The Public Theater News

The Public Theater announced today that John Lithgow, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Zachary Quinto, Martha Plimpton, Billy Porter, Jonathan Groff, Sutton Foster, Joshua Bell, Lindsay Mendez, Claybourne Elder, Krysta Rodriguez, Marissa McGowan, Laura Shoop, Peter Dugan, Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Jessica Wu, Mylinda Hull, Brooke Sunny Moriber, Nicole Lewis and other special guests and alumni will perform in the one-night-only Public Theater annual gala ONE THRILLING COMBINATION on Monday, June 23 at the Delacorte Theater.

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: We're kicking off the week leading up to the Tonys with an awards-filled Monday -- stay tuned for our coverage of the Theatre World Awards, Lilly Awards and Astaire Awards (oh my!), plus HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME begins on Broadway tonight!

Theatre Aspen is so excited to kick off their summer with a special pre-season event! From the creators of Spring Awakening, which won eight Tony Awards® including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score, comes Alice by Heart: a fresh, modern, musical take on Alice in Wonderland.

On June 9 from 6-8 pm, The Shakespeare Society will host their second annual Playing Shakespeare Celebration at The Century Club (7 West 43rd Street). The Shakespeare Medal will be presented to Richard Easton, and The Linda Gross Playing Shakespeare Award will be presented to Hamish Linklater.

Emily Bergl's new cabaret, Til I Get It Right, will debut at 54 Below June 10, 13 and 14th.

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: The Public Theater hosts two panels on race this weekend, public TV gets in on the Tonys game, Rory O'Malley shows us why it doesn't take a village to raise a child -- it takes a pub, the BWW Awards wrap voting today, and the Drama Desk Awards will be held this Sunday night!

BAX | Brooklyn Arts Exchange is excited to announce our 2014 Summer and Fall Space Grant Recipients. The Space Grant Program is designed to give choreographers, playwrights, and multi-disciplinary artists the opportunity to create new work in a setting that is conducive to working deeply and exploring new territory.

Joe's Pub at The Public has announced its lineup now through June 8. Details below!

The Public Theater previously announced TALKING ABOUT RACE: SCIENCE, POLITICS, ART 1959-1970-2014, a two-night Public Forum event this weekend, today, May 30 and Saturday, May 31 at 7:00 p.m. in The Public's Anspacher Theater. Presented with Anna Deavere Smith Works at The Aspen Institute, The American Museum of Natural History and with in-kind support from the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue at New York University, these two exciting evenings will combine performances of provocative historic conversations about race with an unscripted modern sequel.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced today that a special free one-night event, PUBLIC FORUM: SHAKESPEARE IN AMERICA, will take place on Monday, June 30 at 8:00 p.m. at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, with a line-up that includes Sarah Amengual, Michael Cerveris, Colman Domingo, James Earl Jones, Cynthia Nixon, Annie-B Parson, Steven Pasquale, and Michael Stuhlbarg, celebrating the world's greatest writer, American-style. Highlights of the evening will include James Earl Jones reading a scene from Othello, marking his return to the Delacorte after a 40-year absence and celebrating the 50th anniversary of his playing Othello on the Delacorte stage; Michael Cerveris reading a letter by John Wilkes Booth; and Steven Pasquale singing Tony in the "Tonight" duet from West Side Story.

On Monday, June 16, 2014 at 7:00pm, BroadwayWorld.com will continue its 2014 concert series at legendary cabaret venue Joe's Pub at The Public Theater, hosting a uniquely contemporary evening celebrating the music of the two most important and influential composers on Broadway in the modern age, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim, all to benefit the New York Public Library, and today we are thrilled to announce accomplished Broadway and West End superstar Laura Michelle Kelly has joined the line-up for the night.

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: ANTHEM opens off-Broadway tonight, the NYPL hosts a discussion in honor of the O'Neill Center's 50th anniversary, and the creator of SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE Otis Sallid boogies down at 54 Below!

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) has announced two productions for its upcoming 36th season: the first New York production in 23 years of Terrence McNally's acclaimed play, LIPS TOGETHER, TEETH APART, directed by Peter DuBois, and the world premiere of Neil LaBute's dark comedy, THE WAY WE GET BY.

The Old Globe today announced the cast of Shakespeare's classic tragedy Othello, directed by Old Globe Artistic DirectorBarry Edelstein and the first show of the Globe's 2014 Summer Shakespeare Festival. Joining the previously announced Blair Underwood in the title role, Richard Thomas as Iago, and Kristen Connolly as Desdemona are Broadway and Globe veterans Noah Bean (Michael Cassio; Yellow Face, "Damages"), Jonny Orsini (Roderigo; The Nance), Mark Pinter (The Duke of Venice; the Globe's Hamlet and Charley's Aunt), Angela Reed (Emilia; Rock 'n' Roll, the Globe's August: Osage County), and Mike Sears (Brabantio, Gratiano; La Jolla Playhouse's Sideways and His Girl Friday).

Center Stage presents the exciting new comedy Wild with Happy by Colman Domingo. This heartwarming adventure through love and loss begins tonight, May 28, and runs through June 29, under the direction of Jeremy B. Cohen.

THE LAST SHIP, 16-time Grammy winner Sting's first foray into theater, is no jukebox musical.

Kathy Evans, Founding Executive Director, announced the nine musicals and twenty-six writers selected for the 2014 Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, its fourth year of providing working retreats for musical theatre writers. For nine consecutive weeks beginning June 29th, each writing team will have an individual weeklong residency in Rhinebeck, New York to write their musical. They are provided with a private home, transportation, food, and a stipend. All costs are fully funded by donors including The ASCAP Foundation, The Dramatists Guild Fund, and The Noel Coward Foundation. Writers participating this year include Broadway's Mindi Dickstein (Little Women), this year's Kleban Prize winner Nathan Tysen (Burnt Part Boys), and Peter Mills, past winner of the Kleban, Fred Ebb Award, and Richard Rodgers prize. The musicals' subjects cover 19th century nautical mysteries, 20th century fairy tales, a 1970's gay bar, and modern-day meth addicts. Every score is original and styles include 16th century Renaissance, big band, folk, rock, and electronic music.

Today we are turning our attention to one of the most revered and respected plays of the last century in honor of the premiere of the HBO film adaptation this weekend, Larry Kramer's THE NORMAL HEART.

Tony Award-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike will feature Resident Actor Jeffrey Bean as Vanya, Sharon Lockwood returning to the Alley as Sonia, Alley Artist Josie de Guzman returning as Masha, and Resident Actor Jay Sullivan as Spike. Rounding out the cast and making their Alley debuts are Rachael Holmes as Cassandra and Sarah Nealis as Nina. Jonathan Moscone, Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater, helms the production and returns after having directed the Alley's 2011 production of Amadeus.