The Public Theater News

The 51st Annual Jeff Awards Ceremony took place on October 21, 2019, during a spirited evening at Drury Lane Oakbrook. 'Frankenstein,' produced by Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, took home five awards, including Best Production a?' Play in the Midsize category. Court Theatre also took home five awards, including the coveted Ensemble Award for 'For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf' and four awards for a?oePhotograph 51.a?? Steppenwolf Theatre Company's production of 'Downstate' received the Jeff Award for Best Production - Play in the Large category. The award for Best Production - Musical in the Large category went to 'Six' at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and the award for Best Production - Musical in the Midsize category went to 'Caroline, or Change,' produced by Firebrand Theatre in partnership with TimeLine Theatre Company.

Fresh off its Tony-nominated hit Broadway run, Tony Award winner John Leguizamo's one-man play LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS will play D.C.'s National Theatre from Thursday, November 21 through Saturday, November 23, 2019. The production is the fifth in the venue's 2019-2020 Broadway at the National series, which is set to feature an unprecedented 16 productions.

Pittsburgh Public Theater continues its 45th anniversary season with the Pittsburgh premiere of School Girls; Or The African Mean Girls Play. A smash hit Off-Broadway last year, the play was written by Jocelyn Bioh, a first generation American whose parents emigrated from Ghana in West Africa. Directed by Kenyan native Shariffa Ali, School Girls runs November 7 a?" December 8, 2019 at the O'Reilly Theater, Pittsburgh Public Theater's home in the heart of Downtown's Cultural District. For tickets call 412.316.1600, go to ppt.org, or visit the Box Office.

PlayMakers Repertory Company presents 'Dairyland,' a world premiere comedy by Heidi Armbruster. This whimsical, heartfelt tale of one woman's journey from farm to table and table to farm is directed by Vivienne Benesch, and runs from October 16 to November 3, 2019.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts Board Chairman Mark C. Perry announced today that Casey Reitz will become the Center's new President. The presidential search committee, led by long-time Center board members, Lawrence Higby and Shanaz Langson, made a unanimous recommendation after a six-month search conducted by the global executive search firm, Korn Ferry. Since 2010, Reitz has served as Executive Director of Second Stage Theater in New York City, winning a Tony Award as Best Musical as Producer of Dear Evan Hansen in 2017. Reitz will assume his new role in December 2019. 

Producer Mark Cortale and The Broward Center will present the South Florida debut of Tori Scott, named a?oeThe Bette Midler of the new millenniuma?? by Provincetown Magazine and among the Top 10 Cabaret Performers in NYC by Time Out New York, with her holiday show Vodka Is The Reason For The Season on November 30. The performance is directed by Seth Sklar-Heyn with musical direction and arrangements by  Jesse Kissel. For tickets and information, please visit www.browardcenter.org or call 954 462-0222. 

This season Broadway welcomes a major cultural theatrical and musical milestone with American Utopia, a new theatrical experience from avant garde rocker, David Byrne.

New Ohio Theatre and IRT Theater are excited to welcome Kareem M. Lucas and the team of Zhailon Levingston, Alex Hare & Nehemiah Luckett as their newest Archive Residency artists.

Gingold Theatrical Group continues the 14th Season of Project Shaw, Art as Activism: A Theatrical Survival Guide, a special series of evenings of plays that embrace human rights and free speech. All of GTG's programming, inspired by the works of George Bernard Shaw, are designed to provoke peaceful discussion and activism.

Celebrating two years of performances highlighting the talents of transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming performers, New York City's Trans Voices Cabaret returns to The Duplex on Saturday, November 9th at 9:30pm. The show is directed by TVC creator Donnie Cianciotto, with Musical Direction by Anessa Marie. Cianciotto will also serve as the evening's emcee.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts Board Chairman Mark C. Perry announced today that Casey Reitz will become the Center's new President. The presidential search committee, led by long-time Center board members, Lawrence Higby and Shanaz Langson, made a unanimous recommendation after a six-month search conducted by the global executive search firm, Korn Ferry. Since 2010, Reitz has served as Executive Director of Second Stage Theater in New York City, winning a Tony Award as Best Musical Producer of Dear Evan Hansen in 2017. Reitz will assume his new role in December 2019.

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS and THE CIVILIANS have announced that the first three premiere albums of The Michael Friedman Collection, will be available for streaming and download today, Friday, October 18. The Great Immensity, The Abominables, and This Beautiful City are all written (or co-written) and directed by Steve Cosson and feature music and lyrics by Michael Friedman.

a??a??a??a??a??a??a??The second performance for Brian Copeland Presents The Best of San Francisco Solo Series 2019/20 in partnership with The Marin Cultural Association at The Marin Center's Showcase Theater is Diane Barne's solo show My Stroke of Luck. A captivating tale of a harrowing recovery. Not everyone knows that the average person loses 1.9 million brain cells every minute a stroke goes untreated, but Diane Barnes did. As a radiologist who diagnoses strokes, Barnes did not deal with having a stroke very well; it was more than 20 hours before she went to the hospital. My Stroke of Luck follows Barnes as she recounts her experience of having a stroke, her path to recovery, and more. A spellbinding and funny look at love, family, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Barnes shares the story of a single adoptive mother of special needs and gifted sons and how she forges a new identity after a debilitating stroke. My Stroke of Luck, directed by Rebecca Fisher and developed with David Ford, will be presented on Sunday, November 10, 2019 (7pm) at The Marin Center's Showcase Theater.

GHOSTLIGHT RECORDS and THE CIVILIANS will release the first three premiere albums of The Michael Friedman Collection- available for streaming and download on Friday, October 18. The Great Immensity, The Abominables, and This Beautiful City are all written (or co-written) and directed by Steve Cosson and feature music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. This extraordinary long-term project will eventually comprise the premiere recordings of nine musicals from the beloved late Obie Award-winning songwriter Michael Friedman. The albums will be available at www.ghostlightrecords.com/michaelfriedman.html.

For the second year in a row, Hamilton will host a special fan performance on Thursday, October 31 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, with all tickets for the 7:00pm performance being sold for $10.

Songwriter Michael Friedman died in 2017, but his work will live on. According to The New York Times, nine albums of his unreleased work will soon be released.

The moment you've been waiting for...George Washington(s)!

Today's top stories: The Sound Inside and Little Shop of Horrors officially open tonight!

Pace students and the local community will have the chance to get firsthand insights from Candice Bergen and Hawk Koch in a conversation at Pace University on October 29th. Bergen starred in the critically acclaimed CBS comedy series a?oeMurphy Brown,a?? for which she received five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards over a 10-year run. Last fall she returned to the iconic role in the CBS revival. Most recently she appeared in, a?oeBook Cluba?? alongside Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, and Mary Steenburgen.