Union Square Free Night of Theater Celebration, October 15-

TCG’s fifth annual Free Night of Theater will have its NYC launch with a day-long celebration in Union Square on October 15 from 12:00PM until 6:00PM. Topping last year’s event in scope, scale and vision, this Union Square Free Night of Theater Celebration will have booths, art installations, and performances – both scheduled and spontaneous – as well as guest speakers including theatre artists and local politicians. The park will be transformed into a theatrical street fair with a performance stage and roving artists - under a canopy of colorful vibrant umbrellas. Programming for all ages will take place throughout the day and surprises are guaranteed. This event allows NYC theatre artists to come together as a community and share their gifts with the general public. 

A fanfare will welcome guests as the event is introduced by Mayor Bloomberg (his schedule permitting) and TCG’s executive director, Teresa Eyring. Throughout the day, there will be magic in the air as New York’s best theatre artists from Broadway to Independent perform for free while make-up artists transform faces, celebrity artists share personal stories from the sublime to the ridiculous, and children’s theater is performed for kids and parents. Toward the end of the day, a Fashion Show (pulled from the 75,000 pieces of Theatre Development Fund's The Costume Collection) will delight and amaze. Names of participating theatre artists will be released as the event draws closer. 

The Free Night of Theater program was introduced as a three-city pilot program in 2005 to raise the general awareness of America's not-for-profit theatres and attract new and non-traditional audiences. This year the national program is making more than 75,000 tickets available to 700 theatres in over 120 cities in more than 25 states. A complete list of the participating cities and theatres is available at www.freenightoftheater.net. Free Night NYC is offering more than 5,000 free tickets to nearly 100 theaters across New York City. Online Tickets can be reserved on October 1, 2009. 

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for not-for-profit Theatre. Its Free Night New York partners are the Arts & Business Council of New York, the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the League of Independent Theater, The New York State Council on the Arts, and Theatre Development Fund. Support for Free Night of Theater comes from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.

2009 IT Award Recipients Announced

New York, NY: On Monday September 21, 2009, the IT Awards (New York Innovative Theatre Awards), the organization dedicated to celebrating Off-Off Broadway, and host Julie Halston, announced the 2009 recipients at the Fifth Annual IT Awards Ceremony at New World Stages. Those unable to attend joined the OOB theatre community's biggest night of the year online, and also followed theatre critic Aaron Riccio's (Theater Talk's New Theater Corps, That Sounds Cool) live-blogging at www.nyitawards.com/live.

Performance by Caffe Cino Fellowship Award recipient The Brick Theater, Inc.

The Winners: OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE RECIPIENT: Christopher Borg, Jeffrey Cranor, Kevin R. Free, Eevin Hartsough, (Not) Just A Day Like Any Other, New York Neo-Futurists  OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE RECIPIENT: Jeff Grow, Creating Illusion, soloNOVA Arts Festival OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE RECIPIENT: William Apps IV, Amerissiah, The Amoralists Theatre Company OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE RECIPIENT: Constance Parng, Lee/gendary, HERE Arts Center OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE RECIPIENT: Julian Elfer, Twelfth Night, or What You Will, T. Schreiber Studio OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE RECIPIENT: Elyse Mirto, Any Day Now, Writer's Forum at Manhattan Theatre Source OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY/MOVEMENT RECIPIENT: Austin McCormick, The Judgment of Paris, Company XIV  OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR RECIPIENT: Suzi Takahashi, Lee/gendary, HERE Arts Center OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN RECIPIENT: Bruce Steinberg, Blue Before Morning, terraNOVA Collective OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN RECIPIENT: Michelle Beshaw, The Very Sad Story of Ethel & Julius, Lovers and Spyes and about Their Untymelie End while Sitting in a Small Room at the Correctional Facility in Ossining, N.Y., GOH Productions  OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN RECIPIENT: Michael P. Kramer, Ragtime, Astoria Performing Arts Center OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN RECIPIENT: Asa Wember, Angel Eaters, Flux Theatre Ensemble OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MUSIC RECIPIENT: Kimmy Gatewood, Andy Hertz, Rebekka Johnson, Sarah Lowe, Jeff Solomon, The Apple Sisters, The Apple Sisters OUTSTANDING FULL-LENGTH SCRIPT RECIPIENT: Nat Cassidy, The Reckoning of Kit & Little Boots, The Gallery Players in association with Engine37 OUTSTANDING SHORT SCRIPT RECIPIENT: Nico Vreeland, Elephants on Parade 2009, EBE Ensemble OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE ART PRODUCTION RECIPIENT: Creating Illusion, soloNOVA Arts Festival  OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL RECIPIENT: Like You Like It, The Gallery Players OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY RECIPIENT: Lee/gendary, HERE Arts Center ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENT: Maria Irene Fornes STEWARDSHIP AWARD RECIPIENT: Material For The Arts OUTSTANDING STAGE MANAGER RECIPIENT: Jillian Zeman CAFFE CINO FELLOWSHIP AWARD RECIPIENT: The Brick Theater, Inc. About The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation: THE INNOVATIVE THEATRE FOUNDATION is celebrating its fifth anniversary of celebrating Off-Off-Broadway, which recognizes the great work of New York's Off-Off-Broadway—honoring its artistic heritage and providing a meeting ground for this extensive and richly varied community. As advocates for Off-Off-Broadway, they recognize its unique and essential role contributing to global culture. Each season, The Innovative Theatre Foundation publicly recognizes excellence in Off-Off-Broadway, with a high-profile awards ceremony. The New York Innovative Theatre Awards celebrate the community and honor some of the previous year’s greatest achievements. The IT Awards heighten audience awareness and foster greater appreciation of the New York theatre experience. Website: www.nyitawards.com Sponsors: Kampfire Films PR; United Stages; Lights Up & Cue Sound; Five OHM Productions Media Sponsors: nytheatre.com, Show Business Weekly, Stage Buddy, Stagebuzz.com

Marrying Meg needs something Green

Marrying Meg a new Scottish musical at The New York Musical Theatre Festival will premiere Tuesday, September 29th to a fresh new audience, but it looks like no creator. It so happens their author Mark Robertson (Book, Music & Lyrics) can't afford to fly out here to see his own show. He is self-producing, and all the money he has been able to raise has been dedicated to the production. He is the only foreign writer accepted in the festival this year, and he has been working on this for 17 years.

Mark Robertson as "Thomas The Rhymer" in The Lass wi the Muckle Mou (1982)

 play that inspired Marrying Meg.

We at The Fab Marquee were compelled by his heart-wrenching letter (below). We hear most of the production team is working pro bono on this project, but it is not enough. The plane ticket from Scotland to NYC is close to $2,000 dollars.


With an outstanding Broadway cast, Stephen Berger (The Pajama Game, Into The Woods), Stephen Bienskie (Chess, Cats), Stephanie Youell Binetti (Curtains), Harris Doran (2008 NYMF Award for Excellence: Outstanding Individual Performance for Love Jerry), Kathy Fitzgerald (9 to 5, The Producers), Lisa Howard (9 to 5, South Pacific, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Michael McCormick (Curtains, The Pajama Game, Gypsy, Kiss Me Kate, 1776, Kiss of a Spider Woman), Jim Newman (Curtains, Minelli on Minelli, Sunset Boulevard, The Who’s Tommy), Tory Ross (9 to 5, Cry Baby), and William Ryall (Guys and Dolls, Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas!, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Chess, How to Succeed In Business Without Trying).


The show opens September 29th, and they would love to have him there.


In these hard economic times I understand it is difficult to donate money, but just posting this on your blog or any kind of social media outreach is an amazing help.


You can donate by visiting this link (http://www.nymf.org/Page.144.Make+a+Donation+Now)



-------

Dear Friends:


I wonder if you might be able to help me. My Scottish musical comedy MARRYING MEG is to receive its world premiere at this year’s New York Musical Theatre Festival. The show, which I have been writing, on and off, for the last seventeen years (I’m a full-time TV scriptwriter normally), has been a real labour of love for me. It’s a genuine Scottish musical, written by a Scotsman (me!), adapted from a brilliant Scottish play (Alexander Reid’s The Lass wi the Muckle Mou) which is in turn based on two famous folk tales from the Scottish Borders. If nothing else, MARRYING MEG’s Scottish pedigree is secure!


Throughout its extensive development period, MARRYING MEG has reached the finals of three prestigious European musicals competitions, and arrives at this year’s New York Musicals Festival as the only show to have Cameron Mackintosh as one of its official sponsors. Living as I do in the Highlands, I cannot tell you what a thrill it will be finally to see MARRYING MEG staged in its entirety. And in New York of all places! The home of musical theatre!


MARRYING MEG is a fun show with a great big Caledonian heart, and I’m convinced it will appeal to almost anyone with an affinity for things Scottish. I really would like to think I’m bringing a wee bit of Scotland to the Big Apple. I know people say that in order to make your dreams a reality, you have to be willing to beg, borrow and steal. This fall I’m living out my dream. But after borrowing (and even stealing) all I could, I’m now giving begging a try! (Excuse me if I’m not very good at it yet.) Our production is faced with fundraising challenges this year, and while our first weeks of rehearsal have gone incredibly well, the final stretch of our rehearsals is tight. For our first weeks I was able to be with the cast and crew as they rehearsed the show, but now it seems that I will not be able to return to see the actual performances of the production due to cost.


Would you consider making a donation to our show? Every little bit counts, and donations through the website are 100% tax deductible. Plus, donors of $1,000 or more receives two tickets to one of our performances. (Now isn’t that reward enough?) We're also hosting a fundraising party on Thursday, 24 September from 7pm-10pm at Shoolbred's in NYC. Get details on Meg's Engagement Party here.


More information about the amazing cast and creative team, as well as clips from the show can be found at www.nymf.org/marryingmeg. Please also consider coming to see the show that I am so very proud of. Schedule and ticket information are below. With your support, Meg hopes that many a mickle maks a muckle!


With gratitude,
Mark Robertson

Canada will also 'BARE' this summer

The Fab Marquee News Desk.

WatersEdge Productions, a new independent theatre company, presents its debut production in Toronto: the Canadian premiere of BARE, the rock musical that has garnered a worldwide fan base since its award-winning Los Angeles staging, and its subsequent sold-out five-week Off-Broadway run. With music by Damon Intrabartolo and lyrics by Jon Hartmere, BARE opens July 17 and runs through to August 1, 2009 with an exuberant young cast of 19 actors at Toronto’s Hart House Theatre tackling themes of teen sexuality, religious angst, and unrelenting social and family pressure.

Following in the footsteps of RENT and Spring Awakening, bare explores the realities facing many of today's teens. With a ceaseless and haunting rock and pop score, this contemporary musical pulses with energy and heartache as it tells the tale of five students at a co-ed Catholic boarding school facing the turmoil of their teenage years. Forced to confront coming of age, coming out, and coming to terms with expectations of parents, peers and the Church, they question where they are in their lives and what the future holds as they struggle to find their own voices.

Jason, the senior class golden boy, wants to hide a secret romance with Peter, his roommate. Peter wishes to drop the facade, but this could destroy Jason’s reputation. When Ivy pursues Jason, the situation becomes even more complex. With themes of forbidden love, alienation and spiritual confusion, bare is a beautiful and moving story that supercedes all boundaries as it talks about love, fear, acceptance, and finding yourself.

BARE received its world premiere staging at the Hudson Theatre in Los Angeles, CA in 2000 and was produced off-Broadway in 2004. Hailed as "a magnificent, totally original contemporary musical extravaganza that explores the schism between youthful passion and theological dogma” by Variety, and winner of multiple Los Angeles theatre awards (including 2001 LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Musical Score, and LA Weekly Award for Best Original Score & Best Musical), bare has garnered a legion of followers throughout the world through a vast amount of online fan sites, MySpace and Facebook pages, and clips on YouTube. 2007 saw the release of BARE the album, a studio recording of the entire show. Its release, only made available through www.barethealbum.com, sold out in its first day, earning it a cult following. It was subsequently released on iTunes.

This ground-breaking production is brought to the stage with up-and-coming director and Artistic Director of WatersEdge Productions, Brian Gregory-Waters. A recent graduate of Brock University in St. Catharine’s where his credits included directing High School Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Who’s Tommy, he now makes his Toronto directorial debut with a young cast of performers from across Canada. WatersEdge Productions is committed to staging socially conscious plays and musicals while also giving young artists an opportunity to perform in a professional environment. BARE is the company’s first production.

For more information and tickets visit www.watersedgeproductions.net

MITF Launch Party on June 28th

UPDATE: The Fab Marquee will be tweeting live from the Launch Party!

The Fab Marquee News Desk.

The Midtown International Theatre Festival (MITF) presents their Tenth Anniversary Season Launch Party on Sunday, June 28th, 2009 at 7PM (doors open at 6PM) at the Bleecker Street Theatre, 45 Bleecker Street, NYC. Tickets are $20 and are available now at www.midtownfestival.org or by phone at 866-811-4111.

Icky House Club

MITF's Launch Party will feature previews of upcoming shows in the MITF, including musical numbers from Insecurity! (featuring the Icky House Club) and That's Showbiz!, as well as scenes from Bartholomew Fair, NJ; Checking In; The Lincoln Continental; Monroe Bound; Not My Daughter; and Southern Man, among others. There will be food, drinks, raffles and ticket giveaways.

The Midtown Theatre Fesitval, now on its tenth year, runs from July 13-August 2, 2009 at the June Havoc Theatre; the Mainstage Theater; The Jewel Box Theater; and Where Eagles Dare Studio Blackbird, all in Midtown, NYC.

For more festival information visit www.midtownfestival.org

'Broadway Bares' it all on Sunday

The Fab Marque News Desk.

Tickets are on sale for the 2009 edition of BC/EFA's hotly anticipated summer event: Broadway Bares 19. Created in 1992 by Tony Award® winning director / choreographer Jerry Mitchell (Legally Blonde, Hairspray and Peep Show in Las Vegas), the event features the hottest male and female dancers on Broadway and has become one of Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS' signature events.

Broadway Bares 19.0 "CLICK IT!" will have Broadway's hottest boiz grabbing their hard drives and the grlz getting ready to play with some brand new software for what is sure to be a Broadway Bares that will fry more than your mother board. BROADWAY BARES 19.0 will have over 200 of Broadway's hottest dancers bringing the information superhighway to life and will surely have all of New York a"twitter."

Ticket prices begin at $55 and can be purchased by calling 212.840.0770 ext. 268 or by clicking HERE

MAC Viva Glam returns as "Presenting Sponsor" for Broadway Bares 19 Returning as "Bares Sponsors" are: Next Magazine, Continental Airlines, Aussie Bum, 1-800-Postcards, Club H Fitness, Absolut Vodka, Actors Connection and W Hotels.

BROADWAY BARES 19.0 "CLICK IT!"

Presented by M·A·C VIVA GLAM

Sunday, June 21: 9:30 PM & Midnight

Roseland Ballroom

(239 West 52nd Street)

International--The VI Santo Domingo International Theatre Festival (Dominican Republic)

The Fab Marquee News Desk.

The VI Santo Domingo International Theatre Festival kicks off tomorrow June 17^th through the 24^th, 2009. Participating are theatre companies from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Canada, Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, Venezuela and Dominican Republic, adding to a total of 61 theatrical productions.

Canada: Heaven

Aside from the shows, the festival’s line-up includes different acting, dramaturgy, directing, set design and puppetry workshops.

Ecuador: La Muchacha de los Libros Usados (The Girl of the Used Books)

Fifteen different theaters in Santo Domingo will be housing this annual theater festival, including their National Theatre, and the Theatre of Fine Arts.

Dominican Republic: Los Clavos (Nails)

For more about the VI Santo Domingo International Theatre Festival, visit www.festivaldeteatrosd.com

Dinelaris, Campbell & Henley Comprise MCC Theater's Upcoming Season

The Fab Marquee News Desk.

Since its beginnings in 1986 (formerly known as Manhattan Class Company), MCC Theater has scaled to be one of New York City's top Off-Broadway companies. You might have heard their name being uttered more than usual due to their production of the excellent (and prematurely closed) reasons to be pretty, nominated for three Tony Awards. They have recently announced their upcoming 2009-2010 Season, and its one not to be missed, specially when you can purchase all three shows for less than a hundred dollars.

Two-time Drama Desk-nominated playwright Alexander Dinelaris (Red Dog Howls) opens the season with his play Still Life, directed by Will Frears (Omnium Gatherum), Sept 16th through November 1st, 2009.

"With her star on the rise, photographer, Carrie Ann inexplicably shuts down at the pinnacle of her career. Lost, and afraid to even pick up a camera, her sudden descent is interrupted by a whirlwind romance with Jeff, a trend analyst who becomes determined to help her move on, even while facing his own dark future."

The season continues with the american premiere of playwright Alex Kay Campbell's Pride, after its West End triumphant Olivier Award-winning run at The Royal Court. This time under the direction of Tony-Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Blackbird), January 27 through March 14th, 2009.

"Oliver, Philip, and Sylvia are caught in a kind of erotic time warp. Their complex love triangle, replete with conflicting loyalties and passions, jumps from 1958 to the present and back in a maelstrom of fantasy, repression and rebellion in this innovative new drama."

MCC closes their season with Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Beth Henley (Crimes of the Heart), and her play Family Week. Directing will be Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs, Rachel Getting Married), making his theatrical debut. Family Week plays from April 7 through May 23rd, 2009.

"A year after the death of her son, Claire checks into a recovery center in the desert, searching for a way to cope. When her mother, daughter and sister arrive to participate in "family week," long-dormant traumas collide with recent tragedies in surprisingly comical, shocking and deeply moving ways. United in this family struggle, the women rage and reach out in an effort to reconcile their love with the way things are."

To learn more about MCC Theater visit www.mcctheater.org

New York Innovative Theatre Awards to honor Stage Managers

The Fab Marquee News Desk.

The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation, the organization dedicated to celebrating Off-Off-Broadway, is celebrating their fifth year with a groundbreaking announcement: the creation of a new Innovative Theatre Award to honor outstanding Stage Management.

The IT Awards will be the premiere ceremony to showcase the people who are the “glue that holds the whole show together from before first rehearsal until after strike. Our work as designers, performers, and directors is NOTHING without stage managers to understand, interpret, support and execute it in a real-world context.”

A combination of committee and production recommendation will determine the recipient. The nominee must have Stage Managed an Off-Off-Broadway production registered with the IT Awards from January 1, 2009 - May 31, 2009. Similar to the Honorary Awards, an application must be completed for the Stage Manager plus two letters of recommendation must be submitted from people who worked on the production. These applications will be reviewed by a committee comprised of people from the community both stage managers and non-stage mangers including Roberto Cambiero, Stephanie Cox-Williams, Tzipora Kaplan, Rachel McCutchen, Doug Strassler, Morgan Lindsey Tachco, and Jaimie Van Dyke. A recipient will be selected using feedback from IT Awards judges who evaluated how the technical elements of the production flowed during the performance. Applications are due July 6, 2009.

Stephanie Cox-Williams, a Stage Manager who is heading up the Outstanding Stage Manager committee remarks, “Think back through all the staged shows you have seen. Do you know who the Stage Manager was on any of those shows? Probably not. However, the ease at which the show was performed is largely due to a Stage Manager, who may have done everything from coordinating and running scene changes, to making sure actors hit their marks, to making sure the lights and sound are done at the right time and the right level and in Off-Off Broadway, possibly helping with painting, doing laundry, the list goes on. There are awards for directors, lighting designers, sound designers, set designers, best actor, etc, but without a Stage Manager to put all of the pieces in motion, on time and correctly, those elements would not be recognized for a particular production. The IT Awards are taking a big step forward and recognizing the unsung hero of the stage."

The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation is a not-for-profit organization recognizing the great work of New York City's Off-Off-Broadway, honoring its artistic heritage, and providing a meeting ground for this extensive and richly varied community. The organization advocates for Off-Off-Broadway and recognizes the unique and essential role it plays in contributing to American and global culture. They believe that publicly recognizing excellence in Off-Off-Broadway will expand audience awareness and foster greater appreciation of the New York theatre experience.

To learn more about the New York Innovative Theatre Awards, click here.

The Fab Clip: Nikki Blonsky on The Rob Redstone Show

Actress and singer Nikki Blonsky, star of 2007's Hairspray, will be making a special appearance on The Rob Redstone Show on Monday, May 25th at 7pm PST. The show will feature an interactive chat with fans, and the event will be streamed on Ustream.

Come back on Monday to catch the interview and check out past TRRS interviews today.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright Horton Foote Is Dead at 92

Read Kenneth Jones & Andrew Ganes article on Playbill.com

The Gay Agenda strikes with Great Big Broadway Show

New York, NY- (February 27, 2009) Shortened Attention Span is proud to present The Gay Agenda, your semi-favorite-musical-theatre-punk-band, in their solo performance debut, THE GAY AGENDA’S Great Big Broadway Show! Combining the sharp rhymes and lush melodies of classic musical theatre with the manic, off-kilter energy of Kiki & Herb, The Gay Agenda promises an evening of storytelling songs sure to delight and offend the twisted, sentimental show queen in all of us. THE GAY AGENDA'S Great Big Broadway Show! will be performed on March 25th at 8pm and will run the last Wednesday of the month at The Players Theatre. Tickets are available at www.TheaterMania.com, or call 212-352-3101. All tickets are $15.00.

Comprising the demented antics of the unstoppable Micah Bucey (FringeNYC Outstanding Performer for The Only Thing Straight Is My Jacket) and the singular sweetness of the adorable Nicholas Williams, The Gay Agenda has been tearing up the New York City underground music scene since 2007 with their unique blend of postmodern humor and innocent sass, defiling such hallowed venues as La Mama E.T.C., The Vampire Cowboy Battle Ranch, and The Bowery Poetry Club. Now, they bring their motley collection of mangled love ballads and disjointed showstoppers to The Players Loft, where their single goal will finally be achieved: Complete and utter world domination through SHOWTUNES.

NYtheatre.com raves: “Bucey and Williams’s music and performances are so compelling and hilarious I would happily watch them under any circumstances. These are two crackerjack performers who have written some incredible songs.”

Armed only with a piano, a trumpet, two booming voices, a bell, and some paper bags, these harmonizing homos spin tuneful tales of predatory barflies, daydreaming prostitutes, evil factory matrons, and lesbian sharks, all while serving up dozens of delicious homemade cookies. It’s a magical, musical world through the eyes of The Gay Agenda, where your feet will tap, your head will think, and your jaw will drop.

For more information, to revel in their exploits, and to douse yourself in samples of their songwriting, experience the wonder that is their blog at:
http://thatgayagendaband..wordpress.com

Shortened Attention Span was founded in 2007 by Carlo Rivieccio and Christy Benanti to give up-and-coming writers an opportunity to see their plays produced in a professional and affordable setting. Shortened Attention Span produces three yearly festivals: A One-Act Festival, A Horror Festival, and a themed festival. To date, Shortened Attention Span has produced some ninety short plays in its festivals.

For more information please go to: www.ShortenedAttentionSpan.com

THE NATIONAL ARTS CLUB ANNOUNCES THE 2009 KESSELRING FELLOWSHIPS FOR PLAYWRIGHTS

The Fab Marquee News Desk.

February 13, 2009 - The National Arts Club announced the recipients of its Kesselring Fellowship (formerly the Kesselring Award) supporting the work of extraordinary playwrights who have yet to achieve national recognition. An industry panel of writers, literary managers, actors, producers and directors and critics evaluated twenty-five finalists. In a rare move based on extraordinary merit, the 2009 panel and the National Arts Club choose to give out two lead awards rather than one. These two playwrights, Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghad Zoo, upcoming at the Mark Taper Forum) and David Adjmi (Stunning, upcoming at Lincoln Center 3) were awarded Kesselring Fellowships. Playwrights Jenny Schwartz and Tarrel Alvin McCraney were also named as Kesselring Honorees.

Ari Edelson, Artistic Director of the Kesselring Panel, stated, "The National Arts Club is one of the premiere institutional supporters and champions of the arts in NY, and this year the panel was honored to have the Club's support in awarding not just one lead award but two. Over twenty of America's premiere theatres participated in this process and the final selection panel is the only review entity that is truly made up of peer artists, producers and critics. The four playwrights highlighted by this year's awards represent a true cross-section of the bold ways American theatre is moving forward, and we are positive we have chosen four writers we will be hearing from for decades to come."

"In these tough economic times, The National Arts Club was excited to make sure the esteemed Kesselring Felllowships took a lead in ensuring we treasure our best artists," said Aldon James, Jr., President of the National Arts Club. "By giving out two lead awards, we hope we can rebuke the trend of those who are pulling back their arts funding and programming and encourage bold voices like these to show us light in difficult times."

ABOUT THE KESSELRING FELLOWSHIP
For 26 years, New York's National Arts Club has annually highlighted the work of playwrights who show exceptional promise through the Kesselring Prize. Named in honor of beloved playwright and National Arts Club member Joseph Kesselring, author of ARSENIC AND OLD LACE, the Kesselring Prize was first presented by The National Arts Club in 1980, funded by Mr. Kesselring's widow, the late Charlotte Kesselring, and had a mission to highlight the work of emerging playwrights who had not yet received prominent national attention. Previous winners have included Mark Schultz, David Auburn, Melissa James Gibson, Tony Kushner, Nicky Silver, Anna Deavere Smith, David Lindsay-Abaire, Jose Rivera, Heather McDonald, Philip Kan Gotanda, Kira Obolensky, Tracey Scott Wilson, and Marion McClinton. In 2005, The Kesselring Fund was enhanced with a significant contribution by the estate of club member Dr. Paul F. Cranefield Jr..

In 2007, The National Arts Club invited The Exchange and its development center, The Orchard Project, to collaborate in redefining the award to ensure its legacy and maximize the support it provided to NYC playwrights. The new Kesselring Fellowship is committed to generating new work, further ensuring that outstanding playwrights are provided with the tools and support to keep working in NY theatre and contribute to the cultural life of the city.

The Kesselring Fellow receives a large honorarium and additional development support for a project of their chosing, in addition to a committed residency and workshop at the Orchard Project in upstate NY. The tenure of the Fellow will be marked by a reading of a play of their choice at the start of the fellowship and a reading of the new play at the end of the year. The Fellow can also use the year and resources to work on another commission. The three Kesselring Honorees are each presented with an honorarium, a presented reading of a play of their choice, and the opportunity to develop work with The Exchange and the Orchard Project over the course of the following year. All four playwrights will also be included in other literary and artistic events at the National Arts Club over the course of the year. In total, the Kesselring Fellow receives $7500 of direct support and $14,000 of indirect support through development, and each Honoree receives $1500 in direct support and an additional $2000 in indirect support through development.

RAGTIME takes on Astoria!

The Fab Marquee News Desk.

New York, NY-February 10, 2009: The new Artistic Director at the Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) “triumphs” with Ragtime. The award-winning APAC (OOBR Award for Is There Life After Highschool and 8 IT Award Nominations for various productions) furthers its mission to “bring professional high quality theatre and entertainment to Astoria/Long Island City” by offering the borough an “enormously ambitious and brilliantly executed new production that scales the show down to a very personal level...There's not a weak link in this solid group of performers!” – Curtain Up.

Ragtime is re-imagined, more intimate and offers a unique opportunity to connect with the actors on stage. Wojtunik’s use of space, three-quarter round seating, and utilizing every created entrance is “ingeniously staged ... [making] what was distant and didactic on Broadway seem wonderfully intimate...It's the combining of the actors' voices that appeals, of course, but also Walker's car sitting three feet before the audience. Indeed, Walker's car had been assembled earlier before the audience's eyes -- a triumph of Michael P. Kramer's streamlined and fascinating set design. – Back Stage


Ragtime is the realization of what APAC has been building for eight years in the heart of Astoria. The show is performing just blocks from 30th Avenue, Queen’s restaurant row, and mirrors the community which is “filled with hard-working immigrants, aging life-long residents, and struggling young artists (and, really, anyone else you might imagine), this is a place where you can both see and hear change happening — from the slick new condos creeping up between mom-and-pop Greek diners to the rush of languages that dance through your ears on any street corner.” – Curtain Up.


I strongly suggest you get to see it any way you can - by car or by subway. Even if you have to walk, it would be worth it. What an incredible achievement. It's a triumph on every level... To be moved and entertained by a troupe of so many creative and talented people. The Astoria Performing Arts Center has created something magical and memorable. Go.
- Talk Entertainment

* * *


RAGTIME plays the following regular schedule through Sunday, February 22:

Thursdays at 8 p.m.
Fridays at 8 p.m.
Saturdays at 8 p.m.
Sundays at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $15 in advanced and $18 at the door. Available online at www.apacny.org or by calling 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre Box Office, 30 minutes prior to showtime. TDF vouchers accepted.

Directions to the theatre: Take the N or W Subway to 30th Avenue. Walk down 30th Ave. to Crescent St. (Mount Sinai Hospital is on the corner.) Walk one block South to 30th Road.

Get Raptured with Oberon's Winter Rep 09

The Fab Marquee News Desk.

OBERON THEATRE ENSEMBLE‘S WINTER REP 2009
12th Anniversary Season: Shakespeare, Saroyan & Dinelaris

OBERON THEATRE ENSEMBLE is pleased to announce Winter Rep 2009, celebrating the company’s 12th Anniversary Repertory Season. The company will be presenting William Shakespeare’s Much About Nothing in conjunction with the series called, American Rapture, which includes Hello Out There by William Saroyan and world premiere plays by Alex Dinelaris (nominated Lucile Lortel/Drama Desks).

Brad Fryman, Oberon Theatre Ensemble Artistic Director, believes, "Although written over 400 years ago, the primal, the Machiavellian, the sultry and the romantic desires captured by The Bard, prevail in modern society. The two plays present contrasting looks at similar themes. In Much Ado, we see two true romantics on the road to marriage and another couple quite opposed to marriage who finally fight their way into each other's arms. In American Rapture the characters are also fighting to find their way, whether it's through relationships, self examination, or violence.”

Winter Rep 2009 will play a three-week engagement at The Beckett Theater at Theater Row (410 W 42nd St). Performances begin Thursday, February 12th, and continue through Sunday, March 1st. Tickets are $20.00 and $13.75 students/seniors. For reservations, please call 212-279-4200 or visit www.ticketcentral.com to purchase tickets online. Tickets may also be purchased in person at Theater Row’s box office, open daily from 12pm-8pm.

Much Ado About Nothing
by William Shakespeare
directed by Mark Karafin

Benedick and Beatrice have vowed to remain single and appear to enjoy their battle of wits too much to ever call a truce. Young lovers Hero and Claudio conspire to change their minds. A romantic comedy about winning the one you didn’t know you wanted most.

Thursday, Feb 12 at 8pm
Friday Feb 13 at 8pm
Monday, Feb 16 at 7pm
Tuesday, Feb 17 at 8pm
Wednesday, Feb 18 at 2pm
Saturday, Feb 21 at 8pm
Sunday, Feb 22 at 3pm
Wednesday, Feb 25 at 8pm
Thursday, Feb 26 at 8pm
Friday, Feb 27 at 8pm
Saturday, Feb 28 at 2pm

American Rapture
Hello Out There by William Saroyan and world-premiere plays by Alex Dinelaris
directed by Alex Dinelaris

An evening of short plays, some humorous, some tragic, explore the unique mixture of loneliness and hope, which make up the American Experience. Playwright/director Alex Dinelaris, who was nominated for a Lucille Lortel (Best Musical) and two Drama Desk Awards (Book & Lyrics) for his work on the off-Broadway hit, ZANNA DON’T!, weaves his way through modern relationships, religious hypocrisy, love, loss and the endless cycle of violence that threatens to swallow our society whole. The evening culminates with William Saroyan’s Hello Out There, the powerful tale of two outcasts who find love at the most unlikely of times, in the most unlikely of places.

Saturday, Feb 14 at 8pm
Sunday, Feb 15 at 3pm
Wednesday, Feb 18 at 8pm
Thursday, Feb 19 at 8pm
Friday, Feb 20 at 8pm
Saturday, Feb 21 at 2pm
Monday, Feb 23 at 7pm
Tuesday, Feb 24 at 8pm
Wednesday, Feb 25 at 2pm
Saturday, Feb 28 at 8pm
Sunday, Mar 1 at 3pm

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Visit www.oberontheatre.org for more information.

Ingenius Series to Feature 16 plays (Manhattan Theatre Source)

The Fab Marquee News Desk.

New works by Joan Tewkesbury (Nashville, Thieves Like Us), David Caudle (Carbonell Nominee), Nat Cassidy (Kit and Little Boots), Montserrat Mendez (2008 FringeNYC Outstanding Playwrighting Award), and Richard Vetere (Machiavelli) headline the InGenius Series at Manhattan Theatre Source (177 MacDougal Street) January 6 through February 7, 2009.


The five-week series, the premiere production of the Source's resident playwright workshop The Writers' Forum, will feature three full-length plays, 13 one-act plays and staged readings of new works by Bill C. Davis (Mass Appeal), Joan Tewkesbury, Robin Maguire and Ellen Boscov. Tandy Cronyn (Cabaret, The Playboy of the Western World) and Sam Tsoutsouvas (Our Country's Good, By Jeeves, Edward II) will star in Joan Tewkesbury's Retrospective as famed artistic couple Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz. O'Keeffe has been invited to write an essay for her late husband's retrospective at the Met. As she struggles with what to say, Stieglitz appears, and they review the unfinished business of the past only to rediscover the fine line between love and hate. Sarah Baskin, Emilio Delgado and Michael Wolfe round out the cast. Tewkesbury will also direct. Performances are January 20, 21, 22, and 31 and February 1, 6, and 7 at 8:00 pm. There is a matinee Saturday, February 7 at 3:00 pm.

Any Day Now, written and directed by Nat Cassidy, opens the InGenius Series. The Colby family is facing its share of problems. Jackie is doing poorly at school, Josh drinks too much, Beverly is far too controlling and Pen is slipping into senility. But that's nothing compared to the difficulties to come. One of their own is found wandering in the backyard, days after he was buried. And, he's not the only one. The cast features Paige Allen, Arthur Aulisi, Waltrudis Buck, Elyse Mirto, Anna O'Donoghue and Anthony Spaldo. Performances of Any Day Now are January 6, 7, 8, 17, 19, 29 and 30 at 8:00 pm and January 18 at 7:00 pm.


The New York premiere of David Caudle's Carbonell-nominated play Likeness rounds out the full-length offerings. In Colonial Boston, an idealistic young painter scores a career-making gig: the portrait of a wealthy landowner's spoiled daughter. But, there is more to the assignment than meets the eye. Artistic integrity battles ambition, and subject defies artist, as the first rumblings of revolution rattle the studio walls. Jessica Ammirati directs. The cast includes Brad Fraizer, Laurel Lockhart, Ryan Metcalf, Danielle Quisenberry, Stu Richel, and Erin Wilhelmi. Performances are January 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 23, and 24 at 8:00 pm and January 25 at 7:00 pm.

InGenius will also present three different programs of one-act plays. Program A; featuring works by Vetere, Mendez, L. Pontius (Umbrella), Vanda (Edward Albee Fellow) and Bill McMahon (A Winter Beauty); runs January 12 through 14 at 8:00 pm. Program B follows with plays by Vincent Marano (A Collapse), Laura Schlachtmeyer, Ed Malin and John Watts January 26 through 28, 2009 at 8:00 pm. The one-act series close with new works by Pamela Yaco, John McKinney, Paul Jordan and Jennifer Thatcher February 2 through 4 at 8:00 pm.

For a full calendar of events and advance tickets, visit www.theatresource.org. Tickets are $18 per show. Admission to the staged readings is free.

The Writers' Forum is a think tank for playwrights that meets weekly at Manhattan Theatre Source. It is committed to the development of engaging, new plays. Open since 2000, Manhattan Theatre Source (the Source) is an arts service and producing organization located in the heart of Greenwich Village. Recently named "one of the top five Off-Off Broadway theaters" by New York magazine, the Source launched Obie Award-winning Broadway musical [title of show] and was home to the world premieres of Coronado by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River) and Richard Vetere's Machiavelli. For more information, visit www.theatresource.org.

Broadway theater power Gerald Schoenfeld dies

NEW YORK (Associated Press) — Gerald Schoenfeld, the head of the Shubert Organization which is Broadway's largest landlord, has died at 84.

Schoenfeld died early Tuesday at his Manhattan home, said Sam Rudy, a spokesman for the Shubert Organization. The cause of his death was not immediately known.

As the company's chairman since 1972, Schoenfeld helped bring numerous works to the stage on Broadway and beyond. The Shubert Organization owns or operates 17 Broadway theaters and one off-Broadway playhouse, as well as theaters in Boston, Philadelphia and Washington.

Groundbreaking Off-Off Broadway Venues Study (The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation)

New York, NY - November 18, 2008: The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation presents the findings of the “Report on Off-Off-Broadway Performance Venues". The 5-year study evaluated where Off-Off-Broadway (OOB) productions are being performed and trends in regards to performance venues from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Some of the highlights:

• Over 25% of OOB venues in both the West Village and Midtown area have either been demolished or repurposed into non-performance spaces in the last 5 years
• 43% of all OOB venues are located in the West Side Midtown area of Manhattan
• There has been a sharp decline in the number of OOB productions presenting work in the Theatre District
• The East Village, which only accounts for 14% of the overall OOB venues, is currently presenting 30% of the OOB productions

"The rate of the erosion of our stages is alarming. Over the last 5 years, we have lost 26% of the Off-Off-Broadway stages in the Midtown area. We have watched a steady decline in the number of productions that are taking place in the "theatre district." Even more disturbing is the fact that of the 30 Off-Off-Broadway houses in the Greenwich Village area, over 25% have already been lost and with the displacement of the theatres from the Archive Building, that percentage increases to 40%" said Shay Gines, Executive Director, New York Innovative Theatre Foundation.

"The research and information contained in this report not only substantiate the numbers needed to help effectively advocate for public policy change as it relates to small non-profit theatre in New York City, but it also creates a clear barometer of the passion and fiery commitment it takes to simply exist in the Off-Off-Broadway world."
--David M. Pincus, Chairman, Theater Task Force, Community Board 4

The document can be viewed online by going to http://www.nyitawards.com/survey/OOBSpaceReport2.pdf

The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation is a not-for-profit organization recognizing the great work of New York City's Off-Off-Broadway, honoring its artistic heritage, and providing a meeting ground for this extensive and richly varied community. The organization advocates for Off-Off-Broadway and recognizes the unique and essential role it plays in contributing to American and global culture. They believe that publicly recognizing excellence in Off-Off-Broadway will expand audience awareness and foster greater appreciation of the New York theatre experience.

The Fab Marquee's Antonio Miniño on "A Woman's Perspective"

The Fab Marquee's Antonio Miniño was recently with Andrea Marie Smith and Jacqueline Van Biene of T. Schreiber's Twelfth Night on Virginia Reed's radio show "A Woman's Perspective" on Progressive Radio Net.

Click Here to listen after the jump.

Seven Playwrights Will Have A Lot Of Coffee To Drink Tonight @ 10:30pm

by Antonio Miniño.

Phare Play Productions will have some playwrights brewing ideas tonight at 10:30pm in The Beckmann Theater. Seven emerging writers will be meeting to receive their themes, script guidelines and the headshots/resumes of the actors they have to write a play for, to be performed tomorrow night at The Roy Arias Off-Off Broadway Playhouse. All this is part of the WWSS: Four Your Shorts Only, a 24 Hour short play festival, now in its fourth year.

Jen Spragg (writer), Emily Ehlinger, Lizzie Schwarz, Nick Santasier,
Jason Gaffney & Chris Simon (director)

“I think Blake Bradford (the artistic director of Phare Play) and I came up with the idea together.” -shares Christine Vinh, Executive director of Phare Play Productions- “We were doing a production of the Cherry Orchard last year and one of the actors couldn't do a Saturday night show. However, he was perfect for the part so instead of recasting it, we just decided to not do a show that night. Instead of letting the venue go empty, we thought it would be fun to do something like this. That first time, our theme was Homecoming. Then we did Superhero Sidekicks and then music from different decades. The writers never know what they're getting until they show up for the writers meeting (which will be tonight) where they will get their theme, the headshots and resumes of four actors that they will be writing for and a line that they will all have to incorporate in their show.”

One of the seven writers participating in this 24 hour play festival, is Duncan Pflaster. You may know Duncan as one of the critics for Broadway World, or you might have seen one of his productions, including and not limited to the award winning Prince Trevor Amongst The Elephants at this year’s Midtown International Theatre Festival.

Erin Evers, Micah Chartrand, Eddie Rodriguez, Sandy Simona,
Michael Weems (writer) & Tanya Fazal (director)

“I was very intrigued when I heard about the process- I'd seen a few of my friends write and perform in plays in 24-hour festivals, in the A Train Plays, at Wings Theatre, and a few other places, and I've always been excited by the idea. I'm a little nervous, but excited. I think the process is a great way to get out of over thinking the whole writing thing.” -says Duncan- “So, I'll start going at 10:30 tonight, and just type straight on till morning!”

WWSS takes place tomorrow Saturday, November 8th at 7pm & 9:30pm. Tickets are only $12 at the Roy Arias Off-Off Broadway Playhouse (300 West 43rd Street, Fifth Floor.)

To Learn about the other writers, directors, cast, the Award Ceremony that will be taking place at WWSS, and how to purchase tickets visit www.phareplay.com

*Photos are from last year's participants.