The American Conservatory Theatre News

YPHIL - International Philharmonic Orchestra brings together 100 young talented musicians from 74 countries to represent their countries through music in Seven Epic Concerts, which will conclude with a concert for Global Peace on Isaac Stern Auditorium/Ronald O. Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall during United Nations week.

Crowded Fire Theater (CFT) is pleased to announce the cast and creative team and dates for the American Premiere of TRUCK STOP by Lachlan Philpott, opening Monday October 5, 8 pm running through October 24 at the Thick House in San Francisco's Potrero Hill. Directed by Marilee Talkington, this production marks Lachlan Philpott's first fully produced play in the United States. Philpott is an award-winning playwright in Australia whose plays have been extensively developed at American theaters including San Francisco's ACT, Crowded Fire Theater and the Magic.

Daniel Beaty, the multiple award winning writer & performer of Emergency and Through the Night returns to Omaha this month with Mr. Joy. Beloved characters from Emergency return with new stories to tell along with a host of new players. Mr. Joy is a Chinese American immigrant who has run a shoe shop in the heart of Harlem for the past 25 years when an unexpected occurrence causes several of his customers to reflect on the impact he has had on their lives through their shoes. What has happened to this community's joy and what will it take to reclaim it? Using Beaty's signature blend of comedy, poetry, music, and multi-character transformation, Mr. Joy is a hilarious and heart-warming exploration of one community's journey to heal in order to dream again and discover boundless joy.

Join one-of-a-kind mother, Rose, and her two talented daughters as they search for fame in Pittsburgh CLO's production of GYPSY, tonight, July 10, through July 19 at the Benedum Center. This entertaining musical is complete with memorable performances, mother-daughter struggles and the hardships of show business life, all while set during the infamous vaudeville era.

Crowded Fire Theater (CFT) is pleased to announce the creative team and dates for the American Premiere of TRUCK STOP by Lachlan Philpott, opening Monday October 5, 8 pm running through October 24 at the Thick House in San Francisco's Potrero Hill. Directed by Marilee Talkington, this production marks Lachlan Philpott's first fully produced play in the United States. Philpott is an award-winning playwright in Australia whose plays have been extensively developed at American theaters including San Francisco's ACT, Crowded Fire Theater and the Magic.

Join one-of-a-kind mother, Rose, and her two talented daughters as they search for fame in Pittsburgh CLO's production of GYPSY, July 10-19 at the Benedum Center. This entertaining musical is complete with memorable performances, mother-daughter struggles and the hardships of show business life, all while set during the infamous vaudeville era.

Morgan Spector (“Boardwalk Empire”) has signed on to star in the USA Network pilot, PARADISE PICTURES. 

New York Arts Executive Jean Davidson, who has been affiliated with some of the country's most innovative and successful arts organizations, has been named President & CEO of the Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC), the nation's largest professional chorus and Walt Disney Concert Hall resident chorus led by Artistic Director Grant Gershon and heralded around the globe for its unparalleled artistry, announces LAMC Chair David Gindler. She assumes the post on August 31, 2015. Davidson has served since 2011 as Executive Director & CEO of New York Live Arts, an internationally acclaimed interdisciplinary performing arts center under the artistic direction of Bill T. Jones. Guiding its phenomenal growth and success since its inception, she was instrumental in leading the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company through its merger with Dance Theater Workshop to create New York Live Arts, a new model of artist-led, producing and presenting arts organization unique in the United States. Today New York Live Arts, noted for commissioning cutting-edge new works, its vibrant community partnerships and as home base for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, presents more than 100 performances annually in its theater and studios inside its 20,000-square-foot facility in Chelsea, operating with a $5.8 million budget. Davidson is cited for her forward-thinking management style, fostering artistic innovation, developing and expanding creative partnerships with disparate educational and cultural organizations, and overseeing tremendous revenue development and programmatic growth. She previously served as Executive Director of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in New York City for six years prior to the merger, when the company launched two successful initiatives entitled Partners in Creation and Partners in Education; Managing Director of The Silk Road Project, Inc., a non-profit arts and cultural organization founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma which during her tenure commissioned 25 chamber works, launched a worldwide tour, released three recordings; and Production Administrator for the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Davidson replaces LAMC President & CEO Terry Knowles, who steps down at the end of the season following a tremendously successful 15-year tenure with the chorus, during which time the Chorale experienced unsurpassed financial and artistic growth, toured around the world to critical acclaim, released six commercial CDs, created a recording partnership with Decca Classics, and twice received the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming as well as Chorus America's prestigious Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, the nation's highest choral music award. Davidson's appointment comes at a critical time in the Chorale's history, as it is poised to launch its 52nd season and a new period of strategic growth. The national executive search for Knowles' successor was led by Arts Consulting Group, the leading provider of executive search and other services for the arts and culture industry.

Bay Area Cabaret, the organization dedicated to presenting world renowned artists who expand the definition of cabaret, presents the concert debut of rising musical theatre star Bobby Conte Thornton.

EXIT Theatre will host the World Premiere of RISE, the newest work by writer/performer Scott Barry, known locally for Solo Gig Squared, the critically lauded solo show about his time as a draft-pick for the San Francisco 49ers.

Cultural partners Jacob's Pillow Dance and MASS MoCA present KEIGWIN + COMPANY, this weekend, April 11 at 8pm and April 12 at 3pm at the Hunter Center.

This Spring at New Conservatory Theatre Center, it's the end of an era and a battle of the sexes, with the San Francisco Premiere of a sumptuous and wildly theatrical comedic drama, Compleat Female Stage Beauty by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Founder & Artistic Director Ed Decker.

EXIT Theatre will host the World Premiere of RISE, the newest work by writer/performer Scott Barry, known locally for Solo Gig Squared, the critically lauded solo show about his time as a draft-pick for the San Francisco 49ers.

Cultural partners Jacob's Pillow Dance and MASS MoCA present KEIGWIN + COMPANY, April 11 at 8pm and April 12 at 3pm at the Hunter Center.

Daniel Beaty gives a tour-de-force performance, playing up to 40 characters in The Tallest Tree in the Forest, a solo play, which he also wrote. It tells the life story of Paul Robeson, a towering figure among our nation's prominent African-Americans. Renowned director Moises Kaufman returns to BAM (The Laramie Project, 2013 Winter/Spring) to direct this show which has delighted and enlightened audiences from Kansas City, to LA, La Jolla, and Washington, DC. The show runs Mar 22-29, 2015.

Show Choir! - The Musical is a melodious mockumentary about America's favorite teen pastime...with jazz hands. This original musical comedy by Mark McDaniels and Donald Garverick has been developing in New York City since 2006, including an award winning production at the 2007 New York International Fringe Festival and a sold out run at the 2010 New York Musical Theatre Festival. Show Choir! also received acclaimed productions at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and The American Conservatory Theatre - San Francisco in 2012.

Bay Area Cabaret presents the concert debut of newcomer Bobby Conte Thornton at 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, 2015.

The Board of Directors of Little Lake Theatre Company (www.littlelake.org) together with its Search Committee, announces that Roxy MtJoy will step into the role of Artistic Director, while Bob Rak, long-time Little Lake actor and Board member, will assume the role of Managing Director. The new management team will replace Sunny Disney Fitchett as Artistic Director and Robert Fitchett as Managing Director as they transition into their previously announced retirement on June 1, 2015. Both MtJoy and Rak will work alongside the Fitchetts to make the June transition a seamless one.

J. Robert Oppenheimer and his brother Frank battle between conscience and ambition in Irreversible, Jack Karp's gripping world-premiere drama, directed by Melanie Moyer Williams, about the physicist brothers' desperate race to beat the Nazis to the world's first atomic bomb and their confliction over its use.

In January, New Conservatory Theatre Center presents the West Coast Premiere of the sharp and timely new comedy, Harbor by Chad Beguelin, directed by NCTC Founder & Artistic Director Ed Decker. Kevin's seemingly perfect world hits troubled waters in this 'wickedly funny' play (Variety) when his ne'er-do-well sister, Donna and her teenage daughter show up unexpectedly at the Sag Harbor home he shares with his husband, Ted. This sharp and timely comedy sails through the riptides of family and the unpredictability of the lives we lead.