Denzel Washington News

Danny Glover, Lonette McKee, Barbara Montgomery, Daniel Beaty, Roscoe Orman and other veterans of New York theater will address “Can NYC's Theatres of Color Survive in the New Economy?” at the Coalition of Theatres of Color (CTC) Town Hall Meeting on June 4 at 6PM at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (135th St. & Lenox Avenue) in Harlem. (more...)

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes The Directors Company, in association with Chase Mishkin, Barbara & Buddy Freitag, and Invictus Theater Company, with MURDER IN THE FIRST, written by Dan Gordon and directed by Michael Parva. MURDER IN THE FIRST begins performances tonight, Friday, May 25, for a limited engagement through Sunday, July 1. Check out photos of Chris Kimball, Guy Burnet, Larisa Polonsky and more on stage below! (more...)

The Festival celebrates 60 years of excellence with a special symposium that will feature influential theatre artists and intellectuals in discussion about how Shakespeare’s work lends itself to a broad range of media, interpretations and settings. The event will be held at the Studio Theatre on June 2. (more...)

Tonight's 57th Annual Village Voice Obie Awards will be presented by Eric McCormack, Grace Gummer, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce, Juliet Rylance, Justin Bartha, Leslie Odom Jr., Lily Rabe, Michael McKean, Tonya Pinkins, Topher Grace, and Tracee Chimo. The event will feature live performances from David Patrick Kelly of ONCE, Joshua Henry and Sumayya Ali of PORGY & BESS, and Ethan Lipton and His Orchestra of NO PLACE TO GO. (more...)

The Coalition of Theatres of Color (CTC), an historical assemblage of 12 of the oldest ethnically specific, multicultural theatrical and cultural institutions in New York, invites the public to a Town Hall Meeting to discuss “Can NYC's Theatres of Color Survive in the New Economy?” on June 4 at 6PM at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (135th St. & Lenox Avenue) in Harlem. (more...)

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Conservatory Director Melissa Smith announced today that honorary master of fine arts degrees will be conferred on acclaimed actress and comedian Mary Birdsong and California Shakespeare Theater Artistic Director Jonathan Moscone. (more...)

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles® (BAFTA Los Angeles), which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, announced today that American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance producer Nigel Lythgoe will chair the Britannia Committee, which oversees the production of the Britannia Awards. The 2012 Britannia Awards will take place on Wednesday, November 7 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. (more...)

The Public Theater announced complete casting today for AS YOU LIKE IT, the first show of the 50th Anniversary season of free Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte. Directed by Daniel Sullivan, AS YOU LIKE IT will begin previews on Tuesday, June 5 and continue for four weeks through Saturday, June 30, opening on Thursday, June 21. (more...)

Jujamcyn Theaters (Jordan Roth, President) and True Colors Theatre Company (Kenny Leon, Co-Founding Artistic Director) have announced the 4th Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition on Monday, May 7th at 7:00 p.m. at the August Wilson Theatre (245 West 52nd Street). The event, which is free and open to the public, features high school students from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh and Seattle performing monologues by the late, legendary American playwright. (more...)

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes The Directors Company, in association with Chase Mishkin, Barbara & Buddy Freitag, and Invictus Theater Company, with MURDER IN THE FIRST, written by Dan Gordon and directed by Michael Parva. The production will be led by Tony nominee Chad Kimball Kimball as Willie. (more...)

59E59 Theaters (Elysabeth Kleinhans, Artistic Director; Peter Tear, Executive Producer) welcomes The Directors Company, in association with Chase Mishkin, Barbara & Buddy Freitag, and Invictus Theater Company, with MURDER IN THE FIRST, written by Dan Gordon and directed by Michael Parva. (more...)

Jujamcyn Theaters (Jordan Roth, President) and True Colors Theatre Company (Kenny Leon, Co-Founding Artistic Director) have announced the judges and guest performers for the 4th Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition on Monday, May 7th at 7:00 p.m. at the August Wilson Theatre (245 West 52nd Street). The event, which is free and open to the public, features high school students from Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh and Seattle performing monologues by the late, legendary American playwright. (more...)

With the help of A.C.T. Young Conservatory alumnus Darren Criss and two-time Tony Award winner Bill Irwin, American Conservatory Theater raised over $760,000 at its 2012 Season Gala, Expect the Unexpected!, which took place Sunday, April 15, at The Regency Center in San Francisco. (more...)

In honor and celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theater, The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Executive Director Patrick Willingham) will hold a special one-night-only gala event on Monday, June 18, featuring Kevin Kline as Romeo and Meryl Streep as Juliet in a star-studded staged reading of ROMEO AND JULIET, directed by Daniel Sullivan. For information on tickets for The Public Theater’s Anniversary Gala, please call (212) 539-8547 or visit www.shakespeareinthepark.org. A limited number of free stand-by line tickets will be available on the day of the gala at the Delacorte Theater. (more...)

“Now, there’s a movie star!” quoth Eileen (Anjelica Huston) of Rebecca Duvall (special guest star Uma Thurman) following her breathy and spastic performance of a new Julia/Tom musical number for the Marilyn Monroe-based musical-within-the-show on SMASH - BOMBSHELL - titled “Dig Deep”. While last night’s “The Movie Star” episode of NBC’s musical dramedy series SMASH was light on the musical numbers - only Karen (Katharine McPhee) and Rebecca managed a musical moment - the drama was dense and delectable, with the rapport between the motley crew of characters comprising the enterprise improving by the week (and it started strong). Yet, despite the best efforts of Eileen, Tom (Christian Borle), Julia (Debra Messing) and Derek (Jack Davenport) in attempting to create a new version of the Marilyn musical that showcases her best (and limited) abilities. Rebecca is a tentative talent who lacks a lot in the vocal and dance departments - to say the least - yet it is undeniable that she also possesses a certain air of a star - perhaps because she is one; on SMASH (as in real life, given Thurman’s A-list status), a big one. Portraying the movie star trying out a Broadway show for the first - and, most likely, last - time, Thurman brings a caustic, nutsy vibe to the seemingly bipolar screen siren - “36-ish”, meaning more like 40-ish in actuality - and gives gravitas to the cartoonishly written role. Just as the Marilyn musical has shown its astonishing, chameleon-like adaptability in its iterations starring Karen and Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) - not only in its star, but also in its style, sound, mood, conception and musical arrangements - now BOMBSHELL is being retrofitted for Rebecca. But, at what cost? Stripping the show of its big Broadway leading lady musical potential and showing off the supporting cast to take the focus off of the shaky star at the center, BOMBSHELL’s “Dig Deep” yet again gave the simply astounding songwriting duo responsible for the songs of the shows-within-the-shows on SMASH (including all of the BOMBSHELL songstack heard and seen so far, as well as the glimpses at the previous Tom/Julia collaborations, HEAVEN & EARTH and THREE ON A MATCH) “Dig Deep” was a WEST SIDE STORY-esque hot jazz song complete with the syncopation and stylization implicit in the best songs of the Actors Studio era which the 50s-set scene set out to depict (Lee Strasberg and all). (more...)

Trinity Repertory Company announced today that Rhode Island’s own Academy Award-nominated actress, Viola Davis, will be honored with the 2012 Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts at the 16th annual Pell Awards next month. Theater educator Elaine Foster Perry will receive the Charles Sullivan Award for Distinguished Service in the Arts, Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons will receive the Pell Award For Leadership in Arts Education, and J.L. “Lynn” Singleton, President of the Providence Performing Arts Center and Professional Facilities Management, will be honored as the recipient of the Pell Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts. All awardees are past or current Rhode Islanders. (more...)

As first reported exclusively by BroadwayWorld.com last week, the Public Theater confirmed today that Tony Award-winner Donna Murphy has been cast as The Witch in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s beloved musical INTO THE WOODS, directed by Timothy Sheader with co-direction by Liam Steel. Murphy last performed at the Delacorte in the Shakepeare in the Park production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood in 1985. INTO THE WOODS will begin previews on Monday, July 23 and continue for five weeks through Saturday, August 25 with an official press opening on Thursday, August 9. (more...)

According to a report by Deadline.com, Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol star Paula Patton will join Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg in 2 GUNS, based on Steven Grant's graphic novel with Boom! Studios. (more...)

Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington (Training Day, Unstoppable) and Ryan Reynolds (The Change-Up, Green Lantern) star as unlikely allies up against an unknown enemy in SAFE HOUSE, which will be available June 5, 2012, on Blu-ray. (more...)

The Village Voice, the nation’s largest alternative weekly newspaper, announced that the 57th Annual Obie Awards will take place on Monday, May 21, 2012, at Webster Hall in the East Village (125 East 11th Street). This year's awards will be presented by: Eric McCormack, Grace Gummer, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce, Juliet Rylance, Justin Bartha, Lily Rabe, Michael McKean, Topher Grace, Tracee Chimo. Entertainment and co-hosts to be announced. (more...)