Regina Taylor News

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.

For the fifth consecutive summer, Goodman Theatre welcomes young people from the Chicagoland area as participants in its General Theater Studies program (GTS), a free, six week intensive introduction to the theater arts.

Goodman Theatre proudly concludes its 2008/2009 season with José Rivera's newest play, Boleros for the Disenchanted, 'an epic study of wedded life that is simply?and not so simply?marvelous' (Variety). A true love story inspired by Rivera's parents' courtship and eventual migration from Puerto Rico to Alabama, Boleros for the Disenchanted makes its Chicago premiere directed by Henry Godinez?the Goodman's Resident Artistic Associate who was named 2008 Latino of the Year by the Chicago Latino Network. Chicago actors Elizabeth Ledo and Sandra Marquez command the stage in the role of Flora, based on Rivera's mother, at various points in her life. Godinez's cast also includes Liza Fernandez, Joe Minoso, Rene Rivera and Felix Solis. Boleros for the Disenchanted is performed in English in the Albert Theatre June 20 ? July 26, 2009. Tickets are $25 ? $70. A complete performance schedule including dates, times and ticket prices appears at the end of this release. Meet the playwright and director at a free post-performance discussion on Thursday, June 25, moderated by Myrna Salazar of the International Latino Cultural Center. Tickets and information: 312.443.3800 or GoodmanTheatre.org. The Chicago Community Trust is the Major Production Sponsor.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) will restart its summer theatre, the Nutmeg Summer Series, by presenting the hit musical show Crowns June 11 - 21 in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre, Storrs. For tickets and information, call 860-486-4226 or visit www.crt.uconn.edu.

Following a critically acclaimed season which included the Pulitzer Prize finalist Becky Shaw and the Broadway transfer of its musical hit Next to Normal, Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) has announced three of the four plays scheduled for its upcoming 31st Season.

A new play written and directed by Paul Weitz and the rain-check run of the latest Douglas Carter Beane play are set for the 2009-10 season at Off Broadway's Second Stage Theater according to a report in Variety.

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.