The Public Theatre News

'HOW TO BE A GOOD ITALIAN DAUGHTER (In Spite of Myself),' a play written and performed by Antoinette LaVecchia, will be presented this fall Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre's Studio Theatre (38 Commerce St.), with preview performances starting October 3 prior to a new official opening night set for Monday, October 12, 2009 - Columbus Day, a day of celebration for Italian-Americans.

Givenik.com, the revolutionary way to go to Broadway (and save the world!), announced today that they are holding a raffle at this year's Broadway Flea Market as part of a partnership Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

Acclaimed theater company Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced it will present the return of its popular benefit evening STORIES ON 5 STORIES on Monday, November 9.

20 new stage works, including plays by John Patrick Shanley and Daphne Rubin-Vega, will be featured as part of the upcoming fall reading series offered by the LAByrinth Theatre Company and hosted by The Public Theatre. The tenth annual 'Barn Series' will run from October 6-30, and 'Live Nude Plays' will follow from October 31- November 9.

MEMPHIS, an original Broadway musical, opening Monday, October 19, 2009 at the Shubert Theatre (225 W. 44th Street) following critically-acclaimed and sold-out engagements at La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre. Previews begin on Wednesday, September 23, 2009.

Actors Theatre of Louisville announces Fifth Third Bank's Dracula Blood Drive in association with the American Red Cross, at Fifth Third Bank (Fourth Street Live) on Tuesday, September 22 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Eric Rosen, artistic director of Kansas City Repertory Theatre, opens the Rep's 2009-10 season with the Tony Award-winning musical Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim. Broadway director Moisés Kaufman will direct.

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) will present Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's The Exonerated, October 9 - 18 in the Nafe Katter on the Storrs campus

American Theater Company (ATC) kicks off its 25th season with the Chicago Premiere of Yeast Nation (the triumph of life) with music & lyrics by Mark Hollmann and book & lyrics by Greg Kotis. The production is directed by Artistic Director PJ Paparelli, with Musical Direction by Mark Elliott, and will run September 10 - October 18, 2009 at American Theater Company, 1909 W. Byron St, Chicago. An official opening is set for Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 7 PM.

Ever feel like you're missing a piece of yourself? In his new one-man show, David Harrell explores what it's like as a performer to grow up with only one hand. Using baseball, Shakespeare, and even some spiritual guidance from Mr. T. - Harrell takes his audience on a quest to answer the question of whether a person is more than just the sum of their parts.

Taye Diggs and his wife, Idina Menzel welcomed a new baby into their lives back on September 2nd and People Magazine has released the first photo of the newest member of their family! Click here for the full story.

New York's OBIE Award-winning Epic Theatre Ensemble (Zak Berkman, Melissa Friedman, Ron Russell, Founding Executive Directors)

People's Light & Theatre Company kicks off their 35th Anniversary Season with the American Premiere of NATHAN THE WISE translated by Edward Kemp from the play by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. NATHAN THE WISE runs from September 16 - October 11, 2009, on the Main Stage. Artistic Director Abigail Adams directs. People's Light & Theatre is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern.

Twelve early-career directors and designers have been selected for the 2009 NEA/TCG Career Development Programs for Theatre Directors and Designers. The recipients were chosen by an independent, national selection panel composed of theatre professionals. These programs are administered by TCG, in association with the National Endowment for the Arts, with major support from The Ford Foundation.

The Archery Contest delivers a risqué, daring and hyper-stylized sex comedy that shoots straight into the heart of marriage in America. Behind this Technicolor Romantic Pastoral lies a glittering and scathing indictment of rules and regulations, rituals, and rites of spring. A foursome and a sexton breach the boundaries of matrimonial shackles and dive headlong into a hedonistic lifestyle with complex consequences.

terraNOVA Collective returns October 1, 2009 at 10:00pm with SUBTERRANEAN, their monthly performance party in the D-Lounge, a 75-seat cabaret-style venue below the Daryl Roth Theatre at 101 East 15th Street at Union Square.

'HOW TO BE A GOOD ITALIAN DAUGHTER (In Spite of Myself),' a play written and performed by Antoinette LaVecchia, will be presented this fall Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre's Studio Theatre (38 Commerce St.), with preview performances starting October 3 prior to a new official opening night set for Monday, October 12, 2009 - Columbus Day, a day of celebration for Italian-Americans.

Burning Coal Theatre Company's 2009/2010 LobbyLectures series begins on Saturday, September 26th at 6 pm with A CONVERSATION WITH GERALD FREEDMAN. Gerald Freedman directed the original production of Ragni, Rado & McDermott's HAIR at Joseph Papp's Public Theatre in 1967. He is currently Dean of the School of Drama at UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.

The National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO) will present a one-night-only all Asian-American performance of Terrence McNally's LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION!, directed by Alan Muraoka, on Monday, September 14 with a 6:00pm cocktail reception and a 7:00pm performance at the Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street) to benefit NAATCO.

Ars Nova presents, as part of the Out Loud series, a FREE reading of: A BED THE SIZE OF PORTUGAL by Mat Smart, directed by Wes Grantom. The cast includes Julian Acosta, Remy Auberjonois, Matt Dellapina, Maria Oliveras and Stacey Yen.