Topher Payne News

Murder on the Orient Express a stage adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel was written and adapted by Ken Ludwig and premiered in New Jersey in 2017. Based on the Christie novel that was first published in the United States in February 1934, and originally published under the name Murder on the Calais Coach. The twisted plot is full of a wild cast of characters. As Poirot puts it, “It was like a painting by Pablo Picasso.” We open the play in Istanbul at the Tokatlian Hotel, as we meet Poirot we understand he is due in London in three days' time due to the delivery of a telegram, and he runs into his old friend Bouc. His friend then arranges a trip on the Orient Express which he is the owner, and the two climb aboard with Poirot hoping he makes it to London on schedule. Upon boarding the Orient Express one by one Poirot meets an oddity of characters much like boarding a train to Carnival. As the train departs the station amidst the snowy conditions like an onion we see the layers of each of the passengers peeled back one by one.

Nutley Little Theatre presents PERFECT ARRANGEMENT by Topher Payne, directed by George Seylaz.

The Nutley Little Theatre will present PERFECT ARRANGEMENT by Topher Payne. The production is directed by George Seylaz and runs from April 8th through the 23rd. Performances are April 8, 9,15, 16, 21, 22, 23 at 8:00 PM and April 10, 17, 23 at 2:30 PM.

Enjoy the last night of the month of love with Horizon Theatre Company's Southbound: Love, Lust and Loss. Join us LIVE for an evening of real-life humorous tales celebrating love and the lengths we will go to find it, enjoy it and at times, lose it. Southbound is LIVE from our stage in Little Five Points on Monday, February 28, at 8:00 pm.

The worst baby shower ever is coming to Rome Little Theatre February 11-20. Billed as 'The Women' meets 'Steel Magnolias' meets 'The Real Housewives,' the show is 'Morningside,' and it's by award-winning Atlanta playwright Topher Payne.

The show is directed by Dave Reinke of Novi, and it shines a spotlight on what commitment looks like two or three decades later. The story follows Frank Garrett who’s stunned by his wife Jackie’s decision to leave him after 37 years of marriage, and siblings Charlie and Claire who team up to try and save their parents’ relationship. 

Topher Payne's Perfect Arrangement will continue The Ensemble Company's 2021 season (its third) at its home at Penguin Point Productions. Perfect Arrangement, which premiered at the Source Festival in Washington, D.C. in 2013, was described by the New York Times for its Off-Broadway premiere as a 'clever canapé of a comedy,' declaring Payne 'a deft and witty writer.'

Alabama Shakespeare Festival invites friends to get closer to the artistry of playwrights by joining the ASF Play Club, part of ASF Insights. Play Club members will read up to four scripts and participate in a live online seminar for each script with an expert (actor/director) and a scholar on the playwright and material.

On Tuesday, December 15 at 8pm EST, tune in for Georgia Artists for Georgia’s Future: A Benefit Concert to Flip the Senate! The one-night event stars and celebrates performers, playwrights, and politicians born in or currently living in Georgia, and benefits the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff Senate campaigns.

Queens Theatre presents Gifted: A socially distant holiday comedy in three episodes written and directed by Topher Payne (Hallmark Channel's A Gift To Remember) New episodes will be released Thursdays, December 3, 10 & 17 on Queens Theatre's YouTube and Facebook channels. A special Holiday Watch Party featuring a screening of all three episodes and a live cast and company reunion will take place on Zoom on Monday, December 21.

Alabama Shakespeare Festival has commissioned 22 Southern playwrights to create original monologues on the theme of a?oehome.a?? Since the 2020 Southern Writers Festival (SWF) was canceled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Artistic Director Rick Dildine commissioned a diverse group of playwrights to craft original pieces, which will be performed by actors from around the country. The a?oe22 Homesa?? project will launch April 21 at ASF.net/PlayOn.

JOOKMS announces a call for submissions to the inaugural Spotlight Summer Performance Series. The Unframed at New Stage Theatre Series and JOOKMS will provide a platform for Mississippi-made LGBTQ+ writers and performers. The reading series will run July 20th - 26th and will feature LGBTQ+ one-act and full-length plays.

Topher Payne's witty, smart, and sharply fine-tuned work Morningside gives an ingenious glimpse into the lives of eight women some friends, but mostly family. Grounded deep in Southern Pride, heartfelt lessons, and the idea that above all family is what matters most proves to be the heart of this side-splitting a?oemother of all baby showers.a?? In 2015 Topher Payne was interviewed for Backstage Magazine where he described his writing style by saying, a?oeIf you can make someone laugh, they listen. And they lean in and they want to hear more. And once you have that level of engagement, then you can start layering in a message that you want them to take away. You can do that in film. You can do that in a book. But the act of being in the same room with the storyteller is just fundamentally different. It lands differently.a?? The cast, crew and entire company making up the ensemble of Morningside should be exceptionally proud of the work that was shown onstage; for the a?oeMother of all Baby Showers,a?? turned out to be one of the finest displays of ensemble acting to come from one company of outstanding actresses. Everyone in the audience and the Tampa theatre community respectively didn't quite know but over the course of two-hours found this to not be the show they wanted but to be the show they needed.

In an era where political leaders are more often promoting division and prejudice, the show presents an amusing take on what could happen if seemingly peaceful people take matters into their own hands and were able to say a 'I Made It Better' 

A revenge story and a cautionary tale about good gay guys gone bad.

There's just one final week to submit votes for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Atlanta Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! Vote today to make sure your favorite local theatre's achievements and performers are recognized!

We're heading into the final week of voting for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Atlanta Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! Vote today to make sure your favorite local theatre's achievements and performers are recognized!

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2019 BroadwayWorld Atlanta Awards, brought to you by TodayTix! The people have spoken nominations are set, and now you can vote to make sure your favorite local theatre's achievements and performers are recognized!

BWW Reviewer Peter Nason chooses the best of the best that he saw onstage in the Tampa Bay area in 2019.

Artistic Director Louise Fischer has announced New Theatre's program for the first half of the 2020 season.