Tony Cisek News

The setting for Richard Clifford's production of Amadeus, Peter Shaffer's classic, modern revenge tragedy could not be more skillfully assembled, and Clifford has created a taut, compelling evening for Folger audiences that remind us how shockingly contemporary the play's themes are.

Genius and jealousy collide in Folger Theatre's production of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus. Richard Clifford (Mary Stuart and The School for Scandal at Folger Theatre), directs the Tony Award-winning “Best Play” set against the backdrop of the opulent salons and opera houses of 18th-century Vienna, examining the rivalry between court composer Antonio Salieri and the boorish but brilliant Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The production features Helen Hayes Award-winner Ian Merrill Peakes (Folger Theatre's Macbeth and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead) as the tortured composer Salieri, who finds himself living in the shadow of his musical rival Mozart (Samuel Adams).

Genius and jealousy collide in Folger Theatre's production of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus. Richard Clifford (Mary Stuart and The School for Scandal at Folger Theatre), directs the Tony Award-winning a?oeBest Playa?? set against the backdrop of the opulent salons and opera houses of 18th-century Vienna, examining the rivalry between court composer Antonio Salieri and the boorish but brilliant Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Tiger Style! by Mike Lew, an outrageous and cutting satire of Asian-American identity, completes Olney Theatre Center's 81st season in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab (July 17 - August 18, 2019). The production is directed by the boundary-pushing director Natsu Onoda Power, who recently pulled off the rare feat of winning two Helen Hayes Awards (one for direction, one for design) in a single evening. Invited press night is Saturday, July 20 at 7:45pm.

People's Light presents For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday by two-time Pulitzer Prize Finalist Sarah Ruhl, featuring an all-star cast of Philadelphia favorites and directed by People's Light Executive Artistic Director Abigail Adams. Family is at the heart of Sarah Ruhl's imaginative and lyrical comedy-drama. Five middle-aged siblings crack jokes, argue politics, and mourn the death of their father over a bottle of Jameson. Ann, the eldest, reminisces about her star turn as Peter Pan at the local children's theatre fifty years ago, and leads her siblings on one final journey to Neverland, as they confront growing old and growing up. Tickets range from $30-$50. To purchase, call 610.644.3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org. People's Light is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA 19355.  

Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 65th Anniversary Season concludes in the Quadracci Powerhouse with Two Trains Running, part of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson's trailblazing American Century Cycle, April 16 - May 12, 2019.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater announces the complete cast and creative teams for the 2018/19 Season final Spring shows including Ring of Fire, Every Brilliant Thing, and Two Trains Running. 

Go back in time to 1665 and learn about the theatre world in London.

The performance of Alison Luff in the title role is nothing short of miraculous; her transformation from a trash-talking orange-monger to a star of the stage is unforgettable, and for theatre-goers to neglect this rare gem would border on criminal negligence.

Behold the year of the woman: 1665. Folger Theatre continues its 2018/19 season of characters who "shake the world" with Nell Gwynn, the Olivier Award-winning 2016 comedy from London about one of the first women to perform on the English stage.

The Denver Center Theatre Company is proud to announce full casting and creative team of Anna Karenina directed by Artistic Director Chris Coleman.

Timothy Douglas' production of Wilson's Gem of the Ocean is as rich an experience as you could possibly ask for; set at the turn of the twentieth century, it offers a lesson in the trials of Pittsburgh's African-American community at a pivotal time in the Hill district's history. More importantly, it is an examination of a violent, exploitative past from which we, as a nation, have yet to emerge.

Long Way Down delves deeply into the circumstances surrounding urban gun violence, and the impacts which it has on those left in its bloody wake.

When Shakespeare Theatre Company first announced their 2018/19 season, I was hesitant. The season didn't feel grand enough to serve as a proper goodbye to Michael Kahn, who has developed this company into an international institution. Having now seen their first production, The Comedy of Errors, and their spectacular fall gala, I think it is safe to say my hesitation was unfounded. STC is sending their founder off with quite a spectacular farewell.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents a world premiere Kennedy Center commission, Long Way Down, running October 27 - November 4, 2018 in the Family Theater. Based on Jason Reynolds's New York Times best-selling book, this timely and compelling production follows Will, a fifteen year-old whose brother has just been murdered. Told entirely in free-form poetry, Long Way Down captures the potent minute Will spends in an elevator as he decides whether or not to take revenge.  On the ride down, mysterious guests appear at each floor, and Will realizes there might be a bigger story to be told.

Adam Bock's A Life, commissioned by Portland Center Stage at The Armory, will receive its West Coast debut at The Armory following the success of the play's world premiere in New York. A Life begins preview performances on September 29, opens on October 5, and runs through November 11 in the Ellyn Bye Studio. Associate Artistic Director Rose Riordan, who has frequently partnered with Bock, will direct. Nat DeWolf (Broadway: Take Me Out) will make his company debut as the astrology-loving and hopelessly single Nate Martin. DeWolf is joined by Cycerli Ash, also making her debut at The Armory, as well as returning artists Dana Green (Major Barbara and many others) and Gary Norman (Our Town).

Adam Bock's A Life, commissioned by Portland Center Stage at The Armory, will receive its West Coast debut at The Armory following the success of the play's world premiere in New York. A Life begins preview performances on September 29, opens on October 5, and runs through November 11 in the Ellyn Bye Studio. Associate Artistic Director Rose Riordan, who has frequently partnered with Bock, will direct. Nat DeWolf (Broadway: Take Me Out) will make his company debut as the astrology-loving and hopelessly single Nate Martin. DeWolf is joined by Cycerli Ash, also making her debut at The Armory, as well as returning artists Dana Green (Major Barbara and many others) and Gary Norman (Our Town).

Adam Bock's A Life, commissioned by Portland Center Stage at The Armory, will receive its West Coast debut at The Armory following the success of the play's world premiere in New York. A Life begins preview performances on September 29, opens on October 5, and runs through November 11 in the Ellyn Bye Studio. Associate Artistic Director Rose Riordan, who has frequently partnered with Bock, will direct. Nat DeWolf (Broadway: Take Me Out) will make his company debut as the astrology-loving and hopelessly single Nate Martin. DeWolf is joined by Cycerli Ash, also making her debut at The Armory, as well as returning artists Dana Green (Major Barbara and many others) and Gary Norman (Our Town).

Rampant ambition and minds unhinged. Shrieking owls and prophesies foretold. Folger Theatre begins its 2018/19 season with Macbeth, Shakespeare's murderous tragedy seen anew and here, set in London's famous Bedlam asylum for a groundbreaking production integrating period music into a famous variation of the play. The Restoration-era adaptation by Sir William Davenant, which mesmerized audiences from the re-opening of London theaters in the 1660's until well into the 18th century, blends music performed by Folger Consort and the seminal tragedy of the Scottish king.