Seattle Rep News

Stage and screen stars Brooke Shields and Richard Chamberlain will take on the iconic roles of Chris MacNeil and Father Merrin in playwright John Pielmeier's world premiere of The Exorcist at the Geffen Playhouse. Helmed by acclaimed director John Doyle, who won a Tony Award for his striking reimagining of Sweeney Todd, this stage adaptation of William Peter Blatty's famous 1971 novel transforms the unsettling battles of good versus evil, faith versus fact and ego versus ethos into a uniquely theatrical experience as sophisticated as it is suspenseful.

The Tony Award-winning Hartford Stage, under the leadership of Darko Tresnjak, Artistic Director, and Michael Stotts, Managing Director, presents William Shakespeare's magical masterwork, The Tempest, directed by Darko Tresnjak, playing now through June 10, 2012 (press opening: Wednesday, May 16 at 7:30pm). Tony Award nominee Daniel Davis, best known for his recent NYC roles in Classic Stage's The Cherry Orchard, Lincoln Center's The Invention of Love, and the 2004 Broadway revival of La Cage aux Folles, as well as six seasons as Niles the Butler on TV's "The Nanny, plays Prospero. See photos of Davis and the rest of the cast on stage below!

92YTribeca will present a reading and panel discussion of Handbook for an American Revolutionary, written and performed by actor, playwright, and Puffin Grant recipient Matthew-Lee Erlbach, whose work Rachel Maddow has called "shocking, engaging, funny, and totally original."

Downton Abbey meets Broadway! BWW can report that Dan Stevens, star of the Golden Globe-winning series "Downton Abbey," will play the role of "Morris Townsend" opposite Academy Award nominee Jessica Chastain (Catherine Sloper) and Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner David Strathairn (Dr. Austin Sloper) in the Tony Award-winning play The Heiress. Written by Ruth Goetz & Augustus Goetz, The Heiress will be directed by Tony Award nominated playwright and director Moises Kaufman. Performances will begin October 2012 at a theatre to be announced.

Lookingglass Theatre Company presents the world premiere of EASTLAND: A NEW MUSICAL, written by Artistic Director Andrew White with music by Ben Sussman and Artistic Associate Andre Pluess and directed by Amanda Dehnert. The production runs June 6 - July 29, 2012 at Lookingglass Theatre Company, located inside Chicago's historic Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave. at Pearson. The Press Opening is Saturday, June 16, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd previously announced the cast and creative team for the Alley Theatre's new production of Theresa Rebeck's WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST, part of the Alley Theatre's New Play Initiative. WHAT WE'RE UP AGAINST runs on the Alley Theatre's Neuhaus Stage tonight, May 11 through June 12, 2012.

The Public Theater continues its popular Shakespeare Salon Series this month with an engaging conversation with Director Daniel Sullivan, who will talk about this summer's upcoming Shakespeare in the Park production of AS YOU LIKE IT. Moderated by Shakespeare Initiative Director Barry Edelstein, this intimate event is being held tonight, May 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Chinatown Brasserie (380 Lafayette Street). Member tickets, priced at $20, and single tickets, priced at $25, are on sale now and include a complimentary glass of wine.

BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was thrilled to sit down and speak with nearly all of this year's Tony Award nominees at the official Tony Brunch on May 2, 2012, and we will be bringing you special coverage on all of them throughout the awards season. Today we bring you Judith Light, nominee for Best Featured Actress in a Play for Other Desert Cities.

Barrington Stage Company will present the New England premiere of British playwright's Duncan Macmillan's acclaimed new drama Lungs. Lungs opens the newly named St. Germain Stage (formerly Stage 2) from May 23 through June 10, and the press opening is Sunday, May 27 at 3pm. St. Germain Stage is located on the upper level of the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 36 Linden Street, Pittsfield.

Due to popular demand, FREUD'S LAST SESSION at the Mercury Theater (3745 N. Southport, Chicago), will now run through July 15th with a new Chicago cast, including local theater legend, Mike Nussbaum (Emmy, Drama Desk Award and four-time Jeff Award winner) as "Sigmund Freud" and Coburn Goss (Vigils at the Goodman Theatre, Dead Man's Cell Phone at Steppenwolf Theatre Companyand Off Broadway When the Messenger is Hot at 59E59) as "C.S. Lewis". See below for production photos of Nussbaum and Goss in action!

Two-time Golden Globe® winner, Academy Award® & Tony Award® nominee Kathleen Turner returns to Toronto in the National Tour of Matthew Lombardo's play HIGH, tonight, May 8 through May 13, 2012, at The Royal Alexandra Theatre. Directed by Rob Ruggiero, HIGH also features Evan Jonigkeit as "Cody Randall" and Timothy Altmeyer as "Father Michael Delpapp".

Penguin Rep Theatre (Joe Brancato, Artistic Director, and Andrew M. Horn, Executive Director) and Morton Wolkowitz (Stomp, The Unexpected Man) will present the Off-Broadway premiere of Miracle On South Division Street, by Tom Dudzick, directed by Joe Brancato. Opening Night is Sunday May 13th at St. Luke's Theatre (308 West 46th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues). See photos from the production below!

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater produces the 2011 Tony Award-winning production of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart, directed by George C. Wolfe. Wolfe, who directed the show's sold-out Broadway engagement last season, mounts the professional D.C.-area premiere of this production, which features returning Broadway cast members Patrick Breen and Luke MacFarlane, among others. Presented by special arrangement with Daryl Roth, The Normal Heart runs June 8-July 29, 2012 in the Kreeger Theater.

Comedian and commentator Lewis Black shows off his playwriting prowess with ACT - A Contemporary Theatre's production of the wedding day comedy One Slight Hitch. The play is the West Coast debut of a new work by Black, who is not only a Comedy Central regular and a contributor to the award winning The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but also a stand-up performer and studied playwright.

The Public Theater will continue its popular Shakespeare Salon Series this month with an engaging conversation with Director Daniel Sullivan, who will talk about this summer's upcoming Shakespeare in the Park production of AS YOU LIKE IT. Moderated by Shakespeare Initiative Director Barry Edelstein, this intimate event will be held on Thursday, May 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Chinatown Brasserie (380 Lafayette Street). Member tickets, priced at $20, and single tickets, priced at $25, are on sale now and include a complimentary glass of wine.

Macha Monkey will present the northwest premiere of Stephanie Timm's Sweet Nothing, a (grim) fairytale at Annex Theatre's space in June 2012.

Explore ways to protect and sustain our most precious resource, water and watersheds, and reorient ourselves within our community ecosystems and local habitats at The Next Fifty Water & Habitat Weekend, 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. May 5; 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. on May 6, at Next 50 Plaza, Alki Courtyard and Intiman Playhouse. All of the events are free-of-charge and open to the public.

Judith Light, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for Other Desert Cities 'I'm really excited, and I'm really honored and thrilled! I got a text first from our company manager from Lombardi, and my manager at got up at 4 this morning in California and called me right away. I spoke to both first! Today I'm going to a memorial service for Ted Mann- one of the founders of Circle in the Square who passed a way a little while ago. We were very close. I know he would be very happy right now. I'm happy I get to honor him today. I'm so thrilled that we got so many nominations- Jon Robin Baitz, and sets and lighting and Stockard! It's so extraordinary! It's the second year in a row for me and to be welcomed back is really special. It's all about the honor.'

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) kicks off the 10th anniversary of its Uptown Series with the world premiere of The Bad Guys, written by Alena Smith and directed by Hal Brooks. The Bad Guys will feature Michael Braun (War Horse), Roe Hartrampf (Unnatural Acts), James McMenamin (Suicide, Incorporated), Tobias Segal (The Miracle Worker) and Raviv Ullman (Russian Transport). Previews begin on May 22nd and opening night is Monday, June 4th.

Central Square Theater and its resident companies, The Nora Theatre Company and Underground Railway Theater, have announced their 2012-2013, and 5th anniversary, season.