Samuel Beckett News

Theaterlab, the experimental company founded by Carlo Altomare and Orietta Crispino, kicks off its 2010 season with the world premiere of THREE SISTERS COME AND GO, a piece based on the texts of Anton Chekhov, Samuel Beckett and French philosopher Julia Kristeva and directed by Crispino. Previews begin May 12, 2010 before an official opening May 14th at Theaterlab (137 West 14th Street).

Steppenwolf Theatre Company continues its 2009-2010 season, an exploration of the theme of belief, with Endgame written by Samuel Beckett and directed by ensemble member Frank Galati. Endgame, featuring ensemble members Ian Barford, Francis Guinan, Martha Lavey and William Petersen, plays now through June 6, 2010 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted.

Rep Stage, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Howard Community College (HCC), will end its production of Eric Overmyer's 'On the Verge or The Geography of Yearning' on May 2nd. Mel Gussow, in his New York Times review of 'On the Verge...' wrote, 'Blending Tom Stoppard's limber linguistics with the historic overview of a Thornton Wilder, Mr. Overmyer takes his audience on a mirthful safari that leads from darkest Africa to Terra Incognita, spinning into time travel.'

Azuka Theatre finishes the Philadelphia Premiere of Adam Szymkowicz's biting dating comedy, Nerve May 2.

The Irish Repertory Theatre continues its 22nd Season with WHITE WOMAN STREET by Sebastian Barry, author of 'Our Lady of Sligo' and 'The Steward of Christendom'. Directed by Charlotte Moore

If your world were different, would you be different, too? ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE US shows us four people in different realities, from a totalitarian regime to an evangelical college and a post-apocalyptic war zone, and examines how the world around us shapes who we are and who we will become.

Let's face it. The chance to see an incredibly dynamic cast, like Endgame, is an honor that does not come along every day. The audience of last night's show behaved absolutely terribly and made the show incredibly hard to watch. Yeah, Beckett is not an easy playwright to absorb. I get that. However, that does not give you the right to let your cell phone ring multiple times in a show. Unless you are a doctor (and in that case, put it on vibrate), you are not that important. Oh, and the coup de grace? The man next to me was outright heckling William Petersen. What? This isn't Zannies (and even if it was, that's still not acceptable).

Celebre depuis toujours pour ses qualites litteraires, le theatre irlandais est entre en ce debut du 21eme siecle dans une phase nouvelle et passionnante. Au cours de ce programme d'ete, nous sommes heureux de presenter a Paris quatre pieces donnees lors du festival Under the Radar de New York en janvier dernier. Chacune d'elles a son caractere particulier et chacune est superbe. Ainsi que nous l'avons fait durant le festival Friel, les entrees seront gratuites afin de vous encourager a venir nombreux et a nous faire part de vos reactions. Cependant, nous vous demandons instamment d'annuler les reservations que vous ne pourrez pas honorer. Notre programme comporte aussi de l'excellente musique, du cinema, de l'art visuel et de la litterature, a partir de maintenant et jusqu'a la treve de l'ete. Nous esperons que vous apprecierez et prendrez plaisir a tous ces evenements.

Next Theatre Company and Artistic Director Jason Southerland are thrilled to announce the 30th anniversary season, a year dedicated to plays that explore the myths that men and women create about their lives. The season opens in the fall with a world premiere presented at the National New Play Network's annual showcase. It continues with the regional premiere of a play Southerland first read when he met with Israeli playwright Motti Lerner (Pangs of the Messiah) in Tel Aviv earlier this year. The season comes to its climactic end with a pair of plays by Phyllis Nagy (pronounced 'Naij') who has captured wide acclaim in the United Kingdom but has been rarely produced in the U.S.

New York's OBIE Award-winning Epic Theatre Ensemble (Zak Berkman, Melissa Friedman, Ron Russell, Founding Executive Directors) today announced the cast and creative team for the New York premiere of Sarah Ruhl's Passion Play (In The Next Room… or the vibrator play) and directed by Mark Wing-Davey (The Singing Forest). The cast will include Brendan Averett, Polly Noonan, Daniel Pearce, Alex Podulke, Keith Reddin, Godfrey L. Simmons Jr., T. Ryder Smith, Felix Solis Jr., Kate Turnbull and Nicole Wiesner.

The Irish Repertory Theatre continues its 22nd Season with WHITE WOMAN STREET by Sebastian Barry, author of 'Our Lady of Sligo' and 'The Steward of Christendom'. Directed by Charlotte Moore

Keifer's superbly cast five-member ensemble delivers a performance that is compelling and provocative, bringing Beckett's rather nonsensical, although altogether shocking and introspective, premise to vivid life. Since its 1953 premiere, Waiting for Godot has left many of the world's greatest writers and thinkers pondering the meaning of Beckett's work; the significance - or perhaps insignificance - of the five characters; and the meaning behind the characters and their situation. Every word has been parsed, every exchange debated and still we are left to question and to wonder.

Westport Country Playhouse will present a Sunday Symposium with one of the most famous Broadway musical teams, Joe Masteroff, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, who created the musical, 'She Loves Me,' following the Sunday, April 25, 3 p.m. matinee performance of the enchanting musical comedy, directed by Mark Lamos, Playhouse artistic director.

The Irish Classical Theatre Company will present Engaged beginning April 23. The month-long run will end on May 23 and will feature direction by Fortunato Pezzimenti. Tickets are $32-42 and can be purchased by visiting www.irishclassicaltheatre.com.

The enchanting musical romantic comedy, 'She Loves Me,' with all the grace and spirit that established it as one of the all-time great Broadway classics, will begin Westport Country Playhouse's 80th anniversary season runs through May 8.

The Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center announced an expanded season of productions, artists, local discoveries, and new film and performance series. The summer pre-season begins on June 17 with the new musical, DADDY LONG LEGS. The official season kicks off October 7- 9, with an opening weekend of performances and events featuring jazz star, Esperanza Spalding; classical cellist, Lynn Harrell; and folk singer, Judy Collins.

The Broad Stage will be celebrating it's third season with a variety of artists including: F. Murray Abraham, Joshua Bell, Branford Marsalis and Alan Cumming. This new season will also include shows in its Eyde Second Space, which will soon be converted into a '21st Century Cabaret.'

In this dark comedy, Szymkowicz takes a mirror to the world of online dating. Elliot has never had an online date show up while Susan has had far too many and would prefer not to discuss it. In Nerve, the pair navigates a premature declaration of love and far too much information about past relationships. With bits of modern dance, and a twisted Jiminy Cricket-like puppet, Nerve takes a wickedly comic look at the idea of falling into a relationship on the first date and a desperation that may or may not be love.

If your world were different, would you be different, too? ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE US shows us four people in different realities, from a totalitarian regime to an evangelical college and a post-apocalyptic war zone, and examines how the world around us shapes who we are and who we will become.

Hot on the heels of the Nashville premiere of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Amun Ra Theatre shows no sign of slowing down its pace this season as it prepares to tackle Samuel Beckett's absurdist classic Waiting For Godot, directed by guest artist Robert Kiefer and starring a virtual 'who's who' of ART Ensemble members. Waiting For Godot, the second show in ART's 2010 'The Future Is Now Season,' opens April 22 and runs through May 9 at the Amun Ra Theatre Playhouse, 2508 Clifton Avenue.