The Actors Studio News

Conceived, written and performed by LeLand Gantt with Estelle Parsons as directorial consultant, Rhapsody in Black opens in Theatre Row's Studio Theatre, 410 W. 42nd St., on Saturday, September 27th at 4pm.

The Colony Theatre will present the second production of its historic 40th Anniversary season, the West Coast Premiere of WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS by Pearl Cleage. The production stars Tony winner L. Scott Caldwell, and is directed by Saundra McClain. WHAT I LEARNED IN PARIS will preview on Wednesday, September 3; Thursday, September 4; andFriday, September 5 at 8:00pm. It will open on Saturday, September 6 at 8:00pm and continue through Sunday, October 5 at The Colony Theatre, 555 North Third Street in Burbank.

The 2014 United Solo will be presenting 'Butoh Medea,' using the Japanese dance to tell the story of 'Medea.'

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: INSIDE THE ACTOR'S STUDIO airs its Robin Williams interview tonight, Bret Shuford kicks off his 'CHARMING' tour, and GLEE's Jane Lynch announces Chicago's Jeff Award nominees this morning!

Bravo Media's 'Inside the Actors Studio' hosted by James Lipton, commemorates the life and career of legendary actor and comedian Robin Williams with a special broadcast of his appearance on the Emmy Award-winning series tonight, August 21 at 8pm ET/PT.

Georganne Aldrich Heller will present Laoisa Sexton's raw, visceral and provocative new play, THE LAST DAYS OF CLEOPATRA, a pitch black comedy set in Dublin, tonight, August 20th through September 7th at Urban Stages, 259 West 30th Street in Manhattan. The official opening is on Saturday, August 23rd at 8PM. Tim Ruddy Directs.

Bravo Media's "Inside the Actors Studio" hosted by James Lipton, commemorates the life and career of legendary actor and comedian Robin Williams with a special broadcast of his appearance

Bravo Media's “Inside the Actors Studio” hosted by James Lipton, commemorates the life and career of legendary actor and comedian Robin Williams with a special broadcast of his appearance on the Emmy Award-winning series on Thursday, August 21 at 8pm ET/PT. The episode originally aired on Sunday, June 10, 2001, and for the 250th episode of “Inside the Actors Studio,” fans chose Williams' appearance as their favorite in a poll on BravoTV.com.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association presents The Big Picture: Hitchcock!, a thrilling tribute to the groundbreaking films of Alfred Hitchcock, at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday, August 31, 2014 at 7:30 PM. Hosted by Academy award-winning actress Eva Marie Saint (On the Waterfront, North by Northwest), the evening will feature mesmerizing, haunting and psychologically gripping scores by Bernard Herrmann, Dimitri Tiomkin, Alfred Newman, Franz Waxman, Miklos Rozsa and more. Iconic scenes from such Hitchcock classics as Vertigo, Psycho, Dial M for Murder, Rebecca, Spellbound, North by Northwest and more will be projected in HD on the Hollywood Bowl's big screens while the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, conducted by David Newman, performs selections from the films' magnificent scores.

Geneva Carr: 'I haven't crested the best part of my career.'

Georganne Aldrich Heller will present Laoisa Sexton's raw, visceral and provocative new play, THE LAST DAYS OF CLEOPATRA, a pitch black comedy set in Dublin, August 20th through September 7th at Urban Stages, 259 West 30th Street in Manhattan. The official opening is on Saturday, August 23rd at 8PM. Tim Ruddy Directs. www.thelastdaysofcleopatra.com

Principal photography has begun on Screen Gems' thriller 'The Perfect Guy,' starring Sanaa Lathan ('The Best Man Holiday'), Michael Ealy ('Think Like A Man,' 'Think Like A Man 2,' 'About Last Night,' 'Seven Pounds') and Morris Chestnut ('Think Like A Man,' 'Identity Thief,' 'The Best Man Holiday'). The film also stars Charles S. Dutton ('Longmire,' 'Against the Ropes,' 'Cry the Beloved Country,' 'Alien 3'), Rutina Wesley ('True Blood') and Kathryn Morris ('Cold Case'). Directed by David M. Rosenthal ('A Single Shot,' 'Janie Jones'), the film is produced by Tommy Oliver ('1982,' 'Kinyarwanda'), Darryl Taja ('New IN Town'), Nicole Rocklin ('The Magnificent Cooly-T,' 'Middle of Nowhere') and Wendy Rhoads ('The Haunting in Connecticut,' 'Because I Said So') and will shoot on locations throughout Los Angeles.

The Collective NY has announced the official play selections for the 2014 Collective:10. Coming off of the SOLD-OUT 2013 Collective:10, the second annual C:10 was selected from over 1000 blind submissions, a record number up from last year showcasing a variety of talented writers. The 12 selected plays will be produced, directed and performed by members of the permanent ensemble and Collective colleagues, and published as part of an anthology.

Casting has been announced for the Boston engagement of Disney's The Lion King. Boston's most eagerly awaited stage production returns to the Boston Opera House stage from September 9 to October 12 as part of the 2014-2015 Lexus Broadway In Boston Season.

Chromolume Theatre has announced Bird Lives! as its next production, opening on Friday, August 15 at 8pm. Written by Willard Manus and directed by Tommy Hicks, Bird Lives! will star Montae Russell as jazz icon Charlie Parker in this solo play with music. Parker, a legendary saxophone virtuoso, ushered in a new era of jazz by pioneering bebop and influencing subsequent generations of musicians. Bird Lives! will play a strictly limited engagement through September 21 only.

Estelle Parsons, a theatre legend whose illustrious stage career spans six decades, will play a 92-year-old French matron in Palm Beach Dramaworks' production of My Old Lady by Israel Horovitz, which runs from December 5, 2014 through January 4, 2015 at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre (201 Clematis).

The National New Play Network (NNPN), the country's alliance of non-profit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, in collaboration with the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and Stanford University's National Center for New Plays, will host nearly fifty playwrights, directors and dramaturgs today, July 26 - August 3, 2014 as part of a week-long workshop for new works by MFA students from New York University-Tisch School of the Arts, Hunter College, University of California-San Diego, and the Juilliard School.

As one of the largest theatrical events in the world, The New York International Fringe Festival boasts an impressive roster of world premieres yearly. Of them, Los Angeles native Joshua Metzger's new play Sitting Shiva will see its first three dimensional presentation this August. Christopher Scott will direct the 90 minute play. The Broadway and Regional vet cast includes Eddie Boroevich*, Neal Mayer*, and Jeffery Plunkett*. The Production Stage Manager is Katy Moore*, and the production will be designed by Joan Racho-Jansen. *Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association. Sitting Shiva is an AEA-approved showcase.

Bravo Media, part of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, continues to be recognized for its high quality, original content as the network received four Primetime Emmy® Nominations from the Academy of Television Arts & Science

The Actors Studio previously announced that Academy Award, Emmy and Tony Award winner Ellen Burstyn will lead the cast in a new staging of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (translated by Jean-Claude van Itallie) at The Actors Studio (432 West 44th Street) today, July 10-21, 2014.