John Murrell News

The Williamston Theater, mid-Michigan's award winning professional theatre company located at 122 S. Putnam in downtown Williamston, celebrates its 11th Season with a mix of comedies, dramas, murders, World Premiers and Michigan Premiers.

Today, June 2, 2016, four of Canada's pre-eminent singers join the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Music Director Jonathan Darlington, in 'BraVO! A Vancouver Opera Concert' - a celebratory concert of opera excerpts honouring VO's General Director James W. Wright, who is retiring June 30th after 17 years at the head of the company.

The Old Globe presents the Arena Stage production of Pulitzer Prize winner Lawrence Wright's thrilling new play CAMP DAVID, directed by Arena Stage's artistic director, Molly Smith.

7 days in the Life of Simon Labrosse is a smart surreal comedy by award-winning French Canadian playwright Carole Frechette. This witty play is making its first appearance on the Australian stage.

The Old Globe presents the Arena Stage production of Pulitzer Prize winner Lawrence Wright's thrilling new play CAMP DAVID, directed by Arena Stage's artistic director, Molly Smith.

Vancouver, BC ~ On June 2, 2016, four of Canada's pre-eminent singers will join the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Music Director Jonathan Darlington, in “BraVO! A Vancouver Opera Concert” – a celebratory concert of opera excerpts honouring VO's General Director James W. Wright, who is retiring June 30th after 17 years at the head of the company. 

7 days in the Life of Simon Labrosse is a smart surreal comedy by award-winning French Canadian playwright Carole Frechette. This witty play is making its first appearance on the Australian stage.

The Old Globe today announced the complete cast and creative team for its presentation of the Arena Stage production of Pulitzer Prize winner Lawrence Wright's thrilling new play CAMP DAVID, directed by Arena Stage's artistic director, Molly Smith.

The play submission gates were thrown open on November 1 when the Table|Room|Stage (T|R|S) new play development program at Artists Repertory Theatre began accepting submissions for the new Oregon Play Prize.

Artists Repertory Theatre names ambitious new play development program Table|Room|Stage (T|R|S). This wide-ranging program is led by Director of New Play Development & Dramaturgy Luan Schooler. Artists Rep welcomes playwright Yussef El Guindi to develop his play The Talented Ones as the first project of this notable program.

Molly Smith directs her 30th production as Artistic Director of Arena Stage with a gritty and relevant take on the Tony Award-winning musical Oliver!, blending the chaotic worlds of 19th-century Victorian London with 2015 London. Smith's new in-the-round staging infuses a modern edge to the classic musical about an innocent orphan thrown into the dark world of double-dealing thieves and conmen, highlighting the disparity between classes and dangerous life on London's streets today. Featuring a remarkable score including 'You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two,' 'Consider Yourself,' 'Where is Love?' and 'Food, Glorious Food,' Oliver! runs October 30, 2015-January 3, 2016 in the Fichandler Stage at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.

With the world marking the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare in 2016, Stratford Festival Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino has planned a number of exciting projects in honour of the occasion.

The Human Race continues its 28th season as Dayton's leading professional theatre with the Midwest premiere of Canadian playwright John Murrell's lesson in self-discovery, Taking Shakespeare. The production runs tonight, April 16 - May 3, 2015 at The Loft Theatre. It is directed by frequent Human Race actor/director Aaron Vega, who helmed The Race's Twelfth Night in 2011. Scroll down for a first look at the cast in action!

The Human Race continues its 28th season as Dayton's leading professional theatre with the Midwest premiere of Canadian playwright John Murrell's lesson in self-discovery, Taking Shakespeare. The production runs April 16 - May 3, 2015 at The Loft Theatre. It is directed by frequent Human Race actor/director Aaron Vega, who helmed The Race's Twelfth Night in 2011. Scroll down for a first look at the cast in action!

Artists Repertory Theatre announces the launch of its ambitious New Play Development Program by naming Luan Schooler Director of New Play Development & Dramaturgy. Schooler will begin the post April 13, 2015. At the end of 2014, Artists Rep conducted a national search to find the right match for this position and the aesthetic of the theatre.

The Human Race continues its 28th season as Dayton's leading professional theatre with the Midwest premiere of Canadian playwright John Murrell's lesson in self-discovery, Taking Shakespeare. When a longtime, disillusioned college professor is asked to tutor her dean's son through his freshman Shakespeare class, she finds it to be as much a test for her as it is for him. Although they seem to have nothing in common, as they explore the Bard's Othello together, they learn more about each other-and themselves-than either is ready to admit. While they draw strength from the play, they come to understand what it means to live up to expectations. The production runs April 16 - May 3, 2015 at The Loft Theatre. It is directed by frequent Human Race actor/director Aaron Vega, who helmed The Race's Twelfth Night in 2011.

Vancouver, BC ~ Vancouver Opera's board of directors has extended the contract of general director James W. Wright by one year. Wright, whose contract was to have expired in June, 2015, will retire at the end of the 2015-16 season, after 17 years with the company.

Four-time Helen Hayes Award winner and acclaimed D.C. actor Edward Gero stars as one of America's most brilliant and polarizing figures-Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia-in the world-premiere political drama The Originalist, by Charles MacArthur Award winner and Arena Stage resident playwright John Strand. When a bright, liberal law school graduate embarks on a nerve-wracking clerkship with Justice Scalia, she discovers him to be both an infuriating sparring partner and unexpected mentor. How will their relationship affect one of the most incendiary cases ever to reach the nation's highest court? Artistic Director Molly Smith directs this daring new play, which offers a rare portrayal of a sitting Supreme Court justice, and for the first time the intimate Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle will be configured into a three-quarter thrust configuration. The Originalist runs March 6-April 26, 2015.

Four-time Helen Hayes Award winner and acclaimed D.C. actor Edward Gero stars as one of America's most brilliant and polarizing figures-Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia-in the world-premiere political drama The Originalist, by Charles MacArthur Award winner and Arena Stage resident playwright John Strand. When a bright, liberal law school graduate embarks on a nerve-wracking clerkship with Justice Scalia, she discovers him to be both an infuriating sparring partner and unexpected mentor. How will their relationship affect one of the most incendiary cases ever to reach the nation's highest court? Artistic Director Molly Smith directs this daring new play, which offers a rare portrayal of a sitting Supreme Court justice, and for the first time the intimate Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle will be configured into a three-quarter thrust configuration. The Originalist runs March 6-April 26, 2015.

Florida Studio Theatre announces the U.S. premiere of Taking Shakespeare, by John Murrell, the final show in the Summer Mainstage Season. The show will run in the Gompertz Theatre today, July 23 through August 17, 2014.