Two River Theater Company News

The New Jersey Poetry Out Loud State Finals will be held today March 14, 2014, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Victoria Theater at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre continues the second half of its season with Tribes, a sophisticated and moving family drama by celebrated British playwright Nina Raine. Her profound and powerful new play became an award-winning hit in London and New York. Now renowned director Jonathan Moscone brings it to Berkeley Rep this April for its Bay Area premiere. Tribes follows Billy, a young man who was born deaf into a loquacious and highly opinionated academic family who raised him to lip-read and integrate into the hearing world. When he meets Sylvia - raised by Deaf parents and going deaf herself - Billy decides it's time to speak on his own terms and to be heard. Playing out in words, sign language, and sometimes mesmerizing silence, this penetrating drama examines familial love, notions of belonging, and the intersections of communication. Tribes start previews Friday, April 11, opens on April 16, and closes on Sunday, May 11, 2014.

The New Jersey Poetry Out Loud State Finals will be held on Friday March 14, 2014, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Victoria Theater at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Written in 1978, Deathtrap still holds the record for longest-running comedy thriller on Broadway. Sidney Bruhl is a playwright desperately in need of a hit. Just in time, a former student sends him the manuscript of his first play, a murder mystery called Deathtrap. Sidney smells a hit, but he's never been that fond of sharing credit. TIME Magazine said, 'If you care to assassinate yourself with laughter, try Deathtrap.'

Pioneer Theatre Company ushers in its new play reading series, called Play-By-Play, with True Art by Jessica Provenz, February 28 and March 1, 2014. Guest artist Julie Kramer directs the production.

Four African-American women journey west to the all-black town of Nicodemus, Kansas in search of the freedom promised by the end of the Civil War. Saundra McClain directs Pearl Cleage's powerful historical drama Flyin' West, opening March 14 at International City Theatre in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center. Two low-priced previews take place on March 12 and March 13.

Second Stage Theatre has announced the two plays which will be presented as part of the company's twelfth annual Second Stage Theatre Uptown Series this summer: Bess Wohl's American Hero, directed by Leigh Silverman and Mala Hierba by Tanya Saracho, directed by Jerry Ruiz.

California Shakespeare Theater has announced a cast change in its production of Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT, directed by Michelle Hensley. Patty Gallagher will play the role of Andrew Aguecheek, replacing Joan Mankin.

Rubicon Theatre continues the company's 16th Not Your Typical Season with sardines and lingerie in NOISES OFF, a comic romp by Michael Frayn about the outrageous exploits of a company of actors which opens tonight, February 1, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main Street in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District. The production continues Wednesdays through Sundays through February 23, with low-priced previews on Wednesday, January 29 at 7 p.m., Thursday, January 30 at 8 p.m. and Friday, January 31 at 8 p.m.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre announces the world premiere of The House that will not Stand, a historical comedic drama commissioned from award-winning poet-playwright and Oakland native Marcus Gardley. Sensuous, witty, heartbreaking, and uplifting - The House that will not Stand unearths a story about free women of color in 1836 New Orleans, where black Creole women entered into common-law marriages with affluent white men. When her wealthy lover mysteriously dies, Beartrice Albans' foundation of security hangs precariously by a thread. She is left to fend for her three unwed daughters in a world where freedom must be carefully negotiated. Told in a rich and lyrical river of words, this new play was developed through The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep's Center for the Creation and Development of New Work. It's helmed by Patricia McGregor, whose many credits include the celebrated production of Spunk at California Shakespeare Theater. The House that will not Stand begins previews on Berkeley Rep's intimate Thrust Stage today, January 31, opens on Wednesday, February 5 and runs through Sunday, March 16, 2014.

The quintessential portrait of maniacal ambition and lust for power is on stage in William Shakespeare's epic history play Richard III at Folger Theatre. Robert Richmond

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE presents the world premiere of THESE PAPER BULLETS!, a modish ripoff of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, adapted by Rolin Jones, with songs by Billie Joe Armstrong, and directed by Jackson Gay, March 14-April 5 at the University Theatre (222 York Street). Opening Night is Thursday, March 20.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of The House that will not Stand, a humorous and gripping historical drama commissioned from award- winning poet-playwright and Oakland native Marcus Gardley. Sensuous, witty, heartbreaking, and uplifting - The House that will not Stand unearths a story about free women of color in 1836 New Orleans, where black Creole women entered into common-law marriages with affluent white men. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast below!

Rubicon Theatre continues the company's 16th Not Your Typical Season with sardines and lingerie in NOISES OFF, a comic romp by Michael Frayn about the outrageous exploits of a company of actors which opens Saturday, February 1, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main Street in Ventura's Downtown Cultural District.

Renee Blinkwolt, who will take up the post beginning February 3, 2014 takes over for Jeremy Blocker who was recently named Managing Director of New York Theatre Workshop.

Two River Theater Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, continues its 2013/2014 Season with Shakespeare's romantic comedy As You Like it, directed by Michael Sexton (Two River's Henry V), the Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Society in New York. Performances will begin in Two River's Rechnitz Theater, 21 Bridge Avenue, on Saturday, January 25, with the opening night on Friday, January 31 at 8pm. The production must close on Sunday, February 16. Tickets are available from 732.345.1400 or tworivertheater.org. The lead production sponsor is Monmouth University.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre announces the world premiere of The House that will not Stand, a historical comedic drama commissioned from award-winning poet-playwright and Oakland native Marcus Gardley. Sensuous, witty, heartbreaking, and uplifting - The House that will not Stand unearths a story about free women of color in 1836 New Orleans, where black Creole women entered into common-law marriages with affluent white men. When her wealthy lover mysteriously dies, Beartrice Albans' foundation of security hangs precariously by a thread. She is left to fend for her three unwed daughters in a world where freedom must be carefully negotiated. Told in a rich and lyrical river of words, this new play was developed through The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep's Center for the Creation and Development of New Work. It's helmed by Patricia McGregor, whose many credits include the celebrated production of Spunk at California Shakespeare Theater. The House that will not Stand begins previews on Berkeley Rep's intimate Thrust Stage on Friday, January 31, opens on Wednesday, February 5 and runs through Sunday, March 16, 2014.

The quintessential portrait of maniacal ambition and lust for power is on stage in William Shakespeare's epic history play Richard III at Folger Theatre. Robert Richmond

'A Wind in the Willow Christmas' will be performed at Two River Theater Company in Red bank. Mike Faist has the role of Mole in this show that is perfect for all ages.

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Daniel Mate and Friends on December 6th, 2013. Join 2013 Kleban Award-winning songwriter Daniel Mate and a group of top-notch singing actors for an evening of eclectic, insightful, and thoroughly contagious theater songs. With astonishing lyrical flair and musical influences ranging from Cole Porter to Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan to Wu- Tang Clan, Funkadelic to Soundgarden, Mate's acclaimed and genre-hopping songs have been heralded by theater veterans and a new generation of audiences alike. This intimate evening will feature performances by Tony Award Nominee Daniel Breaker (Passing Strange, Love's Labour's Lost), Heath Calvert (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Nobody Loves You), Ariana DeBose (Motown, Bring It On), Hannah Elless (Godspell, The Other Josh Cohen), Grace McLean (Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812), Jason 'Sweettooth' Williams (Bloodsong of Love), and Mate himself.