Nilo Cruz News

Stage and screen star Sanaa Lathan (A Raisin in the Sun, Contagion) returns to the title role in Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage's By the Way, Meet Vera Stark for its West Coast premiere at the Geffen Playhouse. Lathan, who originated the character of Vera Stark in the critically acclaimed New York run, will once again take the stage as the 1930's era maid turned movie star, reunited with original cast member Kimberly Hebert Gregory (Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer) reprising her role as fellow aspiring African American actress Lottie. Broadway vet and Geffen alum Merle Dandridge (Spamalot, Rent, Aida) will take on the spicy role of Anna Mae, who fakes a Brazilian accent for a slice of fame, and former leading lady of ABC's Man Up, Amanda Detmer, will portray Gloria Mitchell, the white starlet dubbed "America's little sweetie pie" and Vera's first employer. Helmed by award-winning director Jo Bonney, the West Coast premiere cast also features Kevin Carroll (Paid in Full, Being John Malkovich), Spencer Garrett (Iron Man 3, Air Force One) and Geffen alum Mather Zickel (Extraordinary Chambers, Rachel Getting Married).

Casa 0101 Theater, Josefina Lopez, Artistic Director, and The Center for Collaboration with the Arts at Whittier College will present "Lorca in a Green Dress," written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Nilo Cruz, under the direction of Jennifer Sage Holmes at Casa 0101 Theater, 2102 E. 1st Street (at St. Louis Street), Boyle Height, Calif., on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 5:00 p.m., tonight, July 20 - August 26, 2012.

Black Milk, by the Russian playwright Vassily Sigarev (translation by Sasha Dugdale), will have its New York premiere Off-Broadway this summer from tonight, July 19 - August 4, 2012 in a production helmed by the acclaimed Venezuelan director Michel Hausmann at East 13th Street Theatre, 136 East 13th Street (home of Classic Stage Company).

REPERTORIO ESPAÑOL has announced the New York production of Yoshvani Medina's PROBATION. PROBATION will begin tonight, July 12 (7pm) at Repertorio Español's Gramercy Arts Theater (138 East 27th Street, btw. Lex. & 3rd). PROBATION plays through September 27, 2012. The play will be directed by the playwright and its cast includes Hannia Guillén as Yenny, Alfonso Rey as Pancho & Sandor Juan as Freddy. Probation is the first production at Repertorio to be presented in Spanish with subtitles via Repertorio's new in-seat Simultext Captioning System. Tickets are on sale now.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) presents Gilbert & Sullivan's comic operetta THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, directed by Broadway veteran Terrence Mann, starring Sean Martin Hingston as the Pirate King, Steven Hayes as the Major-General and Connecticut native Diane Phelan as Mabel.

Anthony Freud, general director of Lyric Opera of Chicago, announced today that The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is awarding $2 million to the internationally acclaimed company in support of expanded community engagement and new artistic initiatives.

Casa 0101 Theater, Josefina Lopez, Artistic Director, and The Center for Collaboration with the Arts at Whittier College will present "Lorca in a Green Dress," written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Nilo Cruz, under the direction of Jennifer Sage Holmes at Casa 0101 Theater, 2102 E. 1st Street (at St. Louis Street), Boyle Height, Calif., on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 5:00 p.m., July 20 - August 26, 2012.

Casa 0101 Theater, Josefina Lopez, Artistic Director, and The Center for Collaboration with the Arts at Whittier College will present "Lorca in a Green Dress," written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Nilo Cruz, under the direction of Jennifer Sage Holmes at Casa 0101 Theater, 2102 E. 1st Street (at St. Louis Street), Boyle Height, CA 90033 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 5:00 p.m., July 20 - August 26, 2012.

REPERTORIO ESPAÑOL has announced the New York production of Yoshvani Medina's PROBATION. PROBATION will begin on Thursday, July 12 (7pm) at Repertorio Español's Gramercy Arts Theater (138 East 27th Street, btw. Lex. & 3rd). PROBATION plays through September 27, 2012. The play will be directed by the playwright and its cast includes Hannia Guillén as Yenny, Alfonso Rey as Pancho & Sandor Juan as Freddy. Probation is the first production at Repertorio to be presented in Spanish with subtitles via Repertorio's new in-seat Simultext Captioning System. Tickets are on sale now.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater's Artistic Director Molly Smith has announced that this July 2012 D.C.-area arts manager and artist David Snider will become the company's Director of Artistic Programming. Snider will be leaving Young Playwrights' Theater (YPT), where he has served since 2005 as producing artistic director and CEO, to bring his multi-faceted, award-winning talents to the artistic team of Arena Stage.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) presents Gilbert & Sullivan's comic operetta THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, directed by Broadway veteran Terrence Mann, starring Sean Martin Hingston as the Pirate King, Steven Hayes as the Major-General and Connecticut native Diane Phelan as Mabel.

Producers Carole Black and Pat Mitchell announced today that EMOTIONAL CREATURE, the new play written by Tony Award®-winning playwright, performer, activist, and The Vagina Monologues author Eve Ensler, will get a New York premiere this fall.

ANNA IN THE TROPICS performs in the Wilson Mainstage Auditorium, 403 N Main St in South Bend, two weeks only, tonight, June 22 through July 1. Set in 1929 Florida in a Cuban-American cigar factory where cigars are still rolled by hand, Anna in the Tropics tells a story of passion and dreams. The arrival of a charismatic new lector, or reader, to entertain the workers in the factory creates a burst of excitement. When he begins to read aloud from the classic "Anna Karenina," the novel's romantic prose sparks hidden desires in his listeners which will change their lives dramatically.

ANNA IN THE TROPICS performs in the Wilson Mainstage Auditorium, 403 N Main St in South Bend, two weeks only, June 22-July 1. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek of the production photos below!

Black Milk, by the Russian playwright Vassily Sigarev (translation by Sasha Dugdale), will have its New York premiere Off-Broadway this summer from July 19 - August 4, 2012 in a production helmed by the acclaimed Venezuelan director Michel Hausmann at East 13th Street Theatre, 136 East 13th Street (home of Classic Stage Company).

he Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust today announced that the Fifth Annual Steinberg Playwright "Mimi" Awards will be presented on Monday, October 29, 2012. The Mimi Awards promote theater as a vital part of our culture by nurturing American playwrights and encouraging the development and production of new American plays. The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust will present the 2012 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award at this year's ceremony, which will be held at the Lincoln Center Theater in New York City. The Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award is presented biennially to honor and encourage the artistic excellence and achievement of an American playwright whose body of work has made significant contributions to the American theater. The recipient of the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award will receive a cash award of $200,000. The Steinberg Playwright Awards and the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Awards are presented in alternate years. Past recipients are: · Lisa D'Amour and Melissa James Gibson, Steinberg Playwright Award, 2011 · Lynn Nottage, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2010 · David Adjmi, Tarell Alvin McCraney and Bruce Norris, Steinberg Playwright Awards, 2009 · Tony Kushner, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, 2008 These playwrights were each presented with a monetary award along with "The Mimi," a statuette designed by Tony Award-nominated scenic designer and architect David Rockwell. The Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award honors the artistic achievement of a playwright whose work has made a significant impact on American theater. The Steinberg Playwright Award is awarded to playwrights who exhibit exceptional talent and tremendous promise in earlier stages of their careers. In 2008, the Board of Directors of The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust established an Advisory Committee of prominent theater professionals responsible for establishing the criteria for the Steinberg Playwright Awards, as well as the nomination and selection processes. The 2012 Advisory Committee is comprised of continuing members; Susan Booth, Artistic Director of the Alliance Theater; Jeremy Cohen, Producing Artistic Director, The Playwrights' Center; Todd London, Artistic Director of New Dramatists; and Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director, Manhattan Theater Club. Additionally, this year there are three new members; Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic Director, CENTERSTAGE; Bill Rauch, Artistic Director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival; and Neil Pepe, Artistic Director, Atlantic Theater Company. The members of the Board of Directors of The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust are Carole A. Krumland, James D. Steinberg, Michael A. Steinberg, Seth M. Weingarten and William D. Zabel. About The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust: The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust was created by Harold Steinberg in 1986 in the names of himself and his late wife Miriam. The Trust's primary mission is to support and promote the American theater as a vital part of our culture by nurturing American playwrights, encouraging the development and production of new American plays, and by providing significant support to theater companies across the country. Since its inception, the Trust has given in excess of $65 million to more than one hundred not-for-profit theater organizations. These gifts have funded countless productions, as well as the commissioning of playwrights, playwriting programs and arts-in-education outreach programs for thousands of children in an effort to create and educated new generations of theatergoers. The Trust also collaborated with the American Theater Critics Association to create and fund the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award. The award is presented annually during the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theater of Louisville. Recent winners of this award include Craig Lucas, Lynn Nottage, Lee Blessing and Nilo Cruz.

New Theatre (THE NEW) announced its last play of the 2011-2012 season, A Bicycle Country by Pulitzer Prize award winning playwright Nilo Cruz running from June 8 - 24, 2012. This stirring portrait of three Cuban exiles and their harrowing journey across the Caribbean Sea examines the universal themes of freedom and oppression, hope and survival.