Second Stage Theatre News

Yale Repertory Theatre (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) opens its 2009-2010 season with THE MASTER BUILDER by Henrik Ibsen, translated by Paul Walsh, directed by Evan Yionoulis at the University Theatre (222 York Street), September 18-October 10. Opening night is Thursday, September 24. Tickets go on sale today, August 31.

Original cast member AARON TVEIT will return to the Tony Award-winning musical Next to Normal on Monday, September 7 at 8:00pm. Tveit, who originated the role of Gabe in the off-Broadway and Broadway productions of the acclaimed musical, was on a leave of absence this summer to star in the World Premiere production of Catch Me If You Can.

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park has finalized casting for its upcoming production of THREE SISTERS. This exciting new version, commissioned by the Playhouse, combines John Doyle, the Tony Award-winning director of Company, and Sarah Ruhl, one of America's most acclaimed young playwrights. THREE SISTERS, a poignant tale of love and dreams and the never-ending pursuit of happiness, begins previews in the Playhouse's Robert S. Marx Theatre October 24 and continues through November 21.

The producers of the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production of' Thornton Wilder's Our Town, have announced that Obie Award-winner Jason Butler Harner will assume the central role of 'Stage Manager' in David Cromer's staging of Wilder's timeless play. Beginning Tuesday, August 25th, Mr. Harner will succeed Mr. Cromer who departs the company to begin rehearsals for his Broadway directorial debut this fall with Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound.

It was announced earlier this month that the new musical VANITIES will receive an original cast album. The three-woman cast of the show, which recently performed its New York premiere Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre, headed into studio yesterday to record the album for Sh-K-Boom Records.

The Off-Broadway League, the official trade organization for Off-Broadway theatres, producers and productions, is proud to highlight its member shows for the upcoming Fall 2009 season in the vibrant diverse landscape of Off-Broadway theatre.

Channeling a dramatic range of interview subjects, from artists and athletes to doctors and those they treat, LET ME DOWN EASY is a virtuosic and moving exploration of the power of the body and the resilience of the human spirit, featuring first person accounts from a wide variety of sources, including Lance Armstrong, and former Texas Governor Ann Richards.

New musical VANITIES will receive an original cast album. The three-woman cast of the show, which recently performed its New York premiere Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre, is in the studio today recording the album for Sh-K-Boom Records.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) kicks off its 2009/2010 Season with the World Premiere of THE RETRIBUTIONISTS, a new play by Daniel Goldfarb (Modern Orthodox, Adam Baum and the Jew Movie). The production will begin previews on Friday, August 21 with an Opening Night set for Tuesday, September 15 at 7PM. The limited engagement will run through Sunday, September 27 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

Yale Repertory Theatre (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) opens its 2009-2010 season with THE MASTER BUILDER by Henrik Ibsen, translated by Paul Walsh, directed by Evan Yionoulis at the University Theatre (222 York Street), September 18-October 10. Opening night is Thursday, September 24.

Dael Orlandersmith takes Chicago audiences on an electrifying journey through the spirit and soul of Harlem in her explosive solo piece Stoop Stories at Goodman Theatre. Hailed a 'triumph' (Washington City Paper) in its world premiere at Washington, D.C.'s Studio Theatre this past spring, Stoop Stories comes to Chicago directed by Obie Award-winner Jo Bonney.

Meet gossip columnists MR. & MRS. FITCH. When the social circuit no longer provides any scandalous news, they find that great celebrity can appear out of thin air. Tony Award nominee Douglas Carter Beane's wicked new comedy is a scathing look at who is in, who is out and who may not even exist at all.

The producers of the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production of' Thornton Wilder's Our Town, have announced that Obie Award-winner Jason Butler Harner will assume the central role of 'Stage Manager' in David Cromer's staging of Wilder's timeless play. Beginning Tuesday, August 25th, Mr. Harner will succeed Mr. Cromer who departs the company to begin rehearsals for his Broadway directorial debut this fall with Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound.

Barrington Stage Company, under the leadership of Julianne Boyd, Artistic Director, and Richard M. Parison, Jr., Producing Director, announce the theatre?s 15th Anniversary Season. Opening on the Mainstage will be Rodgers and Hammerstein?s musical masterpiece Carousel from June 17 through July 11. BSC will present its first thriller, the Tony Award-winning play Sleuth by Anthony Shaffer, from July 16 through August 1. Tennessee Williams? landmark play A Streetcar Named Desire will conclude the Mainstage summer season from August 6 through 29. The Mainstage fall show will be announced at a later date. On Stage 2, receiving its world premiere is Mark St. Germain?s Freud?s Last Session from June 10 through 28. Glen Berger?s hit Off-Broadway play Underneath the Lintel will play on Stage 2 from July 8 though 26.

Partial Comfort Productions (nami, Battle of the Bards) presents the World Premiere of THE BEREAVED by Thomas Bradshaw, directed by May Adrales. Previews begin September 2nd at The Wild Project where Partial Comfort is in its 1st season as a resident company. Opening night is scheduled for Wednesday, September 9th.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) will launch its 31st season this fall with the New York premiere of Anna Deavere Smith's LET ME DOWN EASY. Conceived, written, and performed by Ms. Smith and directed by Leonard Foglia, LET ME DOWN EASY will begin preview performances on Tuesday, September 15 and will officially open on Wednesday, October 7 at 6:45pm.

The New School for Drama has announced that the award-winning playwright Jon Robin Baitz will be the distinguished artist-in-residence for the 2009-2010 academic year. Baitz is a Pulitzer finalist, a Guggenheim and NEA fellow, and winner of an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award. A founding member and former artistic director of New York's Naked Angels theater company, Baitz has written a number of acclaimed plays, including The Film Society, The Substance of Fire, Three Hotels, A Fair Country, Ten Unknowns, Mizlansky/Zilinsky, a new version of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler (produced on Broadway in 2001), and The Paris Letter. Playwrights Horizons, the Roundabout Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, and the Second Stage Theatre have produced Baitz's work in New York. His new play, Love and Mercy, will be produced next season on Broadway.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will conclude its 30th Anniversary mainstage season with the New York premiere of VANITIES, a new musical written by Jack Heifner, featuring music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum, directed by Judith Ivey. With musical staging by Dan Knechtges, VANITIES will feature Lauren Kennedy, Sarah Stiles, and Anneliese van der Pol and will begin preview performances on Thursday, July 2. Opening night is Thursday, July 16 at 6:30pm