Portia News

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announced Jean Racine's passionate play Phedre as one of its productions for the 2009-10 season in a first-time coproduction with Canada's prestigious Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

American Conservatory Theater's Young Conservatory director Craig Slaight announced casting today for The Exam, commissioned by London's National Theatre and written by renowned British writer and comedian Andy Hamilton. Directed by Amelia Stewart, the production features actors from A.C.T.'s acclaimed Young Conservatory program. The Exam plays August 15-22 at A.C.T.'s newest performance space, the Garret Room, located on the fifth floor of the American Conservatory Theater. General admission tickets are $10 and are available by calling A.C.T. Ticket services at 415.749.2228 or online at www.act-sf.org.

Molly Pope debuted The Diva-lution of Molly Pope to rave reviews at Don't Tell Mama's last spring. Hailed for her powerful vocals and dynamic dramatic intensity, Molly's performances of such songs as Dietz & Schwartz' 'By Myself' Cole Porter's 'It's Alright With Me' and even The Cardigans' 'Love Fool' provoked widespread comparison to a young Barbra Streisand. Now, under the direction of Ben Rimalower (Leslie Kritzer is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches) and featuring a band led by Sonny Paladino (White Noise), the new version of The Diva-lution of Molly Pope premieres at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street) on Sunday, August 31st at 7:00 PM

American Conservatory Theater's Young Conservatory director Craig Slaight announced casting today for The Exam, commissioned by London's National Theatre and written by renowned British writer and comedian Andy Hamilton. Directed by Amelia Stewart, the production features actors from A.C.T.'s acclaimed Young Conservatory program. The Exam plays August 15-22 at A.C.T.'s newest performance space, the Garret Room, located on the fifth floor of the American Conservatory Theater. General admission tickets are $10 and are available by calling A.C.T. Ticket services at 415.749.2228 or online at www.act-sf.org.

The full cast of the Broadway production of Billy Elliot the Musical has been announced by Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions in association with Weinstein Live Entertainment.

The Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival (June Lindenmayer, Executive Director; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director) has announced the casting for the 2008 summer season of music, dance and theatre at the venerable performing arts camp and school in Steamboat Springs, CO. The 11th Annual New Works Festival begins workshops and classes June 11th, culminating June 20 - 22 with staged readings of the plays and a special dance presentation.

REVIEW: Spotlighters Theatre presents Polish Joke by David Ives through June 29

The Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival (June Lindenmayer, Executive Director; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director) has announced the line-up for the 2008 summer season of music, dance and theatre at the venerable performing arts camp and school in Steamboat Springs, CO. The 11th Annual New Works Festival of workshops and classes is scheduled from June 11 -20. The festival will culminate June 20 - 22 with staged readings of the plays and a special dance presentation. Now in its 95th year, Perry-Mansfield, founded by Charlotte Perry and Portia Mansfield, is recognized as the oldest continuously operating performing arts school and camp in the nation. The Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival, co-chaired by James Steinberg and Karolynn Lestrud, brings performing arts professionals together in the Rocky Mountains to develop new pieces of drama, musical theater and dance, and to mentor new talent in each medium. The 2008 New Works Festival welcomes the addition of New York's Atlantic Theater Company to the successful artistic partnership with Actors Theatre of Louisville, Denver Center Theatre Company, and Off-Broadway's Primary Stages. The New Works Festival continues Perry-Mansfield's founding principle of nurturing new talent with new work. Andrew Leynse and Primary Stages will bring the new play MAMA HATED DIESELS The Songs and Stories of the American Truck Driver conceived and adapted by Randal Myler and Dan Wheetman (Tony Award nominees for It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues; Joseph Jefferson Award nominees for Fire On The Mountain). The play is based on actual interviews from truck drivers and their families, and is filled with hard-drivin' traditional trucker tunes. Mr. Myler will also direct. Marc Masterson and Actors Theatre of Louisville will bring a piece titled Wild Blessings -- a Celebration of Wendell Berry, a collage piece from the writings of poet and philosopher Wendell Berry, created by Marc Masterson and Adrien-Alice Hansel. Mr. Masterson will also direct. Kent Thompson and the Denver Center Theatre Company will bring playwright Rogelio Martinez (Fizz, Learning Curve) to workshop a new play entitled When Tang Met Laika, with the following theme: In the 1990s Americans and Russians started to work together building the International Space Station. With more than a half century of hostilities under their space suits, can two old foes start to trust one another again? A play about the Cold War warming up, a space shuttle program finding its purpose as it nears retirement, one very large robotic arm, weightlessness, and a gun. Directed by Terrence J. Nolen. Neil Pepe and Atlantic Theater Company will bring a new musical What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling with book & lyrics by David Pittu and music by Randy Redd. What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling is an absurd musical-theater satire featuring songs and stories from the fictitious career of composer/lyricist Jacob Sterling and presented in a cable talk show format. A rare opportunity to catch up with an artist of questionable gifts as he discusses his inspiration and performs from his stunning repertoire of misbegotten shows. Written by and starring David Pittu, and featuring songs with lyrics by Mr. Pittu and music by Randy Redd. Co-directed by Neil Pepe and Mr. Pittu. All rehearsals and performances will take place at Perry-Mansfield (40755 Routt County Road 36, Steamboat Springs, CO 80487). Free open rehearsals will take place June 11 - 20. Single tickets for each presentation are $15 for performances June 20-22 and will be available for purchase after June 1st. A special Festival Weekend Ticket Package is available for $65 and includes all staged play readings, dance presentation and festival reception. For tickets and information, please call 800-430-2787 or 970-879-7125, or visit the website at www.perry-mansfield.org.

The Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival has announced the line-up for the 2008 summer season of music, dance and theatre at the venerable performing arts camp and school in Steamboat Springs, CO.

With apologies for a little self-promotion, I will be a guest on 'Mid-Day with Dan Rodricks' radio program between 1-2 p.m. (WYPR-FM, 88.1) on Tuesday, April 8, 2008 for a discussion on theater coming this spring to the Baltimore/Washington area and Broadway. You can access the program live on www.wypr.org or for about a month after the program on the WYPR web site. I hope to hear from many of my readers. You may call during the program at 410-662-8780 or long-distance at 866-661-9309.

LAByrinth Theater Company (Artistic Director John Ortiz; Co-Artistic Director Philip Seymour Hoffman; Co-Artistic Director and Executive Director John Gould Rubin) and The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Mara Manus)'s world premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Little Flower of East Orange will run through Sunday, May 4. The production, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, opened on Sunday, April 6.

I suppose the main difference between a violent protest and an act of terrorism is whether you're on the side of the person who set off the bomb or the person who was killed by it.  In Primary Stages' premiere production of Willy Holtzman's drama, Something You Did, the person responsible for the bomb going off is played by the charismatic and understatedly graceful and eloquent Joanna Gleason, making the evening's morality conflict hardly a fair fight.

Primary Stages officially opened 'Something You Did' on April 1st, 2008. The five-member cast features Tony Award-winner Joanna Gleason (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Into the Woods) as Alison, a sixties radical, with Jordan Charney (Hearts) as Arthur, Alison's attorney, Tony Award-winner Adriane Lenox (Doubt) as Lenora, Portia (McReele) as Uneeq and Victor Slezak (Sabina) as Gene.

Primary Stages (Casey Childs, Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox, Managing Director), in association with Nancy Cooperstein and Betty Ann Besch Solinger, present the New York premiere of Something You Did by Willy Holtzman (Sabina). The five-member cast features Tony Award-winner Joanna Gleason (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Into the Woods) as Alison, a sixties radical, with Jordan Charney (Hearts) as Arthur, Alison's attorney, Tony Award-winner Adriane Lenox (Doubt) as Lenora, Portia (McReele) as Uneeq and Victor Slezak (Sabina) as Gene. Carolyn Cantor (Pumpgirl) directs the final production of this current 23rd Primary Stages season of new works by American playwrights. Performances begin March 18 for a limited run through April 26, 2008, at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Opening night is Tuesday, April 1, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. Willy Holtzman returns to Primary Stages with his latest work, the story of a notorious Sixties radical that has served nearly 30 years in prison for her part in the accidental killing of an African-American police officer during an explosive war protest. Now she is eligible for parole in a post 9/11 world where bombing is terrorism and dissent, treason. How much can she be faulted for having a conscience? Is she guilty of bringing the war home? Something You Did is a powerfully topical and provocative drama that examines the responsibility of citizens for the actions of their government. The creative team includes Eugene Lee (sets), Jenny Mannis (costumes), Jeff Croiter (lighting), and Lindsay Jones (sound). The Production Stage Manager is Samone B. Weissman. Single tickets are priced at $60 with a specially priced $20 ticket is available to patrons 35 and under for all performances. Tickets may be purchased by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or online at www.ticketcentral.com. For group sales inquires, please email Kara Hennessey at kara@primarystages.com. Earlier this season, Primary Stages presented the New York premieres of Opus by Michael Hollinger, and Dividing The Estate by Horton Foote, and the world premiere of Hunting and Gathering by Brooke Berman. Primary Stages recently announced the schedule of new plays for its 24th season. The 2008-2009 season will have three New York premieres: Buffalo Gal by A.R. Gurney, A Body of Water by Lee Blessing, and Shipwrecked! An Entertainment - The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told By Himself) by Donald Margulies, and the world premiere of Chasing Manet by Tina Howe at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street). 4-play subscription packages are now available by calling TicketCentral at (212) 279-4200 or online at www.TicketCentral.com. For additional information about Primary Stages, please visit the website at www.primarystages.com.

In conjunction with the New York premiere of the new drama, Something You Did, Primary Stages has organized a special series of post-performance forums on the topic of 'The Prison Nation.' Titled 'The SOMETHING Forums,' these intimate conversations will take place on four Tuesdays during the play's run, and has been curated (and will be moderated) by David Rothenberg, founder of The Fortune Society (and WBAI radio host).

Willy Holtzman returns to Primary Stages with his latest work, the story of a notorious Sixties radical that has served nearly 30 years in prison for her part in the accidental killing of an African-American police officer during an explosive war protest. Now she is eligible for parole in a post 9/11 world where bombing is terrorism and dissent, treason. How much can she be faulted for having a conscience? Is she guilty of bringing the war home? Something You Did examines the responsibility of citizens for the actions of their government.

Theatre for a New Audience's production of William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra featuring Laila Robins and Marton Csokas in the title roles and directed by Darko Tresnjak begins previews Saturday, March 22 at 7:30PM for an opening Thursday, April 3 at 6:30PM at The Duke on 42nd Street.

On Tuesday, February 19 the cast and creatives of Something You Did held a press meet and greet at the Primary Stages rehearsal studio. The New York premiere of Something You Did by Willy Holtzman features the previously announced Tony Award-winning Joanna Gleason and Jordan Charney with Tony Award-winner Adriane Lenox, Portia and Victor Slezak. Carolyn Cantor directs.

Primary Stages has announced the full cast to the New York premiere of Something You Did by Willy Holtzman (Sabina). The five-member cast features the previously announced Tony Award-winning Joanna Gleason (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Into the Woods) as Alison, a sixties radical, and Jordan Charney (Hearts) as Arthur, Alison's attorney. They will be joined by Tony Award-winner Adriane Lenox (Doubt) as Lenora, Portia as Uneeq and Victor Slezak as Gene.