Roundabout Theatre Company - Page 5

Little Children Dream of God in its scope, use of language, poetic narrative, and culturally specific perspective has given me so much to explore. My hope is that we've created a world that enriches and emboldens the mystery and poeticism of the play. Set primarily in Overtown-a neighborhood in Miami-as well as numerous other locations, the play calls for a transformative, flexible space that allows for moments of specificity and location set within a larger dreamscape. Our goal has been to create a design that bends to the audience's imagination and supports the heightened theatricality and ephemeral quality that runs deeply through the narrative and language. We also hoped to find a gesture that was singular in its tonality-but also culturally specific to both Overtown, Miami and to the Haitian community that lives there. In researching this world, we found ourselves drawn to the murals of artist Purvis Young. We found his dynamic, expressionistic work to be whimsical and iconographic, dark and dangerous-yet playful-existing at a crossroads of folksy and urban. This is a modern, timely, American myth tapping deeply into the traditions of a specific community.

In Little Children Dream of God, playwright Jeff Augustin uses aspects of magical realism, a style that originated in literature and visual art. The framework of his play is apparently realistic, until elements of dream, magic, and supernatural phenomena are introduced.

As if Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine wasn't a challenging enough piece in the musical theater cannon, Fiasco Theater decided that they would take it on as their latest project, performing it with only 10 actors who also play their own instruments. The success of the production brought it from the McCarter Theater Center in Princeton to The Old Globe in San Diego and finally to Roundabout, at The Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, where it currently is playing to critical acclaim through April 12.

Into the Woods is such a rich and appealing musical that many directors have been eager to put their own spin on it over the years. In these wildly different productions, all design elements have, of course, changed drastically from one vision to the next. But perhaps no singular aspect of the musical has seen as many distinct interpretations as the cow, Milky White. Here, we look at several takes on Jack's loyal bovine pal and how they speak to the the vision for the production as a whole.

I am thrilled to share the news of another exciting production for our 50th Anniversary Season. It is my pleasure to announce that Clive Owen will be making his Broadway debut in Harold Pinter's Old Times, in a production directed by Douglas Hodge.

Immerse yourself in the world of the madcap musical, On the Twentieth Century, with our recommended listening, reading and doing lists!

With only 10 actors, one piano and boundless imagination, this witty and wildly theatrical re-invention is Into the Woods like you've never seen it before! The creative team share their vision for the musical below.

In Little Children Dream of God, as Sula begins her new life in America, she is haunted by memories about her past in Haiti. These include her connection to, and possible misuse of, Vodou practices. Sula is the daughter of a Manbo (a female Vodou priest) and is able to talk to spirits. Today, Haitian Vodou is practiced by millions of people, both within and outside of Haiti, yet it is widely misunderstood by outsiders.

Education Dramaturg Ted Sod interviews Kristin Chenoweth about her role in On the 20th Century.

Ted Sod: Can you tell us about your role as Associate Artistic Director and how that manifests itself at Roundabout?

Ensemble-based theatre cannot be cleanly defined. For some companies, the ensemble of artists may change from production to production; for others, a core group of collaborators may always remain the same. Some ensemble companies create work based around a consistent theme, or directed towards a consistent demographic, or told through a consistent set of storytelling mechanisms or aesthetic principles. Some companies devise work from scratch, though the concept of "devised" work is as difficult to define as the concept of ensemble theatre. Some companies create work based on an established text. And some companies (like Fiasco Theater) create work that retains all of the original text but reinterprets its style of presentation.

The following is an excerpt from Stephen Sondheim's Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981 - 2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany. Thank you to Alfred A. Knopf for allowing us to share the author's insights with our audience.

Previews begin February 12th for the musical On the Twentieth Century, featuring music by Cy Coleman, with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, directed by Roundabout's Associate Artistic Director, Scott Ellis, at the American Airlines Theatre.

It is my great pleasure to announce that the ninth season of Roundabout Underground will begin with the world premiere of Ugly Lies the Bone by Lindsey Ferrentino, under the direction of Patricia McGregor. The production will begin previews on September 10, 2015 at the Black Box Theatre and marks the tenth premiere we've produced in that space. The play was first heard at Roundabout as part of the Underground Reading Series in February 2014.

Education Dramaturg Ted Sod interviews actor Carra Patterson from Little Children Dream of God.

The new play Little Children Dream of God begins previews this week at Roundabout Underground's Black Box Theatre.

Education Dramaturg Ted Sod interviews Jeff Augustin, Playwright of Little Children Dream of God.

I am thrilled to announce an exciting musical production for the upcoming 50th Anniversary Season. Joe Masteroff, Sheldon Harnick, and Jerry Bock's heartwarming She Loves Me will open in the Spring of 2016 in a production directed by Scott Ellis and starring Laura Benanti and Josh Radnor.