Wilma Theater News

Mauckingbird Theatre Company will present John Logan's remarkable crime drama, Never the Sinner: The Leopold and Loeb Story, directed by Mauckingbird Artistic Director Peter Reynolds. The company's fourth production follows Mauckingbird's lesbian adaptation of Hedda Gabler (2009) and the critically acclaimed all-male versions of The Misanthrope (2008) and Shakespeare's R & J (2008).

The Philadelphia Theatre Initiative (PTI), a program of The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, announced today grants totaling $938,111 to 15 theatres, presenting organizations and individual theatre artists in the Philadelphia region.

The Rock Tenor makes its debut this summer beginning July 8, starring vocalist Rob Evan (Broadway performer and lead singer for the multi-platinum band The Trans-Siberian Orchestra), who conceived the show with director Vincent Marini (former Producing Artistic Director of New Jersey's Lenape Regional Performing Arts Center) officially opens July 15 and closes August 23. The Rock Tenor fuses rock and roll anthems, Broadway classics, opera favorites, country rhythms and classical melodies in a unique performance that showcases these familiar works in a whole new light. The Rock Tenor will be performed at The Wilma Theater, located at 265 South Broad Street. Tickets are $25-$40 and are available at www.therocktenor.com or by phone at (215) 546-7824.

White Pines Productions, a newly formed production company, is presenting a showcase of a heartfelt new work by local playwright William di Canzio. The play, Johnny Has Gone for A Soldier, will be showcased June 4-7 at the Playground at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom Street

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) announced casting for the Shakespeare in the Park production of Euripides' THE BACCHAE, directed by JoAnne Akalaitis with original music by Philip Glass and translated by Nicholas Rudall. THE BACCHAE will run August 11-August 30 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park with an official press opening on Monday, August 24 at 8 p.m. Bank of America returns as lead sponsor of Shakespeare in the Park 2009.

A bold, irreverent romp through 37 of Shakespeare's plays in just 99 minutes, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) is a wildly comic valentine to the Bard. Three brave actors reenact some of Shakespeare's best-known plays with blazing hilarity that promises to be a sidesplitting roller coaster ride.

Playwright Zakiyyah Alexander has been named ACT's 2009 New Play Award winner for her play Sweet Maladies. Two FREE staged readings will be presented by The Hansberry Project in ACT's Falls Theatre on June 6 at 7:30 p.m. and June 7 at 2:00 p.m. Each reading will be followed immediately by post-play discussions with the playwright and the director, Valerie Curtis-Newton. A special reception will be held following the June 7 presentation.

The Wilma Theater welcomes a distinguished group of speakers on Monday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. for The Metamorphoses of Sigmund: Freud and His Afterlives, a panel discussion in conjunction with the East Coast premiere of Hysteria, by Terry Johnson. Directed by Jiri Zizka, the production brings the theater's 30th anniversary season to a close and runs May 13 through June 14, 2009.

Shakespeare on the Sound, Connecticut's premier outdoor summer theatre company presenting free Shakespeare in the park, has announced the complete 17-member cast for Artistic Director Joanna Settle's inaugural production of A Midsummer Night's Dream with music by 2008 Tony Award-winning singer-songwriter Stew.

The Wilma Theater will bring its 30th Anniversary Season to a spirited finish with the East Coast Premiere of Hysteria, written by Terry Johnson and directed by the Wilma's co-Artistic Director Jiri Zizka.

The New York Times is reporting that, MCC Theater has announced a bit of unconventional casting news for its stage adaptation of the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman. Jayne Houdyshell, 55, who was nominated for a Tony award for her performance in 'Well,' will play the 9-year-old Coraline according to the Times' Arts, Briefly column.

The Wilma Theater announced the Philadelphia Premiere of Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo as the fourth play selected for its 2009-2010 Season at the theater's 30th Anniversary Gala Celebration on Friday night. The Gala celebrated co-Artistic Directors Blanka Zizka and Jiri Zizka's 30th Year at the Wilma and honored board chair Peggy Greenawalt with the 'Wilma Star Award' for her service to the Wilma Board, including four years as Chair.

The Wilma Theater will celebrate co-Artistic Directors Blanka Zizka and Jiri Zizka's 30th Anniversary with The Wilma Theater and will honor Board Chair Peggy Greenawalt at its 2009 Gala on May 1, 2009 beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Plays & Players, Center City Philadelphia's longest continually operated theater at 1714 Delancey Place, will perform the classic musical Camelot, running May 20 - June 6 on its Mainstage. 48 years after it began its first Broadway run in 1960, the last of the Lerner & Loewe spectaculars still endures. Audiences will enter a world of chivalry, hope and romance, and enjoy the rich, beautiful melodies loved and remembered by all.

White Pines Productions, a newly formed production company, is presenting a showcase of a heartfelt new work by local playwright William di Canzio. The play, Johnny Has Gone for A Soldier, will be showcased June 4-7 at the Playground at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom Street.

The Flea Theater has announced a 2nd extension its wildly popular and critically acclaimed World Premiere production of Itamar Moses' LOVE/STORIES (OR BUT YOU WILL GET USED TO IT. Moses is the author of The Four of Us, Bach at Leipzig, Back Back Back and Celebrity Row, a playwright whose sensibility has proven to be a perfect match for The Bats, The Flea's resident company of emerging artists. The production, which began performances on January 29, has been extended for an additional 4 weeks. The new closing date is now April 25.

The Wilma Theater will bring its 30th Anniversary Season to a spirited finish with the East Coast Premiere of Hysteria, written by Terry Johnson and directed by the Wilma's co-Artistic Director Jiri Zizka.

In celebration of its 22nd year, Philadelphia Young Playwrights will hold its annual benefit, Write On! A Celebration of Student Voices, on Wednesday, June 3rd from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. at World Café Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia). The celebration will highlight the transformative effects of the Philadelphia Young Playwrights experience and feature the inspiring voices of past and present winning young playwrights, as the organization salutes some of the remarkable advocates who have made a lasting impact on the organization.

The Tony Award® -winning McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ, has announced the complete cast for the world premiere of Tarell Alvin McCraney's landmark trilogy The Brother/Sister Plays. Presented in two parts, the production will be presented with a single cast and performed in repertory in McCarter's Berlind Theatre. The Brother/Sister Plays is co-produced with New York's Public Theater.

Philadelphia Young Playwrights (PYP) continues to break new ground, promoting literacy through playwriting to students throughout the School District of Philadelphia, while building lasting collaborations with professional theater companies. Two forthcoming events showcase the results of PYP's year-round programming, Play Development Series and the growing contributions of Philadelphia's outstanding theatre community, as PYP works to sustain theatre arts education for Philadelphia's youth amidst widespread budget cuts and diminishing arts education.