Sophocles News

Props and Costumes are the high points. The playwright should reread Huck Finn

This September, the Getty Museum and Chicago-based Court Theatre present Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulis, the twelfth annual outdoor theatrical production in the Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Theater at the Getty Villa. Directed by Charles Newell, artistic director of Court Theatre, and translated by Nicholas Rudall, founding artistic director of Court Theatre, Iphigenia in Aulis was first presented in 2014 at Court Theatre in Chicago and will be reimagined for the Getty's production.

NYC Department of Veteran's Services Public Artist in Residence (PAIR) Bryan Doerries and Theater of War Productions  will engage diverse audiences in a meditation on racism, violence, and social justice by bringing together leading actors for a dramatic reading of scenes from Sophocles' Antigone-an ancient Greek tragedy exploring what takes place when personal conviction and the law clash, and violence ensues. The readings are accompanied by a gospel choir performance of original music by Philip Woodmore performed by an ensemble that includes police officers, local educators, and community members from Ferguson and St. Louis, MO and Brooklyn, NY. Gathering victims of violence, concerned citizens, members of faith communities, and the general public, the event culminates in an open facilitated discussion to create a dialogue between these communities and foster compassion, understanding, and positive action, while helping them heal from their personal experiences with violence in their neighborhoods. 

NYC Department of Veteran's Services Public Artist in Residence (PAIR) Bryan Doerries and Theater of War Productions will engage diverse audiences in a meditation on racism, violence, and social justice by bringing together leading actors from The Wire for a dramatic reading of scenes from Sophocles' Antigone - an ancient Greek tragedy exploring what takes place when personal conviction and the law clash, and violence ensues - in an event called 'Antigone in Ferguson' at Howard Playground, connected to BPL's Brownsville Branch, on today, July 15, 2017 from 7:00 - 8:45 p.m.

City Lit Theater's 38th season will embrace Chicago's first look in a century at an Irish classic, a rarely done Pulitzer winner performed by a non-traditional cast composed entirely of women over 55, a new adaptation by a three-time Jeff-winning adapter of one of the great 19th Century novels, setting its story in a new time and place; and theCity Lit debuts of both the world's first playwright and Chicago's most esteemed translator, retelling an ancient myth through a cast of human actors and life-sized puppets.

The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and Department of Veterans' Services today announced new projects as part of Bryan Doerries' evolving two-year appointment as a NYC Public Artist in Residence (PAIR), a City initiative to enhance civic services through artistic practice. Expanding on their current work through PAIR of presenting theater projects to nurture a deeper understanding of issues facing veterans, Doerries and his company, Theater of War Productions, will partner with City agencies and community organizations-including the Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence (OCDV) and the Mayor's Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety-to present new projects that address domestic violence, neighborhood violence, homelessness, and more. Working with veterans, military, and civilian communities, the company will also continue to broaden programs focused on veterans' affairs, police and community relations, racial injustice, gun violence, and mental health.

Are you ready for a drink...and an evening of live performance? Juniper Productions has commissioned four of Philadelphia's most innovative playwrights, Alisha Adams, Josh A. Campbell, Mark Costello, and Bill D'Agostino, to premiere sweet, savory, and spicy works as part of the company's inaugural theatrical experience, #CocktailPlays.

San Diego Repertory Theatre (San Diego REP) has announced final casting for "Roz & Ray," the second offering of its 42nd season.

Performed amid a gorgeous, bucolic setting, the latest offering from Nashville's KB Productions - a retelling of Theresa Rebeck's Greek tragedy cum American family drama The Water's Edge - is performed upon what may be the most detailed, stunningly conceived and beautifully realized set ever seen on the stage of the iconic Darkhorse Theater. Designed by director Jaymes Campbell and crafted by a construction crew led by Joe Stinemetz, it provides an evocative backdrop for the action (or lack thereof) in Rebeck's much-maligned play, ideally capturing the physical trappings of a somewhat down-on-its-heels lakeside cottage where tragedy lurks behind every tree.

Atlantic Theater Company will present Asian American Mixfest, a series of free readings co-produced by playwrights Lloyd Suh and Qui Nguyen that will run Wednesday, August 9 through Thursday, August 17 at Atlantic Stage 2 (330 West 16th Street).

NYC Department of Veteran's Services Public Artist in Residence (PAIR) Bryan Doerries and Theater of War Productions  will engage diverse audiences in a meditation on racism, violence, and social justice by bringing together leading actors for a dramatic reading of scenes from Sophocles' Antigone-an ancient Greek tragedy exploring what takes place when personal conviction and the law clash, and violence ensues. The readings are accompanied by a gospel choir performance of original music by Philip Woodmore performed by an ensemble that includes police officers, local educators, and community members from Ferguson and St. Louis, MO and Brooklyn, NY. Gathering victims of violence, concerned citizens, members of faith communities, and the general public, the event culminates in an open facilitated discussion to create a dialogue between these communities and foster compassion, understanding, and positive action, while helping them heal from their personal experiences with violence in their neighborhoods. 

Single (non-subscription) tickets for San Francisco Opera's 2017 Fall Season at the War Memorial Opera House go on sale Monday, June 26, 2017, at 10 a.m. Tickets may be purchased online at sfopera.com; in-person at the San Francisco Opera Box Office, located at 301 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco and open Mondays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and by phone at (415) 864-3330 during Box Office hours. Full and Half Series subscription packages are also available. Tickets for the three cycles of Wagner's Ring during the summer of 2018 are available as complete, four-opera cycles only.

Poet Gary Beck's new collection Virtual Living is a revealing glimpse of how our relationship with the world around us is an ever-evolving experience.

Poet Gary Beck's new collection Virtual Living is a revealing glimpse of how our relationship with the world around us is an ever-evolving experience.

Northern Broadsides and the playwright, poet and novelist Blake Morrison are set to once again join forces, this time to stage the World premiere of For Love or Money, Morrison's new adaptation of Alain-Rene Lesage's rarely performed eighteenth-century comedy Turcaret. 

Under the auspices of GRoW @ The Wallis, The Wallis Youth Theater Company presents its second theater production of the 2016-17 season, playwright Gareth Jandrell's Thebes, which makes its North American premiere on Saturday, June 10 at 8pm and Sunday, June 11 at 6pm at The Wallis in Beverly Hills. Ravaged by climate change and shaken by political turmoil, the citizens of Thebes must unite in order to revolutionize their democracy. From Oedipus to Antigone, the story of Thebes  remains a fascinating exploration of fate, morality and power, two and a half thousand years after the saga was originally written. Thebes is directed by Madeleine Dahm, with lighting design by Bosco Flanagan, recently named Lighting Designer of the Year by Los Angeles' Stage Raw. The cast includes young actors: Trecey Dory, Malakai Jones, Jayde Kief, Samantha Marino, Kelvin Morales, Jordan Rodriguez, Alexander Sheldon and Clementine Turner.

This Fleet Week, NYC's Public Artist in Residence (PAIR) Bryan Doerries and Theater of War Productions bring together leading actors Zach Grenier, Kathryn Erbe, and Reg E. Cathey in a dramatic reading of scenes from Sophocles' Philoctetes, an ancient Greek tragedy about a hero who is abandoned on a deserted island on account of a mysterious chronic illness.

Silas Weir Mitchell and Dana Green star in Constellations - playwright Nick Payne's exploration of love in the multiverse - opening at The Armory on May 19, with preview performances beginning May 13, and regular performances running through June 11. Portland Center Stage at The Armory's Artistic Director Chris Coleman will direct this multifaceted love story. Silas Weir Mitchell, who starred as the beloved Blutbad Monroe in NBC's six-season series Grimm, will play the beekeeper Roland. Dana Green, who was last seen at The Armory in Great Expectations and was also featured on Grimm as the Wesen Mabel Kurlon in season four, will play Roland's love interest, the physicist Marianne.

Gloucester Stage Company kicks off its 38th season of professional theater on Cape Ann with the New England Premiere of John Kolvenbach's Bank Job from May 19 through June 10 at 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA. For two brothers, Russell and Tracey, new to the armed robbery industry, what seems like easy money turns out to be a lot more difficult than it looks in the movies in John Kolvenbach's hilarious Bank Job. When heist plans A and B (and C through F) fail, the brothers find themselves locked in the executive bathroom with no way out and no choice but to depend on a brave bank teller, a guileless cop, and the man in the shadows who put them up to the whole thing. A fun comedy, Bank Job is about the holes we dig ourselves into-and the unexpected comrades we trust to dig us out. Directed by GSC Artistic Director Robert Walsh and featuring GSC veterans Johnny Lee Davenport, Nael Nacer, Richard McElvain and Paul Melendy and GSC newcomer Shuyi Jia..

Ars Nova has announced the line-up for its 10th Annual ANT Fest (June 5-29), four non-stop, throw-down weeks of live entertainment mayhem, featuring fresh material from the next wave of dynamic, indie-theater makers. All New Talent, all the time.