Sam Shepard News

THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE, the world premiere of a three part theatrical event by the Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award-winning playwright Horton Foote, begins performances on Thursday, November 5 at Signature Theatre Company at the Peter Norton Space, 555 West 42nd Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues.

The title character - well, actually the title prop - of Sam Shepard's new entry, Kicking a Dead Horse, doesn't have to lift a hoof to make an impressive star entrance. Lying beneath a sheet that covers the entire curtain-less stage as the audience enters The Public's Martinson Hall, the slow deliberate removal of its covering at the play's commencement tantalizes viewers until we get what we came to see; a big dead piece of symbolism placed somewhat to the left of center stage. Also revealed at that moment are two large mounds of dirt suitable for tandem mountings of Samuel Beckett's Happy Days. The wide open spaces prairie scene, put together by designers Brien Vahey (set) and John Comiskey (lights) has a kind of respectful artificial beauty to it, similar to the environmental displays you might see at New York's American Museum of Natural History.

That happy gentleman on the left is the legendary American playwright Robert Patrick, and what he has in his hands is a long-time dream of his; a plaque to commemorate the life of Joe Cino.  Fifty years ago Joe Cino opened the doors to his Caffe Cino, now regarded as the birthplace of both the Off-Off Broadway movement and the American Gay Theatre movement, to playwrights willing to mount productions on his tiny 8' x 8' stage.  Among those who walked in were Lanford Wilson, Tom Eyen, Doric Wilson, Sam Shepard, William Hoffman, John Guare, and, of course, Robert Patrick.  Cino didn't even read the scripts.  Most of the time he would ask the playwright his astrological sign and if he liked the answer an opening night was set.  Musical theatre fans know the Cino as the place where Bernadette Peters starred in the original one-act version of Dames At Sea. 

There's a great moment in Cecil B. DeMille's gloriously overblown epic, The Ten Commandments, when Sir Cedric Hardwicke, playing Pharaoh Sethi, upon discovering that his beloved son Moses is really Hebrew, makes a proclamation that the name of Moses must be stricken from the history books, despite his many heroic accomplishments for Egypt, and that his name never be spoken again.  Moses, as far as Egypt was concerned, will have never existed.

Robert Patrick, that legendary pioneer of Gay Theatre, may spend most of his time on that other coast these days, but his heart always remains at a little storefront on Cornelia Street that once housed the birthplace of Off-Off Broadway, the Caffe Cino.  One of my first assignments for BroadwayWorld was an interview with that remarkably colorful playwright, where he shared vivid memories of that exciting time in American theatre when he and the likes of Sam Shepard, Lanford Wilson and John Guare enjoyed complete artistic freedom in seeing their early efforts staged.  Bernadette Peters starred in the original one-act version of Dames At Sea on the tiny Cino stage.

In A Life of the Mind, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Sam Shepard depicts the aftermath of a romance torn apart by spousal abuse and the war that breaks out between two families. A Lie of the Mind depicts the many ways that the mind protects the heart.

BroadwayWorld.com presents its newest column, Twitter Watch, which will bring you only the best and most interesting reports straight from the mouths of Broadway stars, shows and more on the hot social networking service - Twitter!

On the heels of the well-received ensemble piece, Three Tall Women, and the daring and quirky The Lady from Dubuque, Muddy Waters Theatre Company wraps its 2009 Edward Albee season, Mothers and Other Strangers, with what is probably his best known and most respected play, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?. The play will run Nov. 6-22 at the Kranzberg Art Center in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Building at Grand and Olive.

-A 32-person ensemble of 24 high school students and 8 teachers from Chicago Public Schools (CPS), led by a team of Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) artists, is preparing for a four-week intensive rehearsal, beginning on September 26, culminating in a 60-minute adaptation of William Shakespeare's popular comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream. CST's landmark education program, CPS Shakespeare! brings together students and their teachers from across the city in a collaborative process with a team of theater professionals, including the director, designers, text coaches and a fight choreographer.

-A 32-person ensemble of 24 high school students and 8 teachers from Chicago Public Schools (CPS), led by a team of Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) artists, is preparing for a four-week intensive rehearsal, beginning on September 26, culminating in a 60-minute adaptation of William Shakespeare's popular comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream. CST's landmark education program, CPS Shakespeare! brings together students and their teachers from across the city in a collaborative process with a team of theater professionals, including the director, designers, text coaches and a fight choreographer.

CoHo Productions presents Fool For Love by Sam Shepard Co-Producers Chris Harder and Val Landrum, also starring. Runs through November 21, 2009

Horton Foote, the Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award-winning author of THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE is featured in a Critic at Large essay by John Lahr in The New Yorker, in the issue for the week of October 26, 2009. The piece examines the life and career of Foote, who died on March 4, 2009. The New Yorker is currently available on newsstands.

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice is back in the West End in a new production to play a strictly limited engagement at the Vaudeville Theatre. The production opens tonight after running preview performances since October 8.

Six writers, six directors and 27 actors will risk their reputations by creating an evening of theater in only 24 Hours.

New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, is pleased to present Speed-the-Plow a drama by David Mamet. Speed-the-Plow opens for the press on Monday, October 19, 2009 at 7:30pm and plays through Saturday, November 7, 2009 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in the Charles Mosesian Theater.

Arizona Theatre Company presents George Is Dead, a new comedy by acclaimed writer and director Elaine May.

The Clockwork Theatre, a New York City-based non-profit organization is proud to announce the first production of their 5th anniversary season, UNDERGROUND, written by JAMES McMANUS (winner of the 2006 Princess Grace Playwriting Award). Performances will begin on Tuesday, September 29th; opening on Sunday, October 4th; and will run through October 17th, 2009 at the Beckett Theatre (410 West 42nd Street).

The Clockwork Theatre, a New York City-based non-profit organization is proud to announce the first production of their 5th anniversary season, UNDERGROUND, written by JAMES McMANUS (winner of the 2006 Princess Grace Playwriting Award). Performances will begin on Tuesday, September 29th; opening on Sunday, October 4th; and will run through October 17th, 2009 at the Beckett Theatre (410 West 42nd Street).

CoHo Productions presents Fool For Love by Sam Shepard Co-Producers Chris Harder and Val Landrum, also starring. Runs October 16-November 21, 2009

We're willing to bet you have a story that portrays you in the light of a fool for love. We invite you to share your story with us and be a part of CoHo Theater's lobby display to complement CoHo's upcoming production of Fool for Love by Sam Shepard.