Young Playwrights Festival (1982) - 1982 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 18

South Coast Repertory has announced the lineup of actors and directors who will participate in the 12th annual Pacific Playwrights Festival (PPF). Since its creation in 1998, PPF has grown into one of the most important festivals of new scripts in the United States. This year?s Festival will take place during the May 1 through May 3 weekend and will feature five staged readings and two fully-produced World Premieres on South Coast Repertory?s Segerstrom and Julianne Argryos Stages. Tickets to PPF may be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or in person at the SCR box office.

The Cleveland Play House Artistic Director Michael Bloom announces the world premiere production of Thornton Wilder's novel Heaven's My Destination, adapted by award-winning playwright Lee Blessing. The play is the centerpiece of the fourth annual FusionFest, a multidisciplinary performing arts festival.

On March 12, 2009 at 7:00 p.m., The Collegiate Chorale appears with The New York City Opera Orchestra at the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall in a performance of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's 1945 Broadway operetta The Firebrand of Florence. The performance, led by guest conductor Ted Sperling, stars baritone Nathan Gunn, soprano Anna Christy, baritone Terrence Mann, and soprano Victoria Clark. Krysty Swann, David Pittu and Patrick Goss complete the cast, and narration will be provided by Stage Director Roger Rees. Boasting a score by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by playwright and screenwriter Edwin Justus Mayer, The Firebrand of Florence had a short run on Broadway in 1945. The work was subsequently not heard for over a half-century until three presentations - Ohio Light Opera (1999), the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London (2000) and the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna (2000) - shed new light on the relatively obscure work. The performances were not only accepted, but widely acclaimed, thus giving hope for a new life in a new century. Variety's theater critic Steven Suskin says 'I have long believed that Firebrand in concert should be a dazzling delight.' Benvenuto Cellini, the great Florentine artist, is sentenced to hang, but he is pardoned when the duke realizes that he has not completed a previously commissioned sculpture. Freed, he is able to turn his attention to his favorite model (and object of his affections), Angela. The Duke also is interested in Angela. In a typical operetta plot, Cellini swashbuckles around the stage, keeping the Duke away from Angela, keeping himself away from the Duchess, and escaping yet another death sentence by fleeing to Paris, as the end of the show recapitulates the beginning.

The 2009 Festival of New American Musicals, a four-month musical theatre festival, will be held in April through July, 2009, throughout Southern California. Marcia Seligson, Bob Klein, and Linda Shusett are the Executive Producers of the second annual Festival.

Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) is proud to announce casting for ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN, by Charles Fuller and directed by Stephen McKinley Henderson. ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN is the final production of Signature's 2008-09 season celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company (NEC).

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.

On Monday Evening, February 23 at 7:00 PM, six New York theater institutions will participate in a special panel discussion featuring five current and upcoming Off-Broadway shows. Harlem Stage (150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street) will host producing companies Classical Theatre of Harlem, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater and Signature Theatre Company in an evening titled I'VE KNOWN RIVERS: A Conversation with Christina Anderson, Charles Fuller, Lynn Nottage & Liesl Tommy. The event marks a unique collaborative effort between six New York theater institutions: a panel discussion in which five gifted African-American theater artists - all of whom have projects happening almost simultaneously at five of New York's most respected non-profit theaters - will discuss their lives, work, and current projects. Moderated by actress Sabrina LeBeauf (Three Sisters, Classical Theatre of Harlem in partnership with Harlem Stage, February/March), the evening's four panelists will be Christina Anderson (author, Inked Baby, Playwrights Horizons, March/April), Charles Fuller (author, Zooman and the Sign, Signature Theatre Company, March/April), Lynn Nottage (author, Ruined, Manhattan Theater Club, January-March) and Liesl Tommy (director, The Good Negro, The Public Theater, March/April). The event title comes from a poem by Langston Hughes, 'The Negro Speaks of Rivers.'

On Monday Evening, February 23 at 7:00 PM, six New York theater institutions will participate in a special panel discussion featuring five current and upcoming Off-Broadway shows. Harlem Stage (150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street) will host producing companies Classical Theatre of Harlem, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater and Signature Theatre Company in an evening titled I'VE KNOWN RIVERS: A Conversation with Christina Anderson, Charles Fuller, Lynn Nottage & Liesl Tommy.

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. Directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie (Chicago, New Jerusalem), in his Playwrights Horizons debut, the production will began previews on Friday, February 6, 2009 with an Opening Night set for Tuesday, March 3 at 7PM. The limited engagement will run through Sunday, March 15 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

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.

Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) is proud to announce casting for ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN, by Charles Fuller and directed by Stephen McKinley Henderson. ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN is the final production of Signature's 2008-09 season celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company (NEC).

On Monday Evening, February 23 at 7:00 PM, six New York theater institutions will participate in a special panel discussion featuring five current and upcoming Off-Broadway shows. Harlem Stage (150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street) will host producing companies Classical Theatre of Harlem, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater and Signature Theatre Company in an evening titled I'VE KNOWN RIVERS: A Conversation with Christina Anderson, Charles Fuller, Lynn Nottage & Liesl Tommy. The event marks a unique collaborative effort between six New York theater institutions: a panel discussion in which five gifted African-American theater artists - all of whom have projects happening almost simultaneously at five of New York's most respected non-profit theaters - will discuss their lives, work, and current projects. Moderated by actress Sabrina LeBeauf (Three Sisters, Classical Theatre of Harlem in partnership with Harlem Stage, February/March), the evening's four panelists will be Christina Anderson (author, Inked Baby, Playwrights Horizons, March/April), Charles Fuller (author, Zooman and the Sign, Signature Theatre Company, March/April), Lynn Nottage (author, Ruined, Manhattan Theater Club, January-March) and Liesl Tommy (director, The Good Negro, The Public Theater, March/April). The event title comes from a poem by Langston Hughes, 'The Negro Speaks of Rivers.'

On Monday Evening, February 23 at 7:00 PM, six New York theater institutions will participate in a special panel discussion featuring five current and upcoming Off-Broadway shows. Harlem Stage (150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street) will host producing companies Classical Theatre of Harlem, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theater and Signature Theatre Company in an evening titled I'VE KNOWN RIVERS: A Conversation with Christina Anderson, Charles Fuller, Lynn Nottage & Liesl Tommy.

On March 12, 2009 at 7:00 p.m., The Collegiate Chorale appears with The New York City Opera Orchestra at the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall in a performance of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's 1945 Broadway operetta The Firebrand of Florence. The performance, led by guest conductor Ted Sperling, stars baritone Nathan Gunn, soprano Anna Christy, baritone Terrence Mann, and soprano Victoria Clark. Krysty Swann, David Pittu and Patrick Goss complete the cast, and narration will be provided by Stage Director Roger Rees. Boasting a score by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and a book by playwright and screenwriter Edwin Justus Mayer, The Firebrand of Florence had a short run on Broadway in 1945. The work was subsequently not heard for over a half-century until three presentations - Ohio Light Opera (1999), the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London (2000) and the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna (2000) - shed new light on the relatively obscure work. The performances were not only accepted, but widely acclaimed, thus giving hope for a new life in a new century. Variety's theater critic Steven Suskin says 'I have long believed that Firebrand in concert should be a dazzling delight.' Benvenuto Cellini, the great Florentine artist, is sentenced to hang, but he is pardoned when the duke realizes that he has not completed a previously commissioned sculpture. Freed, he is able to turn his attention to his favorite model (and object of his affections), Angela. The Duke also is interested in Angela. In a typical operetta plot, Cellini swashbuckles around the stage, keeping the Duke away from Angela, keeping himself away from the Duchess, and escaping yet another death sentence by fleeing to Paris, as the end of the show recapitulates the beginning.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2008-09 season with John Guare's Rich & Famous, directed by John Rando (Urinetown, The Musical and Wedding Singer on Broadway) in its first major revival since its 1976 New York debut. From the ingenious mind of John Guare, who brought Six Degrees of Separation and The House of Blue Leaves to the American stage, this delicious dark comedy springs to life with twisted humor, rapid-fire dialogue, and outrageous plot twists. The revival script includes significant rewrites to the original text, as well as hilarious songs freshly scribed by Guare himself. In Rich and Famous, playwright Bing Ringling yearns to savor the sweet taste of celebrity, and he's hoping play number 844 will be his lucky break. But on opening night, he slips into a nightmarish phantasmagoria that shows him just how wrong things can go.

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.

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.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2008-09 season with John Guare's Rich & Famous, directed by John Rando (Urinetown, The Musical and Wedding Singer on Broadway) in its first major revival since its 1976 New York debut. From the ingenious mind of John Guare, who brought Six Degrees of Separation and The House of Blue Leaves to the American stage, this delicious dark comedy springs to life with twisted humor, rapid-fire dialogue, and outrageous plot twists. The revival script includes significant rewrites to the original text, as well as hilarious songs freshly scribed by Guare himself. In Rich and Famous, playwright Bing Ringling yearns to savor the sweet taste of celebrity, and he's hoping play number 844 will be his lucky break. But on opening night, he slips into a nightmarish phantasmagoria that shows him just how wrong things can go.

Cambodia's first-ever modern music theater work, Where Elephants Weep, will have its official world premiere in Phnom Penh, Cambodia this November, it was announced by John Burt, the show's Executive Producer.

Transport Group, the winner of a special 2007 Drama Desk Award and a 2007 Obie Award, will present the first major New York revival of Irwin Shaw's Bury the Dead, directed by Joe Calarco, beginning performances Friday, October 31, at 220 East 4 Street, between Avenues A and B (6 to Astor Place, W/N to 8th Street or F/V to Second Avenue). The opening has been scheduled for Sunday, November 9, at 3pm.

Cambodia's first-ever modern music theater work, Where Elephants Weep, will have its official world premiere in Phnom Penh, Cambodia this November, it was announced by John Burt, the show's Executive Producer.

Transport Group, the winner of a special 2007 Drama Desk Award and a 2007 Obie Award, will present the first major New York revival of Irwin Shaw's Bury the Dead, directed by Joe Calarco, beginning performances Friday, October 31, at 220 East 4 Street, between Avenues A and B (6 to Astor Place, W/N to 8th Street or F/V to Second Avenue). The opening has been scheduled for Sunday, November 9, at 3pm.

Metropolitan Opera on SIRIUS Satellite Radio channel 78 launches its regular live broadcasts of the company's 2008-09 season with the Opening Night Gala starring Renée Fleming, which airs on Monday, September 22, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. The third season of Met Opera Radio on SIRIUS features four live broadcasts weekly as the Met celebrates its 125th anniversary with six new productions, including the company premiere of John Adams's Doctor Atomic, 18 revivals, and the season grand finale of Wagner's epic Ring cycle, conducted by Music Director James Levine.

Transport Group, the winner of a special 2007 Drama Desk Award and a 2007 Obie Award, has announced its 2008-09 season: Bury the Dead, written by Irwin Shaw and directed by Joe Calarco, and Being Audrey, music and lyrics by Ellen Weiss, book by James Hindman, additional book and lyrics by Cheryl Stern, developed with Jack Cummings III and Adam R. Perlman, and directed by Jack Cummings III.

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Mara Manus) announced that KICKING A DEAD HORSE, a new play written and directed by Pulitzer Prize winner Sam Shepard and featuring Tony Award nominee Stephen Rea, has extended its run by two weeks. Following a sold-out run at Ireland's Abbey Theatre, it will preview at The Public on Wednesday, June 25 and run through Sunday, August 10 with an official press opening on Monday, July 14 at 7 PM.