Wilma Theater News

Seduction and power, desire and sex are themes of David Ives' dark comedy Venus in Fur, receiving its Philadelphia premiere at Philadelphia Theatre Company May 24-June 23 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (Broad and Lombard Streets). Directed by Kip Fagan, the two-person cast features Mark Alhadeff and Jenni Putney.

Wilma's Under the Whaleback takes you by the scruff of the neck, shakes you round a bit and dumps you knowing a lot more about the subject than you ever knew or really wanted to know about.

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize honors 10 Finalists for its prestigious playwriting award, now celebrating its thirty-fifth year.

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

Competitive backstabbing alternates with supportive camaraderie amongst emerging writers and their famous professor in Theresa Rebeck's award-winning drama Seminar, receiving its Philadelphia premiere at Philadelphia Theatre Company tonight, March 15-April 14 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (Broad and Lombard Streets). Directed by Scott Schwartz, the ensemble cast features Rufus Collins, Matt Harrington, Teresa Avia Lim, Genevieve Perrier, and Luigi Sottile.

Theater Wit has announced a six-week extension of its current hit play, Completeness. Wit' Chicago premiere of Itamar Moses's smart, sexy new romantic comedy will now run through May 4, 2013.

American Composers Orchestra (ACO) continues its season-long initiative, coLABoratory: Playing It UNsafe, the first and only professional research and development lab to support the creation of cutting-edge new American orchestral music through no-holds-barred experimentation, encouraging composers to do anything but 'play it safe.' Audiences will have the opportunity to see and hear the composers' works-in-progress at free lab workshops today, March 5, 2013 at 10am at Flushing Town Hall (137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY), and Today, April 2, 2013 at 2pm at The DiMenna Center (450 W. 37th St., NYC). coLABoratory culminates on Friday, April 5, 2013 at 7:30pm with a concert featuring all of the new works at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, conducted by ACO Music Director George Manahan.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced today that it will continue its collaboration with Dallas Theater Center to co-produce the new musical THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE in 2014. Following the success of the musical Giant, THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, based upon the bestselling novel by Jonathan Lethem, will premiere at Dallas Theater Center in March and continue in New York as part of The Public's 2014-15 Season at Astor Place.

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has announced 10 Finalists for its prestigious playwriting award, now celebrating its thirty-fifth year.

Katori Hall's Olivier Award-winning drama The Mountaintop comes to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater following an acclaimed run at the Alley Theatre in Houston, where it was hailed by the Houston Chronicle as "fast and funny, profoundly poignant, remarkably real and shimmeringly surreal." Obie Award winner Robert O'Hara (Public Theater's Wild with Happy) makes his Arena Stage directorial debut with The Mountaintop, which is produced in association with the Alley Theatre and runs March 29-May 12, 2013 in the Kreeger Theater.

American Composers Orchestra (ACO) continues its season-long initiative, coLABoratory: Playing It UNsafe, the first and only professional research and development lab to support the creation of cutting-edge new American orchestral music through no-holds-barred experimentation, encouraging composers to do anything but 'play it safe.' Audiences will have the opportunity to see and hear the composers' works-in-progress at free lab workshops on Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 10am at Flushing Town Hall (137-35 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY), and Tuesday, April 2, 2013 at 2pm at The DiMenna Center (450 W. 37th St., NYC). coLABoratory culminates on Friday, April 5, 2013 at 7:30pm with a concert featuring all of the new works at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, conducted by ACO Music Director George Manahan.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) Artistic Director James C. Nicola and Managing Director William Russo have announced that performances begin tonight for the New York premiere of Belleville, written by Amy Herzog and directed by Anne Kauffman, at NYTW, 79 East 4 Street, between Bowery and Second Avenue. Opening night is set for Sunday, March 3 at 7pm. Belleville is scheduled to run through Sunday, March 31.

Competitive backstabbing alternates with supportive camaraderie amongst emerging writers and their famous professor in Theresa Rebeck's award-winning drama Seminar, receiving its Philadelphia premiere at Philadelphia Theatre Company March 15-April 14 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre (Broad and Lombard Streets). Directed by Scott Schwartz, the ensemble cast features Rufus Collins, Matt Harrington, Teresa Avia Lim, Genevieve Perrier, and Luigi Sottile.

Beginning in April, 2013, 1812 Productions will present the world premiere comedy It's My Party: The Women and Comedy Project, created and directed by 1812 Productions' Artistic Director, Jennifer Childs, and featuring a diverse ensemble of Philadelphia actresses. A production which will use physical comedy, storytelling, and music in a one-of-a-kind theatrical event, the creative process for It's My Party: The Women and Comedy Project began in 2010 with two questions: how do women use comedy and how does that usage change as they age. With these pointed inquiries as her guides, Ms. Childs embarked on three inclusive and ongoing initiatives which, together, would form the core of the Project.

Can we practice goodness and create a world to sustain it? This question, posed by Shen Tei, the good-hearted, penniless and cross-dressing prostitute of Bertolt Brecht's Good Person of Szechwan, is central to the work of The Foundry Theatre. The play's concerns, and the earmarks of the Foundry's new production, make it an ideal offering from the company, which is celebrated for creating memorable theatrical events while pursuing civic inquiry and social justice. The show, starring the singular Taylor Mac as Shen Tei, is directed by Lear deBessonet and features original live music by 'indie rock vaudevillians' (SPIN) Cesar Alvarez and The Lisps.

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.

If you had the chance to apologize for something you did that ruined another person's life would you? What if that thing was part of what you were expected to do for your job? These questions and other dilemmas lie at the heart of InterAct Theatre Company's second show of its 25th Anniversary Season. Assassin by local playwright David Robson, a co-production with Act II Playhouse, takes an intimate look at hero worship, regret and forgiveness while examining America's fascination with sports violence. With recent media attention being paid to football related injuries, past and present, Assassin is particularly relevant.

Dallas Theater Center will conclude its four-year Shakespeare cycle with one of the playwright's greatest tragedies King Lear, a co-production with Trinity Repertory Company and directed by DTC artistic director Kevin Moriarty. King Lear opens for previews tonight, January 18 and runs through Sunday, February 18.

Everyone's got to start somewhere. Unfortunately for Nick and Nora, that means working as office assistants for a demeaning and demanding boss. Juggling the never-ending phone calls, impossible expectations and nasty insults creates an office full of 20-somethings blinded by ambition and hooked on the need to succeed. Some thrive, while others are burned by the pressure of following their misguided dreams of success.

Can we practice goodness and create a world to sustain it? This question, posed by Shen Tei, the good-hearted, penniless and cross-dressing prostitute of Bertolt Brecht's Good Person of Szechwan, is central to the work of The Foundry Theatre. The play's concerns, and the earmarks of the Foundry's new production, make it an ideal offering from the company, which is celebrated for creating memorable theatrical events while pursuing civic inquiry and social justice. The show, starring the singular Taylor Mac as Shen Tei, is directed by Lear deBessonet and features original live music by 'indie rock vaudevillians' (SPIN) César Alvarez and The Lisps.