Leonard Jacobs blogs on the Fox Forum: "Do We Need a Secretary of the Arts?" Steppenwolf announces its 2009-10 season. DouglasPlus is exactly what it sounds like, unfinshed theatre for ONLY $20. Sam French's OOB playfest has a blog. Lawrence Olivier Award noms. L.A. needs a LATE. The man behind "Blanche Survives Katrina in a FEMA Trailer Named Desire" is gettin' sued.

On Jan. 31, Harvey's opera, "Leave Me Alone" makes its world debut at Oberlin College, just a 45-minute drive from Cleveland, Ohio. And as Pekar might say, if you can't make it, don't sweat it. The production will be broadcast live to an international audience at LeaveMeAloneOpera. For those who can make it to the 8:00PM premiere, it's free.

To be perfectly clear, "Leave Me Alone" is not an opera in the classic connotation of the word. It's being called a "Jazz opera," which means it can be pretty much whatever Pekar wants it to be. Pekar wrote the libretto (that's the text of an opera, kids) and framed the whole presentation into a storyline. The music was written by jazz saxophonist Dan Plonsey, of the San Francisco area. Another San Franciscan, Josh Smith, is the music director, and music students from internationally renowned Oberlin College will perform and sing.

In case you missed it on NPR today...

All Things Considered, December 4, 2008 · More than 50 student groups across the country are performing Jonathan Larson's edgy rock opera Rent this school year. Like the Broadway show, Rent School Edition is centered on a group of friends in the 1990s dealing with AIDS, gender identity, homosexuality, drug addiction and poverty.

The Belarus Free Theatre keeps truckin. Mike Daisey does too. The Country Girl revival has quite a cast, starting with one M. Freeman. The Prague Fringe is in dire straits. The Drama Desk Awards are having some drama of their own. Rob Falls plans to take the Goodman global. Arena Stage experiences "playfation." NYTheatre dot com adds "physical theatre" listings. Homeless theatres are a big problem in St. Louis. E.S.T. announced the line-up for Marathon 2008. Andrew Hamm is rocking in Richmond. ART has a 2008-9 season. Jeremy Piven - live and in the flesh! (Back in, like, 1992, I thought Jeremy Piven and Paul Giamatti were the same person.)

Obama's been talking about the value of art, too. Don Hall argues that all theater is political.

PS122 seeks new Executive Director. Maybe they could hire Mara Manus, who just stepped down as the Public's executive director. Or, maybe one the NYTW's soon-to-be-fired production staff could take the job.

Meanwhile, the new New York Theatre Review has been released, and the New York Innovative Theatre Awards released a massive study of the business of Off-Off-Broadway.

Arkansas Tech bans Sondheim's Assassins. 2007 Bay Area Critics Circle Award winners announced. New Rep announces their 08-09 season. (Is it really season announcement time already?) Check out this list of art retreats around the country. The NY Times looks at a gaggle of new musicals opening this spring. The 2008 Frigid Festival is coming soon. The House Theatre has a new show. Holy Moly, the 43-year old Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo is done. Change is afoot in the Bay Area scene.

The ban on theatre in opera in Turkmenistan has recently been lifted. Blind and deaf actors take the stage in Israel. Listen to Danny Hoch talking about his work, his new show, and Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Director's Lab West seeks applicants. Catalyst Theatre's new musical is a monster - Frankenstein. UK orgs resist extinction, despite funding cuts.

Coming to you live from Cafe Bonjour, 741 St Nicholas Avenue @ West 147th Street.

David J of Bauhaus has written and will direct a musical about Edie Sedgwick. Cornerstone Theater will be offering a 2-day intensive in their unique techniques, in L.A. In Pittsburgh, Squonk Opera return with Pittsburgh: The Opera. Theatre space for sale in Wrigleyville. Here's a nice little article about how hard it is to make a living as a playwright. If you like super-heroes, you might want to catch The Roundtable Ensemble's Save the World. I can't stand Robert Bly, but the fact that he's turned to adapting Ibsen is interesting news. Theatre Calgary sounds like the Actors Theatre of Louisville of the north: new works, local actors, and a new play festival are supported by Our Town and Beauty and the Beast.

Danny Hoch takes over Berkley. Playbill pays tribute to dramaturg Anne Cattaneo. More potentially great Beckett - this time with John Turturro and Elaine Stritch. A famous comic book writer has a dissenting opinion about The Little Mermaid. Churches and theatres have been collaborating for quite some time. Would you like a video tour of producer Barry Weissler's apartment? Take a moment to check out some Hawaiian theatre.

A Coen brother writes for the theatre. Every LORT theatre in America collected here. Check out the new Indie Theater Now podcast. The Goodman has big plans for next year, including an O'Neill celebration. "Top Ten No-Holds-Barred Audition Tips." The House Theatre (well, one of them) is making comics. (Awesome! I was gonna buy that anyway.)

First photos from the Doubt movie have surfaced. Make way for Culturemart 2008 at the hERE arts center, starting 1.04.08! Noel Coward disses Sam Beckett. The Nature Theater of Oklahoma is neither. (Okay, actually they kind of are a nature theater, but ...) If you enjoyed John Lahr's Pinter article in the New York, check out the podcast. Actor James Barbour pleaded guilty to "endangering the welfare of" a 15-year-old female fan during the run of Jane Eyre.

RIP: Michael Kidd.

"Nearly 200 arts organisations in England have now been told that their funding will end from next April." Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is a new musical featuring all these guys and gals. The Too Much Coffee Man opera? Rehabilitation Through the Arts sounds like a great program for a seriously under-served population (prisoners) who need it. Work for writers: The Hollywood Fringe? The NEA and Arena Stage will team-up to support new plays.

WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Bam Margera is a step closer to opening a theater in his hometown. West Chester Borough Council has agreed to withdraw its objection to a liquor license for the MTV star's planned theater after a long list of conditions were met.

Here's a provocative little interview with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. View the trailer for Martin McDonagh's feature film debut. Cherry Lane is putting up Edward Albee's The American Dream and The Sandbox this March as an evening of one-acts directed by Albee himself. (h/t tc) Uganda used to have a thriving theatre, not so much these days. Sondheim speaks on Sweeney Todd in a series of video interviews. Julie Taymor held the first reading the big Spider-Man Musical. Drowsy Chaperone to close.

Celebrate the end of the strike with Broadway's Back. ( They should put the thing on TV.) Then, read The Playgoer's post-strike round-up. Lastly, please keep in mind that we narrowly avoided the strike's trickle-down effects.

In Cincinnati, a high school production of Ten Little Indians was almost canceled because of the play's original title. Anytown (say, Houston) is a good town for more Maria Irene Fornes. d’bi young anitafrika is writing a dub opera. The BBC will film the complete Shakespeare. Read about Fiona Shaw & Deborah Warner's Happy Days. Go see No Dice.

If you wanna get angry, try reading about the strike one of George F. Will and Peggy Noonan's favorite sites, City Journal.

The Public announces Under the Radar 2008. The Cornerstone Theatre seeks a managing director. Robert LePage directs Stravinsky in San Fran. Charlie Chaplin's grandson is doing an avant garde movement based performance piece in Chicago. Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia has opened in Moscow. How bout a musical ghost play created by Stephen King & John Mellancamp?

Great headline: "Nathan Lane Thrilled by Opportunity to Finally Play a Man".

Keep reading The Playgoer for the most up-to-date strike news.

A few words from an L.A. stagehand. Melbourne's Theatre in Bars wants to screw with you. Odyssey Theatre of Cardiff's The Ballroom involved 55 people from all walks of life, including adults with learning disabilities and those who simply have a desire to perform. Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre’s Hamlet is being performed on a real carousel in Brooklyn. Catch the Degenerate Art Ensemble in L.A. this weekend. AP talks to an Idled Electrician.

Quotation of the day:

... producers have discovered that there are more than enough people willing to pay a whole lot more to see big, dumb musicals like "Young Frankenstein" and "Legally Blonde," which is why such shows now dominate Broadway. No matter who prevails in the strike, that's not going to change.

Terry Teachcout in the Wall Street Journal

Vaclav Havel's first new play in 18 years.

Go behind the scenes with Richard Foreman and the Ontological-Hysteric. The Henry Hewes Awards for design announced their 15 2007 winners. Hey, 9 to 5 is gonna be a musical! I love that movie! And, apparently, Young Frankenstein both sucks and blows. In Chicago, The Neo-Futurists are lookin for interns. A number of non-striking shows are benefitting from the picket-lines. Matthew Freeman lists 20 indispensable rules for the writing of plays. One Minute Play Festival.

Tragedy at Yale Rep and on the Local One picket line.

I've no words.

Strike Update: View the Local One Press Conference

Watch out, Japanther is coming to PS122 this week. Steppenwolf has announced of its Traffic series. The Harry Ransom Center in Austin has the first major exhibition on Arthur Miller, through Dec. 30. In Chicago, Silk Road has extended their hugely popular production of Merchant on Venice. Sam Shepard will be rocking out with the Velocity Ramblers in Bustown this weekend. There's a Director's Competition in Cincinnati.

Theatre de la Jeune Lune is in trouble. Support the writers, sign the petition. Brat Productions will present A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pagaent in Philadelphia this holiday season. A Goonies musical? The NY Times profiles Edward Albee. Steppenwolf has fancy dressing rooms. Theatre couples often go to extremes to make it work. Getcher Living Theatre DVDs right here.

The NY Times had this great picture of James L. Brooks picketing Fox.

Hollywood writers took to the sidewalks, if not quite the streets, on Monday, as last-ditch bargaining failed to avert the first industrywide strike in more than 19 years.

Just after midnight, about 12,000 movie and television writers represented by the Writers Guild of America East and the Writers Guild of America West went on strike against Hollywood producers represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

Picket lines went up at more than a dozen studios and other production sites on both coasts. And at least a handful of television shows — including the CBS series “The Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men” — quickly shut down.

Wait, what's going on? Watch this.

The big man over at Ain't It Cool has a rave review of the Sweeney Todd movie. Have you been reading Praxis Theatre's Sentences about Theatre? The League of American Theatres and Producers put out its annual press release on the demographics of the Broadway audience. About Face (of Chicago) Artistic Director will head to Kansas City. Speech & Debate opens the Laura Pels Theatre. Paper Mill Playhouse has a new executive director. Ex-football star Bo Eason's semiautobiographical solo play will soon begin an engagement at 37 Arts.

The Theater Hall of Fame has chosen its 2007 inductees. Tony Kushner's The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures will open at the Guthrie. Sheila Callaghan was one of the winners of the $50,000 Whiting prize. Is that science? No, it's rock n roll in Austin. Chicago theatre hit the road. Need some help with the lights? You might try ETC's new knowledge base.

Is Medieval Times theatre? Hmm ... maybe so. Really sucks: 37 Arts, Mikhail Baryshnikov's foundation headquarters, may be foreclosed on. The "World's Best Phantom" (otO) is back on stage. Bingo With the Indians is Adam Rapp's new play. I don't care what you think, I love me some Maxwell Caulfield, may just have to go to this horrible thing. Mid-show texting? OMG, NO! BAM in spring 2008 includes Fiona Shaw (more Beckett!), Patrick Stewart, and Athol Fugard. There's a shake-up at Williamstown.

"A California “undercover investigator” identifying himself ... as "Agent Egan" entered the Fremont Center Theatre at curtain time and halted the performance of ... author Ray Bradbury’s play Dandelion Wine." Read all the crazy details right here.

Also ...

This story is kind of old, but it's about theatre blogs, and I'm in it. Student/teacher Jeanine Thompson reflects on her time with Marcel Marceau. Adam Bock's new play is open at MTC. Marisa Tomei will star in the Flea Theater's production of Will Eno's Oh The Humanity and Other Good Intentions. The Public is "the mother ship." Craig Wright has a new TV show ("Dirty Sexy Money") but he's still supposedly a theatre guy. The Goodman keeps "pushing things forward". Six Characters is a return to form for Philadelphia's People's Light & Theatre.

Wow, theatre is all over the TV these days. First Legally Blonde makes it onto MTV and soon Walmartopia will be on the new Fox. But the award for coolest (and maybe most) televised exposure (I bet more people see this than watched The Tonys) goes to My First Time, an invention of Altar Boyz producer Ken Davenport, who is featured with hisPhone in the one of the latest iPhone ads.

Ken talks about how he uses his iPhone to scan the play's website for fan reactions. There must be some super-secret fan website out there (Making it secret doesn't really make it too useful, though.) cause I can't find the fan reactions he's talking about. (The webpage in the ad is this one.)

To be fair, I didn't follow-up on the MySpace or Facebook sites, so maybe that's where the fans are complaining about flubbed lines and causing Ken to call the director to say, "You need to get back in the theater and check it out." Maybe some licensing issues kept them from featuring MySpace or Facebook in the ad.

There's a spot-on reaction over at iPhone Central.

Oh, yeah, I bet the director loooooves that. I'd like to see a counterpoint commercial with how exactly the director feels about Ken's new iPhone. I imagine it would involve hair-tearing and perhaps jumping up and down on an iPhone.

For further research, here's a NY Times article about the My First Time.

And here's a link to a story about my first time.

Robert Wilson's got a new buddy: Bernice Johnson Reagon. Here's 5 minutes with Bill Nighy. It's a busy week for small theatres in Seattle. Dame Diana Rigg feels slighted by some newspaper adverts. How a group of triple-threats worked together on the Sweeney Todd tour. In Seattle it's Live Theatre Week. Someday, you too will be able to Spamalot. The Vineyard Theater celebrates in 25th anniversary year will a series of anniversary readings. Indian Playwright Ajay Krishnan "tries to make a significant statement about the hypocrisy of the conundrum of freedom of speech and the forces out to gag it".

Chicago is all about hashem this season. In L.A., Jerry Quickly debuts the second part of his Iraq-trilogy. Here's the Chicago side of PJ Paparelli's Juneau-to-Chitown story. Earlier this week, much-respected stage actor George Grizzard passed away. Adam Szymkowicz loves AND hates being a playwright. The Blood Brothers Present: PULP is Nosedive Productions’ follow-up to last year’s Blood Brothers Present: An Evening of Grand Guignol Horror. ALW's Phantom of the Opera is about to start making the rounds at high schools and colleges; Brice Walborn, a senior, is "freaked out”.

Um .... the Tracy Letts rap, ladies and gents. Amazing.

"The Ensemble Studio Theatre, in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project, will present the U.S. premiere of Damien Atkins' Lucy beginning Oct. 24." Thanks to Broadway in Chicago, the House Theatre's The Sparrow is running till the end of the year at The Apollo Theater. This is supposed to be one of U.K. theater's most well-made websites.

And, in the category of theatre that actually matters ...

Drama for Life is a visionary programme that aims to provide support to the many theatre-makers, performers, directors, managers and drama facilitators and teachers working under difficult circumstances, dedicated to HIV/AIDS and quality of life education throughout the Southern African region.

Theater Aspen's world-beating Artistic Director has been fired. Meanwhile, in Alaska, Perseverance's AD is jetting to Chicago. Wow - Korean Martial Arts Theatre. Mary-Louise Parker will join Kathleen Chalfant in Anne Bogart's production of Sarah Ruhl's Dead Man's Cell Phone at Playwrights Horizons.

And ... another theatre blogger blogs his last.

Number 9 on the Top 11 Reasons There Are No Homosexuals in Iran: The sorry state of musical theater in Tehran. (What's that all about?)

Apparently, High School Musical is "even gayer" on stage. Holy Crap, someone made a musical out of The Last Starfighter? (Actually, I'm a bit behind the times on that.) (Oh, and you can buy the cast recording on iTunes.) New York Theatre Experience has re-vamped their website. It's time to send in submissions for NYC's Summer Play Festival 2008. Beckett shorts directed by JoAnne Akalaitis with Mikhail Baryshnikov and music by Philip Glass - if you don't want to see this, you're not my friend. Please learn to pronounce Wegrzyn. The Kentucky Cycle is happening in Boston.

Charles Busch returns in Die Mommie Die! and Harvey Fierstein and Faith Prince star in A Catered Affair. Here's one for our VA readers - Mill Mountain in Roanoke. Finally, a book that actually explains how totally dirty Shakespeare's plays are - get this one to high schools ASAP. Theater Times has a brief email interview with Julia Cho. Third Rail Rep. opens Craig Wright's Grace in Portland. A couple of really good reasons to cancel opening night in Edmonton.

10 plays have been announced for inclusion in Plays and Playwrights 2008. "Will drugs, sex and a 'rock star' save Portland’s most expensive theater?" Two theaters in South L.A. are ready but empty and un-booked. San Fran's Rhyme Time Theatre presents Race is a Lie, in verse, starting in October. LA's 2007 Ovation Awards nominees have been announced. Nashville's Belmont University has a big, new space. "National Honours 100 Years of Larry Olivier." Steppenwolf readies its ad campaign for Broadway.

The amazing thing isn't how they spent the money ... but how did a Christian Theatre Troupe in Pigeon Forge get $90,000? Don't miss Three Eco-Friendly Self-Propelled Clowns @ The Garret Studio TBG Arts Center. "Ten Musicals Selected for Perfect Pitch Showcase." IT awards announced. American Actor has begun (or will shortly begin) taping in Philadelphia. NYTheatreCast interviews Nero Fiddled, who are awesome.

Ann Marie Healy's Have You Seen Steve Steven? opens Sept. 15. You can read an old A.M. Healy short play, You're No One Nothing's Special, right here. New Jersey's Dreamcatcher Theatre has a season of firsts. Disgraced Productions opens ... and we all wore leather pants this weekend Under St. Marks. The Kitchen's having a block party on September 15. Fat is a 4-Letter Word makes it's West Coast debut September 7. Cincinnati theatres have a few ideas on how to attract new audiences. We've talked about the mind-blowingly wonderful Ten Thousand Things here before, their new season starts October 18 with Richard III. Anyone go to the Shrewsbury International Street Theatre Festival?

The 11th Playwright Submission Binge has begun. Are you in on it? Harvey Fierstein weighs in on the canceled La Cage at a Florida High School. Go to Philly for the 7-hour and unabridged staging of The Great Gatsby now know as Gatz!. The Network of Ensemble Theatres is blogging their Gathering in Maine. Bill Pullman has some avant garde street cred - I had no idea. Susan Medak, the managing director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre, talks it up at the YMCA. Melbourne Theatre Company gets a super-small, uber-tech theatre. Hey musical buffs - Merrily rolls again in D.C.

Philly Live Arts/Philly Fringe starts August 31. Minneapolis's Children's Theatre Company presents a visually stunning Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Actor Robert Symonds has passed away. Andrew Dickson provides an Edinburgh wrap-up. Something To Crow About - a musical from the Philippines the played at La MaMa ETC - has created a 5 million peso controversy back home. Thunderbird Theatre presents Aaah! Rosebud! in San Francisco. Performers from New York-based Shalimar were crowned Best Ensemble in the Stage Awards for Acting Excellence.

The Gift rehearsed 5 months for their 3 hour Three Sisters in Jefferson Park. Maryland Ensemble Theatre celebrates 10 years. Walmartopia opened in New York City. Three Baltimore regional theatres open their 2007-8 seasons. Houston's Alley Theatre seems to have lost its edge. The Kentucky Girlhood Project includes visual art and live performances at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Lahore-based theatre director and political activist Madeeha Gauhar has been imprisoned twice for promoting the anti-extremist theatre movement in Pakistan since 1983. Don't miss the Bukowsical. George Hunka of Superfluities recommends upcoming shows. The Scotsman claims this is proper theatre. Exciting things are ahead for Utah theatre this season. StarDotStar Books is in the process of catalouging aboout 300 "theatre souvenir programmes from the 1930s through the early 2000s from theatres throughout the UK". Writers wanted for the London Theatre Blog. In Charleston, an actress has turned her "cancer blog" into theatre. "Parking lot theatre" in Binghamton, NY.

Bash'd is a Gay Rap Opera, starring T-Bag and Feminem. Indie Theater dot org reports that there are lots of fuzzy bears in the FringeNYC. Black Watch is going to the Barbican. There's a play called Killing Neil LaBute. Have you had a theatrical orgasm lately? NYC has some new plans for distributing public funding for the arts. The Sun chronicles Bill Rauch's first year helming Oregon Shakes. Yes, the Broadway Show League softball season is over. Talento Bilingue de Houston Cultural Arts Center presents Jose Torres Tama in The Cone of Uncertainty: New Orleans After Katrina.

Orfeo at Edinburgh sounds great. Cincinnati's Know Theatre recycles a couple of Cincy Fringe hits. The recently opened in Chicago High School Musical "represents a significant philosophical evolution of the Greasian liturgy." The Flyover Blog explores "the arts as means to experiencing 'objective truth'". Chazz Palminteri, Rosie Perez, and Claire Danes head to the Great White Way. Lee Blessing brings together an esteemed eye surgeon and the mother of an African dictator in Going to St. Ives in New Jersey. Camaguey’s Dramatic Ensemble stages the classic Mi socio Manolo in Cuba.

Chris Boyd has "The (bad) form guide to the 2007 Helpmann Awards". The legendary Penny Arcade returns, briefly. Williamston Theatre will premiere Maidens, Mothers and Crones: The Women of the Midwest, in its second season. Queersighted spotted a possible hit at NYU, Alive at Ten. The Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia's Barrymore Awards nominations have been announced. The RSC's performance of 'King Lear' "enchants Singaporean audiences".

The Civilian's The Beautiful City is one of eight new works underway at Sundance. Here's a nice, little article about Bread & Puppet from Arthur magazine. The Guardian lists 5 ways to rustle up Fringe audiences. The LA Times has a great article about Signature Theatre and their work. Karen Finley returns with "Wake Up!". Steppenwolf has photos from their First Look Rep. Margaret Atwood's first play is also the first-ever collaboration of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Canada's National Arts Centre, and apparantly it's pretty good. Shanebo covers the Berliner Theater Szene.

Jacki Weaver, the darling of Australian theatre, has joined the cast of Priscilla Queen of the Desert. In NYC, ETC becomes ETE. Is it actually theatre is it's in Second Life? If you're going to the NYC Fringe, there's no better place to plan than nytheatre dot com's FringeNYC Previews. Reverand Billy is making the leap from street theatre to film. Holla! Surely by now you've read news of that musical about two rare book dealers and Louisa May Alcott's ?thuggism, feminism, hashish, transvestitism" stories. Something stinks in Boston at the Citi Performing Arts Center. Another effing Sondheim revue? Soho Rep has some bigger and bigger plans.

Athol Fugard has a new play opening! Hallelujah! Famous people petition for the Bristol Old Vic. Here are a few more ways live performance and the internet are interacting. How to attract yonug audiences: cheap tix and Orlando Bloom. The new Public Theater season includes Hwang, Shepard, Churchill. NYC's Ma-Yi had an Open House for 70 actors and changed the world. Don't miss the Bay Area Playwrights Fest, August 3-12.

Please welcome The American Coast Theater Company to the OC. Gawker says the NY Times "is just a fancy blog." The other Times has the 100 best things to see in Edinburgh. Houston's Infernal Bridegroom Productions has closed its doors for good. The National Theatre has unvieled its plans for the fall. Robert Doyle, costumer, was presented the Order of Canada.

Stephen Sondheim Hulks out. Playwright George Tabori dies at 93. Is Jack O'Brien "the poster boy for all that's good about regional theater"? The National Black Theatre Festival starts today in North Carolina. The Guardian's Matt Wolf on Ben Brantley on London theatre. New York has a Midtown International Theatre Festival? The Quad-Cities' Circa Theatre has lasted 30 years and counting.

Cleveland's Karamu is struggling and succeeding at staling afloat despite all obstacles. Rocco says all NYC's good actors are in SPF. Despite all sense and pessimism, a new theatre is opening near Detroit. Theatre de la Jeune Lune stages Marivaux at La Jolla. NYTheatre i interviews Paul Bargetto of the Undergroundzero Festival in Tribeca. Theatre of Note announces its annual 2 week play reading series. The Good Person of Setzuan is a BIG show asking BIG questions in Chicago.

San Diego has a bit of history as a launching pad for new musicals. Forbidden Broadway is rocking Chicago. Over at Diverse Education, they've got an archived article about Black Theater in the USA from 1997. Who, exactly, is desperately seeking Desperately Seeking Susan: The Musical? Libby Appel leaves Oregon Shakes after 12 years at the helm. Paper Beats Rock presents weekly play readings downtown. Portland's defunkt theatre announces Mac Wellman, Anne Washburn, and Vaclav Havel for 2007-8.

New Georges presents Stretch: a fantasia as part of Soho Think Tank's Ice Factory 2007. Sean Daniels moves from Dad's Garage to Actors of Louisville. Gladiatorial improv in The Bay Area from Bionic Improv Theater and The Crew. More musicals than you could possibly imagine at the NY Musical Theatre Festival. After 19 seasons, the Commonweal has a new multi-million dollar space. The Baltimore Playwright's Festival includes The Blessed Mothers of War. The NY Theatre i has a report on lots of free, outdoor, NYC entertainment. The Playgoer recently has some lowdown on a conflict that involved Wole Soyinka at the TCG conference.

In Darfur playwright Winter Miller is blogging for the HuffPo. Interview with a Canadian lighting designer. A non-critic's response to DC's naked MacBeth. "The European Association for Theatre Culture and Fondazione di Venezia invite specialists from all over the world to attend the IV. METHODIKA from November 5-11 2007 in Venice." Beyonce will be in Aida, fans are divided. I kept hearing the idea, but until now, I wouldn't believe that Journey's End failed because of the lighting. The Ateh Theater Group takes a stab at Mr. A's Amazing Maze Plays. The Blind Squirrel reports from a recent New Dramatists meeting. Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll will be on the BBC radio.

The CityParks Foundation's free summer series includes work from the Classical Theater of Harlem, Theatre for a New City, Absolute Theater, Universes, and more. In Charlie Kaufman's new film, "Philip Seymour Hoffman plays theatre director Caden Cotard; at a crisis point in his life he decides to mount an epic play so he can contribute something of artistic value. He gathers an ensemble cast into a warehouse and builds a replica of New York City inside it." A hip, new Our Town in Minnesapolis. Dissonance opens soon in Williamstown. Second City on tour. Go behind the scenes of the making of a San Francisco musical. The Mint Theater Company has published a book!

Oh yeah, and ... iPhone the Musical. Did you get one?

Curt Columbus of Trinity Rep shares some thoughts on the realationship between democracy and theater. A Blind Squirrel reports from the EST weekend retreat with Christopher Shinn. Chris Jones argues that American Players Theatre in Chicago Spring Green, Wisconsin is a viable alternative to Stratford, Ontario. Michael Kantor has a rock n roll, somewhat grim and grisly new Sleeping Beauty. The Last Year In The Life of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As Devised By Waterwell A Rock Operetta. Howard Barker's No End of Blame will be performed by Potomac Theatre Project through July 13. The League of Independent Theater is holding a Coalition for Showcase Reform meeting on July 8.

Joshua James showed us something special for below the fold.

Are Australian theatres failing their eithnically diverse audiences? The Living Theatre has extended The Brig. Does Calista Flockhart really miss the theatre? "Multidisciplinary Artist and Playwright Lisa D'Amour is spending a few months in her home town of New Orleans this summer" and is blogging about it. David Cote has the lowdown on some opera-theatre hybrids in the works at the Metropolitan Opera. NYTheatre dot com can help you organize your NYC Fringe experience. Leonard Jacobs tells us about a new Rockefeller arts fund (for $250K and over groups).

Sheik and Sater are working on two new musicals. The Bang and the Clatter are bringing forgotten playwrights back to Akron. Albarn and Hewlett of Gorillaz fame "turn the Chinese fable of the Monkey king into an all-singing, all dancing spectacular". Cynthia Hopkins's amazing Must Don't Whup 'Um has shows coming up in Philadelphia and Chapel Hill, and there are tourdates, video, and audio here. English Touring Theatre company and the Watermill Theatre have recently appointed new artistic directors, in both cases - OMG! - women. Roger Crane, 61 years of age, is about to see his first play open on London's West End. Wallenstein, all ten hours, is being performed in an abandoned beer warehouse in the gritty working-class district of Neukolln ... the show’s 1,200 audience members are fed, watered and relieved during four intermissions.

What is Chicago's longest-running Broadway musical? "Raleigh Ensemble Players win 'Tony'." Theatre fire in Cordoba, Argentina. Theatre J get strong reactions to Pangs of the Messiah. A bomb threat shut down a few London theaters last Friday. Here's some history of chicago theaters. NJ Rep readies Bookends, a new musical. San Diego's Cygnet Theatre announces its next season. The wonderful Dell’Arte Company will present Tartuffe, a contemporary adaptation, during the 2007 Mad River Festival.

Campo Santo's Fe in the Desert has been extended at Intersection for the Arts. The Theatre Methods 07 conference will be in Bovec, Slovenia from July 30 - August 2. Baltimore's Everyman Theatre expands. Be a part of Theatre Movement Bazaar's new work Monster of Happiness by filling in their happiness survey. Seattle's Backwards Ensemble presents Children of Divinity and Improvolution through July 8. A faith-based theater will open in St. Louis.

Also, please check-out Terry Teachout's article at Wall Street Journal dot com about Goldstar Events and "What Young Audiences Want".

Cherry Lane Theatre has announced their 2007-8 season. DC's new Constellation Theatre Company is performing Caryl Churchill's adaptation of A Dream Play. Houston's Unhinged Productions is pleased to announce the world premiere of Fernando Dovalina's
American Homefront. The Civilians' Gone Missing has been once again found. Y'know, it's not just Broadway, the Neo-Futurists opened Xanadu as well. Cleveland's Karamu Theatre announces a great slate of shows for next year. Have you heard about NEA chairman Dana Gioia's Stanford University commencement speech?

Naked MacBeth in DC. Frankenstein, "Japanese-style", at the PQ. At War: American Playwrights Respond to Iraq, is the inaugural event of the Fire Dept's Salon Series. San Francisco's respected Lorraine Hansberry Theatre may be in trouble, as is the Bristol Old Vic. Son of Semele's Corn Play is almost ready. Lafayette's Hub City Theatre Festival present the world and regional premieres of nine theatre pieces July 5-7.

The The Collective:Unconscious presents the Undergroundzero Festival, starting July 19. The Seattle Opera has a singing pig. Neil LaBute vs Prince? Also, pigs are flying and hell has frozen over. Kansas City's Actors Theatre KC has put together a great set of juxtapositions for their next rep season. Broadway in Bryant Park starts July 12. Plantanos and Collard Greens is a huge NYC hit you've never heard of. A Chorus Line has an amusing new take on online video promotions.

Anne Minors explored the theatre/architecture link at the Prague Quadrennial. I Googled Myself runs through July 7 at Theatre Askew in NYC. "German theater to premiere London bombing play." Theatre Non Nobis seeks individuals from the Indianapolis area transgender community to create a play for the upcoming Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival. Collaboraction's 7th Sketchbook runs through July 1 at Steppenwolf's Garage. The Ensemble Theatre of Houston is producing a play by Don Evans, who helped August Wilson organize the 1997 Black Theatre Summit. Hey OC, are you ready for the White Trash Catholic Circus?

Here's a very well-done review of Sarah Ruhl's Dead Man's Cell Phone at Wooly Mammoth. The New Yorker's John Lahr insulted a whole lot of people and came off as an out-of-touch, pompous ass. Playwright Jennifer Maisel talks to the Rorschach blog. The Potomac Theater Project heads to Gotham. Second Stage has a new season (which might feature "Jake fucking Gyllenhaal"). Have you read the interview with Christopher Shinn yet? What's opening and closing in LA-la land this week?

"Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" closes tonight in NYC. There will be two new Shakespeare companies in Lexington this summer. Charles Busch's Die, Mommie, Die! is playing in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This Saturday in Denver, Hunger Artists Ensemble presents an "original reader’s theatre production consisting of historic war letters written to the families of soldiers." Chicago's Signal Theatre announces its 5th season. Check out Refried Latino Pride and Mic in Your Eye, two hip-hop theatre hits at the Latino Laugh Festival in Hollywood. The Public Theater is holding a free reading of In Darfur in Central Park on July 9 - find out how to get in.

Sondheim Bounces back, possibily at the Public. "Cat Destroys Lloyd Webber's Phantom Sequel Score". (h/t Clyde Fitch Report.) The Roundabout revives it's Cabaret revival. B.D. Wong plays ll roles in Herringbone at Williamstown. Joel was schmoozing at some musicals in DC.

also ...

It's an economic-impact-report no-holds-barred cage match to the death! Marin Theatre announces a $10,000 playwrighting prize (and a $2500 one).

Does Canada need a National Theatre? Signature Theatre announces it's next four seasons. Nerve speaks to Steven Sater of Spring Awakening fame. “Alexandra Beller is built like a burlesque queen and moves like a goddess" and she's HERE starting June 24. Shenton summarizes the Brititsh blogs (Andrew Lloyd Webber has a vlog - WTF?). There are still some angels giving to the arts. Voices in Conflict gets a couple more performances. "How to be a publicist's dream.

Hey look, the theatrosphere accomplished something. Let's do it again!

Theatre shouldn't be fun?!? Stages Rep in Houston has a pretty interesting season planned, including a Craig Wright festival. 50 reasons British Theatre totally rulz. Storefront Rebellion recognizes those who did and did not recieve a Jeff (if you don't what a Jeff is, you better read it). Backstage interviews the road company of Jersey Boys. Check out Lawrenceville, Georgia's new Aurora Theatre. Jasson (that's not a typo) Minadakis is on his third Artistic Directorship in as many cities.

Please give and/or blog for the cause.

Some highly amusing coverage of Tony and the Tonys is from Ken Levine (hat-tip, Adam). The National Theatre of Scotland will visit the U.S. for the first time. Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati announces its season. Okay, this isn't theatre, necessarily, but Leonard Cohen and Philip Glass are working together, yowza! NYC gets a taste of foolsFury's The Devil on All Sides, starting this weekend. Some more (including a response from a National Guardsman) on Voices in Conflict. The Producers reaches the regionals. A (sort of) review of The Community Theatre's Carver's Pieces.

How to get a lot of negative attention for your show. OFF Stage: The East Village Fragments is edutainment for downtown folks. Moxie knows why the Tonys are completely irrelevant. Please welcome the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Blog and Indie Theater dot org. The NY Times provides a summary of Shakespeares for the summer season. LA's The Blank announces the first half of its season, which includes a Michael John LaChiusa musical. Sean B. of Theatre Australia has some thoughts on how plays should be ended.

The Toronto Fringe Festival starts July 4, listings are now online. Denver designates a Theatre District. Wal-Mart supports the art. Lots and lots and lots of Cincy Fringe. A new, young, company in Pittsburgh. The Dallas Theater Center's got a new A.D. Leonard Leone passed away.

Chicago's Congo Square announces it's season. There's a great "P&P" in Florida. Howard Barker is the latest victim of the London Olympics. Penetrator is not for the squeamish. Alan Ayckbourn steps down after almost 40 years. Fun-fact: America's first theater building is in Charleston, South Carolina. "The Most Produced Play in American Regional Theatre Since 2005" is opening in Kansas City. Kiss of the Spider-Woman in Minneapolis.

This is the oddest way to raise money for a theatre, but it's kinda brilliant. Orson directs Olivier in Portland. A history of Hamlets in Glasgow. The Lion King heads to Wisconsin. A Chat with Legendary Theatre Director Stuart Vaughan. Michaels Hollinger and Ogborn are creating a new musical at Arden in Philly. Michael Billington gets snippy with Nicky Hytner.

This just in!!!
Unconventional Director Sets Shakespeare Play In Time, Place Shakespeare Intended

Nick Hytner clarifies his feelings about the critics. The British Council wants to start a program in the United Arab Emirates. How Daniel Radcliffe ended-up in Equus is a story worthy of "the great J K Rowling herself". Jay Johnson (The Two and Only) has a blog. Hooray! Someone's doing Floyd Collins in Portland. Culturebot has the inside dirt on Soho ThinkTank's Ice Factory 2007. The newer, smaller Miss Saigon.

Oh! And, the Impending Theatrical Blogging Event is no longer impending.

I actually wrote this post originally 3 days ago. I'm not sure why I didn't publish it then. Maybe I knew then how busy this weekend would be.

Some of my favorite recent moments from the theatrenet.

The Wicked Stage:

We hear a lot about the value of things that can "only be done" in the theater, but Bug was a case where a negative virtue--something a play can never do, unless it employs video cameras, which is to give us a close-up view--made it infinitely more powerful than anything a film could show us.

First ... BAM!

Also ... the Women Center Stage Festival sounds great. Peripitus Theater Company presents a very dark comedy at the Cambbridge YMCA. Toronto is a little short on Shakespeare. The National Theatre's Lyttelton flytower got covered in grass. Sarah Ruhl wrote a play about vibrators. The first woman-written play ever performed at the National comes to the BBC. Ahrens & Flaherty will have two short debuts in Kansas City.

Marisa Wegrzyn has a show in NYC that was strongly recommended to me. This Itamar Moses show in Philly was also strongly recommended to me. As was this Raymond Carver show in Seattle. Rocco of WG/WB liveblogged the "Blogging the Show" panel. Here's the best improvisational theatre troupe in Malaysia. "Washington Ensemble Theatre Presents a Greek Fragment From the Female Perspective". Here's how to get your musical produced. The chemist responsible for the birth-control pill has written a play.

It's be cool if a good theatre tried something like this. The League of Independent Theater has laid out an impassioned agenda. Check out some small theaters in DC. The Eaten Heart is flawless. Off-Off-Blogway has photos from the new Wooster Group show. Joshua James has a horror story that'll make you go "AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!" A $300,000 reason Broadway theatre is broken. Another reason institutional theatre is broken.

And ... the blogosphere has recently said goodbye to two prominent writers: Matt Johnson of Theatre Conversation and Political Frustration and Washington DC's TheaterBoy. They will be sorely missed.

The Movement Research Spring Festival is under way! The Jocker: good play, bad title. DC's Rorschach Theatre opens Birds by Jennifer Maisel in June. LA's Edgefest is June 30. Alan Ayckbourn's complete epic plays in America for the first time. Ten Thousand Things, an amazing troupe in the Twin Cities, will be performing Little Shop of Horrors for prison inmates, the homeless, and the disabled. I have no idea who "paul_monster" is, but he has some thoughts on Dramaturgy in Portland. In Nigeria, stand-up comedy may replace theatre.

San Jose Stage and the Magic Theatre announce their seasons. One of the greatest Czechs of all-time is an incredibly popular creation of the theatre. Meet Working Man's Clothes and Maggie Hamilton. Colin Graham worked for almost 40 years, to turn "Anna Karenina" into an opera libretto and was still working on the staging shortly before he died at age 75. The show opens in St. Louis June 3. The 10th Annual Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival collaborates with Actors Theatre of Louisville, Denver Center Theatre Company, Off-Broadway's Primary Stages. Keswick's Theatre By The Lake, England's only theatre in a village, is a one-of-a-kind success. Steve on Broadway hits the Carol Shields Festival of New Works.

Debbie Minter Jackson recorded a really fantastic interview with Karen Kandel from Mabou Mines' Peter & Wendy. The Debate Society's new show, The Eaten Heart opens this weekend at Ontological. Utah Shakes presents 3 new plays this August. Farmers' Theatre - Brilliant or silly? You decide. Is Chicago without a theatre bookstore? Joseph Stein writes that he originally thought that Fiddler had little chance of success. Houston's Frenticore adapts an under-appreciated David Bowie album.

Andy, James, Patrick, and Adam point us to the petition to revise the Actors' Equity Association's Showcase Code. Boston's Elliot Norton Awards recognized great work by large, midsize, and small companies. As usual, Storefront Rebellion links to the latest theatre news in Chicago. Rocco at WG/WB ponders the ethics of the Equity Shoe Fund. Gary Garrison has some big plans for the Dramatists Guild. The Wicked Stage points us to The Straight Guy's Guide to Musicals. The Umbrella Theatre project kicks-off in Maine. What was it like to go to the Obies? (Click 7 times and you'll know.)

Village Voice Obies. Jason Robert Brown accompanies his own show at the Signature Theatre. Swings/understudies win in a dispute with Equity in London. Lighting designers are human beings, too, claims Vadim Ledvin. "Dancing Henry Five is just eight people, a minimal set and an hour of dance in place of Shakespeare's four hours of dialogue." Pamela Z creates an "electroacoustic meditation on the human voice." The great Mark Bruce re-emerges with Sea of Bones. Cincinnati's Acclaim Awards.

All 9 provinces of South Africa are respresented at the 2007 National Arts Festival Fringe. St. Louis's New Line is the bad boy of musical theatre. PTC has once again extended Les Miz in Utah. What did Atlanta's Alliance Theatre do to win a Tony? Get a tiny taste of "the difference between sound as an art form, and the technology and engineering required to pull it off". Witness Against Torture staged a bit of street theatre in Times Sqaure (pictures here). London Theatre Blog returns with a nice post about "one of the oldest performance traditions in the world". Drama Desk awards.

Anna Deavere Smith has a new solo show. Everyone should take a look at NY Theatre Workshop's next season. Moving Dock Theatre will be teaching the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique in Chicago August 25 & 26. SITI's Radio Macbeth plays at the 12th International Festival of Arts and Ideas, June 20-23 at the Yale Repertory Theatre. Southern Rep presents Relativity in co-operation with EST. Obscene Jester reviews the Living Theatre's new production on The Brig. May 19 was Lorraine Hasberry's birthday, to celebrate, read James Baldwin's words about going to see Raisin in the Sun. Steve on Broadway lists five great musical revivals of the past year - they're probably not what you expect. Cheek by Jowl does a somewhat radical Three Sisters. Side Show scores in Grand Rapids.

Happy End, the classic Brecht/Weill musical comedy, runs this weekend at Theater 1010 @ 1010 Park Ave. I had no idea there was a Caribbean American Repertory Theatre. Playback NYC presents "a workshop through the lens of our unique blend of Playback, Hip-hop, Music and Dance", May 19th 6pm, at the Henry St. Settlement Abrons Center, 466 Grand St. Room G-05. Ewan McGregor will play Iago at Donmar Warehouse. In Frida Kahlo's 100th birthday year, a new play about the artist opens in Albquerque. Scottish critics are more "12 Monkeys rather than 12 Angry Men".

Vampire Cowboys brings back Living Dead in Denmark in June. Robert Patrick has created an online archive dedicated to the legendary Caffe Cino. The First National Asian American Theatre Festival kicks-off June 11, listen to the relevant podcast here. Zakiyyah Alexander, Annie Baker, Christopher Chen, Samuel D. Hunter, Julie Hebert, and Kevin Oakes will all be part of the 2007 Bay Area Playwright Festival. The Receipt at 59E59 is an international hit. Just Add Water/West is a playwrights fetival running July 13-22 in Portland. Four worthy shows get extensions in Chicago.

Anne Bogart's new book, And then, you act: Making Art in an Unpredictable World, is now available new and used on Amazon (they claim mine will arrive today). Chicago's Uma will soon be no more. Howard Barker brings us The 40 this fall. (Hat-tip - Hunka.) Peter Brook retuns. Black Watch - Gregory Burke’s a regiment’s recent tours to Iraq, leads this year’s Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland. "New funding from Chicago foundations makes all the difference for local theaters." Playwright David Leddy's new show takes place in his home, literally. Cont Mhlanga's controversial, politically-charged satire about the struggle for independence in Zimbabwe, will tour the region.

Tonys. Outer Critics Circle Awards. Drama League Awards. San Diego Musical Theatre pops its cherry with The Full Monty. New one-acts from Neil Labute, Julia Cho, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Amy Fox and more at EST from May 31. Tickets go on sale May 21 for the 45th season of Tent Theatre at Missouri State University. After playing 5 different roles on her latest album, Tori Amos is writing a musical. After more than 50 years, Michael Craig's Australian theatre career comes to a close. New York Musical Theatre Festival announces 18 new musicals.

"Charlotte isn't ready for locally produced, regional-level, professional theatre". NY Theatre i presents the first "Indie Theater Roundup". And yes, in case you hadn't heard, the guy who made those Ford commercials is gonna have a play on old Broadway. Go behind the scenes of Kneehigh Theatre's A Matter of Life and Death in the UK. The Core Ensemble of Florida and Akin Babatunde of Texas will collect stories and create A Harvest of Glades Voices. The Miller Theatre in Augusta, GA was vandalized. The American Place Theatre celebrates its 45th anniversary and the 85th birthday of Wynn Handman. Beowulf ATC brings Steinbeck to Tuscon. St. Paul's Penumbra Theatre Company and the Guthrie team-up for Gem of the Ocean.

Bang! For Your Buck is a one-night only benefit featuring the work of a host of Off-Off pioneers, including Robert Patrick, Paul Foster, William M. Hoffman, John Fleck, Judith Malina, and Hanon Resnikov. The Wilma in Philly has extended their run of The Life of Galileo another week - and they have a clip on YouTube. The NY Times has an article on the current state of theatre in post-Apartheid South Africa. Listings for the Toronto Fringe Festival are now on their website. Chicago's Stage Left begins LeapFest 4 on May 31. The Playgoer has some inside poop on Tony politics. The Bristol Old Vic, the oldest continuously running theatre in Britain, may be closing for good. The Orlando International Fringe begins May 17.

The Cincinnati Fringe Festival begins May 30. The Prague Quadrennial, the world's largest scenographic exhibition, begins June 14. Steppenwolf's First Look Rep presents new plays in rotating repertory in August. Philly Theatre co's next season includes a world premiere from Bill Irwin and a new Terrence McNally play. Jonzi D's UK Hip-Hop Dance Theatre Breakin Convention was last weekend and you can watch the whole thing online. Dandelion Dancetheater will dance naked in New York on May 16. Kansas City Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of Under Midwestern Stars. The Color Purple opens in Oprah's hometown. One Trick Pony puts up two new plays in Brooklyn.

The Prague Fringe starts May 27. Working Group has not one but two new videos. Raymond Bobgan looks back on his first year at the Cleveland Public. Chicago's A Red Orchid runs The Meek through June 3. And now ... "the first true Edinburgh musical of the postmodern age." The work to restore Austria's Nestroyhof continues. In Austin, The Vortex presents The Rubber Repertory Theatre's U.S. Premiere of A Thought In Three Parts by Wallace Shawn. Bruce Dern teaches and writes a blog for DC's Theatre Lab.

Big party for NYTR07 at the Drama Book Shop. (Will anyone be blogging live from the party?) Details are right here about the new BAM Cultural Center. Neil LaBute wrote a semi-provocative/semi-silly piece on color blind casting for the LA Times. Tracy Letts' new play will debut June 28 at Steppenwolf Downstairs. Son of Semele hosts Mad Scene for 365 Plays this weekend. John Doyle AKA "gold dust". "When a play like this comes along you just have to do it."

The House Theatre won the 2007 Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theater Award. Now you can learn to act on-line. A theatre producer from Kent, Ohio has been plagiarizing Canadian plays for years. (We don't know the guy, sorry.) The NY Drama Critics Circle awards were announced. The smoking on-stage debate has moved on to Chicago. Portland's Third Rail Rep present Athol Fugard's rarely produced A Lesson from Aloes. Mabou Mines' Peter & Wendy are off and running in DC. The Goodman has a 2007-8 season. (Sorry if that's a repeat.)

Take a tour of one of the country's best regional theatre facilities. "Fallujah is a devastating new piece of documentary theatre about the Iraqi city that was "pacified" to the point of annihilation by coalition forces in 2004" The Dell'Arte Company will perform at San Francisco's Magic Theatre starting May 18. Smoke on the Mountain gets a sequel. The WaterTower Theatre of Texas announces its season, featuring The Great American Trailer Park Musical. Urban Research Theatre seeks actors, singers, and dancers. The Conflux 2007 application deadline (May 10) is fast approaching.

Does Anyone Know Sarah Paisner? is a drama inspired by the Missed Connections page of Craigslist.com. If you're making theatre in NYC, hopefully you've heard about NYC Theatre Spaces dot org. The Lord of the Rings musical gets ready for the U.K. I didn't know that The Children's Hour (now running at The OSU) had been so controversial. The North Shore Sunday gives stage managers some overdue press. LAByrinth Theatre will perform Pretty Chin Up at The Public starting May 15. ACT stages a controversial play about pedophilia. Nextbook has a brief but good article on Yiddish Theatre history.

The Hip Hop Theater Festival has begun announcing dates and details are avaiable for this weekend in Chicago. The Amnesty Human Rights Centre in London hosts a new Ariel Dorfman play. There's a new Mahabharata? The File on Ryan Carter opens May 25 in L.A., there is some nudity involved. Naked in America - The Musical will play in North Hollywood in May. The Malaysian KL Ensemble tackles Sam Beckett. Jerry Springer - The Opera, runs in Chicago until July 8. The Public presents Passing Strange, a musical about a young bohemian in search of a home, co-produced with Berkeley Rep and featuring the band Stew.

The Jeff Citation Nominations (in Chicago) have been announced and The House did rather well. Texas's Infernal Bridegroom premieres 20 Love Songs starting May 3rd. The Young Frankenstein musical will try-out in Seattle. Dying for It in Islington freely adapts a work banned by Stalin. If you're making art in L.A., you should go to this. A good overview of the work of Curt Dempster and EST. Details on La Jolla's 07/08 season.

The Appalachian Regional Theatre Society presents The Apple Tree this weekend. Seattle's On the Boards, which brings in performance art from around the country, announces it's 07/08 plans. George Hunka points at some current NYC events. Hand 2 Mouth in Portland have extended Repeat After Me (One part karaoke sing-a-long gone wrong, one part dance theatre, one part nightmare) another weekend. The Los Angeles Theatre Ensemble has a trailer up for The War Cycle Part One. A Malaysian ensemble production explores the sayings and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Some photos and coverage from the 13P benefit. Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati presents a musicial about Florence Foster Jenkins, who famously could not sing.

The History Theatre examines the history of professional wrestling. York Theatre Royal created The Hare & the Tortoise for the Kijo Picture Book Village in Japan. The English Theatre of Rome is a tiny, English-language theatre in Rome. TV and film stars head to Texas for A Few Good Men. TheaterMania summarizes current offerings in Seattle and Philadelphia. The Pioneer Theatre of Utah, who are currently producing Les Mis will also be one of the first to tackle The Producers. Vox Feminista in Colorado have a show about food.

Spring Awakening: More like "Schwing Awakening" We can't find it on the internet, but word on the street has it that Nature Theatre of Oklahoma's 4-hour No Dice will play at Soho Rep this spring. The Berliner Ensemble will perform Schiller's complete, 9 hour Wallenstein trilogy. "The Left Hand Singing," a play about the mothers of three murdered civil rights workers, makes its regional debut in St. Paul. The head of London's Donmar Warehouse, Michael Grandage, is a busy guy. The Mike Daisey story continues to spin.

Cincinnati's New Stage Collective opened The Goat last night in their beautiful, new, downtown home. VetStage, run by veterans of the U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, opens The Wolf in LA. More Mike Daisey in the non-theatre blogsphere. An on-the-spot report from the memorial service for Roscoe Lee Browne. TheatreVoice has archived over 400 recordings of discussions featuring the UK's top critics, practitioners, and producers. Common Productions presents a multi-media event on a rooftop in Brooklyn. Believe it or not, many Les Miz vets are now in the regional theatre premiere of the show. Cincinnati's Tony Award-winning theatre is contemplating a move.

The 2007 Summer Play Festival at Theatre Row has announced its selections. Pete Postlethwaite's doing more theatre! (I love that guy.) Now kids can learn about Shakespeare from a video game. The amazing David Glass Ensemble is touring the U.K., anyone wanna go? How is The Met attempting to attract younger audiences? Isn't this a little bit what we were afraid of with the Mike Daisey affair? Greenville's Warehouse is dropping hints about their new season all over town.

And there may be a solution to this pesky environment problem.

NY Theatre Experiment will be remounting two of the most successful pieces from NYU’s Freeplay Festival. A sexy Lysistrata in North Berkley. International Women's Day celebrated with 5 new plays at The Ohio State University. David Mamet needs a new job. Columbus, Ohio''s largest theatre has announced their next season. A pair of Seinfeld writers are on tour in The Bunkbed Brothers.

Manhattan Theatre Club will do Bock, Rebeck, and more next season. Clear Channel puts Minneapolis theaters in jeopardy. Why DO theatrefolk choose to live in places like Florida? The Sublet Experiment is "a modern comedy of romance and real estate" and takes place in apartments throughout NYC. The Baldwin New Play Festival has 5 more days at UCSD. (Thanks and congrats, Alex.)

Says the Playgoer: "Everything you ever wanted to know about the passed-over nominees for the Drama Pulitzer this year (the playwrights and their plays) is covered in a nice Playbill feature."

Lynn Michaels of the Open Space Theatre Experiment (and much more) passed away last week.

The Hip-Hop Theatre Festival kicks-off in Chicago May 1. Ott/Gien present The Syringa Tree in Kansas City. Apparently, The Producers is done. Dos Chicas theatre commune does Gorky's The Lower Depths in Texas. The Outer Critics Circle Award nominees were announced. A new play about Elia Kazan debuts in D.C.

Surprise Theater in Kentucky. Library/Theatre collaboration draws hundreds in Kansas City. Gayfest hits NYC. The L.A. Times weighs in on the Pulitzer and related issues. Dinner+Theatre is a hot topic in Florida. Gamelan Theatre in Kuala Lumpur. Meat & Potato adapts a modern Dickens in D.C. Yale tries to ban on-stage weapons (via E. Maupin).

A Cincinnati native living in Brooklyn stages her world premiere in Indianapolis, with support from Whoopi Goldberg. M.U.G.A.B.E.E. in Bethlehem, PA. Berkeley Rep has a hell of a cool season coming-up. (Hat-tip - Mr. Excitement.) Sellars, Viola, and Salonen present The Tristan Project in LA, and it must be amazing. The Civilians will be traveling here and here. Topol is still performing?! In New Zealand, no less, at "not just any theater, but the kind you spell with an 're'".

Here in Columbus, a play sponsored by the ACLU is making the rounds. Another timely play, about 9 Iraqi women, debuts in Atlanta. The Huffington Post has a few thoughts on Armed & Naked in America. Boston's Huntington Theatre announces their season.

Full Circle celebrates their tenth anniversary at PS122. Louisville's fantastic Le Petomane hits it big in Baltimore. Gorilla Rep presents free, uncut Hamlet in NYC this May. Portland's Third Rail Rep announces their season, as does the Seattle Rep. Rogue Artists adapt Neil Gaiman in L.A. A Pulitzer-nominee opens in D.C.

Everyone's all up in arms about the Pulitzer, but frankly, I'm just glad that the words "Pulitzer Prize Winner" will now be on the poster for the Shrek musical. (Just kidding, I'm up in arms, too.)

Bilal says Chi-town has plenty of new work, you just didn't see it. Peter Brook's Athol Fugard production will go down under.

Uh-oh. MC Euripides.6 Greek plays of gibberish right? Trying to hard to be weird and different, right? (Name that tune?)

Richard Nelson gave an impassioned and important speech about New Play Development. Mr. Excitement has it all. Boston's Globe amps up their small-theatre coverage. Here's an update on the Paper Mill situation. Theatre of the Two-Headed Calf is in Providence, Rhode Island.

Circle x in L.A. will hold weekly readings through May 22. Ben Yeoh found a great British theatre archive. Risk Theater Initiative in Dallas seeks producers, directors, designers, and actors. D.C.'s Helen Hayes awards were given out the other night. transFigures sounds great.

Also, I love comics, and it's rare that they intersect with the theatre world (outside of Jason Grote's blogroll, that is). Anyway, Taymor takes on Peter Parker.

The new New York Theater Review is out. Portland's Theatre Vertigo is holding The One Page Play Festival. The Richmond, VA theatre scene is hopping. The Jean Cocteau Rep has a new name and an American Premiere. Panoptic Theatre seeks an actress who weighs at least 200 lbs. As you've no doubt heard, Rob Marshall will direct Nine for the cinema. Some producers are misappropriating the Times' name. And, yes, the Pulitzers were announced.

Also, I'd mention the debut of Broadway magazine. But, really, what the hell does that have to do with theatre?

Jon Jory returns to Louisville and Lu Ann Hampton returns to Dallas. Imus comes-up in one Guthrie review and a lengthier article. Read more about FURY Factory 2007. A failing British-Columbia musical society says "Everyone faces the same question of how to put bums in seats." Bums. Great attitude. Indian protest theatre comes to D.C. Don Hall presents a Chicago theatre boot camp. And how will smoking bans affect theatre?

The Paper Mill Playhouse will remain open for now. Rachel Corrie gets canceled again. Theatre Gargantua will be running e-DENTITY for a while. Rorshach has a hot trailer. Spilled Milk recommends Serendib. Ithaca College believes Brett Boles is a future stalwart of the musical theatre.

In more sobering news, the memorial service for EST's Curt Dempster will be held April 29.

Big news first: "Voices in Conflict," a play written by some Connecticut high school students (which we mentioned in this post) will play at The Public in June.

It looks like something good is coming to Broadway this weekend.

Traveling Jewish Theatre mounts Arthur Miller, NYPLPA celebrates 75 years, Mike Daisy has a funny show, (I'm really sad I missed it at UTR.) Signature will feature Chuck Mee, and CultureBot asks "Who's going to review the reviewers?".

foolsFury in San Fran presents Fury Factory, 3 weeks of cutting-edge ensemble theatre.

Ping Chong's company has announced their next season.

Brustein called-out The Times and The Playgoer covered it. Meanwhile, the author of Hard News: The Scandals at the New York Times decides to defend the times on his blog about a baseball book. (Yes, it's a theatre-related story.)

Brian Logan (from Guardian UK) writes that Shakespeare isn't funny.

The SITI Company is launching an ambitious online community, but they need votes to get funding.

And, this is the only lighting designer who's writing a theatre blog, as far as I know. Feel free to correct me.