The Public Theatre News

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.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) announced casting for the Shakespeare in the Park production of Euripides' THE BACCHAE, directed by JoAnne Akalaitis with original music by Philip Glass and translated by Nicholas Rudall. THE BACCHAE will run August 11-August 30 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park with an official press opening on Monday, August 24 at 8 p.m. Bank of America returns as lead sponsor of Shakespeare in the Park 2009.

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.

PICT celebrates the spirit of revolution with an extraordinary launch to celebrate its thirteenth season! Tom Stoppard's tremendous Tony and Olivier Award-winning play Rock ?n' Roll, inspiredby and dedicated to Václav Havel, serves as the centerpiece of a series which includes readings and paneldiscussions exploring Prague Spring & the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia.

Two-time Tony Award winners NATHAN LANE (The Producers, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) and BEBE NEUWIRTH (Chicago, Sweet Charity) will star as Gomez and Morticia in THE ADDAMS FAMILY, a new musical based on the bizarre and beloved family of characters created by legendary cartoonist Charles Addams. Produced by Stuart Oken, Roy Furman, Michael Leavitt and Five Cent Productions, by special arrangement with Elephant Eye Theatrical, THE ADDAMS FAMILY will open on Broadway Thursday, April 8, 2010 at a Nederlander theatre to be announced. Previews will begin Thursday, March 4, 2010 following a pre-Broadway engagement at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre in Chicago that begins November 13.

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.

TheatreWorks, the nationally acclaimed theatre of Silicon Valley, has announced that Meredith McDonough will fill the role of Director of New Works. She replaces Kent Nicholson, who left in late 2008 to become the Director of Musical Theatre Development at Playwrights Horizons. An ideal candidate, McDonough has been actively developing new works for the past ten years at theatres including Actors Theatre of Louisville, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Round House Theatre, The Public Theatre, LABryinth Theatre Company, Ars Nova, Women?s Project and Productions, New Georges, and the Drama League. She spent two years as the New Works Program Director at the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, and three seasons as a resident director at Actors Theatre of Louisville, famed for its annual Humana Festival of New American Plays. She has personally directed over twenty world premiere plays and musicals. McDonough holds an M.F.A. in Directing from University of California, San Diego, and a B.S. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey kicks off its 2009 Season with a world premiere stage adaptation of Around the World in Eighty Days. Adapted for the stage by Bonnie J. Monte from the beloved novel by Jules Verne, this inventive production is an exhilarating treat for people of all ages. Around the World in Eighty Days began performances on April 29 and continues through May 24 at the Shakespeare Theatre's Main Stage - The F. M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, 36 Madison Avenue at Lancaster Road in Madison. For tickets or more information, call the box office at 973-408-5600, email boxoffice@shakespearenj.org or visit www.ShakespeareNJ.org.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director), in association with Jonathan Reinis, Jamie Cesa, Eva Price & Berkeley Repertory Theatre, is proud to present the Broadway premiere production of Wishful Drinking, created and performed by Carrie Fisher and directed by Tony Taccone at Studio 54 on Broadway (254 West 54th St).

Taye Diggs and his wife, Idina Menzel, are expecting a son, In Touch Weekly is reporting.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis, Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) will continue to present FREE staged readings of new plays by the inaugural class of the Emerging Writers Group in May. The 'Spotlight Series,' which combines first-rate theatrical talent with new works written and developed by members of the Emerging Writers Group during their time at The Public, will present new works by Don Nguyen, Alejandro Morales, and Aladdin Ullah, to be directed by Joanna Settle, Ken Rus Schmoll and Hal Brooks, respectively.

The 16th Annual Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration program, honoring world class scenic designer Todd Rosenthal (August: Osage County), will take place on Monday, April 27, at the Steppenwolf Merle Reskin Garage Theatre. The doors open at 5:30 p.m. with a viewing of the third annual ?Theater Design Expo' showcasing the works of over 20 Chicago-area emerging theatrical designers and a student portfolio review. Martha Lavey, Artistic Director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, will moderate an inclusive discussion, 'Moving Chicago Productions to New York and Beyond' with the awardees, Director Anna Shapiro and Joshua Schmidt, composer and librettist, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.