Thornton Wilder News

Joe's Pub has announced its performances running December 10 - December 21, 2014. Details below!

The Public Theater announced the return of Public Forum's holiday tradition, a one-night-only Drama Club reading and discussion of THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER on Sunday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. at Joe's Pub at The Public. Just in time for the holidays, this exciting evening will feature a reading of Thornton Wilder's 1931 one-act featuring Tarell Alvin McCraney, Ethan Lipton, Andrew Solomon, and Tappan Wilder. Wilder's ingenious, heartbreaking play traces 90 years in the life of an American family, and will spark a discussion about family and storytelling in a society that's rapidly accelerating.

The existentialists ask, 'What does it mean to exist? What is our purpose in being?' 'American Falls,' Miki Johnson's drama which showcases eight people living in a small town-six alive, two dead-is an existentialist exercise.

Asolo Repertory Theatre kicks off its 2014-15 rep season with three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Thornton Wilder's uproarious romantic comedy, THE MATCHMAKER. Directed by Peter Amster, the play opens Friday, January 9, 2015 at 8pm, with previews Tuesday, January 6 at 7:30 pm, Wednesday, January 7 and Thursday, January 8 at 8pm. THE MATCHMAKER, which was adapted into the Tony Award-winning musical Hello, Dolly!, runs in rotating rep through Saturday, April 11, 2015.

American Symphony Orchestra presents the play and the opera THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER at Alice Tully Hall on December 19, 2014. This will be the first time that Thornton Wilder's one-act play and Paul Hindemith's one-act opera will be performed together in the United States.

John Doyle cuts Rodgers and Hammerstein's experimental musical extensively and casts actor/musicians.

One of the most magical places that I have ever been is Grover's Corners, New Hampshire. It's not a fancy place, just a simple town in which people go about their business, but are always willing to stop and chat about the weather. Grover's Corners is the epitome of a way of life that has long since ceased to exist, if it ever actually did in the first place. However, despite its quantness and surface simplicity, every time I go back to visit, I find more and more depth in the town than I ever remembered being there before. Perhaps this is a simple byproduct of my own aging, but each time I stop by Grover's Corners, I fall more and more in love with this mythical, magical town.

Theatre South Carolina will present the Pulitzer Prize-winning American classic Our Town, tonight, November 14-22, 2014 at Longstreet Theatre.

Thornton Wilder's 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play about small-town America in the early 1900s, depicted in the fictionalized town of Grover's Corners, is one of the most renowned and frequently performed plays of all time.

Thornton Wilder's 1938 Pulitzer Prize-winning play about small-town America in the early 1900s, depicted in the fictionalized town of Grover's Corners, is one of the most renowned and frequently performed plays of all time.

Central Players have announced the their inaugural production of Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN will be directed by Broadway veteran Walker Joyce (Big River).

Theatre South Carolina will present the Pulitzer Prize-winning American classic Our Town, November 14-22, 2014 at Longstreet Theatre.

After six consecutive years, Disney's Beauty and the Beast has relinquished its place as the top musical in the annual survey of most-produced titles in United States high school theatres, unseated during the 2013-14 season by another adaptation of an animated anti-hero: Shrek the Musical. Returning to the list, and rounding out the top three, is Godspell, which has seen its popularity rise after a recent Broadway revival and subsequent national tour.

Gary Naylor sees a slice of early twentieth century life in which not quite enough happens, but in an interesting and innovative way, beautifully acted and intelligently staged.

STAGES St. Louis has announced that the box office sensation, Always... Patsy Cline grossed over $1 Million during its six month run at The Playhouse at Westport Plaza., making up 58% of STAGES 2014 ticket revenue. Always... Patsy Cline was originally produced by STAGES during its record-breaking 2013 Season, which resulted in two added performances and historic attendance. Nightly, the audiences stopped the show with thunderous applause for numbers like 'Crazy,' 'Lovesick Blues,' and 'Your Cheating Heart.'

Central Players have announce the their inaugural production of Thornton Wilder's OUR TOWN will be directed by Broadway veteran Walker Joyce (Big River).

Eric Rosen, Artistic Director of Kansas City Repertory Theatre, announced that acclaimed director David Cromer will direct a major revival of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America as part of KC Rep's 50th anniversary 2014-15 season.

Using a cast entirely comprised of alumni and members of the community, Long Wharf Theatre begins its 50th anniversary season with Our Town by Thornton Wilder, directed by Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein, through November 2, 2014 on the Claire Tow Stage in the C. Newton Schenck III Theatre.

Just a few weeks ago I was dodging a falling chandelier at the Orpheum's staging of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA; at the 'Phantom Event' held prior to the play, I was reminded of all the physical (as well as fiscal) requirements for properly staging this production. I kept thinking, 'How many small, financially strapped towns would breathe a sigh of relief if the proceeds from such a production were to come their way?' Well, that's one extreme of theatre. Tonight I was exposed to the opposite; Circuit Playhouse's production of Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones' allegorical THE FANTASTICKS reminded me of Thornton Wilder's minimalism in the staging of OUR TOWN. If musicals like PHANTOM and LES MISERABLES are the 'central air' of theatre, THE FANTASTICKS is rather like a quaint little oscillating fan. Yet, its breeze can be refreshing.