William Saroyan News

The guest list was impressive.

It was just announced by Pulitzer Prize Administrator Dana Canedy that Martyna Majok's COST OF LIVING has officially won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Actors Co-op Theatre Company (Ovation Award-Winner 2017 Best Play, Intimate Theatre for 33 Variations) is proud to present the 1962 Tony Award-winner for Best Play, Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons, directed by Thom Babbes, produced by Carly Lopez. This tragic historical drama offers a brilliant portrait of Sir Thomas More in his last years as Lord Chancellor of England during the reign of Henry VIII.  A Man for All Seasons opens tonight, Friday, March 2 at 8:00 pm, and will run through Sunday, April 15 at the Actors Co-op David Schall Theatre, 1760 N. Gower Street, 90028 (on the campus of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood) in Hollywood.

Thom Babbes credits at Actors Co-op include Summer and Smoke, Ah, Wilderness (Best Director/StageSceneLA), The Miracle Worker and Wait Until Dark.  He has directed workshop productions of new works, Dietrich (based on Dietrich Bonhoeffer) by John Martins III, The Real Real Thing by Frank Higgins and Washington Irvine's Sketchbook by Frank Higgins and Southhamton County (based on Nat Turner's slave rebellion) which Mr. Babbes wrote.  Other credits:  Sun City by Jim Geoghan at Stella Adler Theater, Hollywood.  A writer as well, Mr. Babbes recently adapted William Saroyan's novel The Human Comedy for the stage.  Screenplays include Deadly Dreams and Body Chemistry (Concorde New Horizons), The Audition - A Short Film (Co-Writer - Winner Best Screenplay & Best Comedy 2008 - 168 Hour Film Festival), X-treme Weekend - Short Film (Co-Writer, screened at multiple fests USA and Canada.)  Insurrection (Samuelson Prods.), Bleeding Writing and Arithmetic (Kings Road Ent.), The Substutute (Apollo Pictures), Island of Lonely Men (Sotela Pictures).

PlayFest Santa Barbara, in partnership with the Santa Barbara Public Library, and with the support of a Community Arts Grant from the City of Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture, presents the Sixth Annual Festival of New Plays. The staged reading of Steve Karp's Honoree Play, REUNION, will take place in the Santa Barbara Central Library on March 10 at 7p.m. REUNION was selected as the 2018 Honoree play following an international competition. E. Bonnie Lewis and Ken Gilbert of DramaDogs will perform the roles of He and She. Maggie Mixsell of Speaking of Stories, will narrate. Anna Jensen, former Ensemble Theatre dramaturge and current co-host of Theatrixsb podcast, will moderate a post reading talkback between the audience and the playwright. The reading is free.

“Romeo and Juliet,” Shakespeare's classic story of young star-crossed lovers, will be presented as a ballet by the Valley Performing Arts Council (VPAC) Saturday, March 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the William Saroyan Theatre in downtown Fresno. The performance will feature professional dancers from the renowned State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara alongside local dancers from Fresno Ballet Theatre.

Actors Co-op Theatre Company (Ovation Award-Winner 2017 Best Play, Intimate Theatre for 33 Variations) is proud to present the 1962 Tony Award-winner for Best Play, Robert Bolt's A Man for All Seasons, directed by Thom Babbes, produced by Carly Lopez. This tragic historical drama offers a brilliant portrait of Sir Thomas More in his last years as Lord Chancellor of England during the reign of Henry VIII.

Coming off the huge success of his Netflix special Live From Seattle, Comedian Jo Koy will be launching a new tour starting 2018, which will include brand new material.

Coming off the huge success of his Netflix special Live From Seattle, Comedian Jo Koy will be launching a new tour starting 2018, which will include brand new material.

Red Bull Theater today announced that Zach Grenier would join the previously announced cast for the one night only benefit performance of Marivaux's THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE, translated by James Magruder and directed by Jesse Berger.

Red Bull Theater today announced the cast for the one night only benefit performance of Marivaux's THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE, translated by James Magruder and directed by Jesse Berger.

The 2017-2018 National Tour of the Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder, produced by NETworks Presentations, announced today full casting and tour dates for the upcoming 2017-2018 season. James Taylor Odom will play the role of the eight D'Ysquith heirs and Blake Price will portray the role of Monty Navarro.

Sometimes what you're searching for is right where you started. The Fountain Theatre presents a powerful, funny and deeply moving mother-daughter story byJeremy J. Kamps. Multiple award-winning Shirley Jo Finneyreturns to the Fountain to direct the world premiere of Runaway Home for a Sept. 16 opening.

Shawn Whitsell's Destiny Theatre Experience celebrates its tenth anniversary starting tonight with the opening of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Motherf**ker With the Hat at Nashville's iconic Darkhorse Theater. Directed by Kurt Jarvis and featuring a cast of local stage favorites, along with some intriguing newcomers, including Michael Carlo, Megan Blevins, Matt N. Smith, Amie Lara and Tony Insignares.

Award-winning actress Meg Ryan makes directorial debut with the film, ITHACA, which opens Thursday, June 24 at the River Street theatre in Jaffrey,. It will play at 7pm each day through Saturday, June 26.

Lesser America (Half Moon Bay, The Bachelors, Carnival Kids, Trevor) presents the New York Premiere of IN A WORD by Lauren Yee, winner of the 2016 Francesca Primus Prize and a finalist for the ATCA/Steinberg Award. Directed by Tyne Rafaeli (The Bridges of Madison County national tour, Actually at Geffen Playhouse), previews began June 16 at Cherry Lane Theatre, where Lesser America continues its run as the inaugural Company in Residence. Opening night is slated for tonight, June 21.

The Greensboro Arts Alliance and Residency (GAAR), under the Artistic Direction of Sabra Jones, is proud to announce its 1st Annual Opera Festival as part of the 2017 Summer Season in Vermont. Heidi Lauren Duke choreographs & directs Mezzo-Soprano Martha Prewitt in Lee Hoiby's comedy Bon Appetit!, written about the legendary chef Julia Child, from June 30 - July 5, 2017, at the Town House (20 Church St.)  in Hardwick, Vermont.  The return of opera performance marks a full circle moment for Hardwick's historic Town Hall which was, in fact, built as an opera house in 1898.

Lesser America (Half Moon Bay, The Bachelors, Carnival Kids, Trevor) presents the New York Premiere of IN A WORD by Lauren Yee, winner of the 2016 Francesca Primus Prize and a finalist for the ATCA/Steinberg Award. Directed by Tyne Rafaeli (The Bridges of Madison County national tour, Actually at Geffen Playhouse), previews begin June 16 at Cherry Lane Theatre, where Lesser America continues its run as the inaugural Company in Residence.

DANCING WITH THE STARS Season 24 winner and NFL running back Rashad Jennings will join his partner, Emma Slater, this summer in “Dancing with the Stars: Live! - Hot Summer Nights.”

The Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance (ADAA) announced the winner of the $10,000 Saroyan/Paul Human Rights Playwriting Prize on April 24th, 2017 at the The Antaeus Theatre Company at the newly opened Kiki and David Gindler Performing Arts Centre in Glendale.