Oscar Eustis News

Cutting Ball Theater opens its 12th season with French symbolist Maurice Maeterlinck's PELLEAS & MELISANDE, in a new translation by Cutting Ball Artistic Director Rob Melrose.

The Public Theater hostd the final Public Forum evening of the season, 'Tony Kushner and Oskar Eustis in Conversation,' last night, May 8. In his new play, The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures, Kushner writes movingly about politics and family in America today-plus unions, real estate and love. Kushner and Eustis discussed these topics and more, with an introduction by special guest host Cynthia Nixon.

The most touching, delicately nuanced and beautifully realized work in The Public Theater's premiere production of Compulsion is, quite honestly, a wooden performance.   Rinne Groff's fictionalized tale of the Broadway dramatization of Anne Frank's diary begins with a life-sized marionette depicting the young girl, pencil in hand, innocently writing down thoughts that she most likely never dreamed would be so immortalized.  As a voice quotes how the adolescent feels, 'in spite of everything,' Matt Acheson's creation, manuevered by Emily DeCola, Daniel Fay and Eric Wright, moves with remarkably understated detail, her frozen face and stiff body nevertheless communicating heartbreaking sincerity through Anne Frank's words.  Unfortunately the rest of the evening seems freakishly overplayed by comparison.

They say we've become a society anesthetized from violent images since the days when graphic television news footage from Vietnam helped spark the largest anti-war movement this country had seen up until that time.  But the video clips from Gaza shown in Pulitzer-winning journalist Lawrence Wright's solo piece, The Human Scale, are enough to test any playgoer's stomach.

This past Friday afternoon I read that this person has been meeting with producers to consider the possibility of appearing on Broadway, in order to, 'expand her brand by taking to the stage.'  That evening I heard the 82-year-old Marilyn Maye, after nearly ninety minutes of superlative interpretations of musical theatre classics from the likes of Jerry Herman, Frank Loesser and Kander and Ebb, tell her completely enthralled audience that it's still her ambition to one day be on Broadway, before emoting a beautifully vulnerable 'Losing My Mind' that segued into a classy and celebratory 'I'm Still Here' that brought just about the entire packed Metropolitan Room house to its feet in one of the most adoring ovations I've ever seen.

Showbiz411 reports that Benjamin Walker, currently starring in Off-Broadway's BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, has been confirmed for Matthew Vaughn's upcoming 'X-Men' prequel, 'X-Men: First Class.' According to the report, Walker has been cast as Beast, a role played previously in the series by LA CAGE AUX FOLLES star Kelsey Grammer.

The New York Times has just revealed that BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON, which is playing the Public Theatre through June 27 after multiple extensions, has been offered the Jacob's Theatre on Broadway for a fall opening by the Shubert Organization, should producers choose to make the quick transfer.

The New York Times is reporting that John Guare's new play 'Free Man of Color,' which was postponed last season at The Public Theater due to a fall-out in funding, will now get a full production at Lincoln Center in the fall of 2010.

Tony Kushner has been named the first recipient of the 'Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award,' it was officially announced today at a press conference in New York City. The award, which was established earlier this year by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, will be presented at a ceremony on Tuesday, October 21, at 620 Loft & Garden at Rockefeller Center. The honor comes with a cash prize of $200,000, making this by far the largest award ever created to honor and encourage artistic achievement in the American theater.

Broadway Bullet interview Stephen Spinella about 'Spring Awakening' and his career in this first installment of six interviews. Spinella also discusses 'Angels in America' and advice for actors.

Curt Columbus is the new Artistic Director of Trinity Repertory Company. On September 20, 2006 he will have his first opening night of his first show at Trinity, He is directing Anton Chekhov's 'Cherry Orchard', which he also translated.

Cyrano is Trinity Rep's final production of the theater season.

Presented as a benefit for Partial Comfort Productions, BATTLE OF THE BARDS took place on March 3rd and BroadwayWorld was there!

John Lithgow and Cynthia Nixon will join luminaries from other arts fields in The Book That Changed My Life, an October 22nd 12-hour marathon at Symphony Space

The Two Gentlemen of Verona, the Public Theatre revival of the musical version of Shakespeare's classic, runs through Sunday, September 11th at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

Making her Broadway debut in the critically acclaimed Brooklyn Boy, is fresh face Ari Graynor.