Thornton Wilder News

Thornton Wilder's American classic, Our Town, is the third production of The Renaissance Players' 2012 theatrical season, running August 10 - August 19 at The Renaissance Center's Anne Deason Performance Hall.

Single tickets to productions in the Huntington Theatre Company's 2012-2013 Season go on sale to the general public onThursday, August 16.

The world premiere of Brace Yourself, opens at Berkshire Theatre Group's Fitzpatrick Main Stage on August 18 at 8pm. Previews begin August 14 at 8pm and closing is on August 25. Brace Yourself is sponsored by Country Curtains, Blantyre and The Red Lion Inn.

The San Pedro Playhouse presents HELLO, DOLLY!, a regional production cast solely of local talent. The show plays the Russell Hill Rogers Theatre from tonight, July 20 through August 19. Tickets for HELLO, DOLLY! are available at www.sanpedroplayhouse.com or by calling the Box Office at (210) 733-7258.

Transport Group Theatre Company, the winner of both a Special Drama Desk Award and Obie Award, has announced that that their award-winning 2010 production of See Rock City & Other Destinations will receive an original cast recording produced by Yellow Sound Label. The Drama Desk and Richard Rodgers Award-winning musical has music by Brad Alexander and book and lyrics by Adam Mathias. The show was directed by Transport Group Artistic Director Jack Cummings III.

Today we are talking to Patricia Kelly, the widow of one of the most iconic and influential performers in entertainment history, Gene Kelly, all about her husband's incomparable career on Broadway and in Hollywood, in honor of his centennial. Tracing Gene Kelly's journey from his theatre roots starring in Cole Porter's LEAVE IT TO ME!, Rodgers & Hart's PAL JOEY and William Saroyan's Pulitzer Prize-winning THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE on Broadway to his unforgettable screen appearances in many of the greatest movie musicals ever made - COVER GIRL, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, THE PIRATE, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS and many more included - Mrs. Kelly gives us a look into the life of one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. In addition to behind-the-scenes stories involving Kelly's frequent collaborators - such as esteemed director Vincente Minnelli, songwriter and producer Arthur Freed, arranger Saul Chaplin and others - Mrs. Kelly also shares candid anecdotes involving her husband's involvement with directing Rodgers & Hammerstein's FLOWER DRUM SONG on Broadway, helming the feature film adaptation of HELLO, DOLLY! starring Barbra Streisand, as well as his appearing in two idiosyncratic movie musicals later in his life, LES DEMOISELLES DE ROCHEFORT (THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT) for Jacques Demy, as well as his au revoir to movie musicals in form of the Olivia Newton-John roller disco starrer XANADU. Additionally, Mrs. Kelly fills us in on all the details about this weekend's two-night Gene Kelly retrospective celebration, which she leads and narrates, as part of GENE KELLY @ 100 and her future plans for the multimedia presentation - each evening titled AN EVENING OF GENE KELLY and CHANGING THE LOOK OF DANCE ON FILM, respective - as she begins to tour the show across the country. Plus, reflections on SINGIN' IN THE RAIN's 60th anniversary and the recent Fathom HD premiere presentation in theaters, the impact of Kelly's work behind the camera, his choreographic legacy, what a legend is like at home, memories of attending the opening night of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (starring HELLO, DOLLY! lead Michael Crawford), what the master would say about GLEE, SMASH, BUNHEADS and today's movie musical renaissance, as well as much, much more!

Culver City Public Theatre (CCPT) opens its 14th season of free family friendly summer shows July 14th in Dr. Paul Carlson Park. All performances are open to the public. Founded in 1998, CCPT (a donation and grant supported 501c3 non-profit) is a member of the American Association of Community Theatres (AACT).

As a special homage to Theodore Mann, Circle in the Square's co-founder, artistic director, and co-producer who passed away on February 24th of this year, Circle in the Square Theatre School is inviting the theater-going public, the theater community and those who worked with him to share their remembrances of Mann and the over 175 productions that he with Jose Quintero, and later with Paul Libin brought to the stage.

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival continues to mark its 60th season this week with the world premieres of three Canadian plays and the opening of Artistic Director Des McAnuff's production of Henry V.

Berkeley's acclaimed Aurora Theatre Company announced today the appointment of Ryan O'Steen as Technical Director and Production Coordinator of Aurora Theatre Company. O'Steen replaces Chris Killion, Aurora's first Technical Director and Production Coordinator at its current Addison Street space. Killion, an integral part of the company for 11 years, collaborated with the architects and builders on both the original Aurora Addison Street space, as well as the new Dashow Wing, in addition to constructing sets for 55 Aurora productions. O'Steen joins the company directly from Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

Aurora Theatre Company announces that it will add an additional four performances of its current hit production SALOMANIA, Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross's first new play commission for the company, written and directed by award-winning Bay Area auteur Mark Jackson (Metamorphosis, Salome, Miss Julie).

Georgia Ensemble Theatre (GET), North Fulton's only professional theatre company, will commemorate its 20th anniversary with a season-long celebration honoring those who have contributed to the Theatre's success in making it to this milestone anniversary.

Transport Group, the Drama Desk and OBIE award-winning theatre company, presents a one-night-only, all-star concert of the acclaimed 1983 Broadway musical Baby, taking place tonight, Monday, June 18 at 7pm at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher Street.

Following her holiday show in Provincetown last Christmas, and her debut at the Laurie Beechman Theater in New York City this past February, David Drake's newest theatrical creation Tawny Heatherton will bring her blonde-swept brand of cheer back to the tip of the Cape for her very first summer-long engagement - with the premiere of TAWNY, TELL ME TRUE at the Crown & Anchor in Provincetown, MA. With onstage musical direction by John Thomas, TAWNY, TELL ME TRUE opens tonight, June 17th and performs every Sunday at 10PM thru Sept 2nd in the Crown Cabaret Room of the Crown & Anchor, 247 Commercial Street. Tickets are $25, and can be obtained in-person at the box office, or online at www.onlyatthecrown.com. (Note: *No performance on July 8th.)

A Noise Within (ANW), the acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, led by Producing Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, has announced its 2012-13 Season featuring six masterworks linked by spiritual, physical and emotional journeys. Presented during the second season in the company's new 33,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art Pasadena venue are Shakespeare's CYMBELINE, George Bernard Shaw's THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA, Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL adapted by Geoff Elliott, John Steinbeck's THE GRAPES OF WRATH adapted by Frank Galati, EURYDICE by Sarah Ruhl, and George Farquhar's THE BEAUX' STRATAGEM adapted by Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig. The season runs from September 2012 to May 2013.

Closing Aurora's 20th season is the World Premiere of SALOMANIA, Aurora Theatre Company Artistic Director Tom Ross's first new play commission for the company, written and directed by award-winning Bay Area auteur Mark Jackson (Metamorphosis, Salome, Miss Julie). Workshopped and developed at Aurora in 2010, SALOMANIA features Madeline H.D. Brown (Metamorphosis), Mark Anderson Phillips (Small Tragedy), Alex Moggridge (Betrayed), Liam Vincent (California Shakespeare Theater), Anthony Nemirovsky (Awake and Sing!), Marilee Talkington (Crowded Fire), and Kevin Clarke (Shotgun Players). SALOMANIA plays tonight, June 15 through July 22 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley.

Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre (CST) in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho announces Ellen Travolta and Jack Bannon in the revival of Hello, Dolly! as their 45th Anniversary Season opener. CST is delighted to bring back this smash-hit to Northwest audiences. Travolta and Bannon (real-life husband and wife team) portrayed the beloved matchmaker Dolly Levi and the grumpy Horace Vandergeller during CST's 2000 season.

Some Like It Hot meets Twelfth Night in Ken Ludwig's delightful madcap comedy, Leading Ladies. Richard Israel directs a four-week run, tonight, June 8 through July 1, at International City Theatre in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival's 60th Season opening week wrapped up on Saturday night with the debut of The Matchmaker, a comedic tale by Thornton Wilder that has never before been presented by The Festival. Funny, touching, witty and poignant, the show both delighted and surprised. Bolstered by an incredibly talent cast, beautiful set design and inspired direction, The Matchmaker is shaping up to be the can't miss show of the summer.

Marin Theatre Company announces today that, due to extraordinary ticket demand, it will extend God of Carnage by eight performances. Bay Area audiences now have the opportunity to experience the critically acclaimed production of Yasmina Reza's award-winning play through Sunday, June 24.