The Public Theater News

The treasured tale by Hans Christian Andersen of a wise bird that helps save a kingdom gets a new twist in this adaptation set in 18th-century China. The West Coast Premiere of The Emperor's Nightingale by Damon Chua, directed by Tim Dang, opens May 4th and runs through May 19th at the Lewis Family Playhouse. Tickets are priced at $18.00 for General admission, and $16.00 for Seniors and Youth up to age 12.

RIOULT Dance NY in partnership with La Guardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC) presents Artistic Director Pascal Rioult's  Fables, a family-friendly production of the Queens Borough Community Dance Project. Entering its second year, this initiative affords the rare opportunity for children who either live or go to school in Queens, to rehearse and perform alongside the professional dancers of RIOULT Dance NY.

Dixon Place presents Glory!, a new play written by Nan-Lynn Nelson and directed by Kevin R. Free, previewing Thursday, April 11, 2019 at 7:30pm and running three weekends through April 27 at Dixon Place (161A Chrystie Street) in Manhattan. Tickets are $18 in advance, $21 at the door for adults, and $15 in advance, $18 at the door for students and seniors. Group rates are available. For tickets and further information please visit www.dixonplace.org

Producer Jeffrey Seller and The Majestic Theatre announced today that tickets for HAMILTON will be available online through Ticketmaster Verified Fan, at 10 a.m. CT today, March 15. 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.

Leslie Odom Jr., who rose to national fame after his show-stopping debut performance as Aaron Burr in the Broadway smash hit "Hamilton," will be making his debut with Pacific Symphony March 15-16, under the baton of guest conductor Matt Catingub for a full night's show, including intermission. A stellar performer of Broadway and American classics, Odom, Jr.'s show will include numerous hits from "Hamilton," the evergreen jazz gem "Autumn Leaves," "Joey Joey Joey" and a Nat King Cole medley.

The Public Theater and Onassis USA today announced additional FREE programming and participants for the ONASSIS FESTIVAL 2019: DEMOCRACY IS COMING, running April 10-28 at The Public Theater and also La MaMa. Actors Phylicia Rashad and Andre Holland, performer/singer-songwriter Diana Oh, architect Elizabeth Diller, author Siri Hustvedt, and Kostis Velonis' art installation Life Without Tragedy join the Festival lineup.

Rehearsals are underway for freeFall's production of Lynn Nottage's Crumbs from the Table of Joy. This Tampa Bay professional theatre premiere opens March 23 and runs through April 14. Crumbs from the Table of Joy stars Alicia Thomas (Ernestine), Rae Davis (Ermina), and Michael J. Kinsey (Godfrey) as the Crump family. This break out play for two-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage (Sweat, Ruined) is the coming of age story of a young African American girl whose family is finding their way through 1950's Brooklyn, as she teeters between filtering her life experiences through the fantasy of movies and learning the real poetry and pain of the world. Crumbs from the Table of Joy also stars freeFall favorites Trenell Mooring (freeFall's Our Town and The Little Prince) and Emilee Dupre (Broadway's Chaplin and freeFall's smash hit Cabaret).

Loosely inspired by Chekhov's The Seagull, Black Doves by Reynaldo Piniella follows a middle-class African-American family in present-day Brooklyn, New York. When a loved one commits an unforgivable crime, will the family deal with the generational trauma that has shaped their lives, or will they choose to ignore it, which only continues the cycle?

The Tank (Meghan Finn and Rosalind Grush, Artistic Directors) will present the World Premiere of Bathsheba's Psalms, Or A Woman of Unusual Beauty Taking a Bath by April Ranger (Must Wash Hands at Brooklyn College), directed by Christina Roussos (Magic Trick with Caps Lock Theatre) at The Tank (312 West 36th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues), April 4-21.

BRIC, celebrating 40 years as the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, announces the world premiere of acclaimed playwright Phillip Howze's multidisciplinary play Self Portraits (April 24-27), an intimate, impressionistic collection of personal meditations framing and reframing the Black body in America today. In the midst of the BRIC OPEN-BRIC's annual arts and ideas festival-Howze's new work will activate the space in unconventional ways, using the organs of a theater to interrogate the boundaries of form and the limits of bodies, to witness together what's seen and what's often imperceptible. Described by Howze as his "most personal work to date…born from a spirit of intentional disruption and curiosity," Self Portraits both explodes theatricality beyond the proscenium while imploding it into intimate, ghostly, separately enacted fragments.

The Onassis Foundation USA has appointed Vallejo Gantner as its new Artistic and Executive Director. Gantner led the internationally influential New York City cultural institution Performance Space 122 (now Performance Space New York) from 2005 to 2017 and was responsible for all programming and strategic direction, including the creation of the annual, interdisciplinary COIL Festival; the production of worldwide tours for multiple shows under the PS122 Global moniker; and the conception, fundraising, and management for the recent $35 million renovation of the organization's longtime East Village home.

 Lotus Music & Dance will celebrate its 30th Anniversary in 2019 with a benefit dinner and performance on Monday, March 25th. This year also marks the 100th Birth Anniversary of bharata natyam dance guru, T. Balasaraswati ("Bala"). They will honor legendary choreographer, George Faison with the inaugural Bala Award for Excellence . Other Honorees include Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer for her support of cultural diversity in the performing arts.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon announced today that Weightless-the critically acclaimed rock opera by The Kilbanes, produced by Z Space and piece by piece productions-will play a limited engagement at A.C.T.'s Strand Theater (1127 Market St., San Francisco) April 30-May 12, 2019.

The Onassis Foundation USA has appointed Vallejo Gantner as its new Artistic and Executive Director. Gantner led the internationally influential New York City cultural institution Performance Space 122 (now Performance Space New York) from 2005 to 2017 and was responsible for all programming and strategic direction.

On Monday, April 22, in celebration of T Magazine's annual culture issue, BAM and T present an evening of dramatic readings which look five years into our country's future.

The Bigot, a timely new play and dark comedy by Gabi & Eva Mor that mixes social commentary, family drama and a lot of humor will have a full Off-Broadway run at the Theatre at St. Clement's (423 West 46thStreet) April 26 through June 9. The official opening night is set for Wednesday, May 1. Michael Susko will direct the production that features acclaimed Broadway actor Stephen Payne (Straight White Men, Of Mice and Men, Superior Donuts andAugust: Osage County) in the lead role. The full cast and creative team will be announced shortly.

Freshly returned from rocking his way around the UK with Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees & Beyond, Corn Mo returns to bring the RAWK to The Love Show Dancers' ROLL at The Slipper Room!

Horizon Theatre Company is continuing its 35th Anniversary Season with production from the recipient of the MacArthur Foundation 'Genius Grant' for 2018 - Dominique Morisseau! PIPELINE, a groundbreaking new play, will hit the Little Five Points stage from March 22 - April 21, 2019. PIPELINE is hailed by Village Voice as "A POWERFUL, PASSIONATE, AND INTELLIGENT NEW PLAY."

George Morfogen, the American stage, television, and film actor, passed away on March 8, 2019 in his home in New York, NY.

The Marsh San Francisco announces the return of Not a Genuine Black Man, the longest running solo show in San Francisco theater history by award-winning actor, playwright, and talk show host Brian Copeland. This funny, honest, and harrowing piece recounts the struggles Copeland faced growing up in what was declared one of the most racist suburbs in America.