Ted Van Griethuysen News

The Shakespeare Theatre Company continues its 2011-2012 Season with the return of Ethan McSweeny (The Merchant of Venice, The Persians, Ion, Major Barbara) directing Shakespeare's romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing.

November has over 60 more openings in the professional, community, universities, and children's theaters in the DC/MD/VA area. A week has already passed in November and over 20 new productions have opened. To read reviews of these shows, go to Maryland Theatre Guide, where I am the Editor and a columnist. A recent back surgery kept me from posting this earlier, so we have some catching up to do.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company continues its 2011-2012 Season with the return of Ethan McSweeny (The Merchant of Venice, The Persians, Ion, Major Barbara) directing Shakespeare's romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing.

The Studio Theatre follows up its 2008 hit production of The History Boys with Alan Bennett's next play, The Habit of Art. Deep in the bowels of London's National Theatre, rehearsals for a new play go apace: Benjamin Britten is having trouble with his latest opera and seeks out his collaborator, poet W. H. Auden, after a twenty-five year separation. Between visits by a rent boy and a biographer-whom Auden briefly mistakes for the rent boy-these aging artists wrestle with their desires, their jealousies, the ephemeral connection between creativity and inspiration, and all the reasons their friendship fell apart.

The new DC area theatre season begins in September. Over 50 shows are opening in our professional and community theatres. But before we move on to the new season and what's opening in September, let's look back at my personal favorite musicals, plays, and performances in both musicals and plays in the DC area - from August 2010 to August 2011.

The Studio Theatre follows up its 2008 hit production of The History Boys with Alan Bennett's next play, The Habit of Art. Deep in the bowels of London's National Theatre, rehearsals for a new play go apace: Benjamin Britten is having trouble with his latest opera and seeks out his collaborator, poet W. H. Auden, after a twenty-five year separation. Between visits by a rent boy and a biographer-whom Auden briefly mistakes for the rent boy-these aging artists wrestle with their desires, their jealousies, the ephemeral connection between creativity and inspiration, and all the reasons their friendship fell apart.

The 27th Helen Hayes Awards are being presented at the historic Warner Theatre tonight, April 25, 2011. In addition to 156 theatre artists, ensembles and productions nominated in 26 categories, three special awards will be given.

Theatre artists and productions nominated for The 27th Annual Helen Hayes Awards were announced this evening at a press conference hosted by The National Theatre in its Helen Hayes Gallery.

In September, DC area theatres are filled with almost a dozen musical productions opening -- classics, family shows, and many wonderful plays being performed on our over 200 theatre venues. The humidity is finally melting away, and it's a perfect time to welcome the cooler weather and the colors of the Fall by making a trip to the Nation's Capital and catching a show or two or three. There are family shows with canines and rabbits, a Labor Day weekend theatre festival that's FREE, a new jazz musical with some of the area's most talented singers, and bugs and ants that swing on trapezes. Mr. Ripley is finally coming to town, while I'm hoping that all will be well at Shakespeare Theatre. Someone is trying to deal with a very troubling inch, a Bar-Mitzvah boy has to deal with his crazy family, spelling champions battle it out, and a beagle pilot takes flight. There's so much to choose from, so read on and see what's playing in September in this monumental town. Happy New Year to all my fellow Jewish lovers of the theatre!

The Shakespeare Theatre Company has finalized the casting for the closing play of the 2009-2010 season: Mrs. Warren's Profession. Elizabeth Ashley returns to the STC stage to star as the resourceful Mrs. Warren.

t was a boisterous crowd that filled the seats of the beautifully restored Warner Theatre where the Greater Washington theater community came together to applaud itself and recognize those artists who achieved greatness during the past theater season. How many people attended shows this past season? Would you believe close to two million people, the highest attendance in four years?

The 25th Annual Helen Hayes Awards were presented last night as one of our nation's most prestigious cultural events. Nearly 2,000 theatre artists and supporters filled the majestic Warner Theatre in downtown DC for an evening of dazzling entertainment replete with humor, celebration, and great tributes to Washington area professional theatre.

McCarter Theatre Center announces the complete cast of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, directed by Rebecca Taichman. A co-production with Washington, D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre Company, Twelfth Night begins performances in the Matthews Theatre on Tuesday, March 10 and runs until March 29. (Press opening Friday, March 13). Shipwrecked in a foreign land without family, friends or possessions-what's a girl to do? Identity is under siege in the labyrinth of misconceptions that is Twelfth Night, Shakespeare's bewitching comedy of unquenchable desire, self-deception and misdirected love. This fantastical, timeless production-helmed by rising-star director Rebecca Taichman-is a real sensualist's delight: full of longing 'all as hungry as the sea' and awash in ethereal charm.

The Awards Gala The 25th Anniversary Helen Hayes Awards will be held on Monday, April 13, 2009 at the Warner Theatre and JW Marriott Hotel.

The recipients of The 24th Annual Helen Hayes Awards were presented tonight, Monday, April 28. Winners include Blickenstaff, Jones, Kudisch, and Irwin.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company's celebrated the opening of their new $89 million Harman Center for the Arts in downtown Washington, DC at a Gala Celebration on Monday, October 1.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company will host its 20th Annual Gala on Sunday, March 4, 2007, at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium (1301 Constitution Avenue NW).

The Helen Hayes Awards honor achievement, celebrate, and promote the Washington D.C. professional theatre.

The former summer theater in a barn, the Olney Theater Center is now a jewel in the Baltimore/Washington area.