Much Ado About Nothing Revival

Gossip maven Liz Smith has written about her beloved friend Dixie Carter in her newest article.

Quintessence Theatre Group presents Shakespeare's MEASURE FOR MEASURE to be directed by Alexander Burns. The production will start previews on Wednesday, May 5 at 8pm and open on Friday, May 7 at 8pm.

Kerry Kennedy and the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, and The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) will present a one-night-only benefit reading of Ariel Dorfman's play SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER: Voices From Beyond The Dark, adapted from Kerry Kennedy's book of the same name, on Monday, May 3 at 7 p.m. All proceeds from the reading will benefit the relief efforts of Habitat for Humanity in Chile.

California Institute of the Arts' Coffeehouse Theater presents the Pulitzer Prize nominated play In the Blood, written by Suzan Lori-Parks and directed by Fran Bennett. In this modern day drama, Hester, a homeless mother of five fatherless children, struggles to create a home on the streets for her family. Despite Hester's fierce love for her children, poverty and desperation lead to a tragic end.

California Institute of the Arts' Coffeehouse Theater presents the Pulitzer Prize nominated play In the Blood, written by Suzan Lori-Parks and directed by Fran Bennett. In this modern day drama, Hester, a homeless mother of five fatherless children, struggles to create a home on the streets for her family. Despite Hester's fierce love for her children, poverty and desperation lead to a tragic end. In the Blood will be performed at CalArts, Coffeehouse Theater, 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia CA, 91355.

Magic Theatre, San Francisco's home for new plays, closes the 09-10 Season with the world premiere of An Accident by Lydia Stryk, directed by Rob Melrose. This bold new drama starring local favorites Arwen Anderson and Tim Kniffin opens Wednesday, April 21st.

Writers' Theatre Artistic Director Michael Halberstam and Executive Director Kathryn M. Lipuma announce that A Minister's Wife, Writers' Theatre's musical adapted from George Bernard Shaw's Candida, will be produced by Lincoln Center Theater in the 2010-11 season. The original musical was conceived and directed by Michael Halberstam, adapted by Austin Pendleton with music by Joshua Schmidt and lyrics by Jan Tranen. The Lincoln Center production will be directed by Halberstam. Performances begin on Thursday, April 7, 2011 and opens on Thursday, May 5, 2011 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 Street, New York City).

Magic Theatre, San Francisco's home for new plays, closes the 09-10 Season with the world premiere of An Accident by Lydia Stryk, directed by Rob Melrose. This bold new drama starring local favorites Arwen Anderson and Tim Kniffin opens Wednesday, April 21st.

The women of Women's Project, the 32-year-old non-profit theater dedicated to producing plays written and directed by women, need 50 strong volunteers to help them get their rocks off on Friday, April 16, beginning at 10:00am and continuing until the deed is done.

The Shakespeare Center Los Angeles, a professional and community-based non-profit theater company, celebrated its 25th anniversary serving LA by creating accessible theater that builds community in innovative, unexpected ways.

Women's Project, the 32-year-old non-profit theater dedicated to producing plays written and directed by women, and Cherry Lane Theatre, home to bold new voices, will present the world premiere of Sheila Callaghan's Lascivious Something directed by Daniella Topol and starring Rob Campbell, Dana Eskelson, Ronete Levenson and Elisabeth Waterston.

Readily recognized for her long time tenure on TV's 'Designing Women' as Julia Sugarbaker and for her starring roles in seven other TV series, Dixie Carter passed away at the age of 70 on April 10, 2010. 'This has been a terrible blow to our family,' her husband Hal Holbrook told ET.

Reprise Records will release The Original Broadway Cast Recording of American Idiot on April 20, 2010, the same day the show will open at the St. James Theatre in New York City. The official album features the 24-member cast accompanied by Green Day, marking another incredible collaboration between the band and the musical. Based on Green Day's chart-topping 2004 album American Idiot, the musical and the cast recording include every song from American Idiot, as well as several songs from the band's GRAMMY® Award-winning current album 21st Century Breakdown.

'TalkOut Mondays' (after the performance) continues April 19th with David McReynolds (American historian and literary critic) & Matthew Scheck (cast member) at the critically acclaimed hit show 'The Temperamentals' by Jon Marans at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street). Daryl Roth, Stacy Shane and Martian Entertainment are presenting the new American play.

The Finborough Theatre presents VIBRANT - An Anniversary Festival of Finborough Playwrights. 30 NEW PLAYS TO CELEBRATE, 30 YEARS IN JUST UNDER 30 DAYS from 25 May - 19 June 2010

'TalkOut Mondays' (after the performance) continues April 19th with David McReynolds (American historian and literary critic) & Matthew Scheck (cast member) at the critically acclaimed hit show 'The Temperamentals' by Jon Marans at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street).

Readily recognized for her long time tenure on TV's 'Designing Women' as Julia Sugarbaker and for her starring roles in seven other TV series, Dixie Carter has passed away Saturday morning in Houston from complications of endometrial cancer. The actress was 70 years old.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce casting, dates and a director for the American premiere of Olivier Award nominee Moira Buffini's award-winning play GABRIEL, which will mark the final main stage production of Atlantic's 2009-2010 season.

The scheduled April 16 opening of the Actors' NET of Bucks County production of Eugene O'Neill's masterwork A Moon for the Misbegotten is being postponed by a week due to illness, Actors' NET General Manager Joe Doyle has announced.

Samples from the upcoming AMERICAN IDIOT Original Broadway Cast Recording are now available online via Amazon.com. The CD is currently available for pre-order and will be released April 19th.

Readily recognized for her long time tenure on TV's 'Designing Women' as Julia Sugarbaker and for her starring roles in seven other TV series, Dixie Carter has passed away at the age of 70 according to Entertainment Tonight. 'This has been a terrible blow to our family,' her husband Hal Holbrook tells ET. 'We would appreciate everyone understanding that this is a private family tragedy. Thank you.'

A Noise Within, the critically acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, will hold a 'Pay What You Can' date for its production of PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD by JOHN MILLINGTON SYNGE on Sunday, April 11, 2010, at 7 pm. The Pay What You Can program allows patrons to purchase tickets for what they can afford.

Following a highly successful run at the Folger Theatre in Washington D.C., Two River Theater Co. will close the curtain on the world premiere of Orestes A Tragic Romp, Anne Washburn's razor sharp modern adaptation of the Greek tragedy by Euripides, directed by Two River Artistic Director Aaron Posner on April 11th.

The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport will end its production of the classic thriller DIAL 'M' FOR MURDER on April 11, 2010. It won't be the fashionable style of 1950's London that takes your breath away in this classic psychological thriller. After being named her heir, Tony Wendice, former tennis star, is planning to kill Margot, his wealthy wife. As this clever cat-and-mouse waiting game of half-truths and entrapment unfolds before you, the chills and thrills keep coming until the plot's final twist.

Tennessee Shakespeare Company, the Mid-South's professional classical theatre, will end its unique production of William Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar on April 11 in Germantown.

The Canadian Stage Company presents 'Art' a witty, razor-sharp play that explores the nature of friendship while examining the definition of art. Written by Yasmina Reza, 'Art' has achieved spectacular success. It has been translated into at least 35 languages and won numerous awards. The production stars Colin Mochrie (Whose Line is It Anyway?, CTV/ ABC) as Serge, Peter Donaldson (And So It Goes, Factory; Hysteria, Canadian Stage) as Marc and Evan Buliung (Cloud 9, Mirvish Productions; The House of Martin Guerre, Canadian Stage) as Yvan and is directed by Morris Panych (7 Stories, The Overcoat, Canadian Stage). 'Art' runs March 15 to April 10, 2010 (media night: March 18) at the Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front Street East, Toronto.

The West End premiere of Douglas Carter Beane's THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED concludes April 10. The production opened January 20 at London's Garrick Theatre. The cast features film star Rupert Friend alongside Tamsin Greig, Olivier Award winner for her performance in Much Ado About Nothing with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and is directed by Jamie Lloyd. The cast also features British actors Gemma Arterton and Harry Lloyd. The play began previews January 9th.

YALE REPERTORY THEATRE (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) presents BATTLE OF BLACK AND DOGS by Bernard-Marie Koltès, translated by Michaël Attias, and directed by Robert Woodruff, at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street, at York), April 16-May 8. Opening Night is Thursday, April 22.

California Institute of the Arts' Coffeehouse Theater presents the Pulitzer Prize nominated play In the Blood, written by Suzan Lori-Parks and directed by Fran Bennett. In this modern day drama, Hester, a homeless mother of five fatherless children, struggles to create a home on the streets for her family. Despite Hester's fierce love for her children, poverty and desperation lead to a tragic end.

The LA Times reports that LA's Independent Shakespeare Co., which has been performing at Hollywood's Barnsdall Art Park, will move to a bigger and better venue this summer when it presents its Griffith Park Shakespeare Festival on the east side of Griffith Park.

The Public Theater has announced additional casting for the 2010 Shakespeare in the Park summer season featuring THE WINTER'S TALE, directed by Michael Greif, and THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, directed by Daniel Sullivan, in repertory June 9-August 1.

Women's Project, the 32-year-old non-profit theater dedicated to producing plays written and directed by women, and Cherry Lane Theatre, home to bold new voices, will present the world premiere of Sheila Callaghan's Lascivious Something directed by Daniella Topol and starring Rob Campbell, Dana Eskelson, Ronete Levenson and Elisabeth Waterston.

The 2010 Utah Shakespearean Festival summer season will feature an electrifying world premiere musical, 'Great Expectations.' Based on the novel by Charles Dickens, the musical will run from July 1 to August 28 in repertory with five other productions.

Corin Redgrave, Tony-nominated actor, died today at St. George's Hospital in London. Redgrave, who was previously treated for heart problems and prostate cancer, was 70 years old.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Andrew D. Hamingson) announced today that the 2010 Summer Gala will honor Lincoln Center Theater Executive Producer and former Public Theater Associate Producer Bernard Gersten and Bank of America.

Chequered Blue Theatre in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre presents The London Premiere of The Northerners by Harold Brighouse.

The Kennedy Center will end its run of Golden Age, a new play by Terrence McNally, on April 4th. Following its world premiere with the Philadelphia Theatre Company ran in the Kennedy Center Family Theater as part of Terrence McNally's Nights at the Opera, a five-week event featuring three of the playwright's works performed concurrently on three Kennedy Center stages.

A Noise Within, the critically acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, announces a 'Pay What You Can' date for its production of PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD by JOHN MILLINGTON SYNGE on Sunday, April 11, 2010, at 7 pm. The Pay What You Can program allows patrons to purchase tickets for what they can afford.

The Actors' NET of Bucks County continues its fourteenth season with a staging of Eugene O'Neill's stunning masterwork, A Moon for the Misbegotten. In 1920s Connecticut, sly Irish farmer Phil Hogan plots with his homely daughter, Josie, to have her seduce their boozy friend and landlord, James Tyrone, who inherited the farm but struggles as a stage actor due to his debauched lifestyle.

California Institute of the Arts' Coffeehouse Theater presents the Pulitzer Prize nominated play In the Blood, written by Suzan Lori-Parks and directed by Fran Bennett. In this modern day drama, Hester, a homeless mother of five fatherless children, struggles to create a home on the streets for her family. Despite Hester's fierce love for her children, poverty and desperation lead to a tragic end. In the Blood will be performed at CalArts, Coffeehouse Theater, 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia CA, 91355.

The Roman Bath, the classic comedy by Stanislav Stratiev, will have its UK première at the Arcola Theatre in a new version by Justin Butcher, from Wednesday 28 April to Saturday 15 May 2010. The press night is on Monday 3 May at 7.00pm.

AQUILA THEATRE (Peter Meineck, Artistic Director) announced their only NY appearances this season: two performances only at NYU's Skirball Center (566 Laguardia Place). On Tuesday, March 30th, Aquila will present Henrik Ibsen's timely An Enemy of the People; on the following evening, Wednesday March 31st, they will present one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, As You Like It. Featured in both productions are Leandra Ashton, Lucy Black, Howard Crossley, Damian Davis, Lauren Davis, James Lavender, and Owen Young.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce casting, dates and a director for the American premiere of Olivier Award nominee Moira Buffini's award-winning play GABRIEL, which will mark the final main stage production of Atlantic's 2009-2010 season.

Ireland mustn't be such a bad place, so - but it certainly isn't devoid of faults or wickedness. This is made entirely clear in The Cripple of Inishmaan, Martin McDonagh's darkly comic and touching work about a physically challenged young man's dreams of becoming a Hollywood star. The spritely production currently being mounted by the Irish Players of Rochester, a subset of Rochester Community Players, gives its audience just the right balance of sentimentality and harsh absurdity. Under Jean Gordon Ryon's direction, McDonagh's comical drama about the nature of lies, gossip, and identity makes for a night of quality entertainment.

AQUILA THEATRE (Peter Meineck, Artistic Director) announced their only NY appearances this season: two performances only at NYU's Skirball Center (566 Laguardia Place). On Tuesday, March 30th, Aquila will present Henrik Ibsen's timely An Enemy of the People; on the following evening, Wednesday March 31st, they will present one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, As You Like It. Featured in both productions are Leandra Ashton, Lucy Black, Howard Crossley, Damian Davis, Lauren Davis, James Lavender, and Owen Young.

Playwrights Horizons, under the leadership of Artistic Director Tim Sanford and Managing Director Leslie Marcus, is proud to announce four additional productions for its 2010/2011 40th Anniversary Season. The three World Premieres and one New York premiere join the previously-announced New York premiere of Edward Albee's ME, MYSELF & I.

New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, is thrilled to present Opus, a New England Premiere by Michael Hollinger. Opus opens for the press on Monday, March 29, 2010 at 7:30pm and plays through Saturday, April 17, 2010 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in the Charles Mosesian Theater.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) presents Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, a semi-autobiographical retelling of the author's early years in Depression-era St. Louis.

Kevin Kline Award winner Ben Nordstrom and St. Louis veteran actor Steve Isom star in the St. Louis premiere of GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!, the Off-Broadway hit that the New York Times called 'A Smashing Success!' The Temporary Theatre (The Temp), a new company headed by Isom, has chosen as its inaugural offering the exclamation point-littered two-man musical spoof by Scott Brown and Anthony King.