Michael Cristofer News

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, are thrilled to announce that the second show of its 2018-2019 season, the critically acclaimed, world premiere of DEATH HOUSE, written by Jason Karasev and directed by Michael Peretzian is EXTENDING through SATURDAY, MARCH 23 at the Road Theatre on Lankershim, 5108 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood.

Champion is based on a true story, focusing on the life of welterweight prizefighting champion Emile Griffith, a respected and famous boxer whose life rapidly changed after accidentally killing his opponent, Benny Paret, in the ring. Griffith was also bisexual in a time when it was socially unacceptable and was known for having said: “I kill a man and most people understand and forgive me. However, I love a man, and to so many people this is an unforgivable sin.”

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, present the second show of its 2018-2019 season, the world premiere of DEATH HOUSE, written by Jason Karasev and directed by Michael Peretzian. DEATH HOUSE will preview on Tuesday, January 15 at 8pm; Wednesday, January 16 at 8pm & Thursday, January 17 at 8pm and will open today, January 18 at 8pm and run through Sunday, March 10 at the Road Theatre on Lankershim, 5108 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood.

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, present the second show of its 2018-2019 season, the world premiere of DEATH HOUSE, written by Jason Karasev and directed by Michael Peretzian. DEATH HOUSE will preview today, January 15 at 8pm; Wednesday, January 16 at 8pm & Thursday, January 17 at 8pm and will open on Friday, January 18 at 8pm and run through Sunday, March 10 at the Road Theatre on Lankershim, 5108 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood.

MAN IN THE RING deserves better than to be described with boxing cliches, but the Huntington Theatre Company production of Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael Cristofer's play is a knockout. Its complex structure, authentic dialogue, and poignant portrayals by an outstanding cast of actors make this biography of six-time world champion prizefighter Emile Griffith much more than a story about a pugilist's career. Seasoned with the rhythms and songs of Griffith's Caribbean island origins, the pulsing beat and glaring neon of the underground gay bar scene, the roar of the arena crowds, and the exploding flashbulbs of reporters clamoring for a piece of the champ, MAN IN THE RING is an immersive experience that should not be missed.

THE ROAD THEATRE COMPANY and Taylor Gilbert, Founder/Artistic Director together with Sam Anderson, Artistic Director, present the second show of its 2018-2019 season, the world premiere of DEATH HOUSE, written by Jason Karasev and directed by Michael Peretzian. DEATH HOUSE will preview on Tuesday, January 15 at 8pm; Wednesday, January 16 at 8pm & Thursday, January 17 at 8pm and will open on Friday, January 18 at 8pm and run through Sunday, March 10 at the Road Theatre on Lankershim, 5108 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood.

Cincinnati Opera and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) are pleased to announce that The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a new grant of $550,000 to renew funding for Opera Fusion: New Works and support two new initiatives to promote diverse voices in the arts.

Following the announcement of their Opening Night Film, Yen Tan's award-winning AIDS drama 1985, NewFest today announced the full lineup of their 30th annual celebration of the year's best LGBT films from around the world. The program of more than 140 narrative features, documentaries, episodic series and shorts runs from October 24-30 at the SVA Theatre, Cinépolis Chelsea, and The LGBT Community Center in New York City.

The Opera de Montreal opened its 39th season on September 15th, 2018 with Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto at the Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier in Place des Arts. This 19th-century classic is steered by well-known director Michael Cavanagh as well as Italian conductor Carlo Montanaro, who leads the Orchestre Metropolitain and the Opera de Montreal Chorus. Rigoletto is performed by a mainly Canadian cast including Montreal's very own mezzo-soprano Carolyn Sproule.

The colorful and complex true story of six-time world champion prizefighter Emile Griffith is told in Man in the Ring, a new play written by Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cristofer, directed by Michael Greif, and presented by the Huntington Theatre Company from Nov. 16 to Dec. 22, 2018 at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts.  Imbued with the warmth of Griffith's character and the joyful music of his childhood home, Man in the Ring chronicles Griffith's sweeping life story, from his humble beginnings in the Virgin Islands to his passionate love affairs and the tragedy that changed his life.

USA Network today announced the fourth and final season of the award-winning MR. ROBOT will return in 2019. From Universal Cable Productions (UCP), production will begin this winter in New York.

It was just announced by Pulitzer Prize Administrator Dana Canedy that Martyna Majok's COST OF LIVING has officially won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Trinity Repertory Company announced today that actress Mary McDonnell will be honored with the 2018 Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts at the theater's 22nd annual Pell Awards Gala on Monday, May 21, 2018. A two-time Oscar nominee for Dances with Wolves and Passion Fish, McDonnell's theater, film and television career has spanned more than four decades with dynamic character portrayals in period and present-day roles, including TNT's The Closer and Major Crimes, Syfy's Battlestar Galactica, Donnie Darko, and Sneakers.

The Opéra de Montréal has an exciting 39th season planned for the 2018-2019 production year. The Place des Arts lineup includes classics like Rigoletto, Das Rheingold, Carmen and the anticipated Canadian premiere of the jazz-opera Champion. In addition to these four operas, a chamber opera called Twenty-Seven will be presented at the Centaur Theatre and a concert with soprano Joyce El-Khoury and Pianist Laurent Philippe will be held at the Festival du Monde Arabe.

After lengthy deliberation, the American Theatre Critics Association has selected six finalists for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, recognizing playwrights for the best scripts that premiered professionally outside New York City during 2017.

Huntington Theatre Company, Boston's leading independent theatre, announces its 2018-2019 season, featuring two of the most highly acclaimed Broadway plays of the last year, Shakespeare's enduring love story, a theatrical caper with Sherlock Holmes, and three of the most compelling new plays in the country, all with rich and relevant stories that speak to the times we live in.

USA Network announced this morning that it has ordered a fourth season of their hit series MR. ROBOT. The Season 3 Season Finale of the show airs tonight.

Asia Society and Cambodian Living Arts present Light after Darkness: Memory, Resilience and Renewal in Cambodia. A panel discussion with Angelina Jolie, Rithy Panh, Phloeun Prim and Loung Ung, moderated by Darren Walker

The gala 49th Annual Equity Jeff Awards held at Drury Lane Oakbrook on Monday, November 6, celebrated a season of outstanding productions.