Verona News

The Old Globe's world premiere of Anna Ziegler's THE LAST MATCH, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch (who directed Bethany at the Globe in 2014), will run in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, tonight, February 13, through March 13, 2016.

Cleveland Play House's (CPH) monumental 100th Season continues with the regional premiere of LUNA GALE. CPH welcomes back film and stage legend Austin Pendleton to direct this contemporary drama that begs the question 'To whom do you belong?' Written by Rebecca Gilman, recipient of the 2015 Roe Green Award, LUNA GALE runs February 27 - March 20 in the intimate Allen Theatre.

The richness of Italian wine variety was the theme of the day on Tuesday, as the Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) took the stage at the New York Midtown Hilton in two masterclasses for industry professionals, highlighting the diversity and craftsmanship of Italian wines.

Artistic Director Daniel Evans today announces that the world premiere of Richard Bean's THE NAP - directed by Sheffield's Associate Director Richard Wilson - will extend its run by one week to the 2 April due to popular demand.

Hartford Stage presents William Shakespeare's most popular play, ROMEO & JULIET, directed by Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak, who previously helmed the critically acclaimed productions of HAMLET, MACBETH, TWELFTH NIGHT and THE TEMPEST. The tragic romance will play from tonight, February 11, through March 20 only.

Gulfshore Playhouse (www.GulfshorePlayhouse.org) - Southwest Florida's premier professional theatre - presents Ken Ludwig's MOON OVER BUFFALO, a madcap comedy from the author of The Fox on the Fairway and The Game's Afoot, scheduled for February 13 through March 13 at The Norris Center in Naples.

The Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House (CWRU/CPH) MFA Acting Program will open its 20th Anniversary season with Shakespeare's delightful comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona in the Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre (The Helen) for 10 performances, tonight, February 10, through February 20, 2016.

Harvey Blanks, Chuck Cooper, Marva Hicks, Carly Hughes, LaChanze, Norm Lewis, Forrest McClendon, and J.D. Webster star in Vernon Duke and John Latouche's jazz-filled fable CABIN IN THE SKY, running for seven performances for Encores! at New York City Center, tonight, February 10, through February 14.

Broadway leading ladies LaChanze (Tony Award winner for The Color Purple) and Lindsay Mendez (Wicked, Godspell) have been added to the all-star lineup of INSPIRATIONAL BROADWAY, a dynamic and soulful evening of music.

Award Winning Playwright, Vanda, presents a monthly stage performance of her soon to be released book, JULIANA. The novel and live performance centers around LGBT life in New York City in the 1940's. The performances are directed by Ray Fritz. 

Happy Birthday, John Guare! He is best known as the author of The House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation, and Landscape of the Body. Guare has also been involved with musical theatre. His libretto with Mel Shapiro for the musical Two Gentlemen of Verona was a success when it premiered in 1971 and was revived in 2005 at the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park. It won the two men the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical. He wrote the songs for Landscape of the Body. In 1999, he revised the book of the Cole Porter musical comedy, Kiss Me, Kate for its Broadway revival. He also wrote the book for the Broadway musical Sweet Smell of Success.

Madison Opera presents the company premiere of Mark Adamo's LITTLE WOMEN today, February 5 and Sunday, February 7 in the Capitol Theater at the Overture Center for the Arts.

Ballet Kelowna celebrates the New Year with the mixed repertory programme BOUNDLESS, at the Kelowna Community Theatre, February 5 and 6, 2016, at the Merritt Civic Centre, February 9, 2016 and at the Summerland Centre Stage Theatre, March 6, 2016.

Some Shakespearean tragedies are ripe for a prequel; amidst the chaos and bloodshed, you wonder what happened to get us here, and what might be going on just out of view.  In 'Verona Walls,' playwright Laura Hirschberg, a Shakespeare devotee since childhood, imagines a background story for 'Romeo and Juliet' that is separate from the ancient grudges that frame the Bard's tragedy.  She spins a separate and most profound 'bromance' for the Montague boys in this new play, which centers on the loves and mistakes of Mercutio--Romeo's best friend and Shakespeare's notorious scene-stealer--as the action of 'Romeo and Juliet' plays out somewhere offstage.  The Workshop Theater, 312 West 36th Street, will present the play's world premiere March 3 to 26, directed by DeLisa M. White.

The Old Globe presents the West Coast premiere of THE METROMANIACS by supremely clever playwright David Ives (All in the Timing, Time Flies). This uproarious new 'translaptation' of a classic French farce, Alexis Piron's La Metromanie, will be directed by one of America's most renowned stage directors, Michael Kahn, presented in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Temple Theaters presents William Shakespeare's THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, directed by James J. Christy, running tonight, February 3, through February 14, 2016 in Temple University's Tomlinson Theater.

Gulfshore Playhouse (www.GulfshorePlayhouse.org) - Southwest Florida's premier professional theatre - is pleased to announce the cast of its upcoming production of Ken Ludwig's Moon Over Buffalo, a madcap comedy from the author of The Fox on the Fairway and The Game's Afoot, scheduled for February 13 through March 13 at The Norris Center in Naples.

The Public Theater announced complete casting today for the New York premiere of HEAD OF PASSES, written by Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Tina Landau. Part of Oskar Eustis' 10th anniversary season, HEAD OF PASSES begins previews on Tuesday, March 15 in the Newman Theater and runs through Sunday, April 17, with an official press opening on Monday, March 28.

Following a shipwreck on a strange shore, Viola fears her brother dead and is forced to build a new life on her own. Masquerading as a man in order to procure a job with Duke Orsino, she finds herself in the midst of a topsy-turvy love triangle. Magic, mayhem and mistaken identities come to the stage in William Shakespeare's treasured romantic comedy of revelry, reunion and love.

Katori Hall, who wrote the award winning play THE MOUNTAINTOP, which is in production at Cleveland Play House, in her script attempts to answer such questions as: What was Martin Luther King, Jr. like as a person? With all the death threats that King received, what was his last night alive like? What did he believe was going to be his ultimate role in the Black rights movement?