Playwrights Horizons News

Paul Gross, one of Canada's acclaimed actors, will lead the cast of Are You There, McPhee? a world premiere by John Guare at McCarter Theatre Center. Directed by Sam Buntrock, the production will run from May 4 through June 3, 2012. (Opening Night: Friday, May 11.)

Vertebrae, a new play by Lila Feinberg, will receive a three-performance staged workshop at New York Theatre Workshop's East 4th St Theatre from April 26-28.

Signature Theatre closes out its 2011/12 season sporting funky legwarmers and wielding neon glow sticks with the Washington premiere of the musical comedy hit Xanadu. Beginning performances on May 6th, Xanadu will be transforming Signature's MAX Theatre into one big disco-ball heaven - complete with satin shorts and roller skates! Nominated for four Tony Awards® (including "Best Musical"), the musical features a Book by Douglas Carter Beane, with Music and Lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar. Xanadu will play at Signature from May 6, 2012 through July 1, 2012. Tickets are now on sale.

Playwright Annie Baker and director Sam Gold-whose previous collaborations include the acclaimed The Aliens and Circle Mirror Transformation-have reunited to stage a new adaptation of Chekhov's masterpiece, Uncle Vanya. Soho Rep, which, in association with John Adrian Selzer, will present the world premiere production June 7-July 15, today announces the cast and creative team.

Will Pomerantz, director of The Blue Flower at Prospect Theater Company and Second Stage and Dai at the Culture Project, will direct Prospect Theater Company's upcoming production of Cole Porter's 1933 musical Nymph Errant. Performances will begin July 7 at the Clurman Theatre at Theatre Row.

The STARZ Original Series BOSS is set to premiere its second season on Friday, August 17th at 10pm ET/PT. Joining the ensemble cast as series regulars this season are Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening, 'Glee') as Ian Todd, a smart and ambitious young advisor to Kane.

Jason Robert Brown's Off-Broadway show The Last Five Years takes the stage at Crossroads Theatre Company, April 12-29. Check out this footage of Wendy Fox and Nicholas Belton in rehearsals for the show.

On Monday, April 23, 2012, Theatre Communications Group (TCG) will celebrate its 50th anniversary at a gala honoring Kenny Leon, Judith O. Rubin, and The Shubert Foundation, at Espace (635 West 42nd Street between 11th and 12th avenues).

Ars Nova today announced Spring Into The Nova, a benefit to support emerging artists. The concert features the music of composers Tom Kitt (Pulitzer Prize-winner, Next to Normal), Dave Malloy (Obie Award-winner, Three Pianos), and The Spring Standards (SXSW 2012), as well as Ars Nova?s 2012 Composer-in-Residence Shaina Taub.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Patrick Willingham) presents Ethan Lipton's NO PLACE TO GO for a limited engagement at Joe's Pub, closing tonight April 8th. Directed by Leigh Silverman and written by Ethan Lipton with music composed by Ethan Lipton and His Orchestra, NO PLACE TO GO is the first Joe's Pub commission, as part of its New York Voices Series, to become part of The Public Theater's season.

Director Michael Wilson, straight from the Broadway opening of "The Best Man," has lined up a cast of New York veteran and major regional performers for the preview presentation of a "new" William Inge play on April 18. Wilson helms "Off the Main Road" on Wednesday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m., in the William Inge Theatre at Independence, Kansas. The Inge work will be the opening night event of the 31st Annual William Inge Theatre Festival at the playwright's alma mater Independence Community College.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2011-12 season with the West Coast premiere of Maple and Vine, written by Jordan Harrison and directed by A.C.T. Associate Artistic Director Mark Rucker. Fresh from a run at Playwrights Horizons in New York City, Maple and Vine tells the story of married couple Katha and Ryu, a pair of stressed-out urban professionals who feel unfulfilled by the impersonal gadgets and fast-paced lifestyle of the modern world. After meeting a charismatic man from a community of 1950s reenactors, they decide to swap cell phones and sushi for phone trees and fish sticks by joining a community where life is slower, passion is risqué, and a cocktail is a daily accessory. In this recreated world, where retro attitudes about gender, race, and sexuality stir up powerful questions, Katha and Ryu must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice for happiness and whether the 'good old days' were really that good. Maple and Vine performs a limited run March 29-April 22, 2012, at the American Conservatory Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco). Tickets (starting at $10) are on sale now and may be purchased online at act-sf.org or by calling 415.749.2228. Check out the video preview with clips from the show and audience interviews below!

Pioneer Theatre Company presents Laughing Stock, written by PTC Artistic Director Charles Morey, March 23 - April 7, 2012.

Due to popular demand, Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced an additional extension of its New York premiere production of THE BIG MEAL, a new play by Dan LeFranc. Originally set to play a limited engagement through Sunday, April 8, the production initially extended two weeks to Sunday, April 22. THE BIG MEAL will now extend an additional week through Sunday, April 29 at Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theater.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for the Alley Theatre's production of the Conor McPherson's THE SEAFARER. The Seafarer, by Conor McPherson and directed by Gregory Boyd, begins previews Friday April 6, opens Wednesday April 11 and runs through Sunday, April 29, 2012 on the Hubbard Stage. Tickets start at $25 and are available for purchase at www.alleytheatre.org, at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue, or by calling 713.220.5700. Groups of 10 or more can receive special concierge services and select discounts by calling 713.220.5700 and asking for the group sales department.

Center Theatre Group has announced that "Spring Awakening" and "Glee" actor Jonathan Groff will be featured opposite previously announced Alfred Molina in the Donmar Warehouse production of the 2010 Tony Award-winning Best Play "Red" by John Logan at the Mark Taper Forum, August 1 through September 9, 2012. The opening performance is scheduled for August 12.

Winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and London's Olivier Award for Best Play, Clybourne Park is described as the 'wickedly funny and fiercely provocative new play about race, real estate and the volatile values of each.' Clybourne Park explodes in two outrageous acts set 50 years apart. Act One takes place in 1959, as nervous community leaders anxiously try to stop the sale of a home to a black family. Act Two is set in the same house in the present day, as the now predominantly African-American neighborhood battles to hold its ground in the face of gentrification. See the construction of the house in the theatre, from start to finish, below!

kef theatrical productions has announced an upcoming partnership with Justin Brill (WICKED national tour) to present a four week run of Steven Strafford's METHTACULAR! The production will run at the Playroom Theatre at 151 West 46th Street in New York beginning August 30th. The show is currently slated to run through September 23rd.