Regina Taylor News

Two countries, three generations, 22 turbulent years?and a dynamic soundtrack ranging from Syd Barrett to The Plastic People of the Universe to U2?are at the heart of Rock 'n' Roll, a sweeping and passionate drama about love, music and revolution from Academy Award and four-time Tony Award-winner Tom Stoppard. For the play?s Chicago premiere at Goodman Theatre, Artistic Director Robert Falls taps director Charles Newell, whose reputation for directing acclaimed Stoppard productions precedes him. Newell?s cast of 12 is led by Stephen Yoakam and Chicago favorites Timothy Edward Kane and Mary Beth Fisher, who explore the unique intersection of politics and art against the background of John Culbert?s rock concert-inspired set design?complete with a floor resembling the cover art of Barrett?s solo album, Madcap Laughs. Rock ?n? Roll will be performed in the Albert Theatre May 2 ? June 7, 2009. Tickets are $25 ? $75. A complete performance schedule including dates, times and ticket prices appears at the end of this release. The Edith-Marie Appleton Foundation and Goodman Theatre Women?s Board are the Major Production Sponsors for Rock ?n? Roll and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is the Corporate Sponsor Partner. Additional support is provided by the Director?s Society Sponsors. WXRT is the Official Radio Sponsor of Rock ?n? Roll.

Group sales tickets (15 or more) and subscriptions including CROWNS go on sale Saturday, May 9 for the Pasadena Playhouse run of the acclaimed musical. In celebration of the on-sale, Pasadena Playhouse is hosting an afternoon of festivities. Prior to the sneak-peek presentation, there will be FREE live jazz hosted by The Instrumental Women Project, entertainment and food provided by Gelson's Supermarkets in the Courtyard.

The Ebony Repertory Theatre is proud to announce casting for the Los Angeles premiere of CROWNS, adapted by Regina Taylor from the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry. Debuting as a co-production with Pasadena Playhouse, the show will star Emmy® nominee Paula Kelly, Suzzanne Douglas, Dawnn Lewis, Ann Weldon, Sharon Catherine Blanks, Angela Wildflower Polk and Clinton Derricks-Carroll, with direction by Ebony Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Israel Hicks.

Goodman Theatre is proud to participate in Science Chicago, a year-long program that is aimed at engaging the Chicago-land region in science and raising awareness of the importance of science education. Through three free readings from Tom Stoppard, Richard Rhodes, and Caryl Churchill, the Goodman and Science Chicago tap into the ?chemistry? between art and science, and explore the scientific themes that are resurrected through these modern plays. Readings take place on three consecutive Mondays, June 8, 15 and 22, beginning at 6pm. A post-play discussion, led by a member of the Goodman?s Artistic staff and noted experts in the fields of physics and bioengineering, follows each reading. Events are free but reservations are recommended by calling the Goodman box office at 312.443.3800.

Beginning June 26, Vassar & New York Stage and Film's Powerhouse Theater will celebrate its 25th anniversary season. Powerhouse provides its audience a window into the creative process of some of the nation's top artists and writers as they engage in the rigorous development of plays and musicals, before going on to larger stages in New York, across the country, and around the world.

MTC MainStage, Music Theatre of Connecticut's Professional Equity Acting Company, presents 'Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill' a play with music by Lanie Robertson and directed by Kevin Connors. Set in 1959 in a seedy bar in Philadelphia, 'Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill' recreates one of Billie Holiday's final performances. Performances are April 24 - May 3, 2009 and take place at the MTC MainStage Studio Theatre in Westport, CT.

There are times when I really love being a correspondent for Broadwayworld.com. Certainly, stepping into the historic Lincoln Theatre on U. Street in Washington, DC and watching this feel good award-winning musical entitled Crowns is right at the top of the list.

For this one-night-only event, Broadway performers will join the 2ST Board of Trustees to perform 'The Quest for Fame,' featuring the Great White Way's best show-stopping numbers in this spring gala benefit for the acclaimed off-Broadway theatre company.

Pasadena Playhouse announced today that LAUGHING MATTERS, a world premiere musical featuring a book and lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart (author of the international best-selling novel 'Beaches'), music by Mike Stoller (Smokey Joe's Café) and Artie Butler (Feelin' Alright by Joe Cocker), and directed by Leonard Foglia (Broadway's Thurgood starring Laurence Fishburne), will be the final production of the 2009 Season.

MTC MainStage, Music Theatre of Connecticut's Professional Equity Acting Company, presents 'Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill' a play with music by Lanie Robertson and directed by Kevin Connors. Set in 1959 in a seedy bar in Philadelphia, 'Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill' recreates one of Billie Holiday's final performances. Performances are April 24 - May 3, 2009 and take place at the MTC MainStage Studio Theatre in Westport, CT.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will conclude its 30th Anniversary mainstage season with the New York premiere of VANITIES, a new musical written by Jack Heifner, featuring music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum, directed by Judith Ivey.

Goodman Theatre is proud to present the world premiere of Naomi Iizuka?s newest work, Ghostwritten directed by Lisa Portes as part of the Goodman's Strong Women, Strong Voices Owen Theatre Series. The 2004 recipient of the Joyce Award, Ghostwritten runs April 4 thru May 3, 2009 in the Owen Bruner Theatre. Tickets are $10 $39. In conjunction with the Strong Women, Strong Voices? series, Goodman Theatre partners with six of Chicagos most exciting theater companies focused on presenting and supporting work by women for Taking the Stage: A Celebration of Women Making Theater, a celebration of the distinct voices and visions of women theater artists, and the opportunities and obstacles facing women working in the theater today.

The Tony Award® -winning McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ, has announced the complete cast for the world premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's landmark trilogy The Brother/Sister Plays. Presented in two parts, the production will be presented with a single cast and performed in repertory in McCarter's Berlind Theatre. The Brother/Sister Plays is co-produced with New York's Public Theater.

The Tony Award® -winning McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey, is preparing to launch the world premiere of the groundbreaking trilogy The Brother/Sister Plays, written by one of the most celebrated young playwrights of his generation: Tarell Alvin McCraney.

Broadway favorite Sherie Rene Scott is not the 'Sherie Rene Scott' diva character appearing in EVERYDAY RAPTURE, but that doesn't mean everyone knows that yet.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will launch its 31st season this fall with the New York premiere of Anna Deavere Smith's LET ME DOWN EASY. Conceived, written, and performed by Ms. Smith and directed by Leonard Foglia, LET ME DOWN EASY will begin preview performances on Tuesday, September 15 and will officially open in early October.

Goodman Theatre is proud to present the world premiere of Naomi Iizuka's newest work, Ghostwritten directed by Lisa Portes as part of the Goodman's 'Strong Women, Strong Voices' Owen Theatre Series. The 2004 recipient of the Joyce Award, Ghostwritten runs April 4 - May 3, 2009 in the Owen Bruner Theatre. Tickets are $10 - $39. In conjunction with the 'Strong Women, Strong Voices' series, Goodman Theatre partners with six of Chicago's most exciting theater companies focused on presenting and supporting work by women for 'Taking the Stage: A Celebration of Women Making Theater,' a celebration of the distinct voices and visions of women theater artists, and the opportunities and obstacles facing women working in the theater today. Further information regarding these events will be announced at a later date. Ghostwritten is a Goodman commission supported by The Joyce Foundation. The Sara Lee Foundation is the Owen Season Corporate Sponsor.

For this one-night-only event, Broadway performers will join the 2ST Board of Trustees to perform 'The Quest for Fame,' featuring the Great White Way's best show-stopping numbers in this spring gala benefit for the acclaimed off-Broadway theatre company.

Completing its 30th Anniversary Season, Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will present EVERYDAY RAPTURE, written by Dick Scanlan (Tony nominee for Thoroughly Modern Millie) and Sherie Rene Scott (Tony nominee for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), with musical supervision by Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, High Fidelity), directed by Michael Mayer (Tony Award winner for Spring Awakening).

Artistic Director Robert Falls announced today the final production of Goodman Theatre's 2009/2010 season-The Good Negro, Tracey Scott Wilson's 'thunderous...stunning' (Variety) new play, comes to Chicago fresh from its off-Broadway run at The Public Theater. Resident Director Chuck Smith, who previously collaborated with Wilson on the Goodman's 2004/2005 Chicago-premiere production of The Story, will direct The Good Negro in the Albert Theatre in Spring 2010.