Rajiv Joseph News

Rajiv Joseph's Gruesome Playground Injuries makes its South African debut!

Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) are pleased to announce that The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a new grant of $550,000 to renew funding for Opera Fusion: New Works and support two new initiatives to promote diverse voices in the arts.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced the full cast and creative team for Paradise Square: An American Musical. The world premiere is helmed by acclaimed director Moises Kaufman, with choreography by the legendary Bill T. Jones and a book by Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas, and Larry Kirwan. Music by Jason Howland and Larry Kirwan, with lyrics by Nathan Tysen, and based on the songs of Stephen Foster. Paradise Square is produced by special arrangement with Garth H. Drabinsky in association with Peter LeDonne and Teatro Proscenium Limited Partnership.

This November, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley invites guests to sip from the fountain of youth and travel through time celebrating nearly 50 years of innovative theatre with its fall gala TheatreWorks Everlasting, inspired by the themes of its upcoming holiday production Tuck Everlasting. Established in Palo Alto in 1970, TheatreWorks has grown over the past 48 years into one of the largest theatre companies in the Bay Area, and one of the nation's leading presenters of new works. This magical adventure will include delectable food, wine, and an original show, as well as guest theatre luminaries, and an exceptional benefit auction featuring fabulous trips and behind-the-scenes theatre experiences.

The Alley Theatre announces the line-up for the 2019 Alley All New Festival, January 18 - January 27, 2019. The fourth annual Festival will feature a world premiere production, readings and workshop performances of five new plays, as well as an Early Draft Preview of a new musical. Festival playwrights include Robert Askins, Hilary Bettis, Glen Berger, Chisa Hutchinson, Claire Kiechel, Don Nguyen, and Lawrence Wright. Special packages are available for the final weekend of the Festival and include prime seating at all presentations, exclusive artist access, and meals between performances. Packages can be booked now at alleytheatre.org/allnew or by calling the Box Office at 713-220-5700. Advance reservations for individual events are recommended and can be made on November 26 at alleytheatre.org. All readings and workshop performances are free and open to the public.

Rajiv Joseph's Gruesome Playground Injuries makes it's South African debut! Directed by Tara Notcutt, Gruesome Playground Injuries will run at The Alexander Bar for a limited run of 9 performances. Over the course of 30 years, the lives of Kayleen (Candice Bernstein) and Doug (Matt Newman) intersect at the most bizarre intervals, leading the two childhood friends to compare scars and the physical calamities that keep drawing them together.

Comedian, performer and storyteller Aladdin Ullah brings the world premiere of  Dishwasher Dreams to the Castillo Theatre (543 W. 42nd Street), October 26 through November 18. Directed by Gabriel Vega Weissman, the production features live music accompaniment by acclaimed Tabla player Avirodh Sharma.

Last night, the 2017-2018 class of Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellows presented excerpts of full length works at Playwrights Horizons at 7:00 PM. This presentation caps off a year spent working under the tutelage of Michael Korie (War Paint), Laurence O'Keefe (Heathers), Diana Son (Stop Kiss), and Sheri Wilner (Kingdom City).

Blimey! It has been announced that six-time Tony Award nominee Danny Burstein will assume the role of Alfred P. Doolittle in its award-winning production of Lerner & Loewe's MY FAIR LADY, directed by Bartlett Sher, for a 16-week limited engagement beginning Tuesday, January 8 through Sunday, April 28, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65 Street).

In its South African debut, Candice Bernstein and Matt Newman star in the hilariously haunting GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES at Alexander Bar next month. In this interview they give us a glimpse into their journey with their complex characters of Kayleen and Doug, and how GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES affects those both on and off stage.

Vineyard Theatre's 2018-19 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award was recently presented to Jeremy O. Harris.

The Lark is thrilled to announce five plays and playwrights have been chosen through its Open Access Program for the 25th Annual Playwrights' Week. This year's plays, selected from a pool of over 1,200 submissions, will be: Sistren by Erin Buckley; Even Flowers Bloom in Hell, Sometimes by Franky D. Gonzalez; As Is: Conversations With Big Black Women in Confined Spaces by Stacey Rose; form of a girl unknown by Charly Evon Simpson; and Desarrollo by Juliany Taveras. The selected playwrights will participate in an intensive seven-day retreat, designed to foster a peer-based community among the writers, their creative teams, and The Lark's staff.

Dramatists Guild Foundation would like to formally announce the 2018-2019 class of DGF Fellows. The new Fellows class includes Rae Binstock, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Mathilde Dratwa, Benjamin Velez and Aryanna Garber, Melissa Li and Kit Yan, Charles Gershman, Nambi E. Kelley, and Zack Zadek.

The Lark, a theater company devoted to the support of visionary playwrights and the development of new plays, is thrilled to announce five New York City-based playwrights have been named as the 2018-19 Rita Goldberg Playwrights' Workshop Fellows. The group spans a wide range of backgrounds and professional experiences and will meet regularly throughout the year to develop new plays.

Veteran Broadway press agents Jim Byk and Shane Marshall Brown have created The Press Room, a new theatrical and entertainment publicity office now open in New York City. Founders Byk and Brown are joined by publicist Kelly Guiod, who serves as Vice President for the company.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents the gripping historical drama Guards at the Taj by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo) starring Owa'Ais Azeem (The Rep's The Invisible Hand) as Babur and Yousof Sultani (Chicago Shakespeare's Othello) as Hamayun running this September 26 - November 4, 2018 in the Stiemke Studio.

Castillo Theatre (543 W. 42nd Street) proudly presents the world premiere production of Dishwasher Dreams, written and performed by comedian, performer and storyteller Alladin Ullah. Directed by GabrielVega Weissman, the production runs from October 26 - November 18, 2018.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater's Stiemke Studio Season opens with the gripping historical drama Guards at the Taj by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo) starring Owais Ahmed (The Rep's The Invisible Hand) as Babur and Yousof Sultani (Chicago Shakespeare's Othello) as Hamayun this September 26 - November 4, 2018.

Achingly human, and surprisingly funny! TheFountain Theatre presents the West Coast premiere ofCost of Living, the 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Martyna Majok. John Vreeke directs for an Oct. 20 opening, with performances continuing through Dec.16.

Gruesome Playground Injuries, the dark comedy by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph, has its South African premiere at Alexander Bar from 5 to 17 November. Directed by multiple award-winner Tara Notcutt (The Taming of the Shrew, The Three Little Pigs, …miskien), the two hander stars Matt Newman as Doug, and introducing Candice Bernstein as Kayleen.