TheatreWorks News

This May, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is signaling all superheroes and rallying supervillains to take a one-night trip to Gothamopolis in TheatreWorks' annual spring party, One Super Party.

Theatre enthusiasts packed the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts tonight to hear Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley and Executive Director Phil Santora of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley reveal the lineup for the company's 49th season, which launches this summer. Among the exhilarating works announced were: the World Premiere of a new piece by Hershey Felder on Claude Debussy, an acclaimed Tony-winning musical, a thrilling political prizefight, and an array of Regional Premieres that include a hit comedy that sends up suburban values, a gospel/rhythm & blues musical developed at TheatreWorks, a heart-stirring musical for the holidays, a comic drama about one of the key historical events in the last century, a searing look at an unsung American hero, plus the return of the grown-up holiday hit The Santaland Diaries. For more information or to purchase subscriptions ($143 - $583) the public can call 650-463-1960 or visit theatreworks.org. Subscriptions are on sale now; single tickets will go on sale in spring 2018. Special pricing is available for seniors (65+), educators, and patrons 35 and under.

Michael Kahn today announces Shakespeare Theatre Company's 2018-2019 Season. With two world premieres from celebrated playwrights, a multiple Tony Award-winning presentation, a dynamic adaptation of a classic novel, two Shakespeare plays and a group of acclaimed directors and artists, it is an ambitious grand finale for STC Artistic Director Michael Kahn, who will retire from the company at the end of the Season.

On Friday, February 16th, TheatreWorks New Milford will premiere David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize winning drama, Proof. The curtain rises at 8:00 p.m. every Friday and Saturday for a four-week run.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley continues its 2017/2018 Season with the regional premiere of the Obie Award-winning Skeleton Crew, in a co-production with Marin Theatre Company. A makeshift family of auto-plant workers navigate the possibility of foreclosure in this funny, tough, and tender American drama which captured critical raves. Rising star playwright Dominique Morisseau (Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations, Sunset Baby, Detroit '67, Pipeline) creates a world in which ambitious dreams and corporate deception interweave, pushing friendships to the limit. Skeleton Crew will be directed by Jade King Carroll (Associate Director for Broadway revivals of A Streetcar Named Desire and The Gin Game) and will be presented by TheatreWorks March 7 - April 1, 2018 (opening night: March 10) at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. For tickets ($40-$100) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

Opening The Dare Tactics 4th Season, Forget Me Not, music by Joey Contreras, book and lyrics by Kate Thomas, tells the story of a remote coastal town where a whale washes ashore and brings a burst of attention back to the struggling community.

Compass Players brings its second season to a close by throwing open the doors on the world premiere of veteran TV writer/producer Cynthia J.  Cohen's romantic comedy about finding love in the "prime of life," West Palm Prime, March 15-31 at TheatreWorks, 10580 N. 83rd Drive in Peoria.

The brand new play-written by AJ Baker and produced and presented by 3Girls Theatre Company-is a fast-paced whodunit intent on turning a few tables as it tells a tale of sexual harassment, a metabolic miracle drug about to go public, social media, and corporate espionage, all at a time when our national conversation is focused on sexual politics and power in the workplace

Elevator Repair Service, "one of the city's few truly essential theater companies" (New York Times), is pleased to present the world premiere of Everyone's Fine With Virginia Woolf, a new play written by longtime company member Kate Scelsa and directed by Elevator Repair Service Artistic Director John Collins.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater (Orlando Shakes) in Partnership with UCF presents William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night February 21 - March 23, 2018 in the Margeson Theater. Performed in traditional Elizabethan style by an all-male cast, Twelfth Night will play in repertory with Shakespeare in Love. Tickets ($25 - $50) to both productions are available now by calling (407) 447-1700 ext. 1, visiting www.orlandoshakes.org, or in person at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 East Rollins Street).

Working Theater (Mark Plesent, Producing Artistic Director) will present the World Premiere of Adam Kraar's Alternating Currents, directed by Kareem Fahmy (James Scruggs's 3/Fifths at 3LD) as part of their Five Boroughs/One City Initiative with performances in Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, Staten Island, and Brooklyn, April 26-May 27.

Audible Inc., the world's largest producer and provider of downloadable audiobooks and other spoken-word entertainment, today announced the first class of theater commissions selected to receive support from its fund dedicated to the commission and development of innovative English-language works from playwrights around the globe. Announced earlier this year, the $5 million fund will enable the creation of one- and two-person audio plays driven by language and voice, in keeping with Audible's core commitment to elevating listening experiences through powerful performances of brilliantly composed words.

Ken Ludwig's Moon Over Buffalo is the kind of well-constructed, old-fashion farce that has been a mainstay of community theaters for generations, yet it was written in the early 1990's. Set in 1953, it captures the struggle in desperation of a second-rate repertory company touring mid-range towns with a reliable mix of the classics: Shakespeare and Cyrano de Bergerac, with slightly more modern comedies like Noel Coward.

Back Table Ink has announced its production of "The Great Cat Massacre", premiering in the 12th Annual FRIGID Festival, produced by Horse Trade Theater Group. "The Great Cat Massacre" is a new musical written by Greg Moss & Casey O'Neil. Currently in rehearsals, this show will run on select dates from February 17th until March 4th at the Kraine Theater.

On Friday, February 16th, TheatreWorks New Milford will premiere David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize winning drama, Proof. The curtain rises at 8:00 p.m. every Friday and Saturday for a four-week run.

HERSHEY FELDER PRESENTS the Midwest Premiere of Our Great Tchaikovsky, a new play-with-music featuring the compositions of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Directed by Trevor Hay with a book and performance by Hershey Felder. Following critically acclaimed and record breaking productions at San Diego Rep, Hartford Stage, Los Angeles' Wallis Annenberg, Theatreworks Silicon Valley and London's West End, Felder's newest work takes on Russia's most celebrated and perhaps most mysterious composer, Tchaikovsky.

TheatreWorks Florida announced that The National Endowment for The Arts (NEA) Chairman, Jane Chu, has approved a grant in the amount of $10,000 to launch the company's TheatreCares program, Vet Voices. This is TheatreWorks Florida's 4th NEA grant and they are so appreciative of the agency's support for this project.

Megan Bandelt is pleased to announce that the world premiere of her latest work, what she found, will be presented at the 12th Annual FRIGID Festival. The festival will take place February 14th through March 4th 2018 at The Kraine and UNDER St. Marks Theaters on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the Tony Award-winning musical The Bridges of Madison County, based on the 1992 bestselling novel by Robert James Waller about love both lost and found. Set amidst the cornfields of Iowa in 1965, this passionate musical follows the unexpected affair of a devoted Italian-born housewife and a roving National Geographic photographer set over four sensual, heart-stirring days. Brilliantly adapted by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Marsha Norman ('night Mother, The Secret Garden, The Color Purple) with music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (Parade), it captured the 2014 Tony Award for Best Musical Score. The Bridges of Madison County, directed by TheatreWorks Artistic Director and founder Robert Kelley will be presented April 4 - 29, 2018 (opening night: April 7) at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. For tickets ($40-$100) and more information the public may visit TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.

THE GREEN ROOM 42 - Broadway's newest intimate concert venue - will celebrate 'National Single Appreciation Day' with 'undie rock' sensation THE SKIVVIES and their new show 'Hit Singles' on Thursday, February 15.