The Public Theater News

Award-winning and critically-acclaimed Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC - Jesse Marchese, Executive Director; Dev Bondarin, Artistic Director) continues its 18th mainstage season with a production of the Tony-nominated musical Caroline, or Change by Tony Kushner (Book & Lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (Music), directed by APAC artistic director, Dev Bondarin (New York Innovative Theatre Award nominee for Best Director for APAC's 2017 production of Raisin). Caroline, or Change runs from May 2 - 25, 2019 at the Broccoli Theater at the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens, 21-12 30th Road (at 21st Street), Astoria, NY 11102.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Yesterday, the Drama Critics Circle Awards were announced, with the big winners being Tootsie, The Ferryman, and more!

Though Shakespeare's The Tempest commences with a spectacular act of revenge, director Laurie Woolery stresses in her program notes for Mobile Unit's thoroughly enrapturing new production her intention to highlight the play's moments of forgiveness, leaving audiences to ponder 'what it means to use one's power to heal rather than to destroy and what it means to break the a cycle of retribution and violence.'

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) announces 11 awards granted from their Frank Young Fund for New Musicals(formerly known as the National Fund for New Musicals), and six awards granted from their Innovation & Exploration Fund.

Continuing its commitment to bringing free Shakespeare to the community and strengthening audience engagement through the arts, The Public Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, will mount its MOBILE UNIT again this spring with a free three-week tour to the five boroughs of Shakespeare's THE TEMPEST, directed by Laurie Woolery.

As previously announced, Sea Wall / A Life, which recently played to sold-out audiences at The Public Theater, will open on Broadway this summer.

The Off-Broadway League today announced nominations in 19 categories - and bestowed one special award - for the 34th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway. The Awards will be handed out on Sunday, May 5, 2019 at NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts, beginning at 7:00pm EST. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League by special arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation. Additional support is provided by TDF. Beloved and celebrated entertainer, Wayne Brady, will emcee the ceremony.

Onassis USA is pleased to announce thatcelebrated artist Kostis Velonis's large-scale sculptural work Life Without Tragedy has now been installed on Governors Island, where it will remain on view, free of charge, today through October 31, 2019. Life Without Tragedy, developed with architect Christian Kotzamanisand initially created for the acclaimed Onassis Festival 2019: Democracy Is Coming (during which it could be seen on Astor Place, April 10-30, free of charge), explores the intersection of democracy and theater-perhaps Greece's two greatest contributions. The work consists of three wood sculptures that mimic an ancient Greek amphitheater, a place that was a social institution and a site for political discourse as well as a venue for art. 

Exhibition on Governors Island Immediately Follows the Work's Debut, on Astor Place, in Onassis Festival 2019: Democracy Is Coming, Presented by Onassis USA and The Public Theater

Founding Executive Director Kathy Evans announced the 27 writers of nine new musicals for Rhinebeck Writers Retreat's summer weeklong residencies. This year's artists include Obie-winner Heather Christian, Kleban-winner Brian Crawley, TV and film writers Bekah Brunstetter (THIS IS US) and Cinco Paul (DESPICABLE ME), inaugural Stephen Schwartz Award winner Oliver Houser, and ASCAP Foundation scholarship winner Khiyon Hursey. The musicals cover a wide range of subjects. Four have LGBTQ themes: a historical look at Florida in the 1950s (IN A SUNSHINE STATE), a Palestinian/Israeli love story (BORDERS), a modern coming of age of a young black man (SEAN'S STORY PART I | THE AWAKENING), and a fantasy queer rock musical celebrating lady love (TL;DR: THELMA LOUISE; DYKE REMIX). Two are darkly comedic historical musicals: one featuring Mary Magdelene (A.D. 16) and the second a WWII plot to foil Hitler (OPERATION MINCEMEAT). Other subjects include the opioid crisis (ALMOST HEAVEN), the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 (THE GOLDEN SPIKE), and a mystery involving a woman with a sleep disorder (NARCOLEPSY).

The innovative educational program that debuted at HAMILTON on Broadway continues in Dallas on Thursday, May 2 when over 3,200 students and teachers from 56 high schools attend matinee performance of the musical at the Music Hall in Fair Park.

The Bushwick Starr is thrilled to present the world premiere of CABIN, the latest from Bessie nominated Sean Donovan (The Reception at HERE, House/Divided at BAM), with original compositions by Obie Award winner Heather Christian (Animal Wisdom at The Bushwick Starr, The World is Round at BAM).   

The Wilbury Theatre Group closes its record-breaking 2018/19 Main Series season with five-time Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home.

Cultures and gardens clash in acclaimed playwright Karen Zacarias' hilarious hot-button comedy Native Gardens. When a questionable fence line puts a prize-worthy garden in jeopardy, neighborly rivalry escalates into an all-out border dispute, challenging everyone's notions of race, privilege, class, and good taste. Well-intentioned neighbors quickly turn into feuding enemies.

Haven Theatre announces casting for its Chicago premiere of KISS by Guillermo Calderon, Chile's most acclaimed playwright-director. Monty Cole directs and performs in this bold theatrical experience that asks if art is a tool for empathy, what are the limits? Abhi Shrestha associate directs.

The Tank in association with All For One Theater will present the World Premiere of Open, written by Crystal Skillman

This May, Seven Stages Shakespeare Company (7SSC) presents Othello running May 3 - May 11 at the historic barn at Wentworth Lear Historic Houses. As with all 7SSC programs, this event is 'FREE FOR ALL, Or Pay What You Will.' Leaning into the romantic warmth of the ever-present wood in the warehouse, this intimate chamber production will sit with Shakespeare's examination of lust, betrayal, and jealousy.

Nominations for the 2019 Chita Rivera Awards were announced today. In keeping with the mission of the Chita Rivera Awards, nominators considered shows and films that opened during the 2018-2019 theater season.

What has not been said or proclaimed about the majesty and mastery of Martha Graham, her company and her legacy? She revolutionized the way that dance was created and experienced by re-shaping how movement was expressed and performed in the 20th century that has, in turn, inspired and laid the foundation for the dancers and choreographers of today. A sculptor of bodies and painter of gestures, Graham contrasted sharp angles with fluid movements and molded her dancers into statuesque and broken shapes, more akin to Pablo Picasso's repositioning of beauty standards and body parts than her dance peers' styles. Never before or after Graham have knees been so enchanting. To encounter the work of Martha Graham is to understand the capacity of the human form in motion and appreciate the splendor of every sinew.

Producer Jeffrey Seller and the Orpheum Theatre Group announced today that tickets for HAMILTON will be available online through Ticketmaster Verified Fan, at 9 a.m. CT on Friday, May 3. Verified Fan is a new fan-facing technology from Ticketmaster that allows pre-registered fans to unlock access to tickets without competing against scalpers and bots.