The Public Theater News

The Public Theater (Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Interim Executive Director Joey Parnes) will offer post-show discussions following select performances of TIMON OF ATHENS, the inaugural production of Public LAB SHAKESPEARE featuring Richard Thomas in the title role.

The 2009 Tony Award Winning Musical Revival HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, will play the Marcus Center for a limited engagement beginning February 22 and runs through February 27, 2011.

Rising Phoenix Repertory announces the seventh PLAY IN THE CINO NIGHTS SERIES named a new play by lucy thurber / directed by jenna worsham featuring Lila Dupree, Ronete Levenson, Katie Meister, and Sarah Tolan-Mee

The most touching, delicately nuanced and beautifully realized work in The Public Theater's premiere production of Compulsion is, quite honestly, a wooden performance.   Rinne Groff's fictionalized tale of the Broadway dramatization of Anne Frank's diary begins with a life-sized marionette depicting the young girl, pencil in hand, innocently writing down thoughts that she most likely never dreamed would be so immortalized.  As a voice quotes how the adolescent feels, 'in spite of everything,' Matt Acheson's creation, manuevered by Emily DeCola, Daniel Fay and Eric Wright, moves with remarkably understated detail, her frozen face and stiff body nevertheless communicating heartbreaking sincerity through Anne Frank's words.  Unfortunately the rest of the evening seems freakishly overplayed by comparison.

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, February 20, 2011 - Sunday, February 20, 2011.

The Public Theater's acclaimed production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, starring Al Pacino as Shylock and Lily Rabe as Portia, will conclude its successful Broadway run on Sunday, February 20 at the Broadhurst Theatre. The critically lauded production began at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park last summer and officially opened on Broadway on November 13. It recouped its capitalization after only 10 weeks and will be making its first profit distribution to investors next week. Tickets are on sale now at Tele-Charge at 212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com.

The Public Theater's acclaimed production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, starring Al Pacino as Shylock and Lily Rabe as Portia, will resume performances on Tuesday, February 1 at the Broadhurst Theatre for a final three week extension through Sunday, February 20.

The new production of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical A CHORUS LINE comes to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta on Thursday, March 17, 2011 through Sunday, March 20, 2011. Tickets are on sale now at the Cobb Energy Centre's Bank of North Georgia Box Office, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Group orders for 10 or more may be placed by calling 770-509-2301.

HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, will play Heinz Hall for a limited engagement February 15-20, 2011.

This week, in honor of our InDepth Interview series of articles on the Public Theater Shakespeare LAB production of TIMON OF ATHENS featuring Richard Thomas and Barry Edelstein, we are setting out to prove that all the world's a stage and we are, indeed, merely its players with a collection of clips featuring the work of William Shakespeare. Leonardo Dicaprio to Anthony Hopkins to Russell Brand; Ian McKellen & Judi Dench and more await with many marvelous visions for weary eyes and ears to behold and be bequeathed. TITUS, ROMEO & JULIET, THE TEMPEST and MACBETH are merely a taste of the grand banquet!

The Public Theater began previews on Tuesday, February 15 for TIMON OF ATHENS, the inaugural production of Public LAB SHAKESPEARE featuring Richard Thomas in the title role. Directed by Shakespeare Initiative Director Barry Edelstein, TIMON OF ATHENS runs February 15 through March 6 at The Public Theater (425 Lafayette Street), with an official press opening on Tuesday, March 1. Single tickets are on sale now; all tickets for Public LAB productions are $15. Production photos are below!

terraNOVA Collective will present James Carter's (Associate Artistic Director of terraNOVA; Baby Steps) transmedia theatrical event, FEEDER: A LOVE STORY, March 6-26 at HERE (145 6th Ave - entrance on Dominick Street, 1 block south of Spring Street) as part of HERE's curated rental program, HEREstay. The production will be directed by José Zayas (Southern Promises at PS122; Father of Lies in undergrounzero) and will feature terraNOVA Collective's Artistic Director, Jennifer Conley Darling as Jesse and Pierre-Marc Diennet (Missionaries at BAM; Perdita at Theatre Row) as Noel. The creative team will include Scenic Design by Peter Ksander (The Brothers Size at The Public Theater; On the Levee at Lincoln Center), Video and Projection Design by Alex Koch (Irena's Vow on Broadway; Waterwell's Goodbar), Costume Design by Suzanne Chesney (Photograph 54 at EST; Blue Before Morning with terraNOVA), Lighting Design by Bruce Steinberg (NYIT Award Winner for Blue Before Morning), and Sound Design by David Margolin Lawson (MilkMilkLemonade at Astoria Performing Arts; Southern Promises at PS122).

The Public Theater presents the New York premiere of Tony Kushner's THE INTELLIGENT HOMOSEXUAL'S GUIDE TO CAPITALISM AND SOCIALISM WITH A KEY TO THE SCRIPTURES. Michael Greif, who directed the world premiere at the Guthrie in April 2009, will direct the New York premiere. Rehearsals begin Monday, February 7 in New York. Check out rehearsals of the cast and crew in rehearsal below!

Broadway leading lady Kelli O'Hara and opera star Nathan Gunn will perform selections from Show Boat; Carousel; Kiss Me, Kate; Very Warm for May; Love Life; One Touch of Venus; Street Scene; On the Town; Candide; and West Side Story with the New York Philharmonic, in Classic Broadway, conducted by Tony Award winner Ted Sperling, Monday, March 21, 2011, at 7:30 p.m. The pair will perform solos and duets from hit shows by American songwriters Jerome Kern, Kurt Weill, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and Leonard Bernstein, whose music was matched with words by such celebrated lyricists as Oscar Hammerstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and Stephen Sondheim. A complete listing of songs follows.

Chris Noth and Kiefer Sutherland, currently featured in the Broadway play, THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON, will be on "Good Morning America" Tuesday, February 22nd.

The Public Theater began previews Tuesday, February 1 for the world premiere production of Rinne Groff's COMPULSION, directed by Oskar Eustis. The cast features Hannah Cabell, Matte Osian, and Mandy Patinkin, with puppet design and puppetry supervision by Matt Acheson. COMPULSION runs through Sunday, March 13 at The Public Theater (425 Lafayette Street). The show officially opened last night, February 17. BroadwayWorld was on hand and brings you photo coverage below!

Today, we are featuring an exclusive conversation with one of the most accomplished and respected stage and television actors of his generation, showing solid proof that a child actor can go on to have a wildly successful career as an adult onstage and onscreen if he has the talent to go with it - the star of the Public Theater's new production of William Shakespeare's TIMON OF ATHENS, Richard Thomas. From the seventies TV smash THE WALTONS to Stephen King's IT and NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES in the 90s and 00s, to Edward Albee's TINY ALICE and David Mamet‘s RACE onstage, we touch upon many of the memorable roles that have made Richard Thomas a household name over the course of his forty years in show business and what the work of William Shakespeare means not only to him and those involved with this avant garde production of the problematic play, but also the pertinent message the show carries with it in these tumultuous times we live in today and what we can learn from it.

Native Voices at the Autry continues its vital role as the country's only equity theatre company dedicated exclusively to developing work of Native American playwrights with the world premiere main stage Equity production of The Frybread Queen, which runs from Saturday, March 12 through Sunday, March 27, 2011 (previews begin March 9), at the Wells Fargo Theater at The Autry National Center, Los Angeles.

KIM SMITH, the acclaimed international performer called 'all decadence and sly appeal' by Back Stage, has announced the debut of 'Misfit,' his special new show with three performances at The Laurie Beechman Theatre on March 2, 9 and 16 at 7:00 PM.

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Joey Parnes Interim Executive Director) announced the line-up today for the third Public Forum event of the season, "Imagination and Memory," on Monday, March 7 at 8 p.m.