The Coast of Utopia - 2006 - Broadway Articles Page 18

Tickets go on general sale today for the critically acclaimed Donmar Warehouse production of Friedrich Schiller's MARY STUART, starring Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter. The critically praised new version by Peter Oswald and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, will open Sunday, April 19 on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street). Previews will begin on Monday, March 30. To order call Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com.

Tickets go on general sale tomorrow for the critically acclaimed Donmar Warehouse production of Friedrich Schiller's MARY STUART, starring Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter. The critically praised new version by Peter Oswald and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, will open Sunday, April 19 on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street). Previews will begin on Monday, March 30. To order call Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com.

Keen Company announced today that Tony Award-winner Ron Holgate (1776, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Grand Hotel, recent revivals of Kiss Me, Kate and Guys and Dolls) will join John Cullum and Jonathan Hogan for its upcoming production of Heroes, replacing previously announced Tony Roberts. Mr. Roberts has withdrawn from the production to attend to family matters. The New York premiere of this 2006 Olivier Award-winning play by Gerald Sibleyras with a translation by Tom Stoppard, will be helmed by Keen Artistic Director Carl Forsman and run from February 24 - April 11 at The Clurman Theatre / Theatre Row ( 410 West 42nd Street ). The official opening is set for March 8.

Complete casting has been announced for the brand new production of GREASE, starring American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, playing the Golden Gate Theatre beginning Tuesday, March 24 through Sunday, April 19. Taylor Hicks made his debut on Broadway in the role of 'Teen Angel' this past summer. This brand new production of GREASE will feature songs from the smash hit 1978 motion picture performed for the first time ever in a Broadway production. GREASE is presented as a part of the 2008-2009 Citibank Best of Broadway series season under the direction of Carole Shorenstein Hays. Tickets on sale now. Taylor Hicks achieved widespread fame in 2006 as a contestant on the hugely successful FOX singing competition 'American Idol.' On May 24, 2006, Hicks was named the winner of the fifth season of 'Idol' with over 63.4 million votes in total. Winning the title over Katharine McPhee, the announcement was made during the live finale episode which aired to a worldwide audience of over 200 million viewers. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Taylor Hicks' passion for music began at an early age. He toured the Southeastern Unites States during his teenage years and released two independent albums. Known for his energetic performances with influences derived from classic soul, blues and R&B music, he quickly grew a large fan base among the millions of viewers and voters who tuned in to 'Idol' each week. His fans ultimately dubbed themselves the 'Soul Patrol.'

La Jolla Playhouse welcomes back Rick Elice, co-writer of the Tony Award-winning Jersey Boys, as the playwright of Peter and the Starcatchers. Alex Timbers and Roger Rees are set to direct with choreography by Kelly Devine and music by Wayne Barker. Peter and the Starcatchers will be playing at the Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre at La Jolla Playhouse February 13 -March 8, 2009. Based on the best-selling novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Peter and the Starcatchers dares to tell the real story of precisely how a desperate orphan in Victorian England became The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up. It's a tale that travels halfway round the world and straight up to the stars. It's a comedy that takes aim at social injustice. It's a romance of young heroes who risk everything for the sake of doing right. It's an expos? of extravagant villains possessed of a single-minded ferocity from which no good shall ever spring. In short, it's an awfully big adventure. La Jolla Playhouse will present Peter and the Starcatchers, a new play, as a part of its Page To Stage program, by special arrangement with Disney Theatrical Productions. Adam Green has been cast in the role of Peter. He has appeared in Off-Broadway productions such as Election Day, All This Intimacy and None of the Above. Molly will be played by Celia Keenan-Bolger who most recently appeared on Broadway in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, for which she earned a Tony Award nomination. She also appeared in Saved. Lost boy Prentiss will be played by Carson Elrod, who appeared in the La Jolla Playhouse production of Our Town. Elrod has also appeared on Broadway in Reckless and Noises Off. David Rossmer is cast as the ever - peckish lost boy Teddy. His Broadway credits include Fiddler on the Roof and Titanic. Christian Borle, who will be playing the ravenous Black Stache, received acclaim for his roles in Spamalot. He also received a 2007 Tony Award nomination for his role in the Broadway production of Legally Blonde. Andrew McGinn is set to play Slank. His New York credits include Coast of Utopia and The Invention of Love. Playing Lord Aster is John G. Preston, who recently appeared as Cameron Parker in the Off-Broadway production of Taboos. Greg Hildreth, playing the good hearted Alf, recently appeared in Dance Dance Revolution and Gentlemen of Verona. Teddy Bergman will be playing Fighting Prawn. His New York theater credits include Dance Dance Revolution and Nobody Likes the Mormons.

Tickets are onsale today to American Express cardholders for the critically acclaimed Donmar Warehouse production of Friedrich Schiller's MARY STUART, starring Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter. The critically praised new version by Peter Oswald and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, will open Sunday, April 19 on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street). Previews will begin on Monday, March 30. . To order call Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com. General onsale begins Saturday, January 31 McTeer will be making her first Broadway appearance since her Tony Award-winning performance in A Doll's House in 1997. Walter, who won the 2005 Evening Standard Award for Best Actress for her performance, is returning to Broadway for the first time since the Royal Shakespeare Company's All's Well That Ends Well in 1983. The first Broadway production of MARY STUART in almost 40 years will be produced by Arielle Tepper Madover, Debra Black, David Binder, Scott M. Delman, Neal Street Productions, Matthew Byam Shaw and Barbara Whitman, Michael Grandage, Artistic Director of the Donmar said, 'I am thrilled we are bringing our work to Broadway again. After the success of Frost/Nixon, I am particularly delighted that American audiences will now get to experience one of the Donmar's great classical productions. Phyllida Lloyd's magnificent account of this historical drama offers audiences a chance to engage with two towering performances.'

Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater's Spring Awakening, the first musical to be presented by the Atlantic Theater Company, opened June 15th 2006 for a limited run through July 9th at the Atlantic Theater Company (336 West 20th Street). The show, in its world premiere production, began previews on May 19th, from the very first performance audiences knew something special was happening. As it readies to play its final performane tonight, we collected some of our past coverage and take a look back at some of the many Spring Awakening highlights in words, pictures and videos.

Keen Company (Artistic Director Carl Forsman, Executive Director Wayne Kelton) is thrilled to present John Cullum, Jonathan Hogan and Tony Roberts in the New York premiere of Heroes, by G?rald Sibleyras with a translation by Tom Stoppard and directed by Carl Forsman. Heroes received the 2006 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Performances begin on Tuesday, February 24 and run through April 11 at The Clurman Theatre / Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues. Opening is scheduled for Sunday, March 8. An evocative comedy about three World War I veterans living in a veterans' home who plot a new assault - a trip to a stand of poplar trees in the distance. But should they bring the stone dog with them? Author G?rald Sibleyras calls Heroes a play 'about the universal desire to escape the confines of life.' Winner of London's Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2006 and Paris' Moliere Award for Outstanding Comedy in 2003, Keen presents its New York debut.

South Coast Repertory today announced the cast and creative team for Michael Frayn's ingenious comedic masterpiece, Noises Off. Directed by Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award winner Art Manke, Noises Off will run from Feb. 6 through March 8 on the Segerstrom Stage. Low-priced previews are available from Feb. 6 through Feb. 12. Opening night is Feb. 13. Press night is Saturday, Feb. 14 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets to Noises Off may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office. Noises Off follows the on-and off-stage antics of an inept acting troupe as they stumble from bumbling dress rehearsal to disastrous closing night. Everything that can go wrong does, as actors desperately try to hang on to their lines, their performances and the furniture. Add a slippery plate of sardines and many slamming doors, and you have the most hilarious backstage farce ever written. Art Manke received his fifth Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for directing SCR's West Coast premiere of Bach at Leipzig in 2006. Other work with SCR includes last season's Taking Steps, the world premiere musical version of The Wind in the Willows and choreography for numerous productions. Elsewhere in Southern California, Manke has directed The Constant Wife, Private Lives and the American premiere of Noel Coward's Star Quality for Pasadena Playhouse and the world premiere of The Ice-Breaker at Laguna Playhouse. Manke was a co-founder and artistic director (1991-2001) of A Noise Within where he directed the works of Shakespeare, Moli?re, Wilde, Coward and Sophocles. Other credits include work with Denver Center Theatre Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Old Globe Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, American Players Theatre, among others. The cast features Nancy Bell (Belinda Blair), Bill Brochtrup (Garry Lejeune), Kandis Chappell (Dotty Otley), Winslow Corbett (Poppy Norton-Taylor), Kaleo Griffith (Lloyd Dallas), Brian Hostenske (Tim Allgood), Timothy Landfield (Frederick Fellows), Jennifer Lyon (Brooke Ashton) and Nick Ullett (Selsdon Mowbray). The creative team for Noises Off includes John Iacvelli (Set Design), Angela Balogh Calin (Costume Design), York Kennedy (Lighting Design), Vincent Olivieri (Sound Design), Ken Merckx (Movement Consultant), David Newell (Dialect Coach), Linda Sullivan Baity (Dramaturg) and Jamie Tucker (Stage Manager). Dee and Larry Higby are the Honorary Producers of Noises Off. OC Metro is the Media Partner. Associated events taking place during the run of Noises Off include: POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS Wednesday, Feb. 18 & Tuesday, Feb. 24 Discuss the play with members of the Noises Off cast during free post-show discussions led by South Coast Repertory's literary team after the 7:30 p.m. performances on Feb. 18 and Feb. 24. INSIDE THE SEASON: Noises Off Saturday, Feb. 21, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. $12 Inside the Season is a series of interactive classes that provide a comprehensive inside look at the theatrical production process. Each two-hour class is led by School and Community Programs Director Linda Sullivan Baity and features creative personnel from South Coast Repertory's current production. Tickets are $12 each and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at (714) 708-5555. (Tickets to Noises Off are sold separately.) TICKETS to Noises Off can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Performances begin on Feb. 6 and continue through March 8. Ticket prices range from $20 to $64. Low-priced preview performances are available from Feb. 6 to Feb. 12. Performance times: Previews: Friday, Feb. 6 and Saturday, Feb. 7 at 8:00 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 8, Tuesday, Feb. 10 and Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m.; and Thursday, Feb. 12 at 8:00pm. Regular Performances: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m.; and Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, educators, seniors and groups of 15 or more. There will be a 'Pay-What-You-Will' performance on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2:30 p.m. ($10 Minimum) and an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, March 7 at 2:30 p.m.

Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth are keeping warm and busy as they participate in a closed reading of the musical THE ADDAMS FAMILY here in New York. Somewhere in Midtown the starry couple are showing each other much twisted love as they lead a collected cast of theatre heavyweights in the latest workshop for the Chicago bound musical based on Charles Addams' beloved (and feared) characters.

MCC THEATER (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, Artistic Directors; William Cantler, Associate Artistic Director; Blake West, Executive Director) today announced that Jennifer Van Dyck, Scott Parkinson, Sarah Rafferty and Jonathan Walker will complete the cast for their production of Charles Busch's The Third Story, directed by Carl Andress. As previously announced Kathleen Turner and Mr. Busch will appear as dueling divas.

Keen Company (Artistic Director Carl Forsman, Executive Director Wayne Kelton) is thrilled to present John Cullum, Jonathan Hogan and Tony Roberts in the New York premiere of Heroes, by G?rald Sibleyras with a translation by Tom Stoppard and directed by Carl Forsman. Heroes received the 2006 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy. Performances begin on Tuesday, February 24 and run through April 11 at The Clurman Theatre / Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues. Opening is scheduled for Sunday, March 8.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) begins 2009 with the New York premiere of THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION, a new play by Evan Smith (Psych and The Uneasy Chair at Playwrights Horizons, Remedial English for the Young Playwrights Festival at Playwrights Horizons, Servicemen at The New Group). This will be Mr. Smith's fourth collaboration with the theater company.

Broadway In Chicago is proud to present GREASE, the classic musical that has made generations of audiences root for Sandy and Danny's lighting romance. Tickets are now available for Chicago audiences to bop and jive with the Pink Ladies and the T-Birds at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University during a limited engagement January 6 - 18, 2009. After spending a hopelessly devoted summer with Sandy Dumbrowski (Emily Padgett), the new girl in town, Danny Zuko's (Eric Schneider) world is thrown upside down when Sandy appears at Rydell High on the first day of school. What follows is a rock n' roll celebration of growin' up, cruisin' with friends and goin' steady.

13, a new musical with music and lyrics by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown will play its final performance on Sunday, January 4, 2009 after 22 preview and 105 regular performances at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre (242 W. 45th Street). The first Broadway show to star an all teenage cast and band began previews on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 and opened on Sunday, October 5, 2008.

Broadway In Chicago is proud to present GREASE, the classic musical that has made generations of audiences root for Sandy and Danny?s lighting romance. Tickets are now available for Chicago audiences to bop and jive with the Pink Ladies and the T-Birds at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University during a limited engagement January 6 - 18, 2009.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) continues its 2008/2009 Season with the New York premiere of THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION, a new play by Evan Smith (Psych and The Uneasy Chair at Playwrights Horizons, Remedial English for the Young Playwrights Festival at Playwrights Horizons, Servicemen at The New Group). This will be Mr. Smith's fourth collaboration with the theater company.

Additional casting has been announced for the Donmar Warehouse production of MARY STUART, Friedrich Schiller's classic play in a new version by Peter Oswald, which opens April 19, 2009 at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street). The production, starring its acclaimed original London leads Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, begins previews on March 30, 2009 for a limited run of 20 weeks only.

Production sources are revealing that ROCK OF AGES, Off-Broadway's newest hit, may be heading to Broadway.

DON'T QUIT YOUR NIGHT JOB, featuring a revolving cast of Broadway's brightest performing without a net, returns to The Zipper Factory Theater (336 West 37th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues) on Thursday, December 18th at 11:30pm. Tickets are $20 and proceeds go to benefit the Theatre Development Fund's Open Doors.

Variety is reporting that ROCK OF AGES, Off-Broadway's newest hit, is headed to the big screen. New Line Cinema is set to produce the film version with Chris D'Arienzo serving as writer and director.

MCC THEATER (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, Artistic Directors; William Cantler, Associate Artistic Director; Blake West, Executive Director) today announced that Jennifer Van Dyck, Scott Parkinson, Sarah Rafferty and Jonathan Walker will complete the cast for their production of Charles Busch's The Third Story, directed by Carl Andress. As previously announced Kathleen Turner and Mr. Busch will appear as dueling divas.

Tickets for the brand new production of GREASE, starring American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, go on sale Wednesday, December 17. Taylor Hicks made his debut on Broadway in the role of 'Teen Angel' this past summer. GREASE will play the Golden Gate Theatre beginning Tuesday, March 24 through Sunday, April 19. This brand new production of GREASE will feature songs from the smash hit 1978 motion picture performed for the first time ever on stage. GREASE is presented as a part of the 2008-2009 Citibank Best of Broadway series season under the direction of Carole Shorenstein Hays.

Goodspeed Musicals, the only two time Tony Award winning theatre in the country, is proud to announce the cast of its upcoming world premiere production of Jim Henson's classic holiday favorite Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, adapted for the stage. Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas will run December 7, 2008, through January 4, 2009, at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut.

Goodspeed Musicals, the only two time Tony Award winning theatre in the country, is proud to announce the cast of its upcoming world premiere production of Jim Henson's classic holiday favorite Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, adapted for the stage. Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas will run December 7, 2008, through January 4, 2009, at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut.