Saheem Ali News

MCC Theater announces five new productions for its 33rd Season at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space (511 West 52nd Street).

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) is proud to announce further selections for 2019 NYMF, which will take place from July 8 - August 4, 2019 at venues in midtown Manhattan in New York City. Scott Pyne serves as Executive Director and West Hyler serves as Producing Artistic Director. 

The 2019-2020 Signature Theatre Season will feature six works by five resident playwrights, including two productions by Signature's new Residency 1 playwright Anna Deavere Smith, world premiere plays from Residency 5 playwrights Katori Halland Dominique Morisseau, a New York premiere from new Residency 5 playwright Lauren Yee, and a new production of a Pulitzer Prize-winning play from Legacy playwright Horton Foote, the company announced today.

The Drama League has announced the twelve stage directors who have been selected as the 2019 Directing Fellows of The Drama League Directors Project: NJ Agwuna, Sharifa Elkady, Raz Golden, Chika Ike, Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly, Ismael Lara, Jr., Amanda McRaven, Lindsey Hope Pearlman, Ben Randle, Tai Thompson, Gabriel Torres, and Sophia Watt. They will be publicly introduced to the professional theatre community during the 85th Annual Drama League Awards, which will be held on Friday, May 17, 2019 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square (1535 Broadway). More information can be found at www.dramaleague.org

Three more productions have been announced for Manhattan Theatre Club's upcoming 2019-2020 season.

Soho Rep. presents the New York Premiere of Obie Award-winning playwright Christopher Chen's Passage (April 23-May 26), a fantasia on colonialism past and present that asks the question: if Country Y occupies Country X, can someone from Country X and someone from Country Y ever form a mutual relationship? Directed by Saheem Ali, Passage is a playful and gripping experiment that isolates power as the sole differentiator between people challenging the arbitrary binaries that define how we live.

The Mother by Florian Zeller, translated by Christopher Hampton, and directed by Trip Cullman, opened just last night, March 11, at Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street). The production is a limited run through April 13, 2019.

Lincoln Center Theater will produce the American premiere of THE ROLLING STONE, a new play by Chris Urch, directed by Saheem Ali, beginning previews Thursday, June 20 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street).

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director) and Barry Grove (Executive Producer) have just announced three productions slated for Manhattan Theatre Club's upcoming 2019-2020 season.

The Playwrights Realm (Founding Artistic Director Katherine Kovner and Producing Director Roberta Pereira) announces Beyond the Realm (February 2019), a month-long festival showcasing bold new works-in-progress by four boundary-pushing playwrights, with four workshops of new plays by MJ Kaufman, Nia Witherspoon, Michael Yates Crowley, and Asiimwe Deborah Kawe. Responsiveness and a commitment to playwrights' needs are at the heart of the Realm's practice; with the launch of this new program-in lieu of a second full-length production this season-the Realm seizes the opportunity to devote the beginning of the year to these four playwrights testing and honing their exhilarating new works. Throughout a month of programming, the definitions of theater will be challenged as the festival creates new ways of presenting live storytelling and blurs the lines that divide creators from spectators. Tickets for the Festival are free and reservations open to the general public on Tuesday, January 22nd. Donors receive early access starting January 17th. For more information, visit http://www.playwrightsrealm.org/beyond/.

Williamstown Theatre Festival has announced that the annual WTF Gala will include special appearances by Eden Espinosa (WTF's Lempicka, Wicked), Tony Award nominee Jessica Hecht (WTF's The Closet, "Friends"), and 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok (WTF's Cost of Living).

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) is thrilled to announce the eighth annual Roundabout Underground Reading Series, a five-night event that includes nightly readings of new works written and directed by emerging artists, as well as post-show receptions. The Reading Series will feature new works by Aaron Carter, Emily Feldman, Dave Harris, Jonathan Spector and Sanaz Toossi.

The Public celebrated its opening night of Wild Goose Dreams last night, November 14. BroadwayWorld attended the opening night, and you can check out photos below!

Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), the theatrical union that unites, empowers and protects professional stage directors and choreographers throughout the United States, announced the election of four officers and two new members of the Executive Board at Monday's Annual Membership Meeting. In addition, Sharon Ott received the annual President's Award for service to SDC.

The Public Theater officially opened the MOBILE UNIT's production of Shakespeare's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM on Friday, November 2. Directed by Jenny Koons, the free sit-down run of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM follows a three-week tour to five boroughs bringing Shakespeare to audiences who have limited or no access to the arts. A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM began previews on Sunday, October 28 and will run through Saturday, November 17.

AUDELCO has announced the nominees for their 2018 'Viv' Awards, honoring Black Theatre in New York City.

PREMIERES (Paulette Haupt, Artistic Director), the New York based music theater organization whose mission is "to bring new music theater to light," is pleased to announce the cast and creative teams for this season's INNER VOICES, the biennial series of solo works featuring new teams of playwrights and composers. Performances begin TONIGHT at 8:00pm for a limited run through Saturday, November 17, 2018 at The TBG Mainstage Theatre (312 West 36th Street - between 8th & 9th Avenues). Opening Night is Thursday, November 1, 2018 at 8:00pm.

Atlantic Theater Company stages the world premiere production of Fireflies, written by Donja R. Love and directed by Saheem Ali. Fireflies is the second part of Donja R. Love's trilogy, which began with the acclaimed play Sugar in Our Wounds, also directed by Saheem Ali. Fireflies just opened last night, October 15th for a limited engagement through Sunday, November 11th, 2018 Off-Broadway at the Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street).

This week the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association is voting on the final award list in preparation for the Third Annual Berkshire Theatre Awards. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony to be held on Monday, November 12 at 7 pm at the Zion Lutheran Church, 74 First Street (Route 7) in Pittsfield, MA.

Today, influencer and talent manager ChiChi Anyanwu of the NYC Black Theater Network, Marcia Pendelton, President of Walk Tall Girl Productions/Black Theater Online, and the award-winning Vineyard Theatre (Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern, Artistic Directors; Suzanne Appel, Managing Director) announced BLACK PLAYWRIGHTS: THEY SPEAK. WHO LISTENS? A Black Theater Fall Preview: Off Broadway Edition. The event is scheduled at Vineyard Theatre (108 E. 15th Street) on Monday, October 15, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. Four-time Tony Award-winning producer Ron Simons of SimonSays Entertainment (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Porgy & Bess, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Jitney) will host the program whose purpose is to bring attention to the unprecedented number of plays by black playwrights being produced Off-Broadway this season.