Young Playwrights Festival (2002) - 2002 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 8

Two new character-driven relationship plays, both by award-winning women writers and both inspired by events currently at the forefront of our national consciousness, beat out 1241 other submissions in the inaugural Moss Hart & Kitty Carlisle Hart New Play Initiative. Hart NPI artistic director Christopher Hart will direct Silver Medallion-winning plays Confederates by Suzanne Bradbeer, opening Nov. 9, and Exit Wounds by Wendy Graf, opening Nov. 16, at Grove Theater Center in Burbank, where the two plays will continue to run in repertory through Dec. 16. One will be the named the Gold Medallion winner and open on March 13, 2019 for a six-week, off-Broadway run in the 196-seat "Theater A" at 59E59 Theaters in New York City.

This Halloween, the Brick Theater presents The Testament of a Josh: A Flesh and Blood Musical, an original rock musical by humor writer Brian Boone (books and lyrics) and composer Julian Mesri, and featuring Maybe Burke (fresh off the acclaimed Red Emma and the Mad Monk), John Amir (Theater for a New Audience's Skin of Our Teeth) and Matt Butterfield (600 Highwaymen).

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley brings an enchanted bestseller to life for the holidays with the regional premiere of Tuck Everlasting. Set in the 1890s, free-spirited Winnie Foster searches for adventure, finding the Tucks, a close-knit family that has discovered the secret to everlasting life.

The Warner Theatre will present its 7th Annual International Playwrights Festival held in the Warner's Nancy Marine Studio Theatre on October 12 and 13, 2018. The mission of the International Playwrights Festival is to recognize the work of emerging and established playwrights and to build a link between the playwrights, the theatre community and our audiences.

Written by Nobel Prize Award-winner Luigi Pirandello, in a new version by Nicholas Wright, Naked begins performances Today, September 27 at 7pm at The Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, MA. Opening night is set for Saturday, September 29 at 7pm. Directed by Eric Hill (BTG: At Home at the Zoo, The Homecoming, Poe), the production features: David Adkins (Homeland BTG: The Petrified Forest, At Home at the Zoo) as Alfredo Cantavalle; Haley Aguero (BTG: Tarzan, The Music Man) as Emma; James Barry (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson BTG: The Caretaker, The Who's Tommy) as Franco Laspiga; Jeffrey Doornbos (A Thousand Miles Behind) as Consul Grotti; Tara Franklin (Sleep No More BTG: At Home at the Zoo, The Homecoming) as Ersilia Drei; Barbara Sims (A Streetcar Named Desire BTG: Benefactors) as Signora Onoria; and Obie and Drama Desk Award-winner, Rocco Sisto (The King and I BTG: The Homecoming) as Ludovico Nota. This production is sponsored by Lead Sponsor, Bobbie Hallig; Furlano and Arace, PC; The Westifeld News Group; Massachusetts Cultural Council and The Shubert Foundation.

Ensemble for the Romantic Century (Eve Wolf, Executive Artistic Director) is proud to announce the opening of Angelica Page in the title role BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP: An Encounter with Emily Dickinson. Opening Night is this Thursday, September 27th.

Artistic Director Rupert Goold today announces the Almeida Theatre's new season.

Goodman Theatre's commitment to new works and emerging artists continues in its 2018/2019 Season. Today, the Goodman named four Chicago-based writers to its Playwrights Unit-Georgette Kelly, whose play Ballast was featured on The Kilroys List and received the Craig Noel Award for Outstanding New Play; Dianne Nora, a playwright, dramaturg, theater scholar and comedy writer who works in Chicago, Brooklyn and Dublin; Marisela Treviño Orta, semifinalist for the 2018 O'Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference and 2019 Kendeda Finalist (Alliance Theatre); and Stacey Rose, whose work has been presented at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, National Black Theatre and more. The Playwrights Unit, in partnership with Chicago Dramatists, meets bi-monthly to discuss their commissioned plays-in-progress with the Goodman's artistic team. The residency culminates in a public staged reading of each new play in Summer 2019. 

Written by Nobel Prize Award-winner Luigi Pirandello, in a new version by Nicholas Wright, Naked begins performances Thursday, September 27 at 7pm at The Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, MA. Opening night is set for Saturday, September 29 at 7pm. Directed by Eric Hill (BTG: At Home at the Zoo, The Homecoming, Poe), the production features: David Adkins (Homeland BTG: The Petrified Forest, At Home at the Zoo) as Alfredo Cantavalle; Haley Aguero (BTG: Tarzan, The Music Man) as Emma; James Barry (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson BTG: The Caretaker, The Who's Tommy) as Franco Laspiga; Jeffrey Doornbos (A Thousand Miles Behind) as Consul Grotti; Tara Franklin (Sleep No More BTG: At Home at the Zoo, The Homecoming) as Ersilia Drei; Barbara Sims (A Streetcar Named Desire BTG: Benefactors) as Signora Onoria; and Obie and Drama Desk Award-winner, Rocco Sisto (The King and I BTG: The Homecoming) as Ludovico Nota. This production is sponsored by Lead Sponsor, Bobbie Hallig; Furlano and Arace, PC; The Westifeld News Group; Massachusetts Cultural Council and The Shubert Foundation.

The Department of Theater at Brooklyn College is one of New York City's outstanding institutions in the training of theater artists. With the assistance of a generous grant from the Tow Foundation, the Department of Theater, in conjunction with the MFA Playwriting Program, headed by co-coordinators Mac Wellman and Erin Courtney, will present the annual Weasel Festival, hosted by The Public Theater (August 17-24). This festival of new works, previously produced by the playwrights, will feature performances of full length plays written by Kate Dakota Kremer, Rachel Kauder Nalebuff, Jerry Lieblich, and April Ranger all of whom are recent graduates of the MFA Playwrighting Program at Brooklyn College.

Dael Orlandersmith, "an intense poet, writer and intellectual" (Chicago Tribune), brings her newest work, Lady in Denmark, to the Owen Theatre. Reuniting with director Chay Yew (Black n Blue Boys/Broken Men, 2012), Orlandersmith's world premiere production is a reflection on love and adversity starring stage and screen actress Linda Gehringer in a 90-minute solo performance. Helene (Gehringer) is a Danish American woman coping with the death of her husband who finds solace in the hauntingly beautiful music of their favorite singer, Billie Holiday. This is her journey through the couple's time together-from the smoky jazz clubs of post-war Copenhagen to the home they shared in present-day Chicago. Lady in Denmark is one of five world premieres this season, all originally developed as a part of the Goodman's New Stages Festival. The creative team includes Andrew Boyce (set), Christine Pascual (costumes), Lee Fiskness (lighting) and Mikhail Fiksel (original music and sound). Donald E. Claxon is the Production Stage Manager. Lady in Denmark appears October 19 - November 18, 2018 (opening night is October 29 at 7pm) in the Goodman's Owen Theatre (170 N. Dearborn); tickets ($15-45; subject to change) go on sale Friday, August 31, by telephone 312.443.3800 or online GoodmanTheatre.org/LadyInDenmark.

VITAL THEATRE COMPANY is pleased to announce the Super Showcase performance of OWEN & MZEE: THE TRUE STORY OF A REMARKABLE FRIENDSHIP the #1 New York Times best-selling children's book about the friendship between a tortoise and an orphaned hippopotamus written by father and daughter team Craig and Isabella Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumbu . The musical features book and lyrics by Michelle Elliott and music and lyrics by Danny Larsen. Stanley Mathis is the Director/ Choreographer and Costume Designer.

A seedy, abandoned motel room is the location of Steven Dietz's On Clover Road, where a desperate mother unites with a hard-boiled private investigator in the hope of reuniting with her cult-member young daughter. Opening September 21 in its Los Angeles premiere at Little Fish Theatre, On Clover Road spotlights a star turn by actor Renee O'Connor and is directed by StageSceneLA Award Winner and LFT company member Holly Baker-Kreiswirth.

National New Play Network (NNPN), the country's alliance of professional theaters that collaborate in innovative ways to develop, produce, and extend the life of new plays, has added three new Core Members: Silk Road Rising (Chicago), Company One (Boston), and City Theatre Company (Pittsburgh). As of the date of this release, NNPN has 114 Members Theaters, comprised of 32 Cores and 82 Associates.

The Department of Theater at Brooklyn College is one of New York City's outstanding institutions in the training of theater artists. With the assistance of a generous grant from the Tow Foundation, the Department of Theater, in conjunction with the MFA Playwriting Program, headed by co-coordinators Mac Wellman and Erin Courtney, will present the annual Weasel Festival, hosted by The Public Theater (August 17-24). This festival of new works, previously produced by the playwrights, will feature performances of full length plays written by Kate Dakota Kremer, Rachel Kauder Nalebuff, Jerry Lieblich, and April Ranger all of whom are recent graduates of the MFA Playwrighting Program at Brooklyn College.

The Department of Theater at Brooklyn College is one of New York City's outstanding institutions in the training of theater artists. With the assistance of a generous grant from the Tow Foundation, the Department of Theater, in conjunction with the MFA Playwriting Program, headed by co-coordinators Mac Wellman and Erin Courtney, will present the annual Weasel Festival, hosted by The Public Theater (August 17-24). This festival of new works, previously produced by the playwrights, will feature performances of full length plays written by Kate Dakota Kremer, Rachel Kauder Nalebuff, Jerry Lieblich, and April Ranger all of whom are recent graduates of the MFA Playwrighting Program at Brooklyn College.

VITAL THEATRE COMPANY is pleased to announce the Super Showcase performance of OWEN & MZEE: THE TRUE STORY OF A REMARKABLE FRIENDSHIP the #1 New York Times best-selling children's book about the friendship between a tortoise and an orphaned hippopotamus written by father and daughter team Craig and Isabella Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumbu . The musical features book and lyrics by Michelle Elliott and music and lyrics by Danny Larsen. Stanley Mathis is the Director/ Choreographer and Costume Designer.

King of Cuba, a new comedy by award-winning writer Cristina Garcia, has extended through August 26th at the historic Berkeley City Club (originally scheduled to close August 19). In King of Cuba, two aging Cubanos hilariously have a go at each other. Opening night Marga was described as 'dethroning machismo,' while the house erupted as El Comandante (Marga Gomez) remarked "Nobody has bigger cojones than I do." The night then roiled with laughter as the two silver haired Cubanos 'knock each other down' verbally and otherwise.

Was Dr. Martin Luther King correct in saying the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice? Even if we do learn from the past, are we still doomed to repeat some of it? Promethean Theatre Ensemble Artistic Director Brian Pastor says, "Friedrich Nietzsche once noted that 'when we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago.' As Promethean begins its 13th season, we are reminded of one of our founding tenets: that we tell stories of the past to illuminate our present. The themes that we explore this season challenge us to craft a better tomorrow by taking our cues from the boldest voices of yesteryear."

PLANET CONNECTIONS' PLAYWRIGHTS FOR A CAUSE: This year, this event, designed to address a powerful social and topical issue facing our society today through engaging stage works, will explore the distinctions between gender and sexuality. The event will benefit THE ALI FORNEY CENTER.

Interrobang Theatre Project is pleased to announce its ninth season, featuring three knockout dramas presented at its new resident home, Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Ave. in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood. This season, Interrobang explores "identity/crisis," with three plays featuring characters on the edge of something new, battling old demons and making room for fresh starts.

Our team put our heads together to figure out who we'd want to appear in the production! Check out some of our picks below - and join in the coversation on Facebook and Twitter to share your thoughts!

 Hunter College President Jennifer J. Raab announced today the inaugural production of the Hunter Theater Project, the New York premiere of Anton Chekhov's UNCLE VANYA at the Frederick Loewe Theater at Hunter College (E. 68th Street and Lexington Avenue), directed by Richard Nelson. Translated byRichard Nelson, Richard Pevear, and Larissa Volokhonsky. This production is the first time renowned Russian literature translators Pevear and Volokhonsky will have a work premiere in New York City, following the show's world premiere at The Old Globe in San Diego, California. Previews for UNCLE VANYA begin Friday, September 7. The production runs through Sunday, October 14, with an official press opening on Sunday, September 16. Tickets are on sale now.

Daniel Henning, the Founding Artistic Director of Hollywood's Blank Theatre, has been named a 2018 Pride honoree by the California Legislative LGBT Caucus. A special floor ceremony was held on June 18 during the California State Assembly floor session in Sacramento.

After a successful run in Central Park, playing to over 4,000 people, performances resume on Wednesday, June 27 in Rockefeller Park/Battery Park City for New York Classical Theatre's critically acclaimed production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by the company's Founding Artistic Director Stephen Burdman. The production will play this week through June 30, before continuing on to The Battery, Carl Schurz Park, and Brooklyn Bridge Park for performances through July 29. There is no ticketing, and all performances are free and open to the public. Performance schedule can be found at newyorkclassical.org.