San Francisco Theatre + Broadway News

George Watsky Joins APOCALYPTOUR in San Francisco, 5/25

(5/19/2012) Internet sensation Team StarKid will be joined by special guest rapper/poet George Watsky for one stop of APOCALYPTOUR, at Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco on Friday, May 25 at 7:30 p.m. As previously announced, “Glee” star and StarKid co-founder Darren Criss will join the tour for two performances at the House of Blues in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m. and the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, Sunday, June 10 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for these performances, priced $30 - $35, may be purchased via Ticketmaster.com or LiveNation.com (additional outlets for other cities noted below).

Photo Flash: South Bay Musical Theatre's GUYS AND DOLLS Opens Tonight, 5/19

(5/19/2012) South Bay Musical Theatre presents its 2012 Spring musical, GUYS AND DOLLS. Featuring colorful characters, hit songs and a clever story line, GUYS AND DOLLS is a fable of gambling men and the women who long to tame them.

6th Street Playhouse Presents THE PRODUCERS, 6/15-7/15

(5/18/2012) 6th Street Playhouse presents "The Producers" with book and music by Mel Brooks, lyrics and libretto by Thomas Meehan and Mel Brooks.

Win Tickets to See IL DIVO in Concert!

(5/18/2012) The world's foremost classical crossover quartet IL DIVO is set to embark on its 2012 world tour, the group's fourth, which follows the release of the quartet's latest album, Wicked Game (on Syco/Columbia Records) and provides a new mark of achievement for the signature vocal blend and unique operatic arrangements which have captivated millions and launched a classical-crossover sensation. To celebrate the kick-off of this much-anticipated world tour, BroadwayWorld invites you to enter for a chance to WIN ONE PAIR OF TICKETS to see IL DIVO live in concert!

THEATREWORKS HONORS Raises $407,000 for TheatreWorks

(5/18/2012) TheatreWorks, the nationally-acclaimed theatre of Silicon Valley, presented its annual TheatreWorks Honors Gala. The event honorees were Chairman and Former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank Ken Wilcox and Tony-nominated Broadway composer Paul Gordon (Jane Eyre), both of whom have dedicated their lives to bringing forth vision, innovation, and creativity.

BWW Reviews: A.C.T. Presents Beckett's Unconventional ENDGAME AND PLAY

(5/18/2012) Both terribly morbid and wonderfully brilliant, Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame” and “Play” are difficult at first to understand. Beckett’s focus on existential themes of death and the meaning — or meaninglessness — of life make any interpretation of his work difficult to enjoy on its own.

EDUCATING RITA Takes Covina Center Stage, Now thru 6/3

(5/18/2012) A limited engagement of Educating Rita comes to Covina Center for the Performing arts beginning tonight, May 18. Directed by Christopher Diehl and starring Melissa Brandzel as Rita and John Catanzaro as Frank, the show runs through June 3.

Kelrik Productions Presents SWEENEY TODD, Now thru 6/2

(5/18/2012) Sweeney Todd, the Tony Award-winning musical, sails into Unity May 18 to June 2, 2012. Based on a version of Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler, it's a tragicomic tale of murder, mayhem, and meat pies.

New Conservatory Theatre Center Presents SLIPPING, 5/18-7/1

(5/17/2012) New Conservatory Theatre Center presents SLIPPING Daniel Talbott May 18 - July 1, 2012.

American Conservatory Theater & Downtown Continuation High School Conclude First Year of ACTING FOR CRITICAL THOUGHT Project

(5/17/2012) American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Director of Education Elizabeth Brodersen announced today the successful completion of A.C.T.’s first-year partnership with Downtown Continuation High School—a project-based public school in the San Francisco Unified School District dedicated to serving teenagers who have not experienced success in traditional comprehensive high schools—and their new Acting for Critical Thought project.

Found in Translation Festival to Host Reading of Samuel Gallet's COMMUNIQUE #10, May 26

(5/16/2012) The Playwrights Foundation's Des Voix...Found in Translation Festival is thrilled to present a staged reading of Communique #10 by Samuel Gallet for the first time ever in English, on Saturday, May 26th 4:00pm at Z Space, translated and directed by Rob Melrose. Communique #10 is the recipient of the Lyon's Theatre Days in 2010, and will be staged by Jean-Philippe Albizzati in France.

BWW Interviews: THANKS FOR PLAYING: THE GAME SHOW SHOW Creator Talks Retro Dome Premiere

(5/15/2012) BroadwayWorld talks with "Thanks for Playing: The Game Show Show" co-creator Shannon Guggenheim about the future of the show and of the Retro Dome, as well as the history, making of and themes of the show. Read the full interview below!

Aurora Theatre Company Calls for Global Age Project Submissions, 5/22-7/31

(5/15/2012) Berkeley’s acclaimed Aurora Theatre Company has announced a call for submissions for its eighth season of the Global Age Project (GAP) festival of new works. The company will choose four new plays to be presented as staged readings with professional directors and actors during the GAP festival in February of 2013; the festival will coincide with the company’s fully-staged World Premiere of Anthony Clarvoe’s OUR PRACTICAL HEAVEN, directed by Allen McKelvey, the third Aurora main stage production to develop from the GAP. Each of the four finalists will receive a $1,000 award and their work will be considered for further development and production during Aurora Theatre Company’s regular season; out of town artists will receive travel and accommodation expenses. The submission period opens May 22; deadline for play submission is July 31, 2012. Finalists will be announced in early December 2012.

Magic Theatre Announces 2012-2013 Season of Plays

(5/15/2012) Magic Theatre, the Bay Area’s original home for new plays and playwrights, today announced its 2012-13 season featuring two world premieres, a West Coast premiere, a Bay Area premiere, and one last show still to be announced.

BWW TV: ACT's ENDGAME- Performance Highlights!

(5/15/2012) American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2011–12 season with ENDGAME and PLAY—two landmark one-act plays by modernist master Samuel Beckett, directed by A.C.T. artistic director Carey Perloff. ENDGAME—led by two-time Tony Award winner and A.C.T. associate artist Bill Irwin—charts a day in the life of the wheelchair-bound Hamm and his servant, Clov , who exist in a mutually dependent and fractious relationship with only Hamm’s ashbin-bound parents, Nagg and Nell, for company. This avant-garde play mixes comedy with tragedy to explore the human dilemma, mortality and God’s existence. Check out highlights from the production below!

Ashley Bryant, Jo Bonney, et al. Part of Team Behind EMOTIONAL CREATURE, 6/14 - 7/15

(5/15/2012) Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced the cast and creative team for its world premiere of Eve Ensler’s EMOTIONAL CREATURE. This positive and propulsive new show – from the Tony Award-winning playwright, performer, and activist who created The Vagina Monologues – features a choreographer, a composer, four top designers, and an ensemble of talented young women. Directed by Obie Award-winner Jo Bonney, Emotional Creature plays only 36 performances in the Roda Theatre. The limited engagement at Berkeley Rep begins previews on June 14, opens June 22, and runs through July 15. The lead producers of this premiere are Wayne Jordan and Quinn Delaney, Marjorie Randolph, and Jack and Betty Schafer; the executive producer is the Strauch Kulhanjian Family. The development of this production has been supported in part by The Mosse Artistic Development Fund.

Photo Flash: ACT's PLAY- Production Shots!

(5/15/2012) American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2011–12 season with ENDGAME and PLAY—two landmark one-act plays by modernist master Samuel Beckett, directed by A.C.T. artistic director Carey Perloff. One of Beckett’s most rarely performed works, PLAY, is the abstract tale of two women and one man encased in identical funeral urns as they obsess over an affair that ended unhappily for all. This production of Beckett plays performs a limited run May 9–June 3, 2012. Check out production shots below!

Photo Flash: First Look at Bill Irwin in ACT's ENDGAME!

(5/15/2012) American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) continues its 2011–12 season with ENDGAME and PLAY—two landmark one-act plays by modernist master Samuel Beckett, directed by A.C.T. artistic director Carey Perloff.

Kelrik Productions Presents SWEENEY TODD, 5/18-6/2

(5/15/2012) Sweeney Todd, the Tony Award-winning musical, sails into Unity May 18 to June 2, 2012. Based on a version of Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Hugh Wheeler, it's a tragicomic tale of murder, mayhem, and meat pies.

Photo Flash: Paso Robles High Theatre Co. Presents GUYS AND DOLLS, 5/18-5/20

(5/15/2012) Paso Robles High Theatre Company presents GUYS AND DOLLS, directed and choreographed by Marcy Goodnow, with musical direction by Mary Hiestand. The final weekend of performances is slated for May 18-20.

May Mid Month Masques and MORE on the California Central Coast!

(5/15/2012) As we move into the middle of May and beyond, I trust you will want to consider attending at least a couple of the numerous productions currently (or soon to be) playing at any one of the numerous theatre and live performance establishments here on the AMAZING California Central Coast!

Julian Sands Stars in A CELEBRATION OF HAROLD PINTER, May 18 and 19

(5/15/2012) Julian Sands' warmly rendered readings and reminiscences of a man he much adored make "A Celebration of Harold Pinter" a must-see event for now and future Pinter and Sands fans alike.

A.C.T. Youth Conservatory Presents SHOW CHOIR! THE MUSICAL, 5/26-6/9

(5/14/2012) American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Young Conservatory Director Craig Slaight has announced the West Coast premiere of Show Choir! Show Choir! The Musical plays May 26–June 9, 2012, at The Theater at Children’s Creativity Museum (formerly Zeum Theater), located at 221 Fourth Street, San Francisco. Tickets are $20.50 and are available by calling the A.C.T. Box Office at 415.749.2228 or online at www.act-sf.org.

Tom Bruett and Bats Improv to Host AFER Benefit, 6/11

(5/13/2012) Bay Area playwright/producer Tom Bruett of marriageequalityplays.com and BATS Improv, the Bay Area’s premiere nonprofit improv theatre company, are busily preparing for a special event featuring new short plays by prominent Bay Area playwrights and an improvised short play by BATS Improv on the theme of marriage equality, to benefit the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER).

EDUCATING RITA Takes Covina Center Stage, 5/18-6/3

(5/12/2012) A limited engagement of Educating Rita comes to Covina Center for the Performing arts beginning May 18. Directed by Christopher Diehl and starring Melissa Brandzel as Rita and John Catanzaro as Frank, the show runs through June 3.

Critic Richard Connema Participates in Q&A After 6th Street Playhouse's SOUVENIR, 5/20

(5/12/2012) Richard Connema recalls his first experience with SOUVENIR at a special post show conversation and Q & A with the "Souvenir" cast and crew following the 2 p.m. Sunday, May 20 matinee performance of 6th Street Playhouse’s production of "Souvenir.”

Bay Area Cabaret Closes Season with Laura Benanti Concert Tonight, 5/12

(5/12/2012) Bay Area Cabaret closes its 2011-2012 season with Tony Award winning actress/singer Laura Benanti. Benanti makes her San Francisco cabaret debut tonight, May 12, 2012 with her solo show Let Me Entertain You, which showcases her wide musical and comedic repertoire. This special one-night-only engagement will take place at the historic Venetian Room of The Fairmont San Francisco (950 Mason Street) 8pm Saturday May 12, 2012. Opening the evening will be charismatic and talented 2011 Bay Area Teen Idol winner Robert Conte Thornton, making his Bay Area Cabaret debut. Tickets ($45 general / $40 subscribers) are available at www.bayareacabaret.org or by phone at City Box Office (415) 392-4400.

We Players Presents ODYSSEY ON ANGEL ISLAND, Now thru 7/1

(5/12/2012) We Players (Artistic Director, Ava Roy; Managing Director, Lauren Dietrich Chavez), together with The Angel Island Conservancy (Gail Dolton, President) and Angel Island State Park (Amy Brees, Site Superintendent) began ticket sales on April 20 for their island-wide performance of The Odyssey on Angel Island (today, May 12—July 1). An associated visual art exhibition runs at the park’s Visitor Center. For more information, visit www.weplayers.org or call 415.547.0189.

Handful Players Presents the World Premiere of SCIENCE GIRL AROUND THE WORLD, 5/12

(5/12/2012) Handful Players at Yosh's presents the world premiere of Science Girl Around the World by Bay Area playwright Lauren Gunderson, directed by Ryan Marchand and Samantha Jackson, featuring Imanuel Junaedy and his jazz trio. The show plays today, May 12, 2012 at 1 p.m. at Yoshi's San Francisco, located at 1330 Filmmore Street (at Eddy St.).

Playwrights Foundation Reads Marion Aubert's PRIDE, PURSUIT AND DECAPITATION, 5/26

(5/11/2012) Playwrights Foundation's Des Voix Found in Translation Festival presents Pride, Pursuit and Decapitation for the first time in English, directed by Carey Perloff of ACT.

BWW Reviews: Broadway San Jose's MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET Rocks the House Now through May 13

(5/11/2012) "Million Dollar Quartet" is an exciting, get-up-and-dance, rock and roll phenomenon that allows the audience to be present at one of the greatest moments in rock and roll history.

BWW TV Seattle Exclusive: Behind the Scenes of Kristin Chenoweth on Tour!

(5/11/2012) BroadwayWorld Seattle was granted EXCLUSIVE access to Kristin Chenoweth's debut performance of her new (and first ever) tour, which opened in Seattle on Wednesday night ... and received a whopping NINE standing ovations for a show unlike we had ever seen.

Cutting Ball Theater Concludes Season With RISK IS THIS, 6/8-7/14

(5/11/2012) Cutting Ball Theater closes its 12th season with the adventurous RISK IS THIS.THE CUTTING BALL NEW EXPERIMENTAL PLAYS FESTIVAL, one of the only play festivals in America solely dedicated to experimental works for the stage.

Kathak Meets Tap in INDIAN JAZZ SUITES Tonight, 5/11

(5/11/2012) INDIA JAZZ SUITES performs in Three Stages tonight, May 11 at 8 pm. This show is a brilliant collaboration between Pandit Chitresh Das, one of the world’s foremost masters of the of the barefoot, bell-bedecked North Indian dance called Kathak, and Emmy award-winning Jason Samuels Smith --one of the world’s fastest tap dancers.

6th Street Playhouse Presents 'SOUVENIR...LIFE OF FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS,' Now thru 5/27

(5/11/2012) 6th Street Playhouse presents "Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins" by Stephen Temperley tonight, May 11 through May 27.

Julian Sands Stars in A CELEBRATION OF HAROLD PINTER, Directed by John Malkovich, Now thru 5/19, SF

(5/11/2012) In a Celebration of Harold Pinter, Julian Sands performs a warm and expertly crafted tribute to Nobel Laureate, Harold Pinter, directed by John Malkovich at the Royce Gallery, San Francisco, tonight, May 11 through May 19.

A Tribute to Frank Sinatra Plays at Covina Center, 5/11-12

(5/11/2012) The Covina Center for the Performing Arts announces its shwos through the end of June.

Michael Martin's VERBATIM VERBOTEN Premieres in San Francisco Tonight, May 11

(5/11/2012) Clove Productions, in association with SAFEhouse Productions, presents the San Francisco premiere of Michael Martin's VERBATIM VERBOTEN, Directed by Michael Martin and Assisted by Skip Emerson, Fri-Sat, May 11-12 & 18-19 @ 8pm. It is being hosted by Wonder Dave and includes special guests, Julie Caffey (May 11), Skyler Cooper (May 12), and Mark I. Chester (May 19).

Handful Players Presents the World Premiere of SCIENCE GIRL AROUND THE WORLD, 5/12

(5/10/2012) Handful Players at Yosh's presents the world premiere of Science Girl Around the World by Bay Area playwright Lauren Gunderson, directed by Ryan Marchand and Samantha Jackson, featuring Imanuel Junaedy and his jazz trio. The show plays May 12, 2012 at 1 p.m. at Yoshi's San Francisco, located at 1330 Filmmore Street (at Eddy St.).

A.C.T. to Award Mary Birdsong and Jonathan Moscone Honorary MFA Degrees, 5/22

(5/10/2012) American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) Conservatory Director Melissa Smith announced today that honorary master of fine arts degrees will be conferred on acclaimed actress and comedian Mary Birdsong and California Shakespeare Theater Artistic Director Jonathan Moscone.