Faetra Petillo - Page 95

THE FIRST BREEZE OF SUMMER, the first production of Signature Theatre Company's (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) 2008-2009 season celebrating the historic Negro Ensemble Company (NEC), will begin previews tomorrow, August 5th. THE FIRST BREEZE OF SUMMER, by Leslie Lee and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, officially opens on Thursday, August 21st and continues through September 28th at the Peter Norton Space located at 555 West 42nd Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues).

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director) has announced complete details for the first production of its 2008/2009 Season, the World Premiere of THREE CHANGES, a new play by Nicky Silver (Fit to Be Tied at Playwrights Horizons, The Food Chain, Pterodactyls, Raised in Captivity).

Pasadena Playhouse (Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director, Brian Colburn, Managing Director, Tom Ware, Producing Director) announced casting today for VANITIES, A New Musical by Jack Heifner, with music and lyrics by David Kirshenbaum, directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Judith Ivey. Set to star are Lauren Kennedy (Spamalot, Side Show) as Mary, Sarah Stiles (Avenue Q, …Spelling Bee) as Joanne and Anneliese van der Pol (Beauty and the Beast, TV's 'That's So Raven') as Kathy. Preview performances begin on August 22 with the official press opening on August 29 at Pasadena Playhouse (39 S. El Molino Avenue).

Luna Stage's 2008-2009 season, its 16th year of producing provocative theatre in Montclair, includes three world premieres of new works - Fair and Decent by Thomas H. Diggs, After Adam by Christina Ham and Not God by Marc J. Straus, as well as a revival of the off-beat holiday favorite The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris and two New Moon Reading Series of new plays in development.

Producers of a homegrown musical version of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice want to engage the local community in its journey to Broadway with an exclusive local 'first look' on Tuesday, October 21, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in the upstate city's historic Eastman Theatre.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announced Jean Racine's passionate play Phedre as one of its productions for the 2009-10 season in a first-time coproduction with Canada's prestigious Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) launches its 2008-09 Season with Tom Stoppard's critically acclaimed Rock 'n' Roll in a West Coast premiere directed by Artistic Director Carey Perloff, who has had a celebrated artistic partnership with Stoppard for over a decade. A rapturous, decades-spanning tale of Prague's rock revolution, Rock 'n' Roll follows the passions and politics of a Marxist professor in Cambridge and his Rolling Stones-obsessed protege fighting for freedom in Soviet-dominated Czechoslovakia.

In anticipation of the events surrounding the Republican National Convention, the Guthrie today released its public schedule for August 29 - September 7. Although the Guthrie will serve as the site for several rental events as part of the convention, much of the activity throughout the building, including backstage tours and self-guided audio tours, will be business as usual for visitors and staff.

The Shakespeare Society (Michael Sexton, Artistic Director) will present Lyrics by W. Shakespeare, an evening of songs set to lyrics by Shakespeare, presided over by former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, on Monday, September 15 at 6:30pm at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, East 68 Street, between Park and Lexington Avenues. A limited number of tickets, priced at $25-$45, are available from the Kaye box office at (212) 772-4448.

Ruth & Stephen Hendel and Roy Gabay present the world premiere of Fela!, a new musical based on the life of groundbreaking African composer, performer and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

Avery Brooks, the distinguished stage, film and television actor known for his celebrated performances in roles from the classics to science fiction, will portray one of the American theater's most tragic figures, Willy Loman, in a radical new interpretation of Arthur Miller's modern classic, Death of a Salesman from Sept. 18 to 21 at Oberlin College's Hall Auditorium in Oberlin, Ohio.

The San Jose Repertory Theatre today announced that Rick Lombardo of Boston's New Repertory Theatre will be the company's next artistic director, succeeding the Rep's long-time director, Timothy Near.

It is with great pleasure that The West Bank Café announces upcoming performances to be presented in The Laurie Beechman Theatre. The West Bank Café is located at 407 West 42nd. St., at Ninth Avenue.

On the heels of concert performances at DR2 Theater, D-Lounge, Bowery Poetry Club, and Don't Tell Mama's, The New Rock Musical SOUL SEARCHING - along with GENERATIONS, The All-Kids Rock Musical Workshop - will appear in the 2008 New York Musical Theater Festival (www.nymf.org) with a series of special performances at the Nuyorican Poets Café, 236 East 3rd Street between B & C.

As part of its 5th Anniversary celebration this October, the Broadway smash WICKED will present THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD NOT TAKEN, a one-night-only, all-star benefit performance featuring scenes and songs from the original drafts of WICKED. The benefit will take place on Monday, October 27 at 7:30pm at the Gershwin Theatre (222 West 51st Street).

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival announces its 2009 season - a playbill reflecting the Festival's commitment to producing the works of William Shakespeare and his contemporaries, along with other classical theatre repertoire and the work of living playwrights.

There are those cherished moments in the theater when a performer grips the audience in such a manner that the evening not only becomes the talk of the town, but remains locked forever in the minds of the audiences who were fortunate enough to witness it. Such was the case recently when The Gateway Playhouse in Bellport, NY presented their version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Without exaggeration, the production became the buzz of the community. Not only were people enormously impressed with the stunning sets and costumes, but they were also bowled over by the brilliant performance of Josh Davis as the Beast.

FEINSTEIN'S AT LOEWS REGENCY, the nightclub proclaimed 'Best of New York' by New York Magazine and 'an invaluable New York institution' by The New York Post, will open their 10th Anniversary season with the return of ASHFORD & SIMPSON from September 9 - 20. Following their 2006 and 2007 engagements, which opened to packed houses and critical raves, the celebrated songwriters and performers will reprise many of their greatest hits including 'I'm Every Woman,' 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough,' 'Solid' and 'Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand.' They will also include several new songs from Invisible Life, their upcoming musical based on the best-selling novel by E. Lynn Harris. All shows are at the Regency Hotel (540 Park Avenue at 61st Street).

Author Ellis Nassour will be hosting an event to celebrate his book, Honky Tonk Angel: The Intimate Story of Patsy Cline, updated edition (Chicago Review Press, 2008), and to honor the birthday and life of a country music legend.

Performances of the Toronto engagement of JERSEY BOYS begin tonight, Thursday, August 21 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts (5040 Yonge Street north of Sheppard Avenue).