

It has been announced that Hilary Bettis and Kira Sternbach will star in the upcoming production of American Girls. American Girls will begin previews on Thursday, April 3rd with Opening Night set for Sunday, April 6th at the 45th Street Theater. The play is the story of two 14-year-old mid-western girls (Hilary Bettis and Kira Sternbach) who are on a collision course with pop culture and faith.

MCC Theater has announced casting for the World Premiere of Neil LaBute's bristling new comic drama reasons to be pretty and Terry Kinney will direct. The complete cast includes Piper Perabo (as Carly), Alison Pill (Steph), Thomas Sadoski (Greg) and Pablo Schreiber (Kent).

With brisk ticket sales for both Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress on the Geffen's mainstage, and Some Girl(s) in The Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse, the theater is announcing a one-week extension of both shows.

Directed by Indhu Rubasingham and performed by Holly Aird, Cavan Clerkin, Brendan Coyle, Amanda Drew, John Marquez and Javone Prince, Chain Play II will be performed for one night only on 29 February 2008 at 7.30pm.

With his latest West Coast premiere of Some Girl(s) at the Geffen Playhouse, LaBute has delivered yet another exceptional piece of theatre, scouring to the depths of male bashing with utter finesse. And to ensure the production is living up to the book's potential, its playwright has directed as well, although LaBute's stronger suit is directing screen rather than stage (not counting that horrendous misstep called 'The Wicker Man')...

They say there are three things a guy should never say to a woman on a first date:1)      I have commitment issues.2)      I have mother issues.3)      I really liked Neil LaBute's last play.No other playwright around is known for pushing angering buttons like Neil LaBute, yet both times I've reviewed one of his plays he's sent me a nice little complimentary email thanking me for my comments, so to me he seems like a sweet guy.His recent piece for 'The Guardian,' titled 'How American Theatre Lost It,' isn't exactly going to win him an invitation to present at the Tony Awards ('And now to present this year's Tony for choreography, let's welcome Neil LaBute and Sutton Foster!') but I found it an enjoyable read.  That is, until the last paragraph where he makes a blanket dismissal of musicals.  Maybe Michael John LaChiusa can introduce him to some good ones.

Mark Feuerstein, an actor who has made a name for himself by playing irresistibly charming characters on screens both big (In Her Shoes, What Women Want) and small ('West Wing,' 'Good Morning, Miami'), takes on a bit of an edge as the lead role in Neil LaBute's Some Girl(s) in the Audrey Skirball Theater at the Geffen Playhouse, opening this February. Feuerstein stars as the ambiguous romantic lead Guy, a character who is traveling between non-descript hotel rooms in various cities meeting with the women of his past and searching for … something.

The event may be entitled 'We ♥ Playwrights,' but playwriting skills are just one of many things to 'heart' about the artists speaking at the Geffen Playhouse's upcoming fundraiser.

The Fire Dept will present an expanded and updated version of its acclaimed At War: American Playwrights Respond to Iraq, an evening of alternately moving, haunting, and funny material by noted and emerging American playwrights, woven together to present a kaleidoscope of views on the war.

MCC Theater presents Mick Gordon and AC Grayling's Grace, which will play the Lucille Lortel Theatre January 23 - March 8, 2008. Opening night is set for Monday, February 11. Joseph Hardy directs. The cast includes Lynn Redgrave with Philip Goodwin, Oscar Isaac and K.K. Moggie

After the huge success of the Almeida's fundraising event in March this year, the theatre has invited writers Stephen Adly Guirgis, Richard Bean, Neil LaBute, Abi Morgan, Mike Poulton and Tanya Ronder to write Chain Play II. Performed for one night only on 29 February 2008 at 7:30PM

MCC Theater announced that the third and final show of the company's 22nd Off Broadway season will be a World Premiere of Neil LaBute's bristling new comic drama reasons to be pretty. Performances of the four-character play begin at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on May 14, 2008 and will continue through July 5, 2008.

MCC Theatre will not produce The Black Suits, a musical that was originally to have been the third and final show of the company's 22nd Off Broadway season.

The Mint provides a rare opportunity to see Leo Tolstoy's drama in an impressive and gracefully staged production

LaBute is bringing his unapologetic romance to the Geffen Playhouse with himself at the helm. Set to open on February 6, 2008.

Erin Riley, recent star of Neil LaBute's Fat Pig at Spotlighters Theatre talks about life as an actress in Baltimore and beyond.

The intimate Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater will round out its 2006/2007 season with the close of Neil LaBute's Fat Pig on July 15th.

'The Nanny' star Fran Drescher, who appeared last year Off-Broadway in Neil LaBute's Some Girl(s), recently visited backstage at the hit Broadway musical Mary Poppins.

Neil LaBute's West Coast premiere of Fat Pig has been extended for an additional two weeks at Los Angeles' Geffen Playhouse, with a new cast taking the stage, including original New York cast member Ashlie Atkinson...