Vivienne Benesch News

In honor of World Press Freedom Day,  PlayMakers Repertory Company will release a limited encore run of the world premiere production of “Edges of Time,” written by Jacqueline E. Lawton. Directed by Jules Odendahl-James, “Edges of Time” will be available to stream from May 3 - 9, 2021.  

PlayMakers Repertory Company has announced two new play commissions by two important, transformational voices of the American Theatre.

What’s the holiday season without a performance of A CHRISTMAS CAROL? Ever since it was first published, theaters have shared productions of Charles Dickens’s classic story every year. PlayMakers Repertory Company’s radio play production is a great example of how a theater can adapt to create something that fits the strange year this has been.

This week's Theater Stories features the American Airlines Theatre! Learn about the Tony-winning plays to grace the stage, including 12 Angry Men, The Constant Wife and more; the theatre's upcoming shows 1776 and Birthday Candles, and much more!

PlayMakers Repertory Company will present a star-studded virtual benefit on Sunday, December 6 at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Roundabout Theatre Company has just announced plans to resume production in Fall 2021. On deck is Jeanine Tesori and Tony Kushner’s CAROLINE, OR CHANGE starring Sharon D Clarke, directed by Michael Longhurst, and choreographed by Ann Yee at Studio 54. Additionally, Alice Childress’s TROUBLE IN MIND, directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, will debut at the American Airlines Theatre.

In celebration of Womena??s Equality Day and the Centennial of the 19th Amendment, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley and The Womana??s Club of Palo Alto will present a virtual performance of excerpts and songs from the dynamic musical Perfect 36, with lyrics and book by Laura Harrington, music by Mel Marvin, and direction by Mac Pirkle. Set in 1920, Perfect 36 honors the indomitable spirit of the suffragettes as they battle to secure a 36-state majority to ratify the 19th Amendment. The online event will take place at 5:30pm PDT on Wednesday, August 26th. Giovanna Sardelli, TheatreWorksa?? Artistic Associate and Director of New Works, will host the event and engage in a conversation with Laura Harrington, the showa??s book writer and lyricist. A link to stream the show will be available at TheatreWorks.org for no charge, although donations are encouraged to support TheatreWorks and The Womana??s Club of Palo Alto. BroadwayWorld recently spoke with Giovanna Sardelli from her hometown of Las Vegas where shea??s been sheltering in place with family until she can safely return to her actual home base in New York City. In addition to her role at TheatreWorks, Sardelli is enjoying quite a remarkable career as a director at theaters across the U.S., and has built a track record of developing close working relationships with notable playwrights such as Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph and Olivier Award winner Matthew Lopez. Talking to Sardelli, ita??s clear why she is so constantly in demand. She is naturally engaging, inherently upbeat without being saccharine, and passionate about expanding the possibilities of theater. Her excitement about the chance to work closely with TheatreWorksa?? new Artistic Director Tim Bond to tackle new challenges is palpable.

I recently had the great pleasure of interviewing Vivienne Benesch, who is the Producing Artistic Director of PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. At PlayMakers, she has helmed productions of Life of Galileo, Leaving Eden, The May Queen, Three Sisters, Love Alone, RED, and In The Next Room (or the Vibrator Play).

The work features original music and sound design by Jordan Hall, text by Rebecca LeVine and direction by William Steinberger. 

PlayMakers Repertory Company believes in the transformative power of theatre and its ability to bring communities together to share common ground. Even if that isna??t in the same space.

Cleveland Public Theatre has announced CPT will receive the National Theatre Conference's (NTC) 2020 Outstanding Theatre Award (OTA) this December.

PlayMakers Repertory Company and Theatre Raleigh are co-sponsoring Higher Ground Conversations, a series of conversations with experts on topics of racial justice, hosted by North Carolina theatre artist and activist, Mike Wiley.

Red Bull Theater today announced the cast for their tenth annual festival of 10-minute plays of heightened language and classic themes, featuring two brand new commissions from Jeremy O. Harris and Theresa Rebeck, alongside six brand new plays that have been selected from hundreds of open submissions from playwrights across the country.

Red Bull Theater today announced the selections for their tenth annual festival of 10-minute plays of heightened language and classic themes, featuring two brand new commissions from Jeremy O. Harris and Theresa Rebeck, alongside six brand new plays that have been selected from hundreds of open submissions from playwrights across the country.

Roundabout Theatre Company just announced that the current theatrical season will resume in Spring 2021, and has added the Broadway debut of Alice Childress's Trouble in Mind, directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, to its roster of upcoming shows. Childress was a Founding Member of the American Negro Theatre and the first African-American woman to be produced professionally in New York (Gold Through The Trees in 1952); Randolph-Wright is a celebrated director and writer whose play Blue had an acclaimed run at Roundabout in 2001. Trouble in Mind will premiere on Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre in Winter 2021/22.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, announced today that nominations for the Zelda Fichandler Award are now being accepted through July 10, 2020.

Gingold Theatrical Group today announced the cancellation of the upcoming Shaw Songs @ The Players.

Rehearsals are underway for Roundabout Theatre Company's New York premiere of Birthday Candles by Noah Haidle, directed by Vivienne Benesch. The new play will star Emmy Award winner Debra Messing as 'Ernestine,' Andre Braugher as 'Matt' and Enrico Colantoni as 'Kenneth,' Crystal Finn as 'Joan/Alex/Beth,' Susannah Flood as 'Alice/Madeline/Ernie,' and Christopher Livingston as 'Billy/John.'

PlayMakers Repertory Company has announced its 2020/21 Season, All Too Human: The Art of Comedy. The season features nine productions that explore the gamut of human experience showcased in comedies both classic and new. The PlayMakers Mainstage season will feature a tribe of loving, zany Southern belles, a buddy-cop adventure that crackles with hope and humor amidst the fall of the Soviet Union, a George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, a story of one woman's drastic fall down the social ladder and her fabulous self-reinvention, the Bard's most famous pastoral comedy, and the heartwarming tale of a young girl and the community of family, teachers, and friends who help her achieve her heart's desire. Our PRC2 Kenan Stage also brings three uniquely distinct, fresh perspectives on the comedic form, chosen to continue pushing the boundaries of what we believe 'theatre' to be.

Tonight, at a celebration honoring theatre excellence on stages across the Washington area, theatre artists, administrators, patrons, and special guests gathered in the National Theatre's Helen Hayes Gallery for theatreWashington's announcement of nominees for the 36th Annual Helen Hayes Awards, which will be presented on Monday, May 18 at an event at the Anthem.