The Public Theatre News

Two-Time Tony Award nominee André De Shields, who created the title role of 'The Wiz' in the original Broadway production (1975), caught the ENCORES! production of 'The Wiz' last night and visited the members of the cast backstage.

Rich Affannato in association with Meri Krassner will present a special invitational reading of the new musical, CALIGULA, with book, music & lyrics by Eric Svejcar, for two performances on Monday, July 13 and Tuesday, July 14 at 3 p.m. at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street).

Euan Morton is homesick-but he sure picked a good year if he needed help getting over it! 2009 marks the 250th anniversary since the birth of Scotland's most famous songwriter and poet, Robert Burns. Burns (world famous for penning Auld Lang Sine) wrote hundreds of beautiful songs and poems. To celebrate, Scotland is calling '09 the Year of the Homecoming. With musical and theatrical events taking place all around the globe it's a fine time to be Celtic!

The Tony Award®-winning Old Globe its 2009 Summer Shakespeare Festival with Shakespeare's Coriolanus. The production debuts tonight in the Globe's outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre.

EUAN MORTON - Caledonia: Songs for the Homecoming plays at the Metropolitan Room June 11-27 2009, Thursday-Saturday, 9.45 pm. Tel 212-206-0440

The U.S. premiere of the Playwrights Realm's production of DOV AND ALI - a new drama by playwright Anna Ziegler and directed by Katherine Kovner - opened at The Cherry Lane Studio Theatre (38 Commerce Street) on Friday, June 12 to enthusiastic reviews. Previews of DOV AND ALI began on June 5, and it will continue to play through June 27.

Examine The Women Behind The Words at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity with DICKINSON THOSE WHISTLING LADS! and HER KIND, Telling the Stories of Emily Dickinson, Dorothy Parker and Anne Sexton Beginning June 13th See all three shows for only $15.00 each!

Broadway heats up this summer now that three-time Emmy Award nominee and 'Grey's Anatomy' star Chandra Wilson has stepped into the celebrated role of Matron 'Mama' Morton, the reigning cellblock diva of the smash hit musical CHICAGO. Chandra Wilson joins the production for a four-week limited engagement which began last night, Monday, June 8 through Sunday, July 5, 2009 at the Ambassador Theatre (219 W. 49th St.). BroadwayWorld.com's cameras were there as she took her first bows as 'Mama' Morton!

Broadway heats up this summer when three-time Emmy Award nominee and 'Grey's Anatomy' star Chandra Wilson steps into the celebrated role of Matron 'Mama' Morton, the reigning cellblock diva of the smash hit musical CHICAGO, for a four-week limited engagement, Monday, June 8 through Sunday, July 5, 2009 at the Ambassador Theatre (219 W. 49th St.).

The Playwrights Realm presents the U.S. premiere of DOV AND ALI - a new drama by playwright Anna Ziegler, author of the critically acclaimed play BFF. Previews begin June 5th prior to an official press opening of June 12th Off-Broadway at The Cherry Lane Studio Theatre (38 Commerce Street) in Manhattan. Playwrights Realm Co-Artistic Director Katherine Kovner directs.

United Theatre Company presents Emma Hunton in Concert at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10003) on Monday, July 20 at 11:30PM. With special guests, Blake Daniel and Morgan Karr.

Academy and Tony Award-Winning actor and photographer Joel Grey celebrated the release of his new book, titled 1.3 - Images from My Phone, at Barnes at Noble Tribeca (97 Warren St. at Greenwich St.) on Tuesday, May 26 at 7:00 p.m. The book, published by powerHouse, is Grey's third published book of photographs and will be available in stores nationwide June 2.

EUAN MORTON - Caledonia: Songs for the Homecoming plays Metropolitan Room June 11-27 2009, Thursday-Saturday, 9.45 pm. Tel 212-206-0440

As playwright Matthew Lombardo continues to develop the upcoming Arena Stage production of Looped starring four-time Emmy Award-winning Valerie Harper (Rhoda on The Mary Tyler Moore Show) as Tallulah Bankhead, a casting change has taken place. Jay Goede, known for his work on Broadway in Angels in America, A Year with Frog and Toad and Sex and Longing, will now play opposite Harper in the pre-Broadway staging, directed by Rob Ruggiero at Arena Stage at the Lincoln Theatre May 29 through June 28, 2009. Full release to follow at a later date.

TheatreWorks, the nationally-acclaimed theatre of Silicon Valley, celebrates its 40th Anniversary season and commitment to the creation and development of new works with its New Works Festival ?09, sponsored by Microsoft. The eighth annual Festival commences July 15 with the world premiere production of Tinyard Hill, a rousing new musical by Tommy Newman and 2009 Jonathan Larsen Award-winning composer Mark Allen. This season?s festival, held in Palo Alto at the Lucie Stern Theatre, will feature workshops of new works by artists including Chris Smith, Raquel Bitton, Darrah Cloud , Kim D. Sherman, Joe DiPietro, Brendan Milburn, Valerie Vigoda, Laura Schellhardt, Rajiv Joseph, Kait Kerrigan, and Brian Lowdermilk, in addition to stunning concerts by Grammy-winning vocalist Maureen McGovern, and the nationally acclaimed singer and composer, Vienna Teng. Tickets go on sale May 29 at 650-463-1960 or theatreworks.org.

New York?s Naked Angels (Geoffrey Nauffts, Artistic Director; Brittany O?Neill, Managing Director) has announced complete casting for its World Premiere production of Geoffrey Nauffts? new play Next Fall (formerly titled TheGospel According To Adam), directed by Sheryl Kaller. The cast will feature Patrick Breen, Maddie Corman, Sean Dugan, Patrick Heusinger, Connie Ray, andCotter Smith.

Ensemble Studio Theatre (William Carden, Artistic Director, Paul Alexander Slee, Executive Director) will present Marathon 2009, E.S.T.?s 31st annual festival of new one-act plays, at E.S.T. (549 West 52nd Street). Performances begin Friday, May 22nd, and continue through Saturday, June 27th.

Carrie Fisher set box-office records at Berkeley Repertory Theatre with her hilarious solo show, Wishful Drinking. Then it became a New York Times bestseller and played to sold-out crowds on a six-city national tour. Now Fisher returns to Berkeley Rep's Roda Theatre, her last stop before the show bursts onto Broadway! This limited run - 15 performances only - begins July 9 and ends July 23.

Examine The Women Behind The Words at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity with DICKINSON THOSE WHISTLING LADS! and HER KIND, Telling the Stories of Emily Dickinson, Dorothy Parker and Anne Sexton Beginning June 13th See all three shows for only $15.00 each!

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey continues its 2009 Season with American playwright Lillian Hellman's compelling work, The Little Foxes beginning performances on June 3 and continuing through June 28 at the Shakespeare Theatre's Main Stage - The F. M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, 36 Madison Avenue at Lancaster Road in Madison.