Power Plays - 1998 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 17

Housed on Main Street in Hopkins, Minnesota, Stages Theatre Company (STC) persevered for almost 35 years by producing exceptional, professional theater for young audiences. Believing in the enchantment, images and power of theater, especially for youth, the company produces world premiere productions commissioned especially for their home stage.

A parable of mass hysteria that draws a chilling parallel between the Salem witch hunts of 1692 and McCarthyism, which gripped America in the 1950s, The Crucible by Arthur Miller remains eerily timely in today's climate of fake news. Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum, its own history firmly rooted in the McCarthy-era Hollywood blacklist - when actor Will Geer and his wife, Herta Ware, created the theater as a haven for blacklisted actors - opens a new production of Miller's modern classic onJune 30. Theatricum artistic director Ellen Geer, Will's daughter, is at the helm, with family members Thad Geer,Willow Geer and Melora Marshall featured in the cast.

To accompany the new season of productions, a programme of talks and events will begin with a series relating to Exit the King. Philosopher Julian Baggini will explore the concept of free will in his talk Free Will: Do We Have a Choice?, blending philosophy, neuroscience, sociology and cognitive science. Exploring Exit the King will explore the current production, focussing on the practicalities of putting the show together with insights from cast members and theatre-makers. On 6 September, actors Rhys Ifans and Indira Varma will reflect on the challenges and rewards of playing King Berenger and Queen Marguerite, a talk will explore Three Perspectives on Dying and finally Director and Adapter Patrick Marber will talk about his new production. A combined ticket will also be available for these three talks.

The second Wednesday in June marks a special evening of acoustic blues, a concert honoring the roots of the blues while sharing the music of those working at the forefront of the genre.

Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA; Jeffrey Horowitz, Founding Artistic Director), an award-winning company presenting Shakespeare alongside other classic and contemporary drama at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, Downtown Brooklyn, is pleased to announce its 2018-19 season-the 39th since its founding in 1979.

AstonRep Theatre Company is pleased to conclude its 2017-18 season with THE LARAMIE PROJECT, a community's deeply-moving response to the 1998 murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, written by Moises Kaufman and the Members of Tectonic Theater Project and directed by Associate Artistic Director Derek Bertelsen. THE LARAMIE PROJECT will play June 7 - July 8, 2018 at The Raven Theatre (West Stage), 6157 N. Clark St. in Chicago.

Shakespeare by the Sea announces productions, cast and creatives for its 21st Season. Beginning at the seaside Pt. Fermin Park in San Pedro, and continuing on to tour at twenty-two parks throughout Southern California, Shakespeare by the Sea continues its notable mission to create enduring theatrical experiences for audiences in culturally diverse communities, making quality theatre accessible to all. For 2018, SBTS has chosen two of William Shakespeare's most intriguing plays, The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Winter's Tale.

Casting has been announced for the World Premiere of THE BABY DANCE: MIXED, a new adaptation by Emmy Award-winner JANE ANDERSON ("Olive Kitteridge") of her acclaimed 2004 play The Baby Dance. A drama delicately laced with comic overtones, THE BABY DANCE: MIXED is a compelling and urgent play about race, class, and wanting the perfect child. In the story, Regina and Richard, an affluent mixed-race couple in Los Angeles, have everything except a baby. Wanda and Al, an African-American couple living in an overcrowded trailer in modern-day Louisiana, are too poor to keep their soon-to-be-born child. Through an adoption attorney, the two couples broker a deal. However, circumstances arise that affect their decision and the situation spins out of control. The Wall Street Journal described The Baby Dance as "filled with emotional power and nimble humor." The L.A. Times called it "a stunner…funny as well as perceptive."

Belka Productions, in collaboration with The Maly Drama Theatre and their London presentation of Life and Fate, have partnered with JW3, the London Jewish Cultural Centre, to present two events in conjunction with the show that both explore and celebrate banned writing through the ages.

Continuing the momentum created with the current season launch of its Music Knows No Borders series, Executive Director Thor Steingraber unveils the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts' 2018-19 Season, which features four world premieres, two American premieres, several of the world's greatest orchestras, innovative jazz programs, two tributes to Hollywood legends, Broadway classics plus artists from 18 different nations who will appear on stage at The Soraya next season.  New Subscription Series tickets will go on sale May 1, 2018.

The Artistic Home has announced a summer production of Jean Genet's THE MAIDS. Genet's subversive drama in which two maids fantasize killing their mistress was inspired by a real-life murder committed by two sisters working as maids who killed their employer and her daughter.  In the play, the maids construct elaborate sadomasochistic rituals when their mistress (Madame) is away. The focus of their role-playing is the murder of Madame and they take turns portraying both sides of the power divide.

From internationally-celebrated novel, to world-premiere stage adaptation, to groundbreaking online event. Late Chilean author/poet Roberto Bolaño's 2666, co-adapted and co-directed by Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls and Chicago-based playwright Seth Bockley, is now streaming.

World premieres of an oratorio about the Underground Railroad that sets narratives of slaves running for freedom and their lives, and a work that sets poems calling for peace in Farsi, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, and English: Sanctuary Road, music by Paul Moravec and text by Mark Campbell based upon the writings of William Still, a conductor for the Underground Railroad; and We Are One for chorus and orchestra by Behzad Ranjbaran, both completed within the last year, will be given their first performances by the Oratorio Society of New York (OSNY) led by Music Director Kent Tritle as the culminating concert of the OSNY's 145th season on Monday, May 7, 2018, at Carnegie Hall.

Court Theatre, under the continuing leadership of Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, concludes its 2017/18 season with the Asolo Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Pasadena Playhouse production of The Originalist by John Strand, directed by Molly Smith with Associate Director Seema Sueko, and featuring Edward Gero as Antonin Scalia. The Originalist runs May 10 - June 10, 2018 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. The press opening is Saturday, May 19, 2018 at 8:00pm.

A soulful retelling of L. Frank Baum's beloved The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wiz combines fairy-tale glamour with street smarts to make a classic fantasy sparkle for today.  And our directors and choreographer will bring a blast of New Orleans Creole magic to this production!  Winner of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Score, The Wiz ingeniously mixes rock, gospel, soul, and jazz, and features hits like 'Ease on Down the Road,' 'A Brand New Day,' and 'Home.'

Chichester Festival Theatre is a place of firsts for Tracy-Ann Oberman. Last year, she performed in The Fiddler on the Roof, her first professional musical. This Spring, she returns to CFT once again for her first Noel Coward play, Present Laughter. With tech week coming up, Tracy-Ann spoke to us about why she wanted to take on Coward, what else is on her wish list, and what audiences can expect from Present Laughter. 

Casting has been announced for the World Premiere of THE BABY DANCE: MIXED, a new adaptation by Emmy Award-winner JANE ANDERSON ('Olive Kitteridge') of her acclaimed 2004 play The Baby Dance. A drama delicately laced with comic overtones, THE BABY DANCE: MIXED is a compelling and urgent play about race, class, and wanting the perfect child.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced today a two-week extension for the world premiere of MLIMA'S TALE. Written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and directed by Obie Award winner Jo Bonney, MLIMA'S TALE continues The Public's Astor Anniversary Season at their landmark downtown home on Lafayette Street, celebrating 50 years of new work and the 50th Anniversary of HAIR. MLIMA'S TALE will now run two additional weeks through Sunday, June 3.

The Artistic Home's production of HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, featuring Elizabeth Birnkrant and John Mossman, has been extended an additional two weeks due to audience demand and will now close on Sunday, May 20 rather than the originally announced closing of May 6. Artistic Director Kathy Scambiatterra made the announcement today. The production opened to raves on March 25. NEW CITY said "this strong production of an important play … has the delicate combination of intimacy, directness and imagination that gives live theater its magic..." The CHICAGO READER called the production "intense and devastating, shocking, and human."

A collective of perspectives. A public outcry. The establishment of a movement. This month, two new plays- Until the Flood by Dael Orlandersmith, directed by Neel Keller and florissant & canfield by Kristiana Rae Colon, directed by Derrick Sanders-bring a national dialogue to the stage.

King of Cuba, a new comedy by award-winning writer Cristina Garcia, opens with a press night on Saturday, July 21, and runs through August 19 (previews July 19 & 20) at the historic Berkeley City Club. The summer adventure of the Central Works 2018 season King of Cuba, is developed by Ms. Garcia in the Central Works Writers Workshop featuring the lesbian-gender-bending comedian Marga Gomez, and the Grammy-winning "bongocero" Carlos Caro. All are Cubanx celebrities living in the Bay Area. Directed by Gary Graves, the full cast includes Marco Aponte, Leticia Duarte, Elena Garrity, Marga Gomez*, Ben Ortega and Steve Ortiz.(*SAG)

Today, Carole Shorenstein Hays announced that single tickets are now available for SOFT POWER, the play featuring a musical by David Henry Hwang (play and lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (music and additional lyrics). SOFT POWER will make its Bay Area premiere at San Francisco's Curran (445 Geary Street) June 20 - July 8, 2018. SOFT POWER is a Center Theatre Group co-commission with The Public Theater and will perform at the Curran following its world premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles

OBERON, the American Repertory Theater's (A.R.T.) second stage and club-theater venue on the fringe of Harvard Square, announces events to be presented at OBERON during April and May 2018-including OBERON Presents, Glowberon, and usual suspects, and more.

2018 marks the 70th anniversary of the 1948 Palestinian exodus, also known as the Nakba or 'catastrophe". @70: Celebration of Contemporary Palestinian Culture, taking place at RADA Studios, Chenies Street, London from the 14-20 May, is a week-long festival of theatre, dance, films and talks commemorating the Palestinian experience of dispossession and loss of a homeland.

Lookingglass Theatre Company announces its complete 2018-2019 season lineup. The season begins with the World Premiere of The Steadfast Tin Soldier: A Christmas Pantomime, conceived and directed by Ensemble Member Mary Zimmerman from the story by Hans Christian Andersen. Following The Steadfast Tin Soldier is the World Premiere of Act(s) of God written by Ensemble Member Kareem Bandealy and directed by Ensemble Member Heidi Stillman.