New Group News

Good morning BroadwayWorld! Today's top stories: Good For Otto opens tonight off-Broadway at The New Group, and more!

La Jolla Playhouse is pleased to bring back for a sixth year its acclaimed new play development initiative, the DNA New Work Series, a weekend of readings of new works, taking place March 22 - 25, 2018 in the Playhouse's Rao and Padma Makeneni Play Development Center. Tickets for the DNA New Work Series are free but reservations are required by calling (858) 550-1010 or visiting LaJollaPlayhouse.org.

SipFest, a new festival showcasing some of the coolest women theatremakers, has announced a lineup of multimedia works at different levels of development for an impromptu Wild Project takeover running March 7-14th.

Rehearsals kicked off today for Steppenwolf Theatre Company's highly anticipated world premiere comedy, The Doppelganger (an international farce) written by Chicagoland native Matthew-Lee Erlbach (Showtime's Masters of Sex, Off-Broadway's Handbook for an American Revolutionary).

Classic Stage Company presents a new production of Tennessee Williams' SUMMER AND SMOKE, directed by Jack Cummings III, Artistic Director of The Transport Group, beginning performances Friday, April 13. The cast of SUMMER AND SMOKE will feature Glenna Brucken (Rosemary), Phillip Clark (Dr. Buchanan), and more.

Five-time Obie Award-winning theater company Clubbed Thumb (Maria Striar, Producing Artistic Director; Michael Bulger, Associate Artistic Director) is proud to announce the line-up for SUMMERWORKS, its annual series of new plays. Now in its 23rd season, SUMMERWORKS will run May 19 through June 30 at The Wild Project (195 E 3rd Street) in Manhattan, and will feature productions of three new plays: TIN CAT SHOES by Trish Harnetiaux and directed by Knud Adams; WILDER GONE by Angela Hanks; and PLANO by Will Arbery and directed by Taylor Reynolds.

On this episode,  writer/composer Richard Thomas visits with actors Terrence Mann and Will Swenson from Thomas' controversial work Jerry Springer -The Opera, which created a sensation in the UK 13 years ago, but was considered so outrageous that it only now premieres in NYC. They discuss the spectacular production by The New Group at The Pershing Square Signature Center, with Michael Musto of NewNowNext.com and Susan Haskins. Next, playwright Jordan Harrison, director Oliver Butler and actor Michael Cyril Creighton talk about their production of Harrison's highly-original and thought-provoking play, The Amateurs, at the Vineyard Theatre, about a theater troop fleeing The Black Death in the Middle Ages and how these actors contributed to the modern dramatic concepts of character and individuality.

Lobby Hero begins previews tonight at Second Stage's Hayes Theater. Get to know the cast below as they begin Broadway performances!

Centenary Stage Company's 2017 - 18 season of concert events continues on Saturday, March 10 at 8:00 PM with Molsky's Mountain Drifters in the Lackland Performing Arts Center.

Bristol Old Vic have today announced the latest recipients of The Leverhulme Arts Scholarships for 2018-19. Bristol Old Vic's Ferment initiative has once again partnered with The Leverhulme Trust to offer exceptional local artists; Emma Callander, Laila Diallo, Julia Head, Jo Hellier and Kid Carpet (aka Ed Patrick), a year-long opportunity to explore their practice.

'Dip me in chocolate and throw me to the lesbians,' sings a young lady feeling the bright television lights on her face as cameras capture her every move for a national audience in Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee's outrageous, endearing and perceptive social commentary, JERRY SPRINGER -- THE OPERA.

The Art of the Score, exploring some of the most distinctive uses of music in film, will return for its fifth season with Amadeus: Live, the New York Premiere screening of Amadeus with the Mozart-centered score performed live to the complete film. Conducted by Richard Kaufman in his Philharmonic debut and featuring Musica Sacra, directed by Kent Tritle, Amadeus: Live will take place Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, April 13 at 11:00 a.m.; Saturday, April l4 at 7:30 p.m.; and Tuesday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m. On April 11 actor Alec Baldwin - Philharmonic Board Member and Artistic Advisor of The Art of the Score - and special guest F. Murray Abraham - who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Salieri - will introduce the film.

AVENUE Q - the Tony Award-winning Best Musical that features a cast comprised of people and puppets - will celebrate WORLD PUPPETRY DAY on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 with what is to be an unprecedented large gathering of professional and amateur puppeteers and their puppets for a special performance and post-show soiree at New World Stages (Off-Broadway, 340 West 50th Street), starting at 8:00PM.

What does the story of Passover mean to eleven California women artists? A new group show at The Gallery@The Braid, home of Jewish Women's Theatre (JWT) in Santa Monica, answers that question through painting, sculpture, photography, textile design and ceramics, beginning on March 10.

Due to demand, The New Group has announced a three-week extension for Jerry Springer - The Opera, with Matt McGrath appearing as Jerry Springer beginning March 13.  Terrence Mann, currently appearing in the role of Jerry Springer, plays his final performance March 11 due to an existing commitment beyond that date.

Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA; Jeffrey Horowitz, Founding Artistic Director) announces the full cast and creative team for William Shakespeare's tragicomedy The Winter's Tale, directed by OBIE Award-winner Arin Arbus. The production plays March 13-April 15, 2018, at Polonsky Shakespeare Center (262 Ashland Place), TFANA's home in the Brooklyn Cultural District.

Broadway Dance Lab (BDL), a non-profit choreography incubator supporting new works of dance-driven theatre, has announced that former New York City Ballet principal dancer, and Tony Award nominee, Robert Fairchild, will join Loni Landon and Ray Mercer as guest choreographers for the company's Spring 2018 Cycle. The Lab is set to begin on Feb. 26, and will culminate with a Gala performance on April 2 at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.

Fringe is a new theater group performing out of the newly opened Gem Center for the Arts. Their first production is Droppin' Johns by Ilana Lydia, under the direction of Kyle Daniel Barrow.

Jerry Springer: The Opera opened on Thursday, February 22 at The Pershing Square Signature Center (The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre, 480 West 42nd Street). BroadwayWorld attended the event adn you can check out photo coverage below!

Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! It's 'The Jerry Springer Show' as you've never seen it before, with passionate arias, soaring ballads, and giant production numbers. While the studio audience cheers, a parade of bickering guests fight and curse, until violence breaks out and Jerry (Terrence Mann) must face his trickiest guest ever, the devil himself (Will Swenson).