Kristen Robinson News

Ars Nova has announced additional details for The Ars Nova Forever Telethon, a 24 hour livestream featuring over 100 artists celebrating Ars Nova's past and present while raising funds to propel the organization into its future. The online event will begin at 6pm EDT on June 12 and run non-stop until 6pm EDT on June 13.

This Spotlight focuses on John Devereaux, a multi-talented triple-threat actor who I shared the stage with in Little Shop of Horrors at the Westchester Playhouse a year after he arrived in Los Angeles from Houston, and who has gone on to charm audiences across the country in touring productions of Rent and Hamilton. John also appeared locally in Dreamgirls at the Pasadena Playhouse, Spamilton at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, and during the Hollywood Fringe Festival in the world premiere of Recorded in Hollywood, among many other productions. I was longing forward to seeing him take the stage in Hamilton at the Pantages Theatre soon, but unfortunately the national tour in which he was appearing had to shut down along with the rest of the world's theaters. So what's he up to now?

Ars Nova has released a new block of tickets and added two additional performances of the world premiere commission of Oratorio For Living Things by Obie Award-winner and 2015 & 2016 Ars Nova resident artist Heather Christian.

orde arrington tuttle's graveyard shift, now making its world-premiere following an initial workshop production during Goodman Theatre's 2018 New Stages Festival, is a haunting and beautiful reflection on police brutality against Black Americans. Inspired by the legacy of 28-year-old Sandra Bland, who was found hanging in her prison cell in 2015 after being arrested for failing to signal a lane change, graveyard shift is also remarkable in its capacity for empathy and its meditation on shared humanity. graveyard shift is an undeniably brutal play, as it should be given its subject matter, but tuttle also writes his dialogue in such a poetic way that I was equally stunned by the play's beauty.

Rising stars playwright korde arrington tuttle and director Danya Taymor reunite for the world premiere production of graveyard shift, following its appearance as a developmental production in the Goodman's 2018 New Stages Festival. Featuring an ensemble cast of five, graveyard shift is an unflinching but open-hearted look at how we navigate a world full of fear, loosely inspired by the legacy of Sandra Bland. Casting note: Debo Balogun replaces previously announced actor Kyle Vincent Terry, who has left the production. 

Rising stars playwright korde arrington tuttle and director Danya Taymor reunite for the world premiere production of graveyard shift, following its appearance as a developmental production in the Goodman's 2018 New Stages Festival. Featuring an ensemble cast of five, graveyard shift is an unflinching but open-hearted look at how we navigate a world full of fear, loosely inspired by the legacy of Sandra Bland. Casting note: Debo Balogun replaces previously announced actor Kyle Vincent Terry, who has left the production. Full casting is below.

Ars Nova, under the leadership of Founding Artistic Director Jason Eagan and Managing Director Renee Blinkwolt, has announced details for the world premiere commission of Oratorio for Living Things by Obie Award-winner and 2015 & 2016 Ars Nova resident artist Heather Christian. Directed by Obie Award-winner Lee Sunday Evans, the event fuses music and theater, surrounding the audience with 18 virtuosic singers and instrumentalists. Oratorio for Living Things runs March 10-April 12, 2020, at Ars Nova at Greenwich House (27 Barrow Street, Manhattan) with a press opening on March 30. Tickets are now on sale at arsnovanyc.com.

Goodman Theatre continues its 2019/2020 Season this winter with two new plays.

Choosing whether or not to go back to work after having a baby can be one of the most difficult decisions a new mother (or father) can make. Even the most career-focused parents can find themselves weighing pros and cons when trying to do what they think is best for their growing family. But this decision is not as black and white as it may seem. Bubbling underneath can be old insecurities, conflicting gender role expectations, and fear that making the wrong choice will have a negative impact. Molly Smith Metzler's play CRY IT OUT, now playing at Hartford Stage, explores these themes through the eyes of four parents, each on their own journey through new parenthood and each dealing with the highs and lows of this common parental dilemma.

Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts presents Mozart's Così fan tutte, conducted by alumnus Nimrod David Pfeffer and directed by faculty member David Paul, on Wednesday, November 13 and Friday, November 15, 2019, at 7:30pm, and Sunday, November 17, 2019, at 2pm in Juilliard's Peter Jay Sharp Theater.

It's easy to give yourself over to the music--and the musicians--that Lash has created (both music and libretto) from the very first notes of the devastatingly beautiful score. It is performed by three bold singers--the commanding mezzo Kirsten Sollek, the determined baritone Christopher Dylan Herbert and eerie yet forceful countertenor Daniel Moody. In addition--and very much integral to its success--there is the dazzling string quartet known as JACK (Christopher Otto and Justin Wulliman, violins; John Pickford Richards, viola; and Jay Campbell, cello). Surprisingly and successfully, there is no conductor.

Two River Theater (TRT) has launched its 2019/20 Season with a production that is sure to please. 'Cyrano' by Jason O'Connell and Brenda Withers is adapted from the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac written by Edmond Rostand. The TRT show is directed by Meredith McDonough and presented as a co-production with the critically acclaimed Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival based in Garrison, New York.

Two River Theater (Artistic Director John Dias, Managing Director Michael Hurst) presents Cyrano by Jason O'Connell and Brenda Withers, adapted from the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, directed by Meredith McDonough in a co-production with Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. Cyrano opens to the press on Friday, September 27 at 7pm and continues through Sunday, October 13 in Two River's Rechnitz Theater, 21 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank, NJ.

Two River Theater (Artistic Director John Dias, Managing Director Michael Hurst) presents Cyrano by Jason O'Connell and Brenda Withers, adapted from the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, directed by Meredith McDonough in a co-production with Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. Cyrano opens to the press on Friday, September 27 at 7pm and continues through Sunday, October 13 in Two River's Rechnitz Theater, 21 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank, NJ.

Two River Theater (Artistic Director John Dias, Managing Director Michael Hurst) presents Cyrano by Jason O'Connell and Brenda Withers, adapted from the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, directed by Meredith McDonough in a co-production with Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. Cyrano opens to the press on Friday, September 27 at 7pm and continues through Sunday, October 13 in Two River's Rechnitz Theater, 21 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank, NJ. Tickets are available from 732.345.1400 or tworivertheater.org.

Two River Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst, launches its 2019/20 Season with Cyrano by Jason O'Connell and Brenda Withers, adapted from the play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, directed by Meredith McDonough in a co-production with Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. Performances will begin in Two River's Rechnitz Theater, 21 Bridge Avenue, on Saturday, September 21 and continue through Sunday, October 13. The opening night performance is Friday, September 27 at 7pm. Tickets are available from 732.345.1400 or tworivertheater.org. 

Eleven world premiere plays and musicals seen first by Chicago audiences were among those receiving nominations by the Jeff Awards, announced today. A total of 192 nominations were made in 34 categories that honor Chicago Equity theatrical productions that opened between August 1, 2018 and July 31, 2019. During the 2018-19 season, Jeff Awards judges attended opening nights of 132 Equity productions offered by 43 producing organizations and from these openings, 112 productions were a?oeJeff Recommendeda?? and eligible for award nominations.

Chamber musicals don't get much more chamber than composerlyricistbookwriter Grace McLean's In the Green, an intriguing new piece receiving its premiere at LCT3's Claire Tow Theater. Musically complex, dramatically abstract and, as presented by director Lee Sunday Evans, intensely intimate in style, In the Green may need some sharpening to clarify its storytelling, but as a whole it is an ambitious work that's worthy of the focused attention it demands.

Lincoln Center TheaterLCT3 celebrates opening night of the world premiere of In the Green, a new musical by Grace McLean, directed by Lee Sunday Evans.

Lincoln Center TheaterLCT3 produces the world premiere of In the Green, a new musical by Grace McLean, directed by Lee Sunday Evans. The production began performances Saturday, June 8 and will run for eight weeks only through Sunday, August 4 at the Claire Tow Theater (150 West 65 Street). Opening night is Thursday, June 27. In the Green's cast features Grace McLean, Rachael Duddy, Ashley Perez Flanagan, Mia Pak, and Hannah Whitney.