Robert Falls News

Broadway's most talked about new musical and the biggest Tony Award-winner in years is coming to Cleveland. Spring Awakening, the 8-time Tony Award? winning Broadway musical, will open at PlayhouseSquare's PalaceTheatre and play for 16 performances, March 3-15. Spring Awakening is part of the KeyBank Broadway Series at PlayhouseSquare. Spring Awakening swept the 2007 Tony Awards? winning eight out of its eleven nominations, including Best Musical, Best Director (Michael Mayer), Best Book (Steven Sater), Best Choreography (Bill T. Jones), Best Orchestrations (Duncan Sheik), Best Lighting Design (Kevin Adams), Best Featured Actor (John Gallagher Jr.).

The Manhattan Theatre Club's (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer) and Goodman Theatre's (Robert Falls, Artistic Director; Roche Schulfer, Executive Director) acclaimed co-production of RUINED, written by Lynn Nottage and directed by Kate Whoriskey began previews last week at MTC at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street). The limited engagement will open Tuesday, February 10.

Desire Under the Elms at the Goodman Theater just opened last night, Monday January 26th, 2009, but the New York Times is reporting plans for a Broadway mounting are already being worked out. The Times' Arts Beat column has revealed that producer Jeffrey Richards announced today, Tuesday January 27th that he was hoping to transfer a major new production to New York - a revival of the Eugene O'Neill classic 'Desire Under the Elms' - despite the current grip of fearful economics of the Rialto. The show has been extended at the Goodman and will now play through March 1. Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls and renowned actor Brian Dennehy bring their artistic partnership to new heights with Eugene O'Neill's haunting drama, Desire Under the Elms-marking their fifth collaboration on O'Neill's work over two decades. Falls' cast includes stage and screen stars Carla Gugino (Entourage, Spy Kids, Sin City) Pablo Schreiber (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Awake and Sing!), Boris McGiver (The Wire) and Daniel Stewart Sherman (Broadway's Cyrano de Bergerac). The centerpiece production of Goodman Theatre's two-month 'A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century,' Desire Under the Elms appears January 17 - March 1 in the Goodman's 856-seat Albert Ivar Theatre. Tickets are $25 - 82; a full Exploration calendar, including dates, times and ticket prices, appears at the end of the release. Allstate is the Corporate Sponsor Partner of Desire Under the Elms and The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation is the Sponsor Partner. UBS is the Lead Corporate Sponsor for 'A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century' and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is the Sponsor Partner. Motorola Foundation is the Corporate Sponsor Partner. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

Artistic Director Robert Falls announces an unprecedented creative partnership with Austria's 'Linz 2009 European Capital of Culture,' advancing his focus on international programming for Goodman Theatre. The Goodman and 'Linz09'?a year-long festival devoted to projects in all cultural disciplines?will share Joan Dark, created and directed by emerging Bosnian director Aida Karic with Goodman Literary Manager Tanya Palmer. A new adaptation of the story of Joan of Arc involving live music and movement, Joan Dark originates in Austria in a one-week June 17-20 engagement at 'Linz09' and makes its U.S. premiere at Goodman Theatre September 11 ? November 11, 2009.

Today Goodman Theatre becomes the first cultural institution to receive the Joyce Award for a second time, after receiving its first award in 2004. The Joyce Foundation announced this morning that the Goodman will receive a grant of $50,000 to support a new play by Latin American playwright Quiara Alegr?a Hudes. Tentatively titled The Jibaro Play, Hudes' new work draws on the cultural heritage of traditional Jibaro music and is due to premier at the Goodman during the 2011 season. The Joyce Foundation encourages cultural organizations to serve and represent the Great Lakes region's diverse population and fosters the development of new works in dance, music, theater and visual arts by artists of color. Goodman Theatre received the 2004 Joyce Award in theatre in support of Naomi Iizuka's play Ghostwritten which will have its world premiere April 4 - May 3, 2009, as part of the Goodman's 'Strong Women, Strong Voices' Owen Theatre Series. Ghostwritten tells the story of Susan, an acclaimed chef specializing in Asian cuisine and the mother of an adopted Vietnamese-born daughter, whose life changes forever when a mysterious stranger from her past returns to collect on an old debt. 'We are honored and thrilled to receive this award to support a new work by visionary Latin American playwright Quiara Alegr?a Hudes,' said Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls. 'Diversity has long been at the core of our mission, and we are proud to welcome Quiara to the Goodman.' Other 2009 Joyce Award winners include Chicago's Ravinia Festival (Dance), the Detroit International Jazz Festival (Music) and the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (Visual Arts).

Manhattan Theatre Club is pleased to announce that After Words, the popular discussion series which has been a success at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre will come to MTC at New York City Center for the world premiere of Lynn Nottage's RUINED, the haunting, probing work about the resilience of the human spirit during times of war. The series will make its debut at New York City Center on Saturday, January 31 following the matinee performance of RUNED. The panel will feature RUINED playwright Lynn Nottage and Jessica Neuwirth, a founder and current president of Equality Now. The discussion will be moderated by MTC Artistic Associate Lisa McNulty. After Words is part of MTC's continuing effort to deepen and enrich the play-going experience for its audiences. Held after selected Saturday matinees, this exciting series of talks with writers, cultural critics, journalists, and members of the RUINED cast and creative team provides provocative and illuminating insights into the political, cultural, and artistic contexts of the work MTC produces.

Desire Under the Elms at Goodman Theater opens tonight. Rumors have spread that the show has Broadway in its sights, and hopes to come to New York next spring. The show has been extended before opening night, as it will now play through March 1. Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls and renowned actor Brian Dennehy bring their artistic partnership to new heights with Eugene O'Neill's haunting drama, Desire Under the Elms-marking their fifth collaboration on O'Neill's work over two decades. Falls' cast includes stage and screen stars Carla Gugino (Entourage, Spy Kids, Sin City) Pablo Schreiber (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Awake and Sing!), Boris McGiver (The Wire) and Daniel Stewart Sherman (Broadway's Cyrano de Bergerac). The centerpiece production of Goodman Theatre's two-month 'A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century,' Desire Under the Elms appears January 17 - March 1 in the Goodman's 856-seat Albert Ivar Theatre. Tickets are $25 - 82; a full Exploration calendar, including dates, times and ticket prices, appears at the end of the release. Allstate is the Corporate Sponsor Partner of Desire Under the Elms and The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation is the Sponsor Partner. UBS is the Lead Corporate Sponsor for 'A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century' and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is the Sponsor Partner. Motorola Foundation is the Corporate Sponsor Partner. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre.

RUINED, currently in previews at Manhattan Theatre Club, is featured on today's edition of NPR's 'Tell Me More.' To hear playwright Lynn Nottage and actress Saidah Arrika Ekulona discuss the play and the timely issues it explores, CLICK HERE. In the interview which also features clips from the play, Nottage and Ekulona discuss the ongoing violence against women that takes place in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where RUINED is set, and bringing the play to the stage. The Manhattan Theatre Club's (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer) and Goodman Theatre's (Robert Falls, Artistic Director; Roche Schulfer, Executive Director) co-production of RUINED, written by Lynn Nottage and directed by Kate Whoriskey, will open Tuesday, February 10 at MTC at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street). In addition to Ekulona, RUINED also features Quincy Tyler Bernstine (The Misanthrope at NYTW), Cherise Boothe (King Hedley II at Signature), Chris Chalk (MTC's Defiance), William Jackson Harper (Queens Boulevard), Chik? Johnson (The Crucible at Steppenwolf), Russell Gebert Jones (Our Lady of 121st Street), Simon Shabantu Kashama (Ruined at the Goodman), two-time Emmy? Award winner Kevin Mambo ('The Guiding Light'), Tom Mardirosian (Wonderful Town, HBO's 'Oz'), Ron McBee (The Colored Museum) and Condola Rashad (Pearl at The Kennedy Center).

Hartford Stage, under the artistic direction of Michael Wilson, announced that acclaimed Emmy-nominated actor Matthew Modine will make his Hartford Stage debut as Atticus Finch in the eagerly anticipated stage adaptation of Harper Lee's classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Hartford Stage Wilson will direct the production, which will play at the Tony Award-winning theatre February 19 - April 4. To Kill a Mockingbird is a tender portrait of a southern town, brimming with powerful lessons of tolerance, justice and quiet heroism. Scout and Jem are growing up in the Deep South during the 1930s depression. Their idyllic childhood is jolted with the realization that prejudice and bigotry rule in their small town when their father, a lawyer of principle and integrity, is asked to defend a young black man falsely accused of raping a white woman.

The Manhattan Theatre Club's (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer) and Goodman Theatre's (Robert Falls, Artistic Director; Roche Schulfer, Executive Director) acclaimed co-production of RUINED, written by Lynn Nottage and directed by Kate Whoriskey begins previews tonight at MTC at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street). The limited engagement will open Tuesday, February 10. RUINED features Quincy Tyler Bernstine (The Misanthrope at NYTW), Cherise Boothe (King Hedley II at Signature), Chris Chalk (MTC's Defiance), Saidah Arrika Ekulona (Well, Nottage's Fabulation) William Jackson Harper (Queens Boulevard), Chik? Johnson (The Crucible at Steppenwolf), Russell Gebert Jones (Our Lady of 121st Street), Simon Shabantu Kashama (Ruined at the Goodman), two-time Emmy? Award winner Kevin Mambo ('The Guiding Light'), Tom Mardirosian (Wonderful Town, HBO's 'Oz'), Ron McBee (The Colored Museum) and Condola Rashad (Pearl at The Kennedy Center). RUINED played an extended engagement at the Goodman's Owen Theatre where it opened to rave reviews for Nottage's play, the ensemble cast, and director Kate Whoriskey.

For three weekends, January 14 - 31, Goodman Theatre audiences have the rare opportunity to witness Companhia Triptal Director Andr? Garolli's acclaimed contemporary interpretation of three Eugene O'Neill Sea Plays. Performing for the first time outside their native Brazil, Companhia Triptal presents Homens ao Mar (Sea Plays), consisting of three one-act plays: Zona de Guerra (In the Zone), Longa Viagem de Volta pra Casa (The Long Voyage Home) and Cardiff (Bound East for Cardiff) in limited engagements. First performed in a historic warehouse in Brazil, Companhia Triptal's Sea Plays will transform the Goodman's Owen Theatre into a ship called the S.S. Glencairn, with each play exploring a different incident in the lives of the ship's crew. In conjunction with the Sea Plays, the Goodman also presents two special programs: a Theater Thursday event on January 15 for $30, including a reception, an artistic presentation about the play and tickets to the evening's performance of Zona de Guerra; and Andr? Garolli on the Sea Plays, a free discussion with Director Andr? Garolli and Goodman Theatre Associate Producer Steve Scott.

Desire Under the Elms By Eugene O'Neill will be directed by Robert Falls and run January 17-February 22. Featuring Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino, Boris McGiver, Daniel Stewart Sherman and Pablo Schreiber Tony Award-winning Artistic Director Robert Falls' Desire Under the Elms starring the acclaimed, Tony Award-winner Brian Dennehy will be the centerpiece of an exploration of Eugene O'Neill in the 21st century. Master American playwright Eugene O'Neill conceived Desire Under the Elms as he slept one night, imbuing it with the emotional pitch of a fever dream. Ephraim Cabot returns to his remote New England farmhouse with his third wife-the alluring, headstrong young Abbie-launching his three grown sons into a bitter fight for their inheritance. When Ephraim's youngest son sets his sights on Abbie, the resulting tempest brings tragic consequences. Production contains nudity.

Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls and renowned actor Brian Dennehy bring their artistic partnership to new heights with Eugene O'Neill's haunting drama, Desire Under the Elms-marking their fifth collaboration on O'Neill's work over two decades. Falls' cast includes stage and screen stars Carla Gugino (Entourage, Spy Kids, Sin City) Pablo Schreiber (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Awake and Sing!), Boris McGiver (The Wire) and Daniel Stewart Sherman (Broadway's Cyrano de Bergerac).

Desire Under the Elms By Eugene O'Neill will be directed by Robert Falls and run January 17-February 22. Featuring Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino, Boris McGiver, Daniel Stewart Sherman and Pablo Schreiber Tony Award-winning Artistic Director Robert Falls' Desire Under the Elms starring the acclaimed, Tony Award-winner Brian Dennehy will be the centerpiece of an exploration of Eugene O'Neill in the 21st century. Master American playwright Eugene O'Neill conceived Desire Under the Elms as he slept one night, imbuing it with the emotional pitch of a fever dream. Ephraim Cabot returns to his remote New England farmhouse with his third wife-the alluring, headstrong young Abbie-launching his three grown sons into a bitter fight for their inheritance. When Ephraim's youngest son sets his sights on Abbie, the resulting tempest brings tragic consequences. Production contains nudity.

Broadway's most talked about new musical and the biggest Tony Award?-winner in years is coming to the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis. Spring Awakening, the 8-time Tony Award? winning Broadway musical, will play a two-week engagement from February 10-22, 2009. Curtain times for the U.S. Bank Broadway Series presentation are Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 & 8 p.m.; Sunday, February 15 at 2 & 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, February 22 at 2 p.m. There is also a weekday matinee on Thursday, February 19 at 1 p.m.

Goodman Theatre kicks off 2009 with one of the most groundbreaking theatrical events of the last 15 years: the Chicago premiere of The Wooster Group's (New York City) critically acclaimed 1993 production of The Emperor Jones by Eugene O'Neill. Directed by Elizabeth LeCompte, this provocative story of a delusional self-appointed West Indian emperor features Kate Valk reprising her 'riveting, haunting, altogether astonishing' (The New York Times) performance of the title role, joined by Ari Fliakos and Scott Shepherd.

Goodman Theatre rings in the New Year with an eight-play landmark theatrical event, A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century curated by Artistic Director Robert Falls, January 7 through March 8, 2009. Over 100 artists from six theater companies around the world bring their highly contemporary, inventive interpretations of O'Neill's dramas for the Goodman's Exploration-viewing the 20th century 'father of the American drama,' through a 21st century international lens.

Goodman Theatre kicks off 2009 with one of the most groundbreaking theatrical events of the last 15 years: the Chicago premiere of The Wooster Group's (New York City) critically acclaimed 1993 production of The Emperor Jones by Eugene O'Neill. Directed by Elizabeth LeCompte, this provocative story of a delusional self-appointed West Indian emperor features Kate Valk reprising her 'riveting, haunting, altogether astonishing' (The New York Times) performance of the title role, joined by Ari Fliakos and Scott Shepherd.

Goodman Theatre rings in the New Year with an eight-play landmark theatrical event, A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century curated by Artistic Director Robert Falls, January 7 through March 8, 2009. Over 100 artists from six theater companies around the world bring their highly contemporary, inventive interpretations of O'Neill's dramas for the Goodman's Exploration-viewing the 20th century 'father of the American drama,' through a 21st century international lens.

Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls and renowned actor Brian Dennehy bring their artistic partnership to new heights with Eugene O'Neill's haunting drama, Desire Under the Elms?marking their fifth collaboration on O'Neill's work over two decades. Falls' cast includes stage and screen stars Carla Gugino (Entourage, Spy Kids, Sin City) Pablo Schreiber (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Awake and Sing!), Boris McGiver (The Wire) and Daniel Stewart Sherman (Broadway's Cyrano de Bergerac). The centerpiece production of Goodman Theatre's two-month 'A Global Exploration: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century,' Desire Under the Elms appears January 17 ? February 22 in the Goodman's 856-seat Albert Ivar Theatre. Tickets are $25 - 82.