TheatreWorks News

FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Award-winning songwriters Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrichas they celebrate their 26th year of romantic comedy writing with a one-night only, all-original show on Tuesday, May 7 at 9:30pm

Critically-acclaimed musical theater singer and comedic cabaret artist  Maureen McVerry presents her New Solo Cabaret Show,

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the Northern California premiere of Archduke. Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph, Archduke explores how one man, one moment, can derail an entire century. Focusing on the cataclysmic 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, three hapless insurgents embark on a darkly comic quest for immortality and purpose, unaware that their actions will launch World War I.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley kicks off its 50th Anniversary Season with The Language Archive, a quirky comedy written by Julia Cho, whose Aubergine captured rapturous praise and multiple awards. Balanced delightfully between affection and adversity, The Language Archive is the whimsical, life-affirming chronicle of a linguist fighting to preserve the dying languages of far-flung cultures, only to neglect the promise and passion of his own. Winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for Women Playwrights, this romantic parable for our times will be directed by Jeffrey Lo, who helmed TheatreWorks's hit holiday comedy, The Santaland Diaries.

Desert Theatreworks' (DTW's) encore presentation of Billy Van Zandt's and Jane Milmore's LOVE, SEX AND THE I.R.S. is a riotous farce with fabulous acting, brilliant direction, exquisite comic timing, and nonstop laughs - an evening of fun not to be missed.

BWW Review: HERSHEY FELDER: A PARIS LOVE STORY at Mountain View Center For The Arts is piano virtuoso and actor Hershey Felder's stunning portrait of Claude Debussy.

The Lightning Thief musical, based on Rick Riordan's book, has been called a cross between Harry Potter and Dear Evan Hansen, which may be one of the reasons why legions of fans are flocking to see the show as it makes away across the country. Initially developed as a one-hour musical in 2014 by Theatreworks USA, a full-length expanded version opened at The Lucille Lortel Theatre in 2017 for a limited run and was nominated for three Drama Desk Awards. Earlier this year, the show launched a national tour. The tour will stop at the Durham Performing Arts Center this week. 'It's a wonderful experience because it stays so true to the book, which is the biggest thing for me and what most fans who come to see the show appreciate,' says Izzy Figueroa. 'It doesn't fall far at all from what you've already read.'

Underscore Theatre Company concludes its 2018-19 season with the musical comedy THE BALLAD OF LEFTY & CRABBE, playing June 8 - July 14, 2019 at Underscore's newly-remodeled, permanent home, The Understudy, 4609 N. Clark St. in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood.

Bay Street Theater is pleased to announce the cast and creative team for the first show of the 2019 Mainstage Season. The World Premiere of THE PROMPTER (May 28- June 16) a new comedy by Wade Dooley; will be directed by Scott Schwartz, Bay Street Theater's Artistic Director.

Playhouse on Park has announced the cast for its next Main Stage Series production, My Name is Asher Lev.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley continues its 2018/19 season with the World Premiere of Hershey Felder: A Paris Love Story, written and performed by piano virtuoso Hershey Felder, who shattered box office records at TheatreWorks with his acclaimed portrayals of Irving Berlin, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky. Now, Felder captures the life and music of Impressionist composer Claude Debussy, a visionary who proclaimed nature his religion, creating music of ravishing beauty, color, and compassion, from the sweeping "La mer" to the evocative "Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune" and the mystical "Clair de lune." Intertwined with Debussy's story, Felder for the first time shares his own deeply personal connection to the City of Light. Directed by Trevor Hay, Hershey Felder: A Paris Love Story will be presented April 3 - May 5, 2019 (press opening: April 6, 2019) at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View. For tickets ($40-$120) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

INTAR (Lou Moreno, Artistic Director/John McCormack, Executive Director) and Radio Drama Network (Melina Brown, President) today announced the cast for the World Premiere of Then They Forgot About the Rest, a new play by Georgina Escobar, directed by David Mendizabal. Performances will begin April 13th for a limited Off-Broadway engagement through May 12th. Opening Night is set for April 22nd.

The Drama League has announced the twelve stage directors who have been selected as the 2019 Directing Fellows of The Drama League Directors Project: NJ Agwuna, Sharifa Elkady, Raz Golden, Chika Ike, Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly, Ismael Lara, Jr., Amanda McRaven, Lindsey Hope Pearlman, Ben Randle, Tai Thompson, Gabriel Torres, and Sophia Watt. They will be publicly introduced to the professional theatre community during the 85th Annual Drama League Awards, which will be held on Friday, May 17, 2019 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square (1535 Broadway). More information can be found at www.dramaleague.org

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced the full cast for the world premiere of Kiss My Aztec! John Leguizamo teams up with Artistic Director Tony Taccone for this musical comedy, following their collaboration on the hit one-man show Latin History for Morons, which received its world premiere at Berkeley Rep before heading to Broadway. Leguizamo will serve as co-writer and co-lyricist only for Kiss My Aztec! - 11 other talented actors will perform in this production. Taccone will also direct.

The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC) held its 43rd Annual Excellence in Theatre Awards Gala on Monday, March 25th at San Francisco's historic Victoria Theatre. Over 300 members of the community gathered as 67 production awards for theatre produced in 2018 and four Special Awards were presented. The evening was hosted by Daniela Innocenti Beem and David Templeton with musical entertainment provided by The Lost Trio.

Kansas City Repertory Theatre wraps up its 2018/19 season with the fourth annual OriginKC: NEW WORKS FESTIVAL, April 19 through May 19, 2019. The OriginKC: NEW WORKS FESTIVAL positions Kansas City as a major player and national center for the cultivation and production of new works, while offering theatre artists from across the country the financial, creative, and artistic resources required to develop vital, diverse works of theatre.  

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley has announced that the World Premiere of Hershey Felder: A Paris Love Story, with more than a week to go before its first performance, has already established a new all-time box office record for the 49 year-old Bay Area theatre company.

The Marsh San Francisco presents the World Premiere of Who Killed Sylvia Plath, written by award-winning playwright Lynne Kaufman and starring Lorri Holt. Poet Sylvia Plath returns to her burial place in West Yorkshire, England to view the fourth replacement of her tombstone. The previous ones have been defaced by feminists who chiseled off her married name, claiming it was Ted Hughes who caused Sylvia Plath's death. Did Hughes kill Plath? Was her suicide at age 30 a "good career move"? Would she do it again? And what does it say to us today?

ENSEMBLE THEATRE COMPANY (ETC) presents the fourth show of its 40th Anniversary Season, the Southern California premiere of the stunning and wildly popular novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED, adapted by Simon Block and directed by Jonathan Fox.

Tickets are on sale now for Meadow Brook Theatre's 12th annual Children's Series, kicking off in February 2020.