Richard Thomas News

Ray Cullom, Executive Director of Queens Theatre in the Park announced today that Gala 2011 will be held on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 6pm at Queens Theatre in the Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Flushing, NY.

The New York Athletic Club with its sweeping views of Central Park was the elegant setting for the 3RD ANNUAL GIVE KIDS A SHOT!, National Meningitis Association Gala.

Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis announced the line-up today for The Public's 2011-2012 Season. The 56th Season will feature new works by Mike Daisey, Nathan Englander, David Henry Hwang, Richard Nelson, and Stew and Heidi Rodewald, as well as the premiere of FEBRUARY HOUSE, a new musical by Gabriel Kahane and Seth Bockley that is the first commission of The Public's Musical Theater Initiative.

One of television's royal families gathered this weekend, to celebrate one of their own. 'I can't believe they are all here!' declared a voice from the audience in response to seeing eight cast members from the hit series 'The Waltons' up in front of fans on Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. Michael Learned (Olivia Walton/Momma) wasn't surprised at all saying, 'Mary has always been the one to instigate gatherings. Sometimes, she calls and says, 'OK it's about time we got together.'

The Fred and Adele Astaire Awards will once again recognize excellence in dance on both stage and film. This year's Awards gala will take place May 15,2011 at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University, 566 LaGuardia Place) New York City 10019.

THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT, by Stephen Adly Guirgis and starring Bobby Cannavale, Chris Rock, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Annabella Sciorra and Yul Vázquez, opened last night at the Gerald Schoenfeld Thetare (236 West 45th Street, New York City). Directed by Anna D. Shapiro, the limited engagement will play 15 weeks. BroadwayWorld was on hand to capture all the star-filled red carpet arrivals and brings you photo coverage below!

National Corporate Theatre Fund (NCTF) will hold its Annual Chairman's Awards Gala and benefit on Monday, May 2 at the St. Regis New York hotel (2 East 55th Street at Fifth Avenue). This year, NCTF Chairman James S Turley, Chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young, will honor Oscar and Tony Award-winner Joel Grey (on Broadway this season in Anything Goes and director of Broadway's The Normal Heart), Charles Dillingham (Managing Director, Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles) and BNY Mellon. Accepting the award on behalf of Corporate Honoree will be Gerald Hassell, President. All net proceeds of the event will be distributed as the NCTF/BNY MELLON FUND FOR NEW AMERICAN THEATRE.

Red Bull Theater is offering two dynamic summer opportunities to get closer to the great classics you love.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 'The Office' workers will be joined by a slew of guest stars for their season finale.

movies such as Pretty in Pink; sex, lies, and videotape; Crash; Stargate; and Secretary. His most famous television role is that of the colorful attorney Alan Shore from The Practice and its spin-off Boston Legal, for which he won three Emmy Awards.

Ava Astaire and Patricia Watt have announced the nominating committee for the 2011 Fred & Adele Astaire Awards, the only awards that recognize excellence in dance on Broadway and in film.

The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) presents The Trumpet of the Swan: A Novel Symphony starring John Lithgow, based on the book by E.B. White, adapted for the stage by Marsha Norman, with music by Jason Robert Brown, who will also conduct.

Today we are talking to one of the biggest and youngest sensations of the season, Al Pacino's highly-lauded Portia to his Shylock in the sold-out MERCHANT OF VENICE, as well as a recurring star on THE GOOD WIFE and MEDIUM - following an unforgettable appearance on NIP/TUCK last year - this year's recipient of USA's CHARACTER APPROVED Award for Theatre, Lily Rabe. In this enlivened discussion, Rabe and I dissect her work on stages and screens large and small as well as what the future holds for her on Broadway, in Hollywood and beyond - including starring in a new independent film, LETTERS TO THE BIG MAN, and a revival of A DOLL'S HOUSE co-starring Hamish Linklater at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Interim Executive Director, Joey Parnes) announced today that it will present TIMON OF ATHENS as the inaugural production of Public LAB SHAKESPEARE, a vital new platform for The Public's ongoing exploration of the Shakespeare canon that will continue the growth of The Public's Shakespeare Initiative and expand the many ways The Public produces American interpretations of Shakespeare.

The Public Theater began previews on Tuesday, February 15 for TIMON OF ATHENS, the inaugural production of Public LAB SHAKESPEARE featuring Richard Thomas in the title role. Directed by Shakespeare Initiative Director Barry Edelstein, TIMON OF ATHENS runs February 15 through March 6 at The Public Theater (425 Lafayette Street). The official press opening was last night, Tuesday, March 1. BroadwayWorld was on hand and brings you photo coverage below.

It isn't just Curtis Moore's action-accenting electric guitar licks that give Richard Thomas a rock star presence in director Barry Edelstein's swift and rowdy production of Timon of Athens, a stinging morality tale attributed as a collaboration of sorts between William Shakespeare and the younger scribe, Thomas Middleton.  Though scholars will call the piece incomplete and problematic, the star gives a charismatic performance that glides through the rough patches.

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Joey Parnes Interim Executive Director) announced the line-up today for the second Public Forum event of 2011, "Too Rich To Fail: A Town Hall Meeting on Americans and Their Money," on Monday, February 28 at 8 p.m.

'Simply Complicated: The Elegant Escapades of a Danish-Israeli Opera Singer Tank Commander'

Today we are presenting a correlative conversation to our weekend feature interview with Richard Thomas, the star of the Public Theater Shakespeare LAB's new production of William Shakespeare's TIMON OF ATHENS, with the director of that innovative new take on the troublesome tragedy, Barry Edelstein. Having directed the lauded Public productions of JULIUS CAESER starring Jeffrey Wright and THE MERCHANT OF VENICE starring Ron Leibman, in addition to producing this season's smash hit Broadway revival starring Al Pacino and all of his notable work at the Classic Stage Company, Edelstein is one of the foremost American Shakespeare directors in the twenty-first century. Discussing what makes TIMON tick, what makes Shakespeare always relevant to modern audiences and the power of the poetry implicit in each and every Shakespeare play - no matter how obscure - Edelstein was generous enough to impart his vast knowledge and acute understanding of the greatest dramatist the English language has ever known.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Interim Executive Director Joey Parnes) will offer post-show discussions following select performances of TIMON OF ATHENS, the inaugural production of Public LAB SHAKESPEARE featuring Richard Thomas in the title role.