The Geffen Playhouse News

'I see THE LION very much about what it was like for me to turn thirty, about how I became myself. When I began writing the show, in 2012, I was very much the-son-to-the-father. As of now, in London 2022, my wife and I are expecting our second child, a son. When I performed THE LION one last time (Southwark Playhouse, May 2022), it was the first and only time I've performed the show as a father. During that performance, I understood the character of 'Dad' in a very different way. I also realized that young-writer-me wrote Dad and Cancer as very similar characters; quasi-mythical external forces that controlled Ben and couldn't be reasoned with.'

The East West Players presents the rolling world premiere of Interstate, an Asian-American pop-rock poetry musical (opened last week). Jesca Prudencio directs the cast of Jupiter Lê, Kristian Espiritu, Jaya Joshi, Michelle Noh, Reuben Uy, Stefan Miller, Natalie Holt MacDonald and Krystle Simmons. Jesca took some time between her two productions to answer a few of my queries.

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts presents the regional premiere of Los Angeles playwright Liza Powel O’Brien’s Apostrophe. Developed at the 2020 Ojai Playwrights Conference, the play runs June 10-25, 2022 on the WICA Mainstage.

Signature Theatre, which makes an extended commitment to producing a playwright's body of work, announces its 2022 Gala in the sweeping lobby of its own Frank Gehry-designed home, The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street).

Geffen Playhouse celebrated its 25th Anniversary and raised $1 million for the theater’s education, community engagement and artistic initiatives at its signature Backstage at the Geffen annual fundraiser held June 4, it was announced today. 

Set in a hotel room on a mission trip to Thailand, MAN OF GOD four high school girls must grapple with the possibility of their Pastor being a sexual predator. Read our BWW critic's review.

The Green Room 42 has announced their June line-up for in-person performances. Located inside YOTEL Times Square (570 Tenth Avenue, Fourth Floor), The Green Room 42 is Broadway's newest and most spacious cabaret club.

Matthew López will adapt The Deviant’s War: The Homosexual vs. The United States of America into a limited series. The book tells the story of Frank Kameny, a Department of Defense astronomer in the 1950s who led the fight for LGBTQ civil rights in America when he sued the federal government after being fired from his job for being gay.

Bay Street Theater & Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is pleased to share production photos of Windfall, the first show of the 2022 Mainstage Season. The new comedy by Scooter Pietsch, directed by Jason Alexander, will make its East Coast premiere this week on Tuesday, May 31, and runs through June 19.

Torrance Theatre Company closed the 2021-202 season with The Legend of Georgia McBride written by acclaimed and award-winning playwright Matthew Lopez.

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents 'THE FUNCTION: A Queer Juneteenth Concert Celebration.' The two time Gold Anthem Award winning March On Broadway team reunites to bring you 'THE FUNCTION;' A queer centered concert celebration of the powerful black history that is Juneteenth, featuring black Broadway, TV, and Recording Stars from across the gamut.

The Fountain Theatre is launching its new “Jazz at the Fountain” summer series on its outdoor stage with a one-night only performance by Billboard chart-topping vocalist Billy Valentine. Joining Valentine for an evening of cool jazz on a hot summer night is Grammy® award-winning saxophonist Tom Scott, and more.

Viral singer-TikTok vocal coach Cheryl Porter, American Idol alum Pia Toscano, actor and TikTok star Chris Olsen, and Prince Khemuni Norodom of the Cambodian Royal Family have been announced to lead 1660 Vine, a new movie musical that will stream online ahead of its targeted 2024 Broadway debut.

Geffen Playhouse announced the full cast for its world premiere production of A Wicked Soul in Cherry Hill, written by Matt Schatz (The Door You Never Saw Before, The Burdens) and directed by Mike Donahue (The Legend of Georgia McBride, Little Shop of Horrors).

Part ritual, part therapy, part queer kiki session, Songs About Anxiety 2.0 is a concert  performance full of anecdotes and original music from afrolatinx actor, writer and Anthem Award winning activist  Jaime Cepero. Audiences should come prepared to laugh, to dance, and to align all they chakras. Featuring  special guests from all across the TV, broadway, and recording artist gamut. 

Criminal Genius - a one act play, is the third play in George F. Walker's six part 'Suburban Motel Series.' Walker is one of Canada’s most prolific playwrights and is also one of the most widely produced Canadian Dramatists both in Canada and internationally. The show is produced by Jim Grollman, directed by Steve Rankin, and stars Jim Grollman. Scott Krinsky, Dagney Kerr, Debra Sullivan, and Fred Sanders.

  Seattle Rep today announced a second round of its large-scale playwright commission project, 20x30: Reimagining the Anthropocene, in which the organization has commissioned three playwrights in an effort to plants seeds for the future of the industry.

New York Stage and Film, will return July 9-August 7 for five weeks of in-person programming in Poughkeepsie for their 2022 Summer Season. 

Williamstown Theatre Festival has announced two special events for the 2022 summer season, an extension of Man of God due to popular demand, dates and programming for the Fridays@3 reading series, as well as creative teams and casting for Man of God, Most Happy in Concert, and we are continuous. 

New York Stage and Film returns July 9-August 7 for five weeks of in-person programming in Poughkeepsie for their 2022 Summer Season.  For 38 years, NYSAF has operated as a vital incubator for artists and their work, a catalyst for stories that continue across the country and around the world.  All tickets are $25 and go on sale June 1.