Twang! 1965

Molly Smith directs her 30th production as Artistic Director of Arena Stage with a gritty and relevant take on the Tony Award-winning musical Oliver!, blending the chaotic worlds of 19th-century Victorian London with 2015 London. Smith's new in-the-round staging infuses a modern edge to the classic musical about an innocent orphan thrown into the dark world of double-dealing thieves and conmen, highlighting the disparity between classes and dangerous life on London's streets today. Featuring a remarkable score including 'You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two,' 'Consider Yourself,' 'Where is Love?' and 'Food, Glorious Food,' Oliver! runs October 30, 2015-January 3, 2016 in the Fichandler Stage at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has announced the availability of Great Moments in the Theatre by Benedict Nightingale, published by Oberon Books (London). Starting with the first performance of Aeschylus' The Oresteia in 458 BC and ending with the premiere of Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem in London of 2009 AD, former New York Times critic and chief theatre critic of the Times (London) for over 20 years, Benedict Nightingale collects in one volume what he extols as the greatest moments in theatre.