Verona News

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company presents The Two Gentlemen of Verona at The Other Barn in Columbia, MD. Running February 22 through March 17, William Shakespeare's offbeat comedy receives a modern twist as Director Patrick Kilpatrick transports the setting to the bodacious early 1990's.

Great Lakes Theater (GLT), Cleveland's Classic Company, commences the second half its 2013-14 season with Noel Coward's comedy, Blithe Spirit. The production will be performed in the company's revolutionary and audience-friendly home at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, February 22 - March 10. 2013. Charles Fee, GLT's Producing Artistic Director, directs the production.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. . well, they'll have more like 1,440.

The Broadhurst Theatre box office opens tomorrow, Friday, January 25 at 10:00 AM for LUCKY GUY, starring two-time Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks, in the final work by three-time Academy Award-nominee Nora Ephron and directed by two-time Tony Award-winner George C. Wolfe. The Broadhurst Theatre is located at 235 West 44th Street. The production will play a strictly limited engagement. Opening night is Monday, April 1. Previews begin Friday, March 1.

Yale Repertory Theatre presents Paul Giamatti in HAMLET by William Shakespeare, directed by James Bundy, at the University Theatre (222 York Street), March 15-April 13. Opening Night is Thursday, March 21, at 7:30PM.

The Lyric Stage Company of Boston presents STONES IN HIS POCKETS by Marie Jones, featuring Daniel Berger-Jones and Phil Tayler, running February 15 - March 16, 2013.

New York City is glimmering on opening night of Bing Ringling's first produced play (and the 844th he's written). With a star producer behind him and his loving girlfriend in the show, Bing's big dreams and hard work have finally landed him on the Great White Way. But when the show is a flop, his producer backs out and his girlfriend leaves him, and even the interest of the world's biggest movie star can't bring the production back from its early grave. Holding the jagged pieces of his life's work in his hands, Bing embarks on phantasmagoric odyssey to the people and places that shaped him, trying to salvage his reputation in a system that has a mind of its own.

I've long been blunt about the fact that I don't have much of a taste for improv. I don't like beer, bananas or iceberg lettuce either. It's just my preference. I can, however, recognize when it is done well. And the one-night, two-shows-only Improvised Shakespeare Company does it very, very well.

The epic story of King Henry V's battle with the French during the Hundred Years' War comes alive for the first time at the Folger Theatre, in William Shakespeare's historical drama Henry V. The production, directed by Robert Richmond (Othello and Henry VIII at the Folger), stars Zach Appelman (War Horse on Broadway) in his Folger Theatre debut as Henry V, and will run from tonight, January 22 - March 3, 2013.

Acclaimed Off Broadway drama HOLD THESE TRUTHS, Jeanne Sakata's one-man show inspired by the true story of second generation Japanese-American Gordon Hirabayashi, travels to Hawaii for a limited engagement of six performances at Honolulu Theatre for Youth's Tenney Theatre, February 21 - March 2, 2013.

New Line Theatre Off Line presents a quirky, decidedly adult evening of cabaret, SOME SONGS 'N' SH!T, for one night only, January 19 at the Kranzberg Arts Center Cabaret in Grand Center, featuring the New Generation of New Liners, Taylor Pietz (Evita, Cry-Baby, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Love Kills, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), Zachary Allen Farmer (Hair, Assassins, Urinetown, Return to the Forbidden Planet, Love Kills, High Fidelity), and Mike Dowdy (Cry-Baby, bare, Spelling Bee, Forbidden Planet, High Fidelity, The Wild Party), with music direction by Justin Smolik and direction by Mike Dowdy.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. . well, they'll have more like 1,440.

Angelinos looking for a unique and satisfying "family-friendly-experience" in American music, featuring some of the best talent in the Los Angeles musical theatre world, are in for a real treat! This revised production of YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN will open at Theatre Banshee, Burbank, tonight, January 18th thru February 10th, 2013.

Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) has announced the cast for the five-time Tony Award winning masterpiece Man of La Mancha, running Feb. 26 - March 10 at the Hobby Center for The Performing Arts.

Manhattan Theatre Club will present its annual Winter Benefit, an evening of cocktails and dinner followed by a special one-night-only cabaret-style show featuring Broadway's brightest stars on Monday, January 28, 2013 at The Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Fredrick P. Rose Hall (Broadway & 60th Street).

Philip Glass' The Fall of the House of Usher, a gothic horror story which blurs the line between the real world and the supernatural, opens Chicago Opera Theater's 2013 Season, titled "Power of Love, Love of Power." This is Andreas Mitisek's inaugural season as General Director of Chicago Opera Theater since assuming the position in June 2012. Glass' haunting 1987 score for Edgar Allan Poe's macabre masterpiece, with lyrics by Arthur Yorinks, provides the perfect backdrop for this nightmarish journey to the edge of madness. The Fall of the House of Usher, taking place at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph Drive, runs for four performances only: Saturday, February 23 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, February 24 at 3 p.m., Wednesday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. Single tickets go on sale Monday, January 21.

The Katselas Theatre Company and Rogue Machine will present an extended run of the current hit, DIRTY FILTHY LOVE STORY (CRITIC'S CHOICE-LA Times). The popular Skylight Theatre is the new venue for the show as Rogue Machine and The Katselas Theatre Company prepare for their 2013 season. Due to overwhelming demand, this production will now have four performances a week, beginning January 18th.

This fall, PBS KIDS will premiere PEG + CAT, a new animated preschool series that follows the adorable, spirited Peg and her sidekick Cat as they embark on adventures and learn foundational math concepts and skills. Co-creators Billy Aronson (Rent, Postcards from Buster) and Jennifer Oxley (Little Bill, The Wonder Pets!) have teamed with The Fred Rogers Company to bring young viewers a new way to experience math through Peg and Cat's relatable, and often hilarious, adventures. This multiplatform media property premieres this fall on PBS KIDS with a special one-hour broadcast of two back-to-back episodes, along with integrated online and mobile content. Each episode features fascinating stories in which Peg and Cat encounter a problem that requires them to use math and problem solving skills in order to move forward. The series will air daily following its premiere (check local listings).

Philip Glass' The Fall of the House of Usher, a gothic horror story which blurs the line between the real world and the supernatural, opens Chicago Opera Theater's 2013 Season, titled "Power of Love, Love of Power."

The Metropolitan Playhouse and JAJ Production present the World Premiere of David Koteles' My First Lady, directed by Jason Jacobs as part of the Metropolitan Playhouse Founder's Festival (running tonight, January 14-27) The Playhouse is located at 220 East 4th Street.