Stephen MacDonald News

Mamma Mia! is packed with 22 ABBA hits, including “Dancing Queen,” “Super Trouper,” “Take A Chance on Me,” and “The Winner Takes It All.” This worldwide mega hit will have audiences shouting “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” more!

Blackeyed Theatre have today announced that their highly acclaimed production of Not About Heroes by Stephen MacDonald, which the company toured and filmed in 2014, will be premiered online on Friday 25 June at 8pm (UK time).

It's probably just a coincidence, but two fine plays currently running at two award-winning regional theaters share an unusual commonality. Both focus on the issue of white privilege and the prevailing attitude that acknowledging its existence will end it. In THE THANKSGIVING PLAY at Lyric Stage Company of Boston, the idea is to honor Native Americans in an elementary school play without benefit of any of them participating. In ADMISSIONS, receiving its Boston premiere at SpeakEasy Stage Company, a couple of white liberal educators work hard to expand racial diversity at their small New England prep school, but their progressive values are tested when their exceptional son's Ivy League dreams are derailed. Remarkably, there are no indigenous people or people of color on stage in either production, an intentional, pointed omission by the playwrights.

From October 25 to November 30, 2019, SpeakEasy Stage Company will present the New England premiere of ADMISSIONS, the winner of the 2018 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play.

Just in time for LGBTQ Pride Month, and on the cusp of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, SpeakEasy Stage Company presents the New England premiere of the Off-Broadway musical THE VIEW UPSTAIRS in the Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts. Inspired by a little-known historical event, Max Vernon pays tribute to '70s gay culture and the victims of the firebombing of the UpStairs Lounge in the French Quarter of New Orleans in 1973. Although 32 people perished (the deadliest assault on a gay bar prior to the 2016 shooting at the Pulse nightclub which killed 49 people), Vernon's book and score focus on the personalities of the archetypal characters, the challenges they faced in that era, and the strong ties they forged to make a life in the homosexual community.

Director Tim Baker concludes his national tour of Stephen Macdonald's Not About Heroes at Wilton's Music Hall. The play, which details the strong friendship between Wilfred Owen and Siegfriend Sassoon, has been acclaimed worldwide since its debut in 1982.

Wilton's Music Hall today announces its stunning autumn season, which sees collaborations with forward-thinking theatre companies, era-defining playwrights and prestigious institutions. Continuing what has been an incredible year of theatre for Europe's oldest music hall, this new season is set to be the best yet.

Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre has announced that their production of Not About Heroes has been selected to perform at the ACANSA Arts Festival in Little Rock, AR, September 21 and 22, 2017.

Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre has announced that their production of Not About Heroes has been selected to perform at the ACANSA Arts Festival in Little Rock, AR, September 21 and 22, 2017.

Not About Heroes premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe 35 years ago. This extraordinary play is set at Craiglockhart Hospital in 1917, where two poets bonded over a mutual hatred of war and love of poetry. When staged by the same director at Theatr Clwyd, the production won Best Actor at the Wales Theatre Awards for Daniel Llewelyn Williams, who reprises his role as Sassoon alongsideIestyn Arwel as Owen.

Out of a sense of homegrown spirit and pride, Nickel City Opera enlisted the 27 time ASCAP award winning composer, Persis Vehar to set a libretto to music based on the assassination of President William McKinley at the 1901 Pan American Exposition by Polish-American dissident and self proclaimed anarchist Leon Czolgosz. Commissioned by Dr. Judith Wolf and written by librettist Gabrielle Vehar, 'SHOT!' dramatizes the events before, during and after President McKinley's death providing the flavor of Buffalo in 1901 including actual songs that were written about the Pan American Exposition and its' relationship to Buffalo.

MACHA Theatre Co. and Treehouse Productions present the Tony Nominated and awarding winning Broadway play NEXT FALL in its 2015-1016 season. Written by Geoffrey Nauffts. NEXT FALL is about two gay men in a committed relationship with a twist, with one, Luke, being devoutly religious and the other, Adam, an atheist. The play revolves around their five-year relationship and how they make it work despite their differences. However, an accident changes everything. NEXT FALL paints a beautiful and funny portrait of modern romance, asking the hard questions about commitment, love, and faith. Directed by Robin Long.

The Tron Theatre is delighted to announce its Autumn/Winter 2015 season, a strong programme of new work as well as adaptations of classic texts, and with familiar faces and visiting companies alongside emergent talent and new voices in the sector. Highlights will include:

The two-person play Not About Heroes opened Friday November 14 at the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre in Kansas City, Mo. Due to technical difficulties the opening of the play was delayed a week from November 6. Bob Paisley, a founding member of the theater, directs the thought provoking dramatic World War I piece. Audiences that view the two-act drama as poetry in motion will insure themselves of a very entertaining evening.

In Autumn 2014 Blackeyed Theatre Company tours Stephen MacDonald's Not About Heroes to over forty theatres across the UK . Marking the centenary of the beginning of The First World War, this major revival of MacDonald's play, about the poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, performs from 10 September until 6 December 2014.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, one of the nation's leading classic theatres, is proud to announce this year's exciting lineup of play titles for their Lend Us Your Ears Reading Series which offers audiences the opportunity to join Shakespeare Theatre directors, actors, and artistic staff as they explore diverse and compelling plays.

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will present a reading of Stephen MacDonald's drama about the real-life friendship of two World War I soldier poets, NOT ABOUT HEROES, at 7 p.m. Monday, March 24. The reading is being offered in collaboration with the Cincinnati Remembers World War I series, the Cincinnati Opera's citywide series of events in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the onset of World War I.

59E59 Theaters presents the US premiere of THE BOAT FACTORY, written by Dan Gordon and directed by Philip Crawford, coming to Brits Off Broadway direct from the Grand Opera House, Belfast. Produced by Happenstance Theatre Company, THE BOAT FACTORY began previews on Tuesday, June 4 for a limited engagement through Sunday, June 30. Opening Night is Sunday, June 9 at 7:15 PM. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) is thrilled to announce the US premiere of THE BOAT FACTORY, written by Dan Gordon and directed by Philip Crawford, coming to Brits Off Broadway direct from the Grand Opera House, Belfast. Produced by Happenstance Theatre Company, THE BOAT FACTORY begins previews on Tuesday, June 4 for a limited engagement through Sunday, June 30. Opening Night is Sunday, June 9 at 7:15 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:15 PM; Friday at 8:15 PM; Saturday at 2:15 PM & 8:15 PM; Sunday at 3:15 PM & 7:15 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). The single ticket price is $35 ($24.50 for 59E59 Members). Tickets are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online at www.59e59.org. For more information, visit www.britsoffbroadway.com.

Gary Naylor finds that 2010 is not the only year in which young countrymen are stuck fighting over barren land without a end in sight.