Shakespeare & Company News

Manhattan's All-Female Shakespeare Company, presents Twelfth Night (Or What You Will), for their Free Shakespeare in the ParkS 2013 summer season. Manhattan Shakespeare Project provides an opportunity for female actors to play traditionally male roles as well as an opportunity to break into the male dominated theater industry in directing, producing, writing, and stage production. The play, directed by Reesa Graham, tells the story of the hilarious, slap-stick love triangle that forms when shipwrecked Viola (who, to survive in hostile foreign lands, dresses up as boy) falls in love with the lord Orsino, who in turn is in love with the Countess Olivia, who seems to have fallen in love with Viola's male persona! Performances are free to the public and will be held at Summit Rock, Central Park May 30, 31 June 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, St. Nicholas Park, Harlem June 13, 14, Prospect Park Music Pagoda, Brooklyn June 21, 22, 23, and Sunset Park, Brooklyn June 27, 28, 29, 30. All performances are at 6:00pm.

The Tony Award nominated MATILDA THE MUSICAL and the Scripps National Spelling Bee both celebrate the power of words, learning and education. The Bee will open with a segment shot on stage at Broadway's Shubert Theatre featuring a monologue performed by Tony Award nominated Bertie Carvel as the terrifying Miss Trunchbull. The monologue was penned by MATILDA THE MUSICAL's Tony nominated book writer, Dennis Kelly.

Winner of a record-breaking seven Olivier Awards including Best Musical, Matilda The Musical is more than a show, it's a phenomenon. Based on the beloved novel by best-selling author Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr. Fox), Matilda The Musical is the story of an extraordinary girl who dreams of a better life. Armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, Matilda dares to take a stand and change her destiny. Watch the video below - and follow along with Tim Minchin's lyrics to the song 'Loud' from Matilda the Musical!

Performances begin in just five weeks for the third annual Next Up, continuing Steppenwolf Theatre Company's commitment to Chicago's next generation of theater artists. Next Up features three productions presented in rotating repertory, in collaboration with Northwestern University's MFA programs in Direction and Design. Next Up 2013 showcases the work of graduates of those programs with casts of professional Chicago actors-including nine alumni of the School at Steppenwolf: Fat Pig by Neil LaBute, directed by David Prete; The Drunken City by Adam Bock, directed by Johnny Michael DiResta; and The Internationalist by Anne Washburn, directed by Erin Murray.

'I'm going to enjoy this acting business!' - Owain Arthur, star of the hit show ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS knew he was in the right business from a young age. In town for the Melbourne season of the smash National Theatre production, we put our 'This is your Brain' questions to him and find out just how he came to that conclusion!

Closing African-American Shakespeare Company's 2012-13 season is William Shakespeare's THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, directed by Becky Kemper. THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR reunites audiences with the ever-merry, ever-scheming character Sir John Falstaff from Shakespeare's history plays King Henry IV, Part 1 and King Henry IV, Part 2, this time at the center of a comedy of his own. THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR plays May 4 through May 26 (press opening: May 4) at the Buriel Clay Theater at the African American Art and Culture Complex in San Francisco.

Artistic Director Tony Simotes and Shakespeare & Company are pleased to present celebrated playwright Terrance McNally's powerful Master Class,officially kicking off its 36th Performance Season. This riveting production directed by Daniel Gidron stars Elliot Norton and IRNE award-winning actress Annette Miller as Maria Callas. Master Class runs from May 24th through August 18th in S&Co.'s Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre.

Further casting has been announced for the four new in-house productions which will make up the 2013 Summer Season Theatre Royal Bath.

Artistic Director Tony Simotes and Shakespeare & Company will present celebrated playwright Terrence McNally's powerful Master Class, officially kicking off its 36th Performance Season. This riveting production directed by Daniel Gidron stars Elliot Norton and IRNE award-winning actress Annette Miller as Maria Callas. Master Class runs from today, May 24th through August 18th in S&Co.'s Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre.

To conclude its 45th season, Berkeley Repertory Theatre welcomes back a pair of acclaimed collaborators: Sarah Ruhl and Les Waters, the creators of Eurydice, Three Sisters, and In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), return to Berkeley Rep with another tale of love and longing in Dear Elizabeth.

Celebrating the 80th birthday of playwright and novelist David Storey, the first London production in over 30 years - and the first production in London since the original National Theatre production- David Storey's Early Days plays at the Finborough Theatre for a limited run of nine Sunday and Monday evening and Tuesday matinee performances from Sunday, 16 June 2013 (Press Night: Monday 17 June 2013 at 7.30pm).

MATILDA THE MUSICAL will be featured on WNBC TV's "News 4 New York at 5" tomorrow Friday May 24 when the four girls who share the title role (Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon and Milly Shapiro) speak to Erika Tarantal about making their Broadway debut in the blockbuster show. News 4 New York at 5 airs on Channel 4 in the New York metropolitan area. The feature will be rebroadcast over the weekend and be available online.

The Brewing Dept. is proud to present Jenny Vallancourt's new play The Living Room, directed by Thomas Kapusta, as part of the 5th Annual Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. The Festivity will take place May 30 through June 24 at the Gene Frankel and Robert Moss Theatres. The Living Room will play in the Gene Frankel Theatre June 8 through June 22.

Connecticut's premier outdoor Shakespeare will present As You Like It, June 13-30, 2013. The show is one of Shakespeare's most beloved and pastoral comedies. Claire Shannon Kelly, currently the Director of Youth Programming for Shakespeare on the Sound and the director of the company's touring educational program, 'Speaking Daggers,' will direct. Kelly previously worked at the Ordway Theater, the Guthrie Theater, the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and the George Street Playhouse. She is a resident of New Canaan.

This June, Park Avenue Armory unveils a new large-scale installation and video project by artist Paul McCarthy, considered among the most provocative and influential voices in the international art world today. Drawing inspiration from the 19th-century German fairytale Snow White and McCarthy's ongoing exploration of American myths and icons, WS takes over the Armory's Wade Thompson Drill Hall from June 19 through August 4, 2013, and marks the Armory's seventh major visual art installation to date.

59E59 Theaters will present the US premiere of DIRTY GREAT LOVE STORY, written and rhymed by Richard Marsh and Katie Bonna, and directed by Pia Furtado. Produced by Polly Ingham Productions and Tim Johanson Productions in association with Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, DIRTY GREAT LOVE STORY begins performances on Tuesday, June 11 for a limited engagement through Sunday, June 30.

The Atlanta Shakespeare Company at The New American Shakespeare Tavern presents Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead in repertory with Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, directed by Jeff McKerley will run tonight, May 25, 26, 31 & June 2, 6, 8, 14, 16, 20, 22, 2013.

The Serbian-American scientist Nikola Tesla most known for inventing the rotating magnetic field and production and distribution of electrical energy based on the use of alternate currents has become more prominent over the years through museums and other art forms.