Signature Theatre News

The 34th Annual Helen Hayes Awards will take place on Monday, May 14, 2018 at The Anthem, the cultural center of Southwest D.C.'s new District Wharf, with a celebratory party to follow. Esteemed Washington theatre artists Michael J. Bobbitt, five-time Helen Hayes Award nominee, choreographer and Artistic Director of Adventure Theatre MTC, and Alyssa Wilmoth Keegan, recipient of last year's Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play-Hayes Production for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, will host an evening showcasing the vibrant and diverse community of professional theatre artists in the Washington region. There are 258 Helen Hayes Award nominations-selected from 202 eligible productions from 64 theatres in 2017. Tickets for the event are $100 for reserved seating and $275 for VIP premium seating. Reduced-priced tickets will be available to artists and administrators in the community at an industry rate, subsidized by Artist Supporter tickets. All tickets are now available for purchase through the theatreWashington website.

The Horse in Motion announces their upcoming production, an immersive multi-room staging of Hamlet in the historic Stimson-Green Mansion.

Yale Repertory Theatre (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) presents KISS by Guillermo Calderon, directed by Evan Yionoulis, April 27-May 19, at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street). Opening Night is Thursday, May 3.

It's Episode #79 and we are seizing the day and sitting down with Tony Award winning Lighting Designer Jeff Croiter. Jeff has a wide ranging career and we're talking about all sorts of projects. Cory and Jeff discuss his recent design of the Big Apple Circus and how one goes about lighting jugglers, horses and the Flying Wallendas as well as his new relationship with Penn & Teller and what goes into lighting two of the most famous magicians in the world. He also discusses the prominent role lighting played in "Bandstand" and how he got 75 old fresnels to change color all night long and of course we're talking about the genesis of his design for "Peter and the Starcatcher" and how it has become a genre of design in itself.

The Tank (Meghan Finn and Rosalind Grush, Artistic Directors), The Renovationists, and Parity Productions will co-present the World Premiere of Corbin Went's OLD NAMES FOR WILDFLOWERS, directed by Emma Rosa Went at The Tank

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.

National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, celebrates the opening of the Rolling World Premiere of Br'er Cotton by Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm at Cleveland Public Theatre.

Casting is confirmed and tickets are now on sale for the Signature Theatre (Paige Evans, Artistic Director; Harold Wolpert, Executive Director; James Houghton, Founder) production of Our Lady of 121st Street, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad. This is the second production of Guirgis' Signature residency, which began last fall with the critically-acclaimed, extended production of Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train, directed by Mark Brokaw. Our Lady of 121st Street marks Rashad's New York City directorial debut.

The Muny announced today that Grammy Award-winner Nathan Lee Graham will play the title role in The Wiz. Starring alongside Graham will be Jared Grimes as Scarecrow, Mykal Kilgore as Lion and James T. Lane as Tinman. In its first Muny staging in 36 years, The Wiz is the second production of the historic outdoor theatre's centennial season. The Wiz is directed by Denis Jones and choreographed by Camille A. Brown with music direction by Darryl Archibald. The Wiz is proudly sponsored by Wells Fargo Advisors.

In conjunction with the world premiere of The Doppelganger (an international farce) by Matthew-Lee Erlbach, Steppenwolf Theatre Company is offering four free events on select Sundays during the run of the show. Each discussion is a fun and casual chance for audience members to engage with experts on topics associated with the production. Space is limited. RSVP through Audience Services at 312.335.1650 or at steppenwolf.org.

Initial casting has been announced for The Muny's production of THE WIZ - part of their 100th season. Grammy Award winner Nathan Lee Graham will star as The Wizard, Jared Grimes will portray the scarecrow, Mykal Kilgore will ring to life the Lion, and James T. Lane will ease on down the road as the Tinman.

Rehearsals are in full swing for The 5th Avenue Theatre's production of Kiss Me, Kate, which begins performances next Friday, April 6.

Kansas City Repertory Theatre's Artistic Director, Eric Rosen, today announced the cast for SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET which closes the 2017/2018 mainstage season at KCRep. SWEENEY TODD runs March 23 - April 15 at the Spencer Theatre on the UMKC campus and will be directed by Rosen.

Broadway In Detroit is pleased to announce that the hit Broadway musical ON YOUR FEET! - based on the life story of seven-time GRAMMY winning international superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband, 19-time GRAMMY winning producer-musician-entrepreneur Emilio Estefan - will makes it's Detroit debut at the Fisher Theater, May 1 - 13, 2018. Tickets for ON YOUR FEET! start at $39 and are now on sale at all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at 800-982-2787 and online at www.broadwayindetroit.com or www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available for purchase at the Fisher Theatre box office.

Playwright Kemp Powers knew he'd found something incredible in the personal recollections of former slaves documented by a federal writers project during the Great Depression. Discovering the different voices and views in those first-person histories inspired him to learn more and write Little Black Shadows, which has its world premiere at South Coast Repertory, April 8-29, on the Julianne Argyros Stage. Directed by May Adrales, the show is part of the Pacific Playwrights Festival. Tickets are available now at www.scr.org.  

Playwrights Welcome, the nationwide free ticketing initiative created by Samuel French for Dramatists Guild of America members, is thrilled to announce that over 100 theaters have joined the program. These Participating Theaters, located in 26 states, have joined Playwrights Welcome to invest in the success and artistic health of our industry writers, and by extension, the vibrancy of the American theatre.

According to Entertainment Tonight, the long-anticipated Broadway premiere of Beaches the Musical will have to wait until after a London run. Iris Rainer Dart, who wrote the novel on which the musical is based told ET: 'We're just listening, refining, redoing and seeing which songs work and which ones don't.' 

Columbia University School of the Arts presents ten new plays written by the Columbia MFA Playwriting Students of 2018. The esteemed faculty who have nurtured these students, including Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and Charles L. Mee, invite you to experience these innovative new playwrights.

Continuing its season theme of "Off Your Rocker," The Highwood Theatre will present an all-new production of the quirky musical "Soon," opening in April. "Soon" is Highwood's 5th annual Open Source Theatre Project, and with the intent of redefining conceptions of a traditional night at the theatre, will feature two casts - one made up of talented high school students and one of adult professionals. The two  casts will rehearse together and perform in repertory, supported by a student design team and student crew.

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is pleased to announce Title Wave at Bay Street: The 5th Annual New Works Festival, May 4 - 6, 2018. All readings are free, but tickets are required, as these events typically sell out. Tickets are available now at baystreet.org or by calling the Bay Street Theater Box Office at 631-725-9500, open Tuesday through Saturday 11 am to 5 pm.