Seattle Repertory Theatre News

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the initiative, the company will offer a festival of these works-including CRY FOR PEACE: VOICES FROM THE CONGO; SECRET SURVIVORS , featuring adult survivors of child sexual abuse; and INSIDE/OUT… VOICES FROM THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY - running from today, October 18 through November 4 at La Mama E.T.C.

Following critically acclaimed sell-out runs on Broadway and in the West End, Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer prize winning play, DRIVING MISS DAISY, starring Gwen Taylor as Daisy Werthan, Don Warrington as Hoke Coleburn and Ian Porter as Boolie Werthan launched its national tour from 10 October 2012. Get a first look at the cast onstage in the photos below!

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has announced the publication of Ping Chong's Undesirable Elements: Real People, Real Lives, Real Theater. The volume includes four pieces of the Undesirable Elements series, as well as a section on methodology, interviews with collaborators, a complete production history and an introduction by Alisa Solomon. The publication is released in conjunction with the 20th Anniversary of the Undesirable Elements series, and Ping Chong & Company is celebrating in NYC with a festival at La MaMa October 18 - November 4.

This October, at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, an ancient tale comes roaring back to life in a compelling new telling filled with contemporary wit and wisdom. The clash of swords and shields, the broken hearts and broken oaths, the bonds of friendship and family - An Iliad arises on a bare stage, told by an old man who's seen too much. Two-time Obie Award-winner Lisa Peterson directs a stunning show that stars Henry Woronicz, who masterfully captures the grief and glory of the battle for Troy.

Following critically acclaimed sell-out runs on Broadway and in the West End, Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer prize winning play, DRIVING MISS DAISY, starring Gwen Taylor as Daisy Werthan, Don Warrington as Hoke Coleburn and Ian Porter as Boolie Werthan will go on a national tour from today, 10 October 2012.

Following critically acclaimed sell-out runs on Broadway and in the West End, Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer prize winning play, DRIVING MISS DAISY, starring Gwen Taylor as Daisy Werthan, Don Warrington as Hoke Coleburn and Ian Porter as Boolie Werthan will go on a national tour from today, 8 October 2012.

Janice Findley Productions conjures up the mesmerizing world of Caryl Churchill's The Skriker in a signature theatrical event of the Halloween season, October 19 through November 11 at the Erickson Theatre (1524 Harvard Ave., Seattle). Led by director Janice Findley, choreographer Pat Graney, and lead actor Mary Ewald, The Skriker features a superb company of Seattle artists and performers in a work that is equal parts stunning theatre, evocative dance, and jaw-dropping visual art.

I understand that opening night isn't always the glorious shining gem that it ought to be. Sometimes, no matter how good a show it may be, it's just not quite there yet. Such was the case with the Seattle Rep's opening night of Cheryl L. West's new play with music "Pullman Porter Blues". With a combination of opening night nerves, technical gaffs and a muffled sound system, it just wasn't the show I was so eagerly awaiting since I saw the workshop of the piece some years back. But even through its shortcomings the show still managed to shine through with history and heart and had some killer moments.

Bill Cain's 'How to Write a New Book for the Bible,' an autobiographical tale about family, a son's devotion, and a mother's love comes to South Coast Repertory from October 19 through November 18. It is directed by Kent Nicholson. 'How to Write a New Book for the Bible' follows the story of Bill, who comes home to take care of his octogenarian mother, Mary. Many times she's maddening, but she's always funny as the family's story unfolds through flashbacks.

This holiday season, Berkeley Repertory Theatre welcomes back a beloved artist for an alluring and hypnotic world-premiere production. Mary Zimmerman is mesmerizing. From Metamorphoses to The Arabian Nights, audiences have embraced her enchanting adaptations of epic tales. Now the Tony Award-winning director casts a spell with The White Snake, a classic romance from Chinese legend. As she falls for a charming young man, a snake spirit discovers what it means to be human. But a monk objects, and the bride must unveil her magical powers to save their love.

Following critically acclaimed sell-out runs on Broadway and in the West End, Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer prize winning play, DRIVING MISS DAISY, starring Gwen Taylor as Daisy Werthan, Don Warrington as Hoke Coleburn and Ian Porter as Boolie Werthan will go on a national tour from 10 October 2012.

FREUD'S LAST SESSION will feature a post-show talkback series in October to discuss Love, Sex, the Meaning of Life and the Existence of God at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport in Chicago. Winner of the 2011 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Play, the Midwest Premiere of FREUD'S LAST SESSION has received rave reviews and three Jeff Award nominations, including Best Play. The production has been extended multiple times and is now in final weeks, ending its successful Chicago run on November 11. Written by Mark St. Germain, under the direction of Tyler Marchant, the production stars local theater legend, Mike Nussbaum (Emmy, Drama Desk Award, four-time Jeff Award winner, and recent Sarah Siddons Award recipient), as "Sigmund Freud" and Coburn Goss (Vigils at the Goodman Theatre, Dead Man's Cell Phone at Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Off Broadway When the Messenger is Hot at 59E59) as "C.S. Lewis."

Film, television and Broadway Actor Richard Thomas, star of the current Manhattan Theatre Club production of Ibsen's "An Enemy of the People," has been named Honorary Chair of the National Corporate Theatre Fund (NCTF) as it moves forward with its national theatre education initiative "Impact Creativity."

Since 1992, under the rubric of its UNDESIRABLE ELEMENTS series, the beloved Ping Chong + Company has created nearly 50 deeply moving theater productions that give voice to specific communities. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the initiative, the company will offer a festival of these works-including CRY FOR PEACE: VOICES FROM THE CONGO; SECRET SURVIVORS , featuring adult survivors of child sexual abuse; and INSIDE/OUT… VOICES FROM THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY - running from October 18 through November 4 at La MaMa E.T.C.

Returning home for its first local Seattle production, the Tony Award-winning rock musical Next to Normal will be co-produced in February 2013 by award-winning companies Balagan Theatre and Contemporary Classics. Starring in the pivotal leading role will be one of Seattle's most regarded actors, Marya Sea Kaminski, in her first musical.

A subcommittee of the Seattle Center Advisory Commission serving as the review panel for a Request for Proposals issued in May for tenancy of the Seattle Center Playhouse offered its recommendation to Seattle Center Director Robert Nellams. In a discussion with Nellams as well as a written evaluation of two proposals submitted in response to the RFP, the panel recommended that Seattle Center move forward in negotiations with Cornish College of the Arts.

FREUD'S LAST SESSION will celebrate its 200th performance on Thursday, Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport, in Chicago.

After 15 years of presenting 14 plays in 48 hours for four weekends every year, the producers of 14/48 present another new style of the popular speed theatre festival. 14/48 goes down Denny Way to the Seattle Center for its first outdoor festival. Tonight, September 7 and tomorrow night, September 8, at 8:00 & 10:30pm, 14/48 moves outdoors to the Peter F. Donnelly Gardens next to the Seattle Repertory Theatre as part of the Next Fifty Celebration at Seattle Center. The Outdoor 14/48 will be free of charge and open to the public.

This October, at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, an ancient tale comes roaring back to life in a compelling new telling filled with contemporary wit and wisdom. The clash of swords and shields, the broken hearts and broken oaths, the bonds of friendship and family - An Iliad arises on a bare stage, told by an old man who's seen too much. Two-time Obie Award-winner Lisa Peterson directs a stunning show that stars Henry Woronicz, who masterfully captures the grief and glory of the battle for Troy.

Aurora Theatre Company opens its 21st season with the coveted Bay Area Premiere of Kristoffer Diaz's smart, hilarious power-slam of a play, THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY. Jon Tracy makes his main stage directing debut at Aurora with this sardonic critique of pop culture and political correctness. Featuring Rod Gnapp, Tony Sancho, Beethovan Oden, Dave Maier, and Nasser Khan, THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY plays tonight, August 24 through September 30 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. Get a first look at the production in the photos below!