Bill Rauch News

Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) Incoming Artistic Director Nataki Garrett and Artistic Director Bill Rauch announced the Festival's 2020 playbill today. The season celebrates OSF's ongoing commitment to the work of Shakespeare, imaginative adaptations of beloved classics and illuminating new plays in a Jubilee year that includes two world-premiere American Revolutions commissions for only the second time in the Festival's history.

Closing out the Town Hall Theatre 2018/19 Lost & Found Season with a bang is WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, a sizzling musical farce of female resilience, with book by Jeffrey Lane, music and lyrics by David Yazbek, based on the Academy Award nominated film by Pedro Almod var. WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN will have 12 performances, including two previews, May 30 through June 22, 2019, at Town Hall Theatre Company, 3535 School Street, in Lafayette, CA. Tickets are $18 - $35, and are available through the Box Office at (925) 283-1557 or online at www.TownHallTheatre.com.

The Actors' Gang presents VIOLENCE: The Misadventures of Spike Spangle, Farmer, written by The Actors' Gang Artistic Director Tim Robbins and Adam Simon and directed by Bob Turton, who was most recently seen at The Actors' Gang as "The Maniac" in Accidental Death of an Anarchist. This no-holds barred satire of militarism and media manipulation begins performances May 2nd (Press Opening May 11th at 8:00pm) and will run Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, through June 22nd. 

Play On Shakespeare in association with Classic Stage Company (CSC) and Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) presents the Play on! festival-featuring 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.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre today announced the full cast for the world premiere of Kiss My Aztec! John Leguizamo teams up with Artistic Director Tony Taccone for this musical comedy, following their collaboration on the hit one-man show Latin History for Morons, which received its world premiere at Berkeley Rep before heading to Broadway. Leguizamo will serve as co-writer and co-lyricist only for Kiss My Aztec! - 11 other talented actors will perform in this production. Taccone will also direct.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) announces today that Nataki Garrett will become its sixth artistic director in August 2019, succeeding Bill Rauch. The announcement by OSF Emeritus Board Chair and Search Committee Chair Gail Lopes ends a nearly yearlong search.

The Actors' Gang presents One Act Festival, featuring two contrasting programs performed in repertory. Show one, entitled The Classic, begins performances March 14th (press opening March 23) and features two classic one-act plays -- Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit, directed by Brian T. Finney, and Samuel Beckett's Krapps's Last Tape, directed by Cynthia Ettinger. Show two, entitled The Original, begins performances March 16 (Press Opening March 29) and features three new one-act plays written, directed, and acted by The Actors Gang ensemble:  Tradition, written by James Edward Bane and directed by Tess Vidal, A Perfect World, written by Lynde Houck and directed by Danielle Powell, and Clean Slate, written by Bob Turton and directed by Zoe Hall. Both programs will run Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, through April 20th.  

Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Producer Edgar Dobie announce the 2019/20 lineup for the company's 70th season.

The Tony Award winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) will launch its 84th year and Bill Rauch's final season as artistic director with preview performances beginning on March 1. The 2019 season officially kicks off Friday night, March 8, in the Angus Bowmer Theatre with Shakespeare's As You Like It (director, Rosa Joshi). On Saturday afternoon, Cambodian Rock Band (director, Chay Yew) opens in the Thomas Theatre, and Hairspray The Broadway Musical (director, Christopher Liam Moore) opens that evening in the Angus Bowmer Theatre. On Sunday afternoon, the drama by Southern Oregon based playwright Octavio Solis, Mother Road (director, Bill Rauch), will see its world premiere in the Angus Bowmer Theatre.

Performances begin tomorrow, Tuesday February 26th, for the New York premiere of  Surely Goodness and Mercy, a truly Keen story about an exceptional boy living a troubled life in Newark, NJ who does a good deed for an often unnoticed person.   Sarita Covington, Jay Mazyck, Brenda Pressley, Courtney Thomas, and Cezar Williams star under Jessi D. Hill's direction.

Theatre for a New Audience announces the seventeen-member cast and the creative team for its production of William Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, directed by Shana Cooper in her Off-Broadway debut.

Today Keen Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein announced the cast for the New York premiere of  Surely Goodness and Mercy, a truly Keen story about an exceptional boy living a troubled life in Newark, NJ who does a good deed for an often unnoticed person.   Sarita Covington, Jay Mazyck, Brenda Pressley, Courtney Thomas, and Cezar Williams will star under Jessi D. Hill's direction. The design team includes Lee Savage (scenic), Nicole Wee (costumes), Devorah Kengmana (lighting), and Sadah Espii Proctor (sound).

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, has released additional production photos of the acclaimed Oregon Shakespeare Festival production of Othello directed by Bill Rauch, playing now through February 9 at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, MA.

Rainy Day Productions will present industry readings of the new play Chasing the River by Jean Dobie Giebel. Directed by Illana Stein, the six-member cast will feature Tony Carlin, Aaron Costa Ganis, Annie Golden, Deborah Rayne, Chet Siegel, and Wendy Rich Stetson. The readings will be held on Monday, January 28 at 3:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m., and Tuesday, January 29 at 4:00 p.m. For more information, please email victoria@PSTheatricals.com.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival production of Othello began previews at A.R.T. on Sunday, January 13 at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA. It opens tonight, January 18, and plays through February 9. Tickets on sale now: online at americanrepertorytheater.org, by phone at 617.547.8300, and in person at the Loeb Drama Center Ticket Services Offices (64 Brattle Street, Cambridge).

The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization will present two different special events as part of BroadwayCon which is taking place January 11-13, 2019 at New York Hilton Midtown (1335 6th Avenue). The first event is a special cabaret titled 'R&H Goes Pop!' on Friday, January 11th from 6:35-7:30 pm on the main stage at the Hilton. 'R&H Goes Pop!' aims to preserve the legacy of Rodgers & Hammerstein by inspiring artists to interpret the R&H classics in a contemporary light. The cabaret will include Broadway stars performing contemporary takes on classic Rodgers & Hammerstein songs.

As previously announced, Mixed Blood Theatre Company will produce ROE before it begins the journey to Broadway. The Broadway run is expected to be produced by Daryl Roth. No dates or details have been announced.

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, announces the cast and creative team for Othello by William Shakespeare. The first Shakespeare production from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) to play the east coast, the acclaimed staging by award-winning director Bill Rauch begins previews Sunday, January 13; opens Friday, January 18; and closes Saturday, February 9, 2019 at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, MA.

The Actors' Gang production of APHRODITE'S HOLIDAY SHOW will begin Thursday, November 29th as part of The Actors' Gang 2018/19 Hellzapoppin' Season. APHRODITE'S HOLIDAY SHOW will perform every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, through December 16th.

The Acting Company (Ian Belknap, Artistic Director; Elisa Spencer-Kaplan, Executive Director) honored director and artistic leader Bill Rauch and the married civic leaders Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel and Ambassador Carl Spielvogel- individuals whose exemplary work aligns with the artistic and educational ideals of the storied repertory company that produces nationally recognized theater productions and arts education programs-at the Company's 2018 Fall Gala, on November 12. Held at the historic Metropolitan Club (One East 60th Street), the event raised nearly $400,000 and brought together awards, live entertainment, silent and live auctions, dinner, and cocktails in celebration of theater and its contribution to American society. Tony Award-winner and The Acting Company alumna Harriet Harris hosted, with performances by Joanna A. Jones (Hamilton) and Tatiana Wechsler, featuring Russ Kaplan's Broadway Jazz.