Oscar Wilde News

Glenn Carter* (Jersey Boys, Jesus Christ Superstar, Whistle down the Wind), Stephen Rahman Hughes* (Emmerdale, Dream Team, Bombay Dreams, West Side Story), David Thaxton (Passion, Les Miserables) and Matt Willis (Wicked, Flashdance, Footloose and BRIT award winning member of Busted), join the previously announced Lee Mead (Wicked, Legally Blonde, BBC Series Winner of Any Dream Will Do) to complete The West End Men. All four will be joined by special guest star Kerry Ellis* (Wicked, Oliver, We Will Rock You, Born Free Tour with Brian May) for the limited run at the Vaudeville Theatre from 25 May to 22 June.

Nightlife and TV legend Robin Byrd will join the cast of tonight's 7:00 PM show of The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre. The acclaimed comedy/variety show will continue its Spring 2013 season tonight, April 18 at The Duplex in New York's West Village.

California Shakespeare Theater today announced that it is has been selected to participate in the first year of a two-year regional theater partnership to provide open captioning for the deaf and hard-of-hearing at select Main Stage performances during the 2013 season.

Chance Theater presents the second show of its 2013 season with the Orange County Premiere of THE LARAMIE PROJECT: TEN YEARS LATER by Moises Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris and Stephen Belber, playing in repertory with the award-winning masterwork, THE LARAMIE PROJECT, by Moises Kaufman and members of Tectonic Theater Project, both directed by Chance Theater's Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen. THE LARAMIE PROJECT will preview tonight, April 18 & Saturday, April 20 at 8pm and will open on Tuesday, April 23 at 8pm.

Synetic Theater's Founder and Artistic director, Paata Tsikurisvili, announced the company's 2013/14 season line-up. Known for its unique, physically demanding style fusing drama, dance, acrobatics and exhilarating visuals, Synetic Theater has wowed Washington, DC-area audiences for twelve years. Since its inception, Synetic has received consistent recognition by critics as an innovative contemporary theater company, winning 24 Helen Hayes Awards and 92 nominations.

GAYFEST NYC, Inc. (Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman, Producers), the country's premier producer of new LGBT-themed plays, announces its Fifth Festival of Plays, a four-week event filled with powerful theatre works spotlighting gay issues.

Lee Mead (Wicked, Legally Blonde, BBC Series Winner of Any Dream Will Do) will be joined by special guest star Kerry Ellis for selected performances (Wicked, Oliver, We Will Rock You, Born Free Tour with Brian May) in The West End Men, running at the Vaudeville Theatre from 25 May until 22 June, with press night on 3 June 2013. The West End Men is directed by the award winning Mitch Sebastian (The Rat Pack Live from Las Vegas) and produced by Milton Morrissey Ltd, Jason Haigh Ellery and in association with Paul Tyrer & Jamie Clark for The Booking Office. Further casting will be announced shortly.

It's rare for a play, especially a social satire, to endure for over a century. Times change and what was once topical and funny often loses its punch. Thankfully, Oscar Wilde's 1895 masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest has endured, and in its current production at St. Edwards University, Wilde's witty play flourishes and shines.

Paul Gordon has a distinctive style that has made musicals like "Emma," "Daddy Long Legs," and "Jane Eyre" successful in their smaller regional and short Broadway runs. The composer-lyricist refuses to follow the typical Broadway musical formula and instead uses his music to tell the story. But that style has also made Gordon's shows an acquired taste. Gordon's latest musical, a new take on Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest," continues in this line, providing memorable tunes repeated throughout, but never quite gaining its full momentum and suffering from a relaxed, unfinished feeling.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts previously announced national awardees for outstanding work from the regional festivals that were held January 8 through March 3, 2013. Individual awardees and a representative from each of the outstanding productions will travel to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. for an expenses-paid trip to participate in the 45th annual Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF), today, April 15-20, 2013.

David Cregan directs a new translation of Wilde's classic in a performance that is literally 'up in the air'

Mary Moody Northen Theatre, the award-winning producing arm of the St. Edward's University professional theatre training program, continues its 40th anniversary season with The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, directed by Richard Robichaux, running tonight, April 11 - 21, 2013.

Paul Robeson, Romeo, Juliet, and Ebenezer are just a few of the names - real and fictional - of the dynamic characters audiences will see at Kansas City Repertory Theatre during its 2013-14 season.

City Theatre ends its 2012-2013 season with Abigail/1702, a juicy sequel about The Crucible's scandalous stage legend, Abigail Williams. Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by Tracy Brigden, Abigail/1702 runs on City Theatre's Mainstage from May 4 - 26, 2013, with an Opening Night performance on Friday, May 10 at 8pm.

City Theatre ends its 2012-2013 season with Abigail/1702, a juicy sequel about The Crucible's scandalous stage legend, Abigail Williams. Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by Tracy Brigden, Abigail/1702 runs on City Theatre's Mainstage from May 4 - 26, 2013, with an Opening Night performance on Friday, May 10 at 8pm.

Villanova Theatre's 2012-2013 culminates with an electrifying production of Salome, written by Oscar Wilde, directed by Rev. David Cregan, OSA, and on stage tonight, April 9 - 21, 2013.

This Friday, The Importance of Being Earnest opens at Raleigh Little Theatre for a 3-week run, helmed by guest director John T. "Jack" Hall. Earnest is one of the most cherished plays in the English language, featuring Oscar Wilde's unique brand of social satire, effervescent wit, and high farce.

To conclude its 45th season, Berkeley Repertory Theatre welcomes back a pair of acclaimed collaborators: Sarah Ruhl and Les Waters, the creators of Eurydice, Three Sisters, and In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), return to Berkeley Rep with another tale of love and longing in Dear Elizabeth.

Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre continues their Eleventh Season with Oscar Wilde's sparkling comedy, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, Wilde's most produced play. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST is a farcical comedy in which the main characters maintain fictitious personae in order to escape burdensome social obligations. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Wilde's most enduringly popular play. CityRep is co-producing with TheatreOCU and Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park to provide Oklahoma City with an elegant and sumptuous production of this classic comedy. This production is rated PG.

This week's School in the Spolight is the Department of Theatre and Dance at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where students can pursue a B.A. in Theatre with concentrations in Performance, Design/Technical Theatre, or Teacher Certification (K-12).