Oscar Wilde News

What ever happened to Abigail Williams? Combining a provocative parable of sin and redemption with a good, old-fashioned ghost story, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Carrie, Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark, Fox's Glee) explores what might have come next for the real-life Puritan villainess at the center of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. ICT artistic director caryn desai [sic] directs the West Coast premiere of Abigail/1702, opening tonight, May 1 at International City Theatre in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. Two low-priced previews are set for April 29 and 30.

The Downtown Urban Theater Festival (Reg E. Gaines, Artistic Director) will present its 13th annual season in New York City from May 13th - 30th, 2015.

The Toronto Operetta Theatre's 30th Season closes with a Spring production of Davies' and Benson's delightful operetta, EARNEST, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING. The musical, based on Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, plays at the St. Lawrence Centre tonight, April 29, May 1, 2, 3 (mat), 2015, directed by Guillermo Silva-Marin, with Larry Beckwith conducting the orchestra. Realizing a long-held dream to present a totally new work in the operetta format, Toronto Operetta Theatre gave the world premiere in 2008. “I'm delighted that we are bringing this wonderful Canadian musical back to our stage”, said TOT's Silva-Marin. “It's Oscar Wilde as you never imagined before. The work is an amazing crowd-pleaser and I know that with Jean Stilwell as Lady Bracknell audiences are in for a special treat.”

The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities will open the regional premiere of A Man of No Importance directed by Arvada Center Artistic Producer, Rod A. Lansberry in the Main Stage Theater tonight, April 28, running through May 17, 2015. A Man of No Importance will feature live music played by Colorado's legendary Irish-folk band Colcannon.

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre, the acclaimed comedy/variety show, will make its SAN FRANCISO debut to OASIS (298 Eleventh Street, San Francisco CA) tonight, April 25 at 7:30 PM. The Meeting* has been called 'delicious and delightfully droll' by The New York Post and 'hilarious and sardonic' by The Village Voice. A story for Slate.com called the evening 'so deliciously icy that it left me shivering with fear and delight.' The New York run of The Meeting* - currently running monthly at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater - has been sold out since the New York Times 'Arts & Leisure' piece ran last September. Special musical guests for the Oasis performance will include Veronica Klaus, Connie Champagne, and D'Arcy Drollinger. Tickets are $20 and are available at SFOasis.com.

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre, the acclaimed comedy/variety show, will make its SAN FRANCISO debut to OASIS (298 Eleventh Street, San Francisco CA) on Saturday, April 25 at 7:30 PM. The Meeting* has been called "delicious and delightfully droll" by The New York Post and "hilarious and sardonic" by The Village Voice. A story for Slate.com called the evening "so deliciously icy that it left me shivering with fear and delight." The New York run of The Meeting* - currently running monthly at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater - has been sold out since the New York Times "Arts & Leisure" piece ran last September. Special musical guests for the Oasis performance will include Veronica Klaus, Connie Champagne, and D'Arcy Drollinger. Tickets are $20 and are available at SFOasis.com.

The Visit, the final musical ever by legendary Tony Award-winning duo John Kander and Fred Ebb, celebrates its official opening tonight, April 23, 2015 at the Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street). Scroll down to learn more about the company and watch a sneak preview of the show!

California Shakespeare Theater opens its 2015 season with Shakespeare's comic masterpiece, Twelfth Night, directed by Christopher Liam Moore. Twelfth Night plays at the Bruns Amphitheater from May 27 through June 21.

The New York premiere of FOREVER, the fourth production of the New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) (Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director Jeremy Blocker), created and performed by Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith (Monster, The Gimmick) and directed by Neel Keller (The Nether), begins previews tonight, April 22nd and officially opens on Monday, May 4, 2015 at New York Theatre Workshop (79 E. 4th Street New York, NY 10003).

Tom Stoppard is the kind of playwright who is so clever that it almost feels like he's showing off. Travesties is one such example of Stoppard's brilliance, as he seamlessly combines past and present, reality and fiction in an inventive and Wildean play that, believe it or not, was inspired by real events.

Tectonic Theater Project, the award-winning theater company whose works include Tony winners 33 Variations, I am My Own Wife, The Laramie Project, and Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, announced today that Lauren Wainwright has been named its new Executive Director. Wainwright is currently the Managing Producer of The Foundry Theatre and will assume her full-time duties at Tectonic on May 6, 2015.

SPARKLE & CIRCULATE with JUSTIN SAYRE - the official podcast of the International Order of Sodomites - has posted the sixth episode, which features an in-depth chat with Randy Harrison. The show is available on iTunes here.

Dead Writers Theatre Collective opens their season with Oscar Wilde's four-act comedy of morals 'Lady Windermere's Fan,' directed by Dead Writers Artistic Director Jim Schneider at Stage 773 located at 1225 W. Belmont Ave., April 17-June 7. Previews are April 17-21; press opening is Wednesday, April 22.

Victorian London awaits at Playhouse on Park! Under the direction of Jerry Winters, a dynamic eight-member cast presents Oscar Wilde's beloved comedy The Importance of Being Earnest. Audience members will be enchanted and romanced from start to finish with mystique, folly and playful deception.

Tony and Emmy Award winner Tyne Daly, Tony Award winner Harriet Harris, Sierra Boggess and Lisa Howard head an outstanding cast in It Shoulda Been You, the hilarious and heartwarming new musical comedy that proves when it comes to wedding day insanity, everything is relative. It Shoulda Been You, which had a sold-out premiere at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse, officially opens tonight, April 14, 2015 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Scroll down to learn more about the cast, plus watch interviews with the company!

Victorian London awaits at Playhouse on Park! Under the direction of Jerry Winters, a dynamic eight-member cast presents Oscar Wilde's beloved comedy The Importance of Being Earnest. Audience members will be enchanted and romanced from start to finish with mystique, folly and playful deception. Scroll down for a sneak peek at the cast in rehearsal!

The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre, the acclaimed comedy/variety show, will return to JOE'S PUB at The Public Theater on Sunday, April 19 at 9:30 PM to continue the Winter/Spring 2015 Season.

The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities will open the regional premiere of A Man of No Importance directed by Arvada Center Artistic Producer, Rod A. Lansberry in the Main Stage Theater on April 28, running through May 17, 2015.

Pioneer Theatre Company presents the Tony Award-winning musical The Music Man, May 1 through May 16, 2015.

On on March weekend just after spring arrived, the Milwaukee Ballet opened one of the oldest ballets- Giselle-to an appreciative audience. By adapting Jean Corelli's and Jules Perrot's original choreography, with Adolphe Adam's musical score arranged by Gavin Sutherland, Michael Pink in collaboration with Christopher Cable delves deeper into the human existence through their interpretation integrating traditional and contemporary choreography to retell one of the most romantic ballets in the art's repertoire. Another ballet where every year through Pink's remarkable storytelling the audience anticipates his revelation of art and beauty, grace and strength through dance.