The Old Globe News

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Christmas weekend's big news: MAURICE HINES TAPPIN' THRU LIFE begins tonight at New World Stages, and be sure to check back with us for Broadway's holiday weekend schedule and '12 Days' countdown!

Skylight Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of FOREVER HOUSE Written by Tony Abatemarco and Directed by Elizabeth Swain Opening Saturday, January 23, 2016 at 8pm reception to follow 8:30pm Fridays, 8pm Saturdays, and 3pm Sundays through Feb 28, 2016 The Skylight Theatre is located at 1816 1/2 N. Vermont, LA, 90027

With disarming candor, wry wit and sharp self-deprecation, Nichols delivered a master class on his craft in what would be his last in-depth interviews, for BECOMING MIKE NICHOLS, debuting MONDAY, FEB. 22, exclusively on HBO, following its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

he Public Theaterannounced complete casting today for the new musical SOUTHERN COMFORT that tells the true story of a group of transgender friends living life on their own terms in the back hills of rural Georgia.  Directed by Thomas Caruso and based on the film by Kate Davis, SOUTHERN COMFORT features book and lyrics by Dan Collins and music by Julianne Wick Davis, and was conceived for the stage by Robert DuSold and Thomas Caruso. SOUTHERN COMFORT begins previews on Tuesday, February 23 and will run through Sunday, March 27 in The Public's Anspacher Theater, with an official press opening on Monday, March 7. Public Theater Member tickets and single tickets are available now.

The new musical BRIGHT STAR, from Grammy and Emmy winner Steve Martin and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, will play a limited engagement at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater from December 2, 2015 to January 10, 2016. Directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie, BRIGHT STAR will have its Kennedy Center official opening night on Thursday, December 17. BRIGHT STAR will begin performances on Broadway on Thursday, February 25, 2016 with an official Broadway opening night on Thursday, March 24 at the Cort Theatre. Carmen Cusack will make her Broadway debut as Alice, a role she originated in BRIGHT STAR's world premiere production, and will be joined by co-stars Paul Alexander Nolan, Tony Award nominee Michael Mulheren, A.J. Shively, Hannah Elless, Tony Award nominee Stephen Bogardus, three-time Tony Award nominee Dee Hoty, Stephen Lee Anderson, Emily Padgett, Tony Award nominee Jeff Blumenkrantz, along with Maddie Shea Baldwin, Allison Briner-Dardenne, Max Chernin, Patrick Cummings, Sandra DeNise, Richard Gatta, Lizzie Klemperer, Michael X. Martin, William Michals, Tony Roach, Sarah Jane Shanks, and William Youmans. Inspired by an astonishing true event, the wholly original new musical BRIGHT STAR tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the rich backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and 40s. When successful literary editor Alice Murphy meets an ambitious young soldier just home from World War II, their connection inspires Alice to confront a shocking incident from her past. Together they discover a long-buried secret with the power to transform their lives. With music and book by Steve Martin and music and lyrics by Edie Brickell, BRIGHT STAR is based on an original story by Martin and Brickell and features direction by Walter Bobbie, choreography by Josh Rhodes, scenic design by Eugene Lee, costume design by Jane Greenwood, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, hair and wig design by Tom Watson, musical supervision by Peter Asher, musical direction and vocal arrangements by Rob Berman, orchestrations by August Eriksmoen, and casting by Howie Cherpakov. BRIGHT STAR was developed and had its world premiere at The Old Globe in San Diego (Barry Edelstein, Artistic Director; Michael G. Murphy, Managing Director). BRIGHT STAR runs December 2, 2015 - January 10, 2016 in the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets starting at $45 are available on the Kennedy Center website, in-person at the Kennedy Center box office, or by calling (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324.

The Broadway revival of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF officially opens tonight, December 20, at The Broadway Theatre (1681 Broadway). Scroll down to learn more about the cast, plus watch interviews with the company!

The new musical BRIGHT STAR, from Grammy and Emmy winner Steve Martin and Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, will play a limited engagement at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater now through January 10, 2016. Directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie, BRIGHT STAR will have its Kennedy Center official opening night tonight, December 17.

The Public Theater announced complete casting today for the world premiere three-play cycle THE GABRIELS: Election Year in the Life of One Family, written and directed by Richard Nelson. Featuring the same core acting company for all three productions, Play One: HUNGRY, will begin previews on Saturday, February 27 and run through, Sunday, March 20, with an official press opening on Friday, March 4, 2016. The second play, WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?, will premiere in September and the final play in the new cycle, WOMEN OF A CERTAIN AGE, will open on election night, November 8, 2016.

59E59 Theaters will welcome the St. Louis Actors' Studio?with the NYC premiere of their acclaimed LaBUTE NEW THEATER FESTIVAL, an evening of one-act plays featuring new plays by Neil LaBute, Lexi Wolfe, Peter Grandbois & Nancy Bell, G.D. Kimble, JJ Strong, and John Doble. Directed by Milton Zoth and John Pierson, the LaBUTE NEW THEATER FESTIVAL begins performances on Wednesday, January 13 for a limited engagement through Sunday, February 7.  Press opening is Sunday, January 17 at 7:30 PM.  The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday at 8:30 PM; Saturday at 2:30 PM & 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $30 ($21 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org. 

The New York premiere of Pulitzer Prize finalist and Emmy Award nominated writer Rolin Jones and Tony Award nominee and Grammy Award winning Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong's new play with music THESE PAPER BULLETS!, directed by Jackson Gay, opens tonight, December 15, at Atlantic Theater Company.

The Old Globe today announced the complete cast and creative team for the West Coast premiere of THE METROMANIACS by supremely clever playwright David Ives (All in the Timing, Time Flies). This uproarious new 'translaptation' of a classic French farce, Alexis Piron's La Metromanie, will be directed by one of America's most renowned stage directors, Michael Kahn, presented in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Popular Broadway YouTube personality Tyler Mount recently welcomed Allegiance and RENT's Telly Leung for the latest episode of his web series, THE TYLER MOUNT VLOG. Below, catch the hilarious and seasoned professional discuss his dream job outside of the entertainment industry, his favorite musical of all time, and his solo album, SONGS FOR YOU!

Updated this week! Check out upcoming Equity Auditions from Sunday, December 13, 2015 for both productions in your area and around the country including what/when/where and how to audition!

The 93rd season of the New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts (YPCs) will begin today, December 12, 2015, at 2:00 p.m. with the program 'Fables and Folktales,' the first in this season's series, Once Upon a Time, exploring music inspired by stories, poems, and legends.

Anthony Giardina's Off-Broadway smash hit THE CITY OF CONVERSATION, about a Georgetown political hostess, makes its Washington, D.C. debut at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Following his direction of the 2014 world premiere at Lincoln Center Theater, Tony Award winner Doug Hughes returns to direct this political drama spanning three decades, from Carter's presidency through the Reagan era and ending with Obama's inauguration. THE CITY OF CONVERSATION runs January 29-March 6, 2016 in the Fichandler Stage.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley kicks off the New Year with the regional premiere of Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, a brand new work by acclaimed performer/playwright/director Hershey Felder. The inspiring story of "America's Composer" Irving Berlin takes center stage in this tour-de-force performance by virtuoso Hershey Felder, internationally acclaimed for bringing to life such composers as Gershwin, Beethoven, Chopin, and Bernstein. Fleeing the anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia, capturing the rhythms of the Lower East Side, and eventually enchanting the entire world, Berlin epitomized the American dream. Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin will be directed by Trevor Hay with performances January 13 - February 14, 2016 (press opening: January 16) at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View. For tickets ($35 -$100) and information the public may visit www.TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

The Old Globe will present WHEN IT COMES with free public workshop presentations, marking the culmination of Mike Sears's 2015 San Diego Foundation Creative Catalyst Grant. Inspired by writer Sears's real-life experiences, the piece was developed in collaboration with a team of local artists: four San Diego actors, puppetry by Animal Cracker Conspiracy (Iain Gunn and Bridget Rountree), music by Clinton Davis, and direction by Sears's wife, Lisa Berger.

As part of the eleventh edition of the COIL Festival, Performance Space 122, in partnership with Paradise Factory, present the New York premiere of The Holler Sessions, written and performed by Seattle-based performer Frank Boyd in collaboration with the TEAM.

Pittsburgh CLO is proud to announce the cast of the Pittsburgh premiere of FIRST DATE, February 4 - April 24, 2016 at the CLO Cabaret.  This inventive new version of the Broadway musical comedy was created just for Pittsburgh CLO by the original writers, Austin Winsberg, Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner.  Our cast of five will shine a hopeful spotlight on the chances we all take to fall in love through a flirtatious, funny and unexpected tale of two strangers meeting for the first time.  Audiences will [literally] surround these two would-be lovers and their band of quirky friends with brand-new and imaginative staging set to transform the CLO Cabaret into the "First Date" of your dreams.  Tickets start at $36.75 and are now available at CLOCabaret.com or by calling 412-281-2822

Created in 2011, Rhinebeck Writers Retreat received its first grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in the amount of $10,000.