Tracy Letts News

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center today announced the eight plays to be developed at the 2008 National Playwrights Conference.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its 32nd season with the world premiere Superior Donuts by ensemble member Tracy Letts, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau.

Steppenwolf celebrates its 32nd season with Gala 2008 on Saturday, May 3, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 1650 N. Halsted St.

Never at a loss for Incredible Talent, Steppenwolf Theatre's Tracy Letts wins the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for 'August: Osage County.'

It was announced today that the Pulitzer Prize Board has awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama to Steppenwolf ensemble member Tracy Letts' critically-acclaimed American play August: Osage County.

LAByrinth Theater Company (Artistic Director John Ortiz; Co-Artistic Director Philip Seymour Hoffman; Co-Artistic Director and Executive Director John Gould Rubin) and The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Mara Manus)'s world premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Little Flower of East Orange will run through Sunday, May 4. The production, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, opened on Sunday, April 6.

LAByrinth Theater Company (Artistic Director John Ortiz; Co-Artistic Director Philip Seymour Hoffman; Co-Artistic Director and Executive Director John Gould Rubin) and The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Mara Manus) announced today that the world premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' THE LITTLE FLOWER OF EAST ORANGE will extend its run through Sunday, May 4. The production, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, will open on Sunday, April 6 and was originally scheduled to close on Sunday, April 20.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its 32nd season with the world premiere Superior Donuts by ensemble member Tracy Letts, directed by ensemble member Tina Landau. The production, featuring ensemble members Jon Hill, Yasen Peyankov and James Vincent Meredith, runs June 19 - August 17, 2008 in Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St. The press performance is Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $20-$68. 'Arthur Przybyszewski owns a decrepit donut shop in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. Franco Wicks, a black teenager who is his only employee, wants to change the shop for the better. Superior Donuts is a provocative comedy about the challenges of embracing the past and the redemptive power of friendship,' press notes state. Ensemble member Tracy Letts' critically-acclaimed play August: Osage County is currently playing on Broadway following a sold-out run at Steppenwolf in 2007. Mr. Letts is also the author of Man from Nebraska, which was produced at Steppenwolf in 2003 and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize; Killer Joe, which has been produced in Chicago, London and New York; and Bug, which has played in New York, Chicago and London. Ensemble member Tina Landau most recently directed Steppenwolf's 2007 production of The Diary of Anne Frank. Other Steppenwolf directing credits include Cherry Orchard, The Time of Your Life (also Seattle Rep, A.C.T.), Theatrical Essays, Maria Arndt, The Ballad of Little Jo, The Berlin Circle, Time to Burn, and her own play, Space (also NY's Public Theater, Mark Taper Forum). Superior Donuts is directed by Tina Landau. The design team includes: Loy Arcenas (sets), Ana Kuzmanic (costumes), Christopher Akerlind (lights) and Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (original music and sound). Edward Sobel is the dramaturg. Laura Glenn is the stage manager and Lauren V. Hickman is the assistant stage manager. Twenty $20 tickets are available at Audience Services beginning at 11:00 a.m. on the day of each performance (1:00 p.m. for Sunday performances). Half-price rush tickets are available one hour before each show. Student discounts available. Online ticketing available at www.steppenwolf.org Production Sponsor of Superior Donuts is United Airlines. Free post-show discussions, sponsored by AT&T, are offered after every performance. Steppenwolf is located near all forms of public transportation and is wheelchair accessible. Street and lot parking are available. Assistive listening devices are available for every performance. Superior Donuts was developed as part of Steppenwolf's New Plays Initiative. Steppenwolf is recognized as a national leader in the development and production of new work for the American canon. Through this initiative, the company maintains ongoing relationships with writers of international prominence and rigorously discovers and supports the work of early and mid-career playwrights. Steppenwolf's New Plays Initiative is generously sponsored by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Zell Family Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and members of the Directors Circle. Additional support for the development and production of Superior Donuts is provided by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Committed to the principle of ensemble performance through the collaboration of a company of actors, directors and playwrights, Steppenwolf Theatre Company's mission is to advance the vitality and diversity of American theater by nurturing artists, encouraging repeatable creative relationships and contributing new works to the national canon. The company, formed in 1976 by a collective of actors, is dedicated to perpetuating an ethic of mutual respect and the development of artists through on-going group work. Steppenwolf has grown into an internationally renowned company of forty-one artists whose talents include acting, directing, playwriting, filmmaking and textual adaptation.

The newest edition of the American Theatre Wing's 'Working in the Theatre' will feature 'Steppenwolf: From Chicago to Osage County' on CUNY TV on Sunday, March 23 at 5 p.m. The segment will repeat on Friday, March 28 at 9 a.m., 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, March 29 at 11 a.m. The program becomes available as streaming audio and podcast from www.americantheatrewing.org, as well as iTunes, beginning Wednesday afternoon, March 26.

LAByrinth Theater Company (Artistic Director John Ortiz; Co-Artistic Director Philip Seymour Hoffman; Co-Artistic Director and Executive Director John Gould Rubin) and The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Mara Manus) have joined forces again to reunite the powerhouse writer/director team behind such groundbreaking urban dramas as The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train. Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis and Director Philip Seymour Hoffman have partnered on the world premiere of The Little Flower of East Orange, an inter-generational ghost story set in an upper Manhattan charity hospital, beginning previews on Tuesday, March 18. The cast for The Little Flower of East Orange will include Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream), Elizabeth Canavan (LAByrinth's Jesus Hopped The A Train), Liza Colón-Zayas (LAByrinth's A View From 151st Street), Arthur French (Dividing the Estate at Primary Stages), Gillian Jacobs (A Feminine Ending at Playwrights Horizons), Ajay Naidu (Office Space), Howie Seago (Peter Sellars' Ajax), Michael Shannon (Tracy Letts' Bug), Sidney Williams ('The Sopranos'), and David Zayas ('Dexter'). The Little Flower of East Orange will run through Sunday, April 20 with an official press opening on Sunday, April 6 at 7 PM. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting www.publictheater.org.

The LAByrinth Theater Company and The Public Theater team up again to bring Stephen Adly Guirgis's new play, 'The Little Flower Of East Oragne', starting previews on March 18th.

NEW NEWS OF: Single Carrot, Everyman, Signature THeatre, and MUCH MORE! BEST BET & READERS WRITE!

The acclaimed Broadway production of Tracy Letts' August: Osage County is proud to welcome theater and television veteran Michael McGuire into the role of family patriarch 'Beverly Weston,' a role previously portrayed by Dennis Letts (father of the playwright), who passed away last week.

Catch this latest video show preview featuring August: Osage County now playing!

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Dennis Letts, who was currently appearing as the patriarch gone-missing from the highly-acclaimed new play August: Osage County, penned by son Tracy Letts, has died of lung-cancer on Friday, February 22. He was 73 years old.

NEW THIS WEEK! Best Bet at BSF! New discounts and workshops! Plus news of BPF, Baltimore Black Arts, and a new production of Little Shop of Horrors!

'August: Osage County' will play its last performance at The Imperial Theatre on Sunday, April 20 at 3PM and will reopen at The Music Box Theatre on Tuesday, April 29 at 7:30PM. At the February 20 matinee, the play will celebrate its 100th performance on Broadway.

NEW THIS WEEK! CSC has the BEST BET of the week! Ford's Theatre presents annual Lincoln Medals! Local benefit of Nunsense A-Men! New shows at DCT, Spotlighters and Theatre Project!