Nilo Cruz News

Gallery Players continues its 52nd season with ANNA IN THE TROPICS by Nilo Cruz.

DNAWORKS presents a series of events on the campus of Texas Christian University (TCU) between October 9 and 23 that highlights the relationship and impact that the arts can play in social justice and equity work. Events of this residency range from a TCU Community Leaders Workshop to a multimedia dance performance, concluding with a Community Town Hall Meeting. The College of Fine Arts' newly formed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Arts Programming Committee provided funding for this residency.

Set in 1991, during the Pan American Games in Havana and while the Russians are pulling out of Cuba, Two Sisters And A Piano portrays two sisters, Maria Celia, a novelist, and Sofia, a pianist, serving time under house arrest. Passion infiltrates politics when a lieutenant assigned to their case becomes infatuated with Maria Celia, whose literature he has been reading. Seattle Favorite, Jose Amador, returns to the Schmee stage to helm this mutli-facted drama set in the heat of 1991 Cuba.

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (RTE), Chicago's only Equity theatre dedicated to producing new work with women at the core, presents the World Premiere of Scientific Method by Jenny Connell Davis, directed by Devon de Mayo, and featuring RTE Member Ashley Neal, with Glenn Obrero, Josh Odor, Courtney Williams and Carmen Roman. Scientific Method runs October 19 - December 2, 2018, at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago.  The press opening is Tuesday October 30, 2018 at 7:00pm.

An exotic, transporting production.

Set in 1991, during the Pan American Games in Havana and while the Russians are pulling out of Cuba, Two Sisters And A Piano portrays two sisters, Maria Celia, a novelist, and Sofia, a pianist, serving time under house arrest. Passion infiltrates politics when a lieutenant assigned to their case becomes infatuated with Maria Celia, whose literature he has been reading. Seattle Favorite, Jose Amador, returns to the Schmee stage to helm this mutli-facted drama set in the heat of 1991 Cuba.

The year is 1929, and Tampa-based cigar rollers Marela and Ofelia anxiously await the arrival of their new, dashingly handsome "lectore." Anna in the Tropics is written by Nilo Cruz and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2003. The play centers around the common Cuban tradition in which lectors are employed by cigar factories to educate and entertain the workers through the reading of novels. The arrival of a new lector is a cause for celebration, but when he begins to read aloud from Anna Karenina, he unwittingly becomes a catalyst in the lives of his avid listeners, for whom Tolstoy, the tropics, and the American dream prove a volatile combination.

Cornerstone Theater Company is pleased to present the premiere of a new play, The Cardinal, a journey through Flushing in Queens NY this summer.

Magic Theatre (Loretta Greco, Artistic Director and Jaimie Mayer, Managing Director) announced today the complete cast of Ashlin Halfnight's World Premiere The Resting Place, the first production of the 2018- 2019 season. The Resting Place will be directed by Jessica Holt. Previews begin onWednesday, October 10, 2018 at Magic Theatre's Fort Mason location, with a press opening on Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are on-sale now.

Victory Gardens Theater Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Erica Daniels announce the 2018/19 Season Directors Inclusion Initiates, to include Lauren Katz (Indecent), Mikael Burke (Rightlynd), N. Emil Thomas (Pipeline), Denise Yvette Serna (Cambodian Rock Band) and Ruby Des Jardins (Miriam for President).

Cornerstone Theater Company is pleased to present the premiere of a new play, The Cardinal, a journey through Flushing in Queens NY this summer.

San Francisco Playhouse (Artistic Director Bill English; Producing Director Susi Damilano) announced casting for the final show of its 2017-18 Sandbox Series-the world premiere of Washed Up on the Potomac, written by Lynn Rosen. Jose Zayas will direct.

The Playwrights Foundation has hired a new managing director, Kathy Li. Kathy (Ruoran) Li is a bilingual theater manager with professional experience both in the United States and in China, Kathy has recently served as Associate Managing Director for Yale Repertory Theatre and for Yale Cabaret, and has produced five plays while in graduate school. Prior to coming to the US, Kathy worked for Shanghai Cultural Exchange Agency to present international theater and dance for Shanghai International Arts Festival, and for Modern Drama Valley to organize community engagement events and support theater productions in her hometown Shanghai, China. Kathy holds an MFA in Theater Management from Yale School of Drama, and a BA from Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

The Playwrights Foundation, a launchpad for exceptional plays and playwrights announces the lineup for the 2018 Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF) running July 20-29, 2018. The six Playwrights were selected from more than 700 submissions nationally, 85% from outside the bay area, from more than 2 dozen states and Canada - coast to coast a very North American cohort.

Cornerstone Theater Company is pleased to present the premiere of a new play, Utopia Parkway (working title) in Queens, New York this summer. Utopia Parkway will be performed at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts: Goldstein Theatre at Queens College on Friday, August 10 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, August 11 at 2 and 8 p.m. Tickets are pay-what-you-can with a suggested donation of $10. For more information and to reserve tickets email info@cornerstonetheater.org or call 1-800-578-1335.

INTAR (Lou Moreno, Artistic Director/John McCormack, Executive Director) announced that Christy Escobar joins Ryan Vincent Anderson (We Live Here - EST); Kim Brockington ("Guiding Light," School of Rock, upcoming: lead in "Asunder," USA Network); Vanessa Butler (2017 Connecticut Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Actress in a Play for Queens for a Year, Hartford Stage); Marie Louise Guinier (ABC's "What Would You Do?," Most Dangerous Man in America - NFT); Ashley Marie Ortiz (INTAR Unit 52); and Elise Santora (Reba in "Orange Is The New Black," Broadway: In The Heights, The Capeman) in the World Premiere of Scissoring.

Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Fran Drescher was joined by Tony Winner Priscilla Lopez at NYC drag star Marti Gould Cummings weekly talk show Stage Fright.

Jose talks to Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz about his new play Exquisita Agonia currently running at Repertorio Español. Cruz talks about his love of words, magical realism, and crafting larger than life characters.

Playwrights Foundation announces the plays and playwrights of the 2018 Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF) running July 20-29, 2018 at Potrero Stage, 1895 18th St in San Francisco. The Artistic Teams for #BAPF2018 features Directors Erik Pearson, Christine Young, Margo Hall, Daniel Banks, Lauren English, and Ken Savage. Dramaturgs joining the teams include Alex Mallory, Maddie Gaw, Lisa Evans, Vidhu Singh, Roweena Mackay, and the Legendary Nakissa Etemad.

INTAR (Lou Moreno, Artistic Director/John McCormack, Executive Director) presents the World Premiere of Scissoring, a new play by Christina Quintana, directed by Estefania Fadul. Scissoring stars Ryan Vincent Anderson (We Live Here - EST); Kim Brockington ("Guiding Light," School of Rock, upcoming: lead in "Asunder," USA Network); Vanessa Butler (2017 Connecticut Critics Circle Award, Outstanding Actress in a Play for Queens for a Year, Hartford Stage); Ally Carey (Macbeth -NY Classical Theatre), Marie Louise Guinier (ABC's "What Would You Do?," Most Dangerous Man in America - NFT); Ashley Marie Ortiz (INTAR Unit 52); and Elise Santora (Reba in "Orange Is The New Black," Broadway: In The Heights, The Capeman).