Playwrights Horizons News

Shakespeare & Company opens their 40th Anniversary Season with 4000 Miles written by Amy Herzog, and directed by Nicole Ricciardi. This Pulitzer Prize finalist and Winner of the 2012 Obie Award for Best New Play explores growing up, growing old and the moments in between. The acclaimed comic drama runs at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre from May 25 to July 16, 2017.

This June, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts will present The Pride, a stylish, witty and affecting play that alternates between two very distinct time periods and the lives of three characters whose fate is destined by their eras.

Due to popular demand, Shattered Globe Theatre's hit Chicago premiere of Sarah Ruhl's FOR PETER PAN ON HER 70th BIRTHDAY will add one additional week of performances, extending through May 27, 2017 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago.  Directed by Jessica Thebus, the imaginative and moving drama was written for Ruhl's mother, Kathleen Ruhl, who stars in the Shattered Globe production. Tickets for all performances are currently available at www.theaterwit.org, in person at the Theater Wit Box Office or by calling (773) 975-8150.

Kansas City Repertory Theatre elevates its profile in the national theatre community with the second annual OriginKC: NEW WORKS FESTIVAL. In addition to a striking lineup of playwrights and directors for this year's festival, an impressive list of arts leaders from preeminent regional theaters across the country will be attending the Festival Weekend, May 12-13. 

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) has announced five productions as part of its complete 2017/18 Season.

Atlantic Theater Company has announced its 2017-18 season productions and one Atlantic for Kids production.

We close out April this week with Set Designer and current Lortel nominee Rachel Hauck! Aside from being a busy designer, Rachel is also a member of the Off-Broadway committee of designers that recently helped spearhead the first collectively bargained agreement ever for Off-Broadway.

Playwrights Horizons (Artistic Director, Tim Sanford; Managing Director, Leslie Marcus) has announced that the score for their World Premiere production of the musical IOWA has been preserved as an Original Cast Recording, produced by Michael Croiter (Matilda, The Visit, Big Fish) and Todd Almond. IOWA is written by Jenny Schwartz (God's Ear, Somewhere Fun) with music by Todd Almond (Girlfriend) and lyrics by Ms. Schwartz and Mr. Almond.

Rhinebeck Writers Retreat is presenting the first reading of the new musical, BHANGIN' IT, book by Rehana Lew Mirza and Mike Lew and music and lyrics by Sam Willmott, on May 1 in New York City for an invited industry audience. The reading includes actors Shoba Narayan (Natasha Pierre & The Great Comet), Tony Sheldon (Amelie), Dan Rosales (Spamilton), Angel Desai (Company), and Salena Qureshi.  The reading is directed by David Ruttura (School of Rock) and music directed by James Dobinson (The View UpStairs).

1ST PREVIEW FOR OFF-BWAY PREMIERE OF "THEY PROMISED HER THE MOON" TO HONOR START OF ABORTED WOMEN'S SPACE PROGRAM   TRUE STORY OF "ALMOST-FIRST" FEMALE ASTRONAUT BEGINS MAY 12   Tickets to the first preview on May 12 of Miranda Theatre Company's Off-Broadway premiere of "They Promised Her the Moon," will be specially priced at $19.59.  1959 was the year a fledgling Women's Space program took off and could have sent the first woman in space, if only NASA brass and future Senator John Glenn hadn't scuttled the program.

Due to strong advance sales, Cherry Lane Theatre will add three performances to Jocelyn Bioh's NOLLYWOOD DREAMS, the final presentation of its Obie award-winning MENTOR PROJECT. 

Lincoln Center Theater has announced that Tasha Lawrence, Morocco Omari, Karen Pittman, Namir Smallwood, Jaime Lincoln Smith, and Heather Velazquez will be featured in its upcoming production of PIPELINE, a new play by Dominique Morisseau, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, which begins performances Thursday, June 15 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street).  Opening night is Monday, July 10.

Director Michael Greif, who has directed seminal Broadway musicals including Rent, Next to Normal, Grey Gardens and many more, just received a Sardi's portrait to celebrate his career and work on Broadway directing this season's new musicals Dear Evan Hansen and War Paint. The casts from both of his shows came out to celebrate the occasion and BroadwayWorld was there!

On Saturday, April 29, 2017 cellist and composer Peri Mauer will be featured playing with the Illuminati Orchestra for two sets at Club Bonafide, located at 212 East 52nd St., New York, NY 10022.

Widely considered the most controversial musical ever written, ASSASSINS premiered off-Broadway in 1990 at Playwrights Horizons and won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival. This is a unique vision of American history told through imagined interactions between antiheroes from John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald…from Charles Guiteau to John Hinckley. ASSASSINS is recommended for mature audiences.

Ally is thrilled to welcome Miz Washington playwright and 2017 Whiting Award Winner, James Ijames to the show on Sunday, April 30th. James will participate in a post-show talkback with the cast after the 3PM Matinee.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) announces 16 awards granted from their National Fund for New Musicals, a major funding program to support NAMT member not-for-profit theatres in their collaborations with writers to create, develop and produce new musicals.

Difficult, but welcome discussions about race and representation continue to spread through the theatre landscape. Yesterday, a group of Middle Eastern and Muslim theater artists from Noor Theatre and elsewhere released a letter expressing concern about Playwrights Horizons' current production of Zayd Dohrn's THE PROFANE. Playwrights Horizons has responded today with a call for public discussion and further collaboration.

The Educational Theatre Association is pleased to announce that Dramatists Play Service is now a sponsor of their commissioned play program.

Taylor Mac will perform A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, the singular artist's 24-hour performance art concert, in its entirety in San Francisco and Los Angeles.