Seattle Rep News

Manhattan Theatre Club announced casting for the upcoming world premiere Broadway production of Nick Whitby's TO BE OR NOT TO BE, based on the 1942 motion picture To Be Or Not To Be.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its 32nd season with the world premiere 'Superior Donuts' by ensemble member and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts.

The Summer Play Festival announces casting for the eagerly anticipated Summer Play Festival (SPF) now celebrating its fifth season in New York. Casts include Annie Golden, former lead singer for 'The Shirts' who has appeared in the movie HAIR; Marin Hinkle from CBS' TWO AND A HALF MEN; Annie Parisse from NBC's LAW & ORDER; Jenny Ikeda from MTC's acclaimed production of TOP GIRLS; and Dan Lauria from the long running series THE WONDER YEARS. Singer, songwriter and Tony Award winning Stew from the musical PASSING STRANGE will also be writing new music for one of the plays.

Tony Taccone, artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre, revealed that Danny Hoch's 'Taking Over' - which made its world premiere at Berkeley Rep in January - is headed on the road.

MAGGIE MAES & KIMBERLY VAUGHN will present Four Women & a Waitress, at the ArcLight Theatre, June 10-22, 2008. The two plays, Rosemary with Ginger by Edward Allen Baker & The Stronger by August Strindberg, will be directed by KARL BURY & STEPHEN WADSWORTH, respectively.

MAGGIE MAES & KIMBERLY VAUGHN will present Four Women & a Waitress, at the ArcLight Theatre, June 10-22, 2008. The two plays, Rosemary with Ginger by Edward Allen Baker & The Stronger by August Strindberg, will be directed by KARL BURY & STEPHEN WADSWORTH, respectively.

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre kicks up some devilishly good times with the Seattle premiere of 'A Marvelous Party: The Noel Coward Celebration.'

Arena Stage presents Charles Ludlam's comic masterpiece The Mystery of Irma Vep. This clever, quick-change marathon ransacks literary, cinematic and pop culture as it satirizes everything from Hitchcock's Rebecca and classic horror film The Mummy's Curse to Wuthering Heights and Shakespeare. Arena Stage is excited to welcome back Brad Oscar (Broadway's Spamalot and The Producers, Arena's Cabaret and Damn Yankees) and J. Fred Shiffman (The Arthur Miller Festival, She Loves Me, Cabaret) as they portray all of the characters--men, women and monsters--in this gender-bending 'tour de force.' The Mystery of Irma Vep runs June 6 - July 13 at Arena Stage in Crystal City. The press opening performance is Thursday, June 12 at 8:00 p.m.

The Wilshire Theatre Beverly Hills continues its 2008 season with the Los Angeles premiere of LOVE, JANIS for five performances only: May 29 - June 1. The life and music of rock-n-roll icon Janis Joplin explodes onto the stage in LOVE, JANIS.

Village Theatre Village Originals announces the return of the musical, 'The Last Starfighter' as a workshop presentation.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) announced New York premiere of Lisa Loomer's Distracted, directed by Mark Brokaw with Cynthia Nixon as 'Mama.' Distracted will begin performances in February 2009 at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (111 West 46th Street). This will be a limited engagement.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its 32nd season with the world premiere Superior Donuts by ensemble member Tracy Letts, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau.

Obie winner and Tony Award nominee Reg Rogers will star in The Injured Party, a new comedy by Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg. Commissioned by SCR and directed by Trip Cullman, The Injured Party will receive its World Premiere at South Coast Repertory during the 11th annual Pacific Playwrights Festival. The show will run from April 20 through May 11, 2008 on the Julianne Argyros Stage. Low-priced previews are available from April 20 through April 24. Opening night is April 25. Press night is Saturday, April 26 at 7:45 p.m. Tickets to The Injured Party may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office

Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its 32nd season with the world premiere Superior Donuts by ensemble member Tracy Letts, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau. The production, featuring ensemble members Jon Hill, Yasen Peyankov and James Vincent Meredith, runs June 19 - August 17, 2008 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. The press performance is Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $20-$68. 'Arthur Przybyszewski owns a decrepit donut shop in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. Franco Wicks, a black teenager who is his only employee, wants to change the shop for the better. Superior Donuts is a provocative comedy about the challenges of embracing the past and the redemptive power of friendship,' press notes state. Ensemble member Tracy Letts' critically-acclaimed play August: Osage County is currently playing on Broadway following a sold-out run at Steppenwolf in 2007. Mr. Letts is also the author of Man from Nebraska, which was produced at Steppenwolf in 2003 and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize; Killer Joe, which has been produced in Chicago, London and New York; and Bug, which has played in New York, Chicago and London. Ensemble member Tina Landau most recently directed Steppenwolf's 2007 production of The Diary of Anne Frank. Other Steppenwolf directing credits include Cherry Orchard, The Time of Your Life (also Seattle Rep, A.C.T.), Theatrical Essays, Maria Arndt, The Ballad of Little Jo, The Berlin Circle, Time to Burn, and her own play, Space (also NY's Public Theater, Mark Taper Forum). Superior Donuts is directed by Tina Landau. The design team includes: Loy Arcenas (sets), Ana Kuzmanic (costumes), Christopher Akerlind (lights) and Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (original music and sound). Edward Sobel is the dramaturg. Laura Glenn is the stage manager and Lauren V. Hickman is the assistant stage manager. Twenty $20 tickets are available at Audience Services beginning at 11:00 a.m. on the day of each performance (1:00 p.m. for Sunday performances). Half-price rush tickets are available one hour before each show. Student discounts available. Online ticketing available at www.steppenwolf.org Production Sponsor of Superior Donuts is United Airlines. Free post-show discussions, sponsored by AT&T, are offered after every performance. Steppenwolf is located near all forms of public transportation and is wheelchair accessible. Street and lot parking are available. Assistive listening devices are available for every performance. Superior Donuts was developed as part of Steppenwolf's New Plays Initiative. Steppenwolf is recognized as a national leader in the development and production of new work for the American canon. Through this initiative, the company maintains ongoing relationships with writers of international prominence and rigorously discovers and supports the work of early and mid-career playwrights. Steppenwolf's New Plays Initiative is generously sponsored by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Zell Family Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and members of the Directors Circle. Additional support for the development and production of Superior Donuts is provided by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Committed to the principle of ensemble performance through the collaboration of a company of actors, directors and playwrights, Steppenwolf Theatre Company's mission is to advance the vitality and diversity of American theater by nurturing artists, encouraging repeatable creative relationships and contributing new works to the national canon. The company, formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, is dedicated to perpetuating an ethic of mutual respect and the development of artists through on-going group work. Steppenwolf has grown into an internationally renowned company of forty-one artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting, filmmaking and textual adaptation.

Urban Stages is pleased to announce the final production of their 2007/2008 season: 27 Rue de Fleurus, a new musical derived from the imagination of Alice B. Toklas. Alice tries to set the record straight about being Gertrude Stein's 'wife' for nearly 40 years. 27 Rue de Fleurus will be directed by Urban Stages Artistic Director Frances Hill. Performances will be at 259 West 30th Street (between 7th and 8th). Previews will begin on Saturday, March 1st with the opening date scheduled for Thursday, March 6th and will run through Sunday, April 6th.

Manhattan Theatre Club will present the world premiere of From Up Here, Liz Flahive's new American play. This production is presented in association with Ars Nova. The production, to be directed by Leigh Silverman, will begin previews Thursday, March 27 for a Wednesday, April 16 opening at New York City Center - Stage I

Ars Nova presents, as part of the OUT LOUD series, a free reading of Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat, by Yussef El Guindi, directed by Joanna Settle. Our Enemies: Lively Scenes of Love and Combat on Monday, October 29 at 7 PM at Ars Nova

Jerry O'Connell, Michael Urie and Carol Kane star in a staged reading of Badge on Monday, November 12 at 8PM at The Hayworth Theater. Written by Matthew Schneck, produced by Stacy Cole and directed by noted television director Steve Zuckerman, Badge is a production of The Hayworth Theatre's popular Bruno Kirby Celebrity Reading Series.

Charles Durning, Wendy Malick, Michael Urie, and Jessica Chastain star in a staged reading of Dawn O'Leary's A Delicate Arrangement, Monday, September 10, at 8 p.m. at The Hayworth Theater...