TEN, The Gift Theatre's annual season kickoff celebration of ten 10-minute plays curated by artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton and associate artistic director Paul D'Addario, returns this year as TEN (+5) to honor the 15 year anniversary, tonight, January 1-10, 2016.
Now that 2015 is squarely in the rearview mirror, and everyone is back to work after the holidays, it is time to take a look at some of the best films of the past year. As was the case with my Top 15 TV Shows of 2015 list, this is not intended to be a comprehensive list. I am one man, and I have not yet seen every major movie released last year. However, as I continue to work through screeners and upcoming screenings (I live in Orlando, so not all of the awards-bait has been released here yet), I will count down the top 2015 releases that I saw during the calendar year. Notable omissions are BRIDGE OF SPIES, THE REVENANT, THE DANISH GIRL, and CONCUSSION, all of which I hope to see by the end of the week.
TEN, The Gift Theatre's annual season kickoff celebration of ten 10-minute plays curated by artistic director Michael Patrick Thornton and associate artistic director Paul D'Addario, returns this year as TEN (+5) to honor the 15 year anniversary, January 1-10, 2016.
The National Theatre of Great Britain's North American wing (Tim Levy, Producer) in collaboration with Scott Morfee, Jean Doumanian, Tom Wirtshafter, and Patrick Daly have announced the North American premiere of playwright Lucy Prebble's award-winning new play The Effect. With direction by David Cromer, the entirely American production of The Effect will open at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street at 7th Avenue) in March 2016. Additional information will be announced shortly.
Mercer County Community College's (MCCC's) Kelsey Theatre kicks off the new year with a serious family drama that finds humor in even the most fraught moments. PinnWorth Productions presents Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize-winning play, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY on Fridays, Jan. 8 and 15 at 8 p.m.; Saturdays, Jan. 9 and 16 at 8 p.m.; and Sundays, Jan. 10 and 17 at 2 p.m. Kelsey Theatre is located on the college's West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road.
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley kicks off the New Year with the regional premiere of Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, a brand new work by acclaimed performer/playwright/director Hershey Felder. The inspiring story of "America's Composer" Irving Berlin takes center stage in this tour-de-force performance by virtuoso Hershey Felder, internationally acclaimed for bringing to life such composers as Gershwin, Beethoven, Chopin, and Bernstein. Fleeing the anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia, capturing the rhythms of the Lower East Side, and eventually enchanting the entire world, Berlin epitomized the American dream. Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin will be directed by Trevor Hay with performances January 13 - February 14, 2016 (press opening: January 16) at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View. For tickets ($35 -$100) and information the public may visit www.TheatreWorks.org or call (650) 463-1960.
The critically-acclaimed, smash hit production of Annie Baker's 2014 Pulitzer Prize and Obie Award-winning drama, The Flick, which has been playing to packed houses since opening in May at the Barrow Street Theatre, will play its final performance on Sunday, January 10, 2016.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company has announced acclaimed film and television star Claire Danes as the guest of honor at the annual Steppenwolf Salutes Women in the Arts fundraising luncheon on Thursday, February 4, 2016 at 12 noon (location TBD). The luncheon features an in-depth conversation with Claire Danes about her incredible career and impact as a leading woman in the arts.
Sundance Institute today completed its feature film lineup for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival with the highly anticipated narratives, documentaries, episodic work and events in the Premieres, Documentary Premieres, Spotlight, Sundance Kids and Special Events sections.
Casting has been announced for the highly anticipated world premiere production of Mary Page Marlowe, written by Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning playwright and ensemble member Tracy Letts. Artistic Director Anna D. Shapiro, who directed Letts's internationally acclaimed August: Osage County, teams up with him again for this new, ambitious production in Steppenwolf's 40th anniversary season. Mary Page Marlowe runs March 31 - May 29, 2016 in the Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N Halsted St. Tickets ($20 - $89) go on sale Friday, January 29, 2016 at 11am through Audience Services (1650 N Halsted St), 312-335-1650 and steppenwolf.org.
Offering a first look at the year ahead in independent film, culture and new ideas, Sundance Institute announced today the 65 films selected for the U.S. Competition, World Competition and out-of-competition NEXT category set to premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, January 21-31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Films that have premiered in these sections include Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station,Whiplash, Blackfish, The September Issue, The Cove, An Education, Animal Kingdom, Precious, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Obvious Child, Tangerine and Escape from Tomorrow.
Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Chicago premiere production of DOMESTICATED, a scandalously entertaining play written and directed by ensemble member Bruce Norris, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Clybourne Park, The Qualms and The Pain and The Itch, features ensemble member Tom Irwin as publicly shamed politician Bill Pulver opposite venerable Chicago actress Mary Beth Fisher, who plays his wife. DOMESTICATED begins previews tonight, December 3, 2015 (press performances are December 12 at 3pm and December 15 at 7:30pm; opening night is December 13) and runs through February 7, 2016 in the Downstairs Theatre.
The Drama Book Shop will host celebrate the launch of Theatre World's 69th Volume - the only record of the American theatre season still in print. A book launch, signing, and panel discussion with the editors on 'Theatre Print Media in the Age of the Internet' will be held at the Tony Award winning Book Shop on Friday, December 4, 2015, from 5-7p.m. It is free and open to the public.
Groundling Theatre Company's inaugural production, a full staging of William Shakespeare's THE WINTER'S TALE, will be presented as part of the Coal Mine Theatre's second season of adventurous theatre, running January 28 - February 20, 2016. One of the most psychologically engaging romances in the English language, this intimate chamber production of THE WINTER'S TALE will be directed by Graham Abbey, founder and artistic director of Groundling Theatre Company.
Thanksgiving is a time for families to gather together, to share a meal, and to count all of the wonderful blessings that they have received over the past year. That is, of course, unless your family is filled with monsters, ingrates, and malcontents. For BroadwayWorld's readers not fortunate enough to have a loving family, Thanksgiving can be a time of sibling rivalry, domestic disappointments, and turke-time tantrums.
Members and constituents of United Scenic Artists Local USA 829 have been busy speaking out against The New York Times' recent decision to leave out the names of shows' designers when listing credits for theatre productions at the end of reviews. As of today, their hard work has paid off.
Sometimes it seems there is so much theater happening that it's difficult to keep track of it all. From personal experience, despite all the datebooks, smart phones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops...it's hard to keep everything straight in this wacky business of the show.
Turkeys are on-sale at your local supermarket, so there's no better way to know Thanksgiving is just around the corner - yep, less than two weeks away! - which means that local theater companies will be unleashing their holiday season productions with enough productions of A Christmas Story (both the musical and the play), It's A Wonderful Life and Ebenezer Scrooge-led shows that you could shake a stick at!
The Trap Door Theatre is proud to announce a two-week extension for THE FAIRYTALE LIVES OF RUSSIAN GIRLS, written by Meg Miroshnik and drected by Nicole Wiesner. The production will now close on Saturday, December 5, 2015 at 8PM.