Anne Nesmith News

Signature Theatre has announced the cast and creative team for RENT, book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, which will reopen Signature's MAX Theatre for live performances from November 2, 2021 – January 2, 2022. 

Detroit '67, the final production in the Signature Features 2021 Season is now available for streaming through Thursday, September 16 on Marquee TV.

Detroit '67, the final production in the Signature Features 2021 Season is now available for streaming through Thursday, September 16 on Marquee TV.

Signature Theatre has announced the full cast and dates for Detroit ‘67, the final production in the Signature Features 2021 Season. Written by MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow Dominique Morisseau and directed by Candis C. Jones, Detroit ‘67 depicts abrupt changes to the lives of the Poindexter siblings during the 1967 Detroit uprising.

Signature Theatre has announced the first seven masterclasses of 2021 in its popular Thursday evening virtual masterclass series. Sessions include a wide range of subjects taught by leaders in the industry including Tony Award winner Jonathan Tunick, Rachel Leigh Dolan, Dani Ebbin, Anne Nesmith, Nova Y. Payton and Dana P. Rowe.

Signature Theatre releases the fifth episode of The Signature Show, featuring a Diner cast reunion, a wig making extravaganza with Anne Nesmith and performances by Inés Nassara, Brent Barrett and Cedric Neal with Kayla Pecchioni, Nova Y. Payton and Shayla Simmons.

Signature Theatre releases the fifth episode of The Signature Show, featuring a Diner cast reunion, a wig making extravaganza with Anne Nesmith and performances by Inés Nassara, Brent Barrett and Cedric Neal with Kayla Pecchioni, Nova Y. Payton and Shayla Simmons. The Signature Show is a free biweekly half-hour digital experience featuring performances by acclaimed artists, interviews, celebration of new musical voices and memories of Signature's past and a glimpse into its future.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater presents August Wilson's Seven Guitars. Tazewell Thompson (Arena's Jubilee) will direct this Tony Award-nominated play. Set in 1940s Pittsburgh, seven lives are interconnected when old friend and blues singer Floyd Barton vows to turn his life around after a surprise windfall leaves him hopeful for a second chance.

Teal Wicks (Broadway's The Cher Show, Wicked) and Hugh Panaro (Broadway's The Phantom of the Opera, Side Show) are set to star as Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin in Signature Theatre's world premiere production of Camille Claudel with book and lyrics by Nan Knighton (Broadway's The Scarlet Pimpernel) and music by Frank Wildhorn (Broadway's Jekyll & Hyde, The Scarlet Pimpernel).

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater has announced the company for August Wilson's Seven Guitars. Tazewell Thompson (Arena's Jubilee) will direct this Tony Award-nominated play. Set in 1940s Pittsburgh, seven lives are interconnected when old friend and blues singer Floyd Barton vows to turn his life around after a surprise windfall leaves him hopeful for a second chance.

Ford's Theatre Society announced full casting and design team for Guys and Dolls, directed by Peter Flynn. The production features Maria Egler as Miss Adelaide, Joe Mallon as Nathan Detroit, Bueka Uwemedimo as Sky Masterson and Karen Vincent as Sarah Brown. The musical features showstoppers 'Luck be a Lady,' 'Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat,' 'Take Back Your Mink' and more, and plays March 13 to May 20, 2020, at historic Ford's Theatre. The production is recommended for ages 10 and older.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces casting for Octavio Solis' Mother Road, a sequel to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Mother Road premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2019 and will run at Arena Stage from February 7 - March 8, 2020 in the iconic in-the-round Fichandler Stage.

Everyman Theatre continues its 2019/2020 season with Agatha Christie's famous whodunit-the literary, cinematic, and now theatrical classic, Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. Everyman's production, directed by Founding Artistic Director Vincent M. Lancisi and adapted by noted playwright Ken Ludwig (Lend Me A Tenor, Crazy For You), runs December 3, 2019, through January 5, 2020.

Ford's Theatre Society announced full casting and the design team for Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson, a captivating play based on the life of trail-blazing astronomer Henrietta Leavitt. The Ford's Theatre production is directed by Seema Sueko and features Laura C. Harris (Arena Stage's The Heiress, Signature Theatre's The Flick) as Henrietta Leavitt, Nora Achrati as Annie Jump Cannon, Emily Kester as Margaret Leavitt, Jonathan David Martin as Peter Shaw and Holly Twyford as Williamina Fleming. Performances are January 24 to February 23, 2020. A media performance is scheduled for January 29, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.

Signature Theatre presents Blackbeard, a world premiere musical commissioned by Signature Theatre with book & lyrics by John Dempsey (Signature's The Witches of Eastwick, The Fix), music by Dana P. Rowe (Signature's The Witches of Eastwick, The Fix), and directed by Signature Theatre Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer(Broadway's Gigi, Follies, and Signature's Titanic). Blackbeard will run from June 18 through July 14 in Signature Theatre's MAX Theatre.

Signature Theatre presents Blackbeard, a world premiere musical commissioned by Signature Theatre with book & lyrics by John Dempsey (Signature's The Witches of Eastwick, The Fix), music by Dana P. Rowe (Signature's The Witches of Eastwick, The Fix), and directed by Signature Theatre Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer(Broadway's Gigi, Follies, and Signature's Titanic). Blackbeard will run from June 18 through July 14 in Signature Theatre's MAX Theatre.

Inspired by the world-renowned Fisk Jubilee Singers, this uplifting new work chronicles the bold African American ensemble as they travel the world, captivating kings, queens and audiences with hymns and spiritual songs supported by their rich voices. Written and directed by Thompson with vocal arrangements and music direction by Dianne Adams McDowell, Jubilee runs now through June 2, 2019 in the Kreeger Theater.

There's a glorious sound coming from Arena Stage. From out of the mists of time, in monochromatic colors as if from a tintype, comes the sublime harmonizing of 13 voices, giving an idea of the transporting power of the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Signature Theatre has announced the full cast and creative team for Blackbeard with book & lyrics by John Dempsey (Signature's The Witches of Eastwick, The Fix) and music by Dana P. Rowe (Signature's The Witches of Eastwick, The Fix) and directed by Signature Theatre Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer (Broadway's Gigi, Follies, and Signature's Titanic). The world premiere musical commissioned by Signature Theatre sets sail with the most infamous pirate of all time. After learning he's a wanted man by the British army, Blackbeard and his merry crew of maritime marauders embark on a fantastical journey across the globe to raise an undead pirate army from the depths of the sea. Blackbeard will run from June 18 - July 14, 2019 in Signature Theatre's intimate MAX Theatre.

BroadwayWorld has a first look at Arena Stage's Jubilee. Inspired by the world-renowned Fisk Jubilee Singers, this uplifting new work chronicles the bold African American ensemble as they travel the world, captivating kings, queens and audiences with hymns and spiritual songs supported by their rich voices. Written and directed by Thompson with vocal arrangements and music direction by Dianne Adams McDowell, Jubilee runs April 26 - June 2, 2019 in the Kreeger Theater.