Paula Vogel News

New Ohio Theatre Artistic Director Robert Lyons in association with Purpleman Theater have announced casting for Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel's And Baby Makes Seven. Marc Stuart Weitz will direct ensemble including Ken Barnett (Wonderful Town, Julie Taymor's The Green Bird) as Peter, Susan Bott (Julie Kramer's The Best of Everything) as Ruth and Constance Zaytoun (Moby Pomerance's Broken Hands) as Anna. And Baby Makes Seven is an uproarious and timely comedy that has not been seen professionally in New York in 20 years. Performances will take place March 11-April 12 at the New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street, between Washington and Greenwich Streets). Critics are welcome as of March 19 for an opening of March 23.

Theatre at St. Clement's will host the World Premiere of The Clearing, written by Jake Jeppson (Jerome Fellowship recipient) and directed by Josh Hecht (Drama Desk Award winner for Christine Jorgensen Reveals). The Clearing runs Off-Broadway from tonight, January 15 - February 9, 2014. Previews begin tonight, January 15 for a January 19 opening. Theatre at St. Clement's is located at 423 West 46th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues in New York City. Click below to go behind the scenes with the cast and creative team!

Groupies, trophies and fast, beautiful cars. Is winning all there is? Terri Hanauer directs a rare revival of the celebrated Broadway drama that kick-started playwright/screenwriter John Bishop's career. Nick Stabile (Bride of Chucky, Dennis Wilson in ABC's award-winning The Beach Boys) heads the cast as once-great NASCAR racer Bobby Horvath in The Trip Back Down, opening Feb. 21 at the Whitefire Theatre.

Theater for the New City will present the world premiere of 'Sotto Voce' by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz from February 15 to March 9, directed by the author.

Trinity Rep invites the public to nominate outstanding local artists for the 2014 Rhode Island Pell Awards for Excellence in the Arts. Nomination criteria require the artist's name, contact information, and a brief description of his or her work and the contributions that they have made to Rhode Island. Nomination forms are available online at www.trinityrep.com.

The Pasadena Playhouse announced Bruce Davison, Sharon Lawrence and RoxAnne Hart to star in A SONG AT TWILIGHT by Noël Coward, the fifth production of its 2013 - 2014 Season. A SONG AT TWILIGHT is performed March 18 to April 13; the press opening is Sunday, March 23.

Vineyard Theatre (108 E. 15 St.) has announced that tickets to the new musical ARLINGTON by Victor Lodato and Polly Pen -- with previews set to begin Wednesday, February 12 prior to its official opening night on Sunday, March 2 - will go on sale Monday, January 6 at 1 p.m..

Amphibian Stage Productions today announced casting for its first staged reading of the 2014 season, The North Pool by Rajiv Joseph. Patrick Bynane and Nolan Chapa will star in this drama, running Sunday, January 19 and Monday, January 20 at Amphibian's theater at 120 S. Main Street. Linsey Retcofsky will direct the reading.

'Twas the night before Christmas, and through the Houston area people were shopping, cursing their error. Why did they wait for the last few minutes to buy so many holiday presents? Cozy, at home, two theater enthusiasts discussed theatrical amusements. There were funny shows, and sad ones. Some had music and joviality, while others encouraged civic responsibility. But, sadly, the list of dream shows to see just grew and grew. Wouldn't it be great if Houston produced just a few? They may have been done, but not since we started seeing everything. Oh, Santa and producers, please make true our Christmas dreams.

Theatre at St. Clement's will host the World Premiere of The Clearing, written by Jake Jeppson (Jerome Fellowship recipient) and directed by Josh Hecht (Drama Desk Award winner for Christine Jorgensen Reveals). The Clearing runs Off-Broadway from January 15 - February 9, 2014. Previews begin January 15 for a January 19 opening. Theatre at St. Clement's is located at 423 West 46th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues in New York City. Click below to go behind the scenes with the cast and creative team!

Religion, politics and theater collide when Bart DeLorenzo directs the Los Angeles premiere of Passion Play by Tony and two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee Sarah Ruhl, kicking off the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble's 45th Anniversary Season in a co-production with Evidence Room. Performances begin Jan. 25 at the Odyssey Theatre in West L.A. and continue through March 16.

Artistic Director Molly Smith tackles a unique, in-the-round staging of Bertolt Brecht's powerhouse anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Iconic stage and screen actress and Academy Award nominee Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage following her sold-out run of Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins to make her professional singing debut as the tough-as-nails matriarch Mother Courage-a single mother determined to keep her family alive and her business afloat during war. Using the David Hare translation, the show fuses politics and satire to paint an unforgettable and provocative portrait of war, incorporating more than 10 pieces of original music composed in a rollicking, gypsy-punk style and performed by cast members doubling as musicians. Mother Courage and Her Children runs January 31-March 9, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage.

Theatre at St. Clement's will host the World Premiere of The Clearing, written by Jake Jeppson (Jerome Fellowship recipient) and directed by Josh Hecht (Drama Desk Award winner for Christine Jorgensen Reveals). The Clearing runs Off-Broadway from January 15 - February 9, 2014. Previews begin January 15 for a January 19 opening. Theatre at St. Clement's is located at 423 West 46th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues in New York City.

A new crop of local talent joins Goodman Theatre's artistic team for the 2013/2014 Season. The four Chicago-based writers named to the fourth season of the Playwrights Unit-a year-long residency program designed to support and develop new works-include Andrew Hinderaker, Gift Theatre ensemble member; Mickle Maher, cofounder of Theater Oobleck; Anne Garcia-Romero, a resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists; and Laura Schellhardt, who oversees undergraduate playwriting at Northwestern University. A partnership with Chicago Dramatists, the Playwrights Unit meets twice per month with members of the Goodman's artistic team to discuss their plays-in-progress and provide feedback for one another. The program includes readings of the playwrights' works-in-progress at Chicago Dramatists in early 2014, and culminates in summer 2014 with staged readings of their completed works at the Goodman. Playwrights Unit alumni include Greg Allen, Alice Austen, Ike Holter and Christopher Oscar Peña (2012/2013 Season); Philip Dawkins, Nambi E. Kelley, Elaine Romero and Martin Zimmerman (2011/2012 Season); and Seth Bockley, Lisa Dillman, Laura Jacqmin and Rohina Malik (2010/2011 Season).

Magic Theatre will welcome back Obie Award-winning playwright Taylor Mac with the world premiere of Hir. The production is directed by Niegel Smith and will run January 29 - February 23, 2014 at Magic Theatre, Fort Mason Center, Building D, 3rd Floor. Press Dates are February 6-9, 2014.

Every year, the holiday season is marked by gooey, theatrical mind-candy confections. The syrupy and saccharine spectacles fill audiences with joy and boil pots all over town. Yet, for 2013 Main Street Theater is taking a bold risk and producing the brilliantly crafted and deeply moving Houston Premiere of A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS: AN AMERICAN MUSICAL CELEBRATION by Paula Vogel, with music by Daryl Waters. The play is not the light-hearted, feel-good fare audiences have come to expect; however, I defy anyone to walk away from a performance without feeling moved and permanently altered.

Buoyed by captivated audiences and great reviews, Center Stage's production of A Civil War Christmas has broken the theater's single ticket daily gross record, becoming one of the best-selling shows in the company's 50-year history. As dates fill up for this new holiday classic by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, an additional performance has been added to closing weekend, on Sunday, December 22 at 7:30 pm.

The Tony Award-winning actress Linda Lavin will return to the Vineyard Theatre (108 E. 15 St.) - where she created the role of Rita Lyons in Nicky Silver's acclaimed comedy THE LYONS in 2012 - in Mr. Silver's newest work, TOO MUCH SUN, with previews set to begin May 1, 2014 prior to an official opening on May 20. Mark Brokaw, who directed THE LYONS - including the play's recent celebrated debut in London - directs TOO MUCH SUN.

Stage combat-, pyrotechnic-, and historical expert Alan Hutton will give a lecture and hands-on civil war weaponry demonstration in connection with Main Street Theater's current production of A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration. The event is one of several Part of the Art Series events for the production.

Main Street Theater is extending the run of A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration through Dec. 29. Added performances are Dec. 26 at 7:30pm, Dec. 27 & 28 at 8pm, and Dec. 29 at 3pm. Scroll down for photos of the cast in action!