Review: SPRING AWAKENING at The 5th Avenue Theatre
Dear Readers, I should start by saying that “Spring Awakening”, the musical from Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater based on the 1891 play by Frank Wedekind, has never been one of my favorites. But that first national tour and especially the 2012 local production from Balagan Theatre gave me a better appreciation for the show for what it is. However, the current production from the 5th Avenue Theatre did not.
Review: THE FANTASTICKS at Village Theatre
Pop quiz, Dear Readers. What is the world’s longest running musical? No, it’s not “Phantom”, that’s the longest running Broadway musical. But if we include Off-Broadway we get the longest run of 42 years and 17,162 performances with Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt’s “The Fantasticks”. And while the current production at Village Theatre dragged a bit at times, this enduring classic still has some fun to offer.
The Playwrights Realm Presents Interactive Fundraiser PLAY ON WORDS
The Playwrights Realm (Founding Artistic Director, Katherine Kovner; Producing Director, Roberta Pereira) presents Play on Words, a one-night live-streamed festival of short new plays that culminates an initiative in which donors get to have a hand in writing and creating work (March 28 at 7pm ET).
Play On Shakespeare Announces Actors And Directors For PLAY ON!
Play On Shakespeare today announces an expansive list of compelling actors and dynamic directors confirmed to participate in the Play on! Festival, presented in association with Classic Stage Company (CSC) and Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF). Play on! features 39 readings of new, work-in-progress translations of Shakespeare's plays into contemporary modern English by some of today's most exciting playwrights-May 29-June 30 at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater at CSC (136 E. 13th Street). In 2015, Oregon Shakespeare Festival launched an ambitious 39-play, three-year commissioning project, Play on!, tasking 36 playwrights-more than half of whom were women and playwrights of color, each paired with a dramaturg-to translate Shakespeare's canon in celebration of the enduring impact of the Bard's work. Supported by a generous grant from the Hitz Foundation and inspired by long-time patron Dave Hitz's passion for Shakespeare, the project was and continues to be led by Lue Morgan Douthit. For more information, visit playonfestival.org.