Second Stage Theatre News

San Francisco Playhouse (Artistic Director Bill English; Producing Director Susi Damilano) announced casting for the fifth show of its 2017-18 Mainstage Season-the world premiere of An Entomologist's Love Story, written by Melissa Ross. Giovanna Sardelli will direct.

The Colorado New Play Festival (CNPF) (formerly the Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival) is proud to announce the participating theaters for the 2018 season. The 21st Annual Festival, to be held on June 10-16, 2018 in Steamboat Springs, CO, will develop five new works in partnership with the Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alley Theatre, Curious Theatre Company, Primary Stages, and Victory Gardens Theater.

Who killed the great American novelist Arthur Whitney? That's what audiences will wonder when MURDER FOR TWO opens May 5 at Cincinnati Playhouse. The riotous two-person musical comedy - which The New York Times called "ingenious"- runs through June 10 (Opening Night is May 10).

The MITTEN Lab (A Michigan Incubator for Theatre Talent Emerging Now), led by co-founders Katherine M. Carter and Rachel Sussman, is now accepting submissions for the 2018 MITTEN Lab residency, taking place from September 9 - 16, 2018 in Bear Lake, MI and culminating in a presentation featuring Interlochen Arts Academy students and Parallel 45 Theatre company members.

Winners have been announced for the 2018 Awards in the Arts, presented by Woodford Reserve and Joy Mangano. The awards ceremony, hosted by Fund for the Arts, Jennifer Lawrence Foundation and Churchill Downs, honors arts and arts organizations - some well-known, some rising stars - for their passion and dedication to the arts, and in doing so, celebrates and advances Greater Louisville's vibrant arts and culture.

Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero, directed by Trip Cullman and starring Michael Cera, Chris Evans, Brian Tyree Henry, and Bel Powley, officially opens tonight, Monday, March 26, at the newly renovated Hayes Theater. 

Esther and Schmuli are shy young Orthodox Jews embarking on an arranged marriage, despite barely knowing each other. Abe and Julia are high-profile celebrities embarking on a dangerously flirtatious correspondence, despite being married to other people. On the surface, the lives of these two couples couldn't be more different. But Anna Ziegler's funny, insightful, and mysterious new drama explores the hidden connections between seemingly disparate people, drawing audiences into an intriguing puzzle and a deeply sympathetic look at modern love.

Children of a Lesser God begins previews tonight at Studio 54. Get to know the cast below as they begin Broadway performances!

 F*It Club, the New York Innovative Award-winning film and theatre company, continues its annual series of short, commissioned world-premiere plays at the IRT Theater as part of their 3B Development Series in Manhattan's West Village with The Spring Fling: Chemistry, seven new short plays by Mario Correa (Tail! Spin!), Jahna Ferron-Smith (Ensemble Studio Theatre's Youngblood), Jon Kern (Modern Terrorism), Dan McCabe (Christina Martinez), Mara Nelson-Greenberg (Do You Feel Anger?), Erica Saleh (Channel Zero, Wisdom of the Crowd) and Amy Staats (Eddie and Dave).

Special guests announced for three-time Tony Award winning composer Jason Robert Brown's one-off West End concert at London's Palladium, as part of BBC Radio 2's 'Friday Night is Music Night', accompanied by the 60-piece BBC Concert Orchestra

BroadwayEvolved is a revolutionized Broadway summer intensive with a selective, in-depth training program for aspiring actors and educators, both created and taught by elite industry professionals. Created by Broadway star Betsy Wolfe and education professional Cynthia Rose, BroadwayEvolved will take place August 6-9, 2018 in NYC.

George Street Playhouse, located at 103 College Farm Road in New Brunswick, today announced Jonathan Kite (TV's 2 Broke Girls) will play the titular role in Larry Shue's The Nerd, on stage April 24 - May 20, 2018. Kevin Cahoon, who has appeared in many Broadway productions, including The Wedding Singer and The Lion King, will direct the popular comedy, which closes out GSP's mainstage season.

The World Premiere of Don Nguyen's Hello, From the Children of Planet Earth opens tonight, on March 7 at The Duke on 42nd Street, a New 42nd Street project. Presented by The Playwrights Realm (Katherine Kovner, Founding Artistic Director; Roberta Pereira, Producing Director) and directed by Jade King Carroll, this philosophical, and tender comedy is split between the perspectives of a lesbian couple trying to conceive, and their potential-sperm-donor/aerospace engineer friend as they're stretched to contemplate the unknowns of their future.

The World Premiere of Don Nguyen's Hello, From the Children of Planet Earth opens tonight, on March 7 at The Duke on 42nd Street, a New 42nd Street project. Presented by The Playwrights Realm (Katherine Kovner, Founding Artistic Director; Roberta Pereira, Producing Director) and directed by Jade King Carroll, this philosophical, and tender comedy is split between the perspectives of a lesbian couple trying to conceive, and their potential-sperm-donor/aerospace engineer friend as they're stretched to contemplate the unknowns of their future.

Writers Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma, presents Smart People, written by Lydia R. Diamond and directed by Hallie Gordon. Smart People runs March 21 - June 10, 2018 in the Gillian Theatre at 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) is proud to premiere Little Orphan Danny, a musical memoir from Dan Finnerty about what it means to be a good son. This surprisingly touching and irreverently funny show is for everyone out there who has a mother. Julie Foldesi, a veteran Broadway actor who recently appeared in Sunday in the Park with George with Jake Gyllenhaal, plays, among many roles, Dan's birth mother and adoptive mother. The show is Music Directed by Dan Lipton, who was recently the Associate Music Director for Sting's The Last Ship on Broadway.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD, the adaptation of Tony and Pulitzer Prize nominee Anna Deavere Smith's acclaimed one-woman show of the same name, will debut SATURDAY, FEB. 24 on HBO.

Village Theatre is excited to announce the World Premiere of String, a brand-new story with a mythological twist by award-winners Sarah Hammond (book), and Adam Gwon (music & lyrics), and direction by Brandon Ivie.  A fun and fresh fable about fate, love, and the imperfections that make us human, String is an original story about three sisters - goddesses known as the Fates - who are responsible for spinning, measuring, and snipping the String of Life. After falling out of favor with Zeus, they find themselves banished to a modern skyscraper in the mortal world. But when the eldest sister falls in love, the very fabric of the universe begins to unravel. "We are thrilled to have such a sophisticated show premiering on our stage," said Ivie. "This show is very intimate, but also deals with understanding our place in the universe and what it means to be human. It's a show about Gods, but they deal with the same things we do - sisterhood, love, loss. We know our audiences are going to connect with these characters on a deep emotional level."

Artists Rep presents the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner Between Riverside and Crazy, by Stephen Adly Guirgis. The play is directed by Adriana Baer and runs from March 4 through April 1 on the theatre's Alder Stage.

F*It Club, the New York Innovative Award-winning film and theatre company, continues its annual series of short, commissioned world-premiere plays at the IRT Theater as part of their 3B Development Series in Manhattan's West Village with The Spring Fling: Chemistry, seven new short plays by Mario Correa (Tail! Spin!), Jahna Ferron-Smith (Ensemble Studio Theatre's Youngblood), Jon Kern (Modern Terrorism), Dan McCabe (Christina Martinez), Mara Nelson-Greenberg (Do You Feel Anger?), Erica Saleh (Channel Zero, Wisdom of the Crowd) and Amy Staats (Eddie and Dave).