William Finn News

Andrea Martin, Michael Cumpsty and Tony Yazbeck have been cast in On the Town, the opening production of New York City Center's 2008-09 Encores! season, running November 19 - 23. On the Town, the first Broadway musical written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green with a score by Leonard Bernstein, will be directed by John Rando with music direction by Todd Ellison and choreography by Warren Carlyle

Friday, October 24th, THE AFTER PARTY will welcome CBS' 'The Amazing Race' and The Fantasticks' NICK SPANGLER, The Fantasticks' LEWIS CLEALE, as well as the cast of LIKE YOU LIKE IT. The show will also feature special guest pianist STEVEN SILVERSTEIN.

Rehearsals are now underway for the Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) New York premiere of PRAYER FOR MY ENEMY, a new play by two-time Tony Award nominee, Pulitzer Prize finalist and two-time Obie Award winner Craig Lucas (Small Tragedy at Playwrights Horizons, The Light in the Piazza, Prelude to a Kiss, Reckless, The Dying Gaul).

NYTB at the Duplex is a monthly series produced by New York Theatre Barn which highlights the latest work from new composers, lyricists and performers.

Playwrights Horizons, under the leadership of Artistic Director Tim Sanford and Managing Director Leslie Marcus, has announced additional casting and details for its 2008/2009 Season.

Artistic Director BJ Jones and Executive Director Timothy J. Evans announce the Chicago premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical Grey Gardens, book by Doug Wright, lyrics by Michael Korie and music by Scott Frankel. The production, directed by BJ Jones with musical direction by Doug Peck, choreography by Marla Lampert and featuring Hollis Resnik, Tempe Thomas and Ann Whitney, has already been extended and will now run November 12-December 28, 2008, at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd in Skokie.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director)kicks off its 30th Anniversary Season with a new production of Howard Korder's comedy, BOYS' LIFE, directed by Michael Greif.

Splash Bar presents another diva-licious edition of Scott Nevins' 'Curtain Call' with XL STAR winner, 'After Party' co-host and cast member of the recent William Finn revue 'Make Me a Song' Alysha Umphress.

As part of Joe's Pub's 10th Anniversary celebration William Finn comes back with Infinite Joy on Monday, November 10 at 9:30 PM. Infinite Joy is a tribute to William Finn performed at Joe's Pub in January 2001 as part of The Songbook Series.

Barrington Stage Company, under the artistic leadership of Julianne Boyd, is proud to announce two American classics on the roster for Barrington Stage's 2009 Mainstage season.

Splash Bar presents another diva-licious edition of Scott Nevins' 'Curtain Call' with XL STAR winner, 'After Party' co-host and cast member of the recent William Finn revue 'Make Me a Song' Alysha Umphress.

Completing its 30th Anniversary Season, Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will present EVERYDAY RAPTURE, written by Dick Scanlan (Tony nominee for Thoroughly Modern Millie) and Sherie Rene Scott (Tony nominee for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), with musical supervision by Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, High Fidelity), directed by Michael Mayer (Tony Award winner for Spring Awakening).

Transport Group, the winner of a special 2007 Drama Desk Award and a 2007 Obie Award, will present the first major New York revival of Irwin Shaw's Bury the Dead, directed by Joe Calarco, beginning performances Friday, October 31, at 220 East 4 Street, between Avenues A and B (6 to Astor Place, W/N to 8th Street or F/V to Second Avenue). The opening has been scheduled for Sunday, November 9, at 3pm.

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) will kick off its 30th Anniversary Season with a new production of Howard Korder's comedy, BOYS' LIFE, directed by Michael Greif starting tonight, October 2nd. The official opening will be Monday, October 20th. This 20th Anniversary production of BOYS' LIFE will feature Jason Biggs, Rhys Coiro, and Peter Scanavino as 'the boys' as well as Dan Colman, Michelle Federer, Betty Gilpin, Paloma Guzman, Laura-Leigh, and Stephanie March.

On Monday September 29th, Xanadu's Mary Testa joined Gypsy's Alison Fraser for a concert to celebrate the work of Fraser's late husband, composer Rusty Magee. The concert - entitled 'Together Again' - was held at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, which is located within the West Bank Cafe. The singing actresses were accompanied by a full band led by Allison Leyton-Brown.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced additional casting and details for the third production of its 2008/2009 Season, the New York premiere of PRAYER FOR MY ENEMY, a new play by two-time Tony Award nominee, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and two-time Obie Award winner Craig Lucas (Small Tragedy at Playwrights Horizons, The Light in the Piazza, Prelude to a Kiss, Reckless, The Dying Gaul). PRAYER FOR MY ENEMY is the first of two plays by Mr. Lucas that will receive their New York premiere this season.

The West Bank Café announces upcoming performances to be presented in The Laurie Beechman Theatre. The West Bank Café is located at 407 West 42nd. St., at Ninth Avenue. For reservations, please call 212.695.6909.

Prospect Theater Company's 10th anniversary concert will be held Sept. 21 at Off-Broadway's 37 Arts. Falsettos' Stephen Bogardus will host the 9 PM concert, which will boast the talents of David Abeles, Jim Bauer, Jennifer Blood, Matt Cavenaugh, Gavin Creel, Jennifer Damiano, Malcolm Gets, Piper Goodeve, Adam Jacobs, Jose Llana, Jeff McCarthy, Meghan McGeary, Mark Mozingo, Brian Munn and Liz Power as well as members of the cast of the upcoming Prospect production of Illyria: Dan Sharkey, Ryan Dietz, Jim Poulos and Tina Stafford. 37 Arts is located in Manhattan at 450 West 37th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues. Tickets, priced $25, can be purchased by calling (212) 352-3101 or by visiting www.nymf.org.

Starting tomorrow, Wednesday, September 17 at 10:00 AM, Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) will be accepting entries for its popular LIVEforFIVE online lottery for $5 tickets to its next production, the World Premiere of KINDNESS, a new play written and directed by Adam Rapp (Essential Self-Defense at Playwrights Horizons, Red Light Winter). A total of 40 tickets will be available via the online lottery.

Golden Globe winner and Emmy Award nominee Dylan McDermott has joined the cast of Playwrights Horizon's first production of the new season, the World Premiere of THREE CHANGES, a new play by Nicky Silver. Directed by Tony Award nominee Wilson Milam (The Lieutenant of Inishmore), the production will begin previews on Friday, August 22, 2008 with an Opening Night set for Tuesday, September 16. The limited engagement will run through Sunday, September 28 at Playwrights Horizons Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).