David Coulter News

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the company for A Thousand Splendid Suns, adapted for the stage by Ursula Rani Sarma and based on the 2007 New York Times bestselling novel by Khaled Hosseini (Kite Runner). Set in 1992 in war-torn Afghanistan, this gripping story centers around a friendship that develops between two Afghan women following a tragedy. While facing insurmountable odds of a brutal and oppressive way of life, the two form an unlikely bond in a heart-rending fight for survival. Directed by Carey Perloff, A Thousand Splendid Suns runs January 17 - March 1, 2020 in the Kreeger Theater.

It's December! Voting is now underway for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Seattle Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! Now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatres and performers are recognized. Check out the first set of stats below.

With the new Tom Patterson Theatre taking shape on the banks of the Avon River, the Stratford Festival is thrilled to announce key casting as it builds the acting company for its monumental 2020 season.

Colm Feore will utter the first words on the Stratford Festival's newest stage, an echo of the inaugural performance in 1953, when Alec Guinness's opening speech in Richard III anticipated the a?oeglorious summera?? that was to come for Stratford. Feore, an internationally acclaimed stage and screen actor, is just one of a diverse company of accomplished actors who will present a repertory season of 15 productions in four remarkable theatres.

This production with the new translation is notably fresh and remarkably relevant. To WTF's Artistic Director, Mandy Greenfield's credit it is another excellent inclusion in a rich and diverse season. The language is contemporary and easy to follow, understand, and relate to. The subject matter, which includes religion, venereal disease, incest, and euthanasia, questions accepted social practices and norms. Possibly surprising the audience and most definitely stirring up debate. Where most regular tragedies deal mainly with the unhappy consequences of breaking the moral code, GHOSTS deals with the consequences of not breaking it. The parallels between the material written 138 years ago and events currently playing out in the US and across the world are stunning and undeniable.

Williamstown Theatre Festival announces additional casting and full creative teams for productions

Dear Readers, it has been one crazy year with some amazing theater. You know it's true. We've had dead teens riding a roller coaster, demonic puppets, and an ageless guy with a picture of himself in his attic. And, of course, a hip-hop founding father sweeping through town. But let's not talk about the juggernaut when we have such amazing things right here that blew us all away. At least they blew me away. So, let's talk about what blew me away this past year and what I have chosen to give my BWW 2018 Seattle Critic's Choice Awards (Jay's Picks) to (not to mention all those honorable mentions since often I can't limit myself to just one).

Based on the sweeping, internationally best-selling novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns is the tale of the unlikely connection that blossoms between two Afghan women in war-torn Kabul. As rockets shriek down from the heavens, the friendship of Laila and Mariam develops into an iron-bound rapport, forged by their defiance of a life of senseless tyranny. Secrets, lies, and pacts are made in this harrowing yet ultimately beautiful piece about the true cost of sacrifice. The show played at Seattle Rep through November 10. Hear composer David Coulter talk about creating the music for this production in the interview below!

Dear Readers, in the past you may have heard me refer to what I call "theatrical alchemy". It's where all the right elements seem to magically come together in just the right ways to form pure theatrical gold. Well, the Seattle Rep currently has a bunch of alchemists working with them with their joint production with the American Conservatory Theater and their presentation of "A Thousand Splendid Suns", a riveting tale filled with so much tragic beauty that you'll be left breathless.

Alonzo King LINES Ballet, the San Francisco-based, internationally celebrated contemporary ballet company, culminates its 35th Anniversary season with a world premiere ballet featuring live music performed by the Grammy Award-winning Kronos Quartet.

Casting has been announced for the return ofAmerican Conservatory Theater's (A.C.T.) acclaimed theatrical adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's international best-selling novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns-performing at A.C.T.'s Geary Theater for a limited two-week engagement July 17-29, 2018 as part of a West Coast tour that includes runs at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre. Set amid the war-torn streets of modern-day Kabul, A Thousand Splendid Suns is the epic story of three generations of Afghan women bound together by marriage, family, and a secret past. Strong-willed Laila, unmarried and pregnant, is forced to marry her older neighbor when her family and home are torn apart.

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS is a gorgeous and emotional story of the beauty and power of women's friendship and how it can help them endure even the most horrible of circumstances. Playing through June 17th at the Old Globe www.theoldglobe.org

A sweeping and deeply moving theatrical production based on the best-selling book by Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner). The epic story of three generations of Afghan women and their remarkable resilience, A Thousand Splendid Suns is set in the war-torn neighborhoods of 1990s Kabul. When battle upends her family, beautiful Laila must seek shelter, first in the home and then in the arms of her older neighbor. Soon she forges an extraordinary and unlikely friendship with Mariam, her new husband's first wife. Summoning the strength to defy a tyrannical society, the two women seek hope and the promise of a better future.

The Old Globe's 2017-2018 Season continues with today's announcement of the complete cast and creative team for the Southern California debut of A Thousand Splendid Suns, Ursula Rani Sarma's sweeping and deeply moving theatrical production based on the best-selling book by Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner). Directed by Carey Perloff and presented in association with American Conservatory Theater, A Thousand Splendid Suns will run May 12 - June 17, 2018 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, Old Globe Theatre, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Tickets start at $30.00 and are on sale to the general public now. Previews run May 12-16. Opening night is Thursday, May 17 at 8:00 p.m.

The Old Globe's 2017-2018 Season continues with today's announcement of the complete cast and creative team for the Southern California debut of A Thousand Splendid Suns, Ursula Rani Sarma's sweeping and deeply moving theatrical production based on the best-selling book by Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner).

Artistic Director Braden Abraham today announced Seattle Repertory Theatre's new eight-play 2018/2019 season, which features a sweeping theatrical adaptation of a best-selling novel, a world premiere from a local playwright, a Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical, a thriller direct from London's West End, and more.

The Grand Theatre is thrilled to announce a first-time collaboration with the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), bringing A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS to the Spriet Stage. This acclaimed stage adaptation, based on the award-winning novel by Khaled Hosseini, had its world premiere in San Francisco in July 2016 and became the bestselling production in A.C.T.'s history. The Grand's production will premiere an all new, all Canadian cast with original staging by A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff. The Title Sponsor for A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS is London's Selectpath. 

Following critical and audience acclaim last season, American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) announced today that A Thousand Splendid Suns-the theatrical adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's international best-selling novel of the same name-will return to A.C.T.'s Geary Theater for a limited two-week engagement (July 17-29, 2018) as part of a West Coast tour that includes runs at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre.

The San Francisco-based, Grammy-winning Kronos Quartet / Kronos Performing Arts Association (KPAA) presents its fourth annual hometown music festival Kronos Festival 2018. With six concerts over three days, Kronos Festival 2018 illustrates one of the group's central artistic tenets: collaboration. After Kronos performed at NPR Music's 10th anniversary concert last month, NPR Music's Tom Huizenga wrote, 'Collaboration. It's in the DNA of the intrepid Kronos Quartet, which some 40 years ago began working with composers around the globe to spotlight new music.'

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) kicks off its 2017-18 season with William Shakespeare's tragic masterpiece, Hamlet (September 20-October 15, 2017). Obie Award winner and 2017 Tony Award nominee (Best Featured Actor in a Play, Jitney; Satchmo at the Waldorf, A.C.T.) John Douglas Thompson leads a stellar cast of beloved Bay Area actors in Shakespeare's ghostly tale of revenge, palace intrigue, and madness. Press night for Hamlet will be held on Wednesday, September 27, 2017. BroadwayWorld has a first look at Thompson and the company in action below!