Theater – Backstage Pass with Lia Chang

Kelli O’Hara, Ken Watanabe and company. Photo by Paul Kolnik

The Tony Awards have announced a portion of the line-up of performances for the 69^th Annual Tony Awards. The 2015 Tony Awards will broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, on CBS, on Sunday, June 7^th 8:00 – 11:00 p.m. (ET/PT time delay) and are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

Kristin Chenoweth stars in ‘On the Twentieth Century’ on Broadway (Photo: Joan Marcus)

The entertainment packed evening will feature performances from the 2015 Tony-nominated shows in the Best Musical and Best Revival of a Musical categories, including 2015 Tony Nominee and 69^th Annual Tony Awards Co-Host Kristin Chenoweth and the cast of On the Twentieth Century; 2015 Tony nominees Brian D’Arcy James, Christian Borle, Brad Oscar and the cast of Something Rotten!; 2015 Tony Nominee Chita Rivera and the cast of The Visit, 2015 Tony Nominees Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe and the cast of The King and I, as well as the casts of On the Town, Fun Home and An American in Paris.

Chita Rivera & Cast of THE VISIT. Photo by Thom Kaine

The Tony Awards upholds a valued tradition of recognizing the excellence of the entire Broadway season each year. This year’s telecast will also feature not-to-be missed performances by Victoria Clark, Vanessa Hudgens and the cast of Gigi; Tony-nominated Matthew Morrison, Kelsey Grammer and the cast of Finding Neverland and Tyne Daly along with the cast of It Shoulda Been You.

The 2015 Tony Awards – hosted by Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming – will be broadcast on Sunday, June 7th, 2015 (8:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET/PT time delay) on the CBS Television Network, live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The Tony Awards, which honors theater professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway, has been broadcast on CBS since 1978. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

Christian Borle (right) plays Shakespeare as rock star opposite Brian d’Arcy James’ rival playwright in “Something Rotten!”
Photo: Joan Marcus

A scene from “An American in Paris.”
(© 2014 Angela Sterling)

On the Town. Photo by Joan Marcus

The cast of Fun Home. Photo: Joan Marcus

Victoria Clark, Vanessa Hudgens, and Corey Cott in ‘Gigi’ (Photo: Joan Marcus)

Matthew Morrison and Kelsey Grammer in "Finding Neverland." Photo: Carol Rosegg

The cast of It Shoulda Been You

For more information on the Tony Awards, visit TonyAwards.com and Facebook.com/TheTonyAwards and follow @TheTonyAwards on Instagram and Twitter.

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS AND FUN HOME Lead 2015 Tony Award Nominations with 12 each; Ken Watanabe, Ruthie Ann Miles, Kelli O’Hara, Chita Rivera, Bradley Cooper, Kristin Chenoweth, Bill Nighy, Helen Mirren, Elisabeth Moss, Carey Mulligan, Ruth Wilson, K. Todd Freeman, Patricia Clarkson Among the Nominees

About the Tony Awards

The 2015 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. At The Broadway League, Robert E. Wankel is Chairman and Charlotte St. Martin is President. At the American Theater Wing, William Ivey Long is Chairman and Heather A. Hitchens is President.

IBM, the official information technology partner of the Tony Awards, develops, designs, and hosts the official Tony Awards digital experience across platforms, including http://www.TonyAwards.com. Carnegie Mellon University is the first-ever, exclusive higher education partner of the Tony Awards. United Airlines is the official airline of the Tony Awards. Paramount Hotel is the official hotel partner of the Tonys. City National Bank is the official bank of the Tony Awards. Porsche Cars North America, Inc., manufacturer of exclusive sports cars, is celebrating dynamic performance as the official sports car of the Tony Awards. La Crema, known for elegant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, is the official wine of the Tony Awards. USA TODAY is the official media partner of the Tony Awards. PEOPLE is the official magazine partner of the Tony Awards. Clear Channel Spectacolor is an official media partner of the Tony Awards and co-producer of the Tonys Simulcast in Times Square. The Hollywood Reporter is an official media partner of The Tony Awards.

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon and Taxman. She has guest starred on “One Life to Live,” “As the World Turns,” and “New York Undercover.” Lia is co-hosting AAFLTV’s “Focus on the Philippines“, Monday nights in June. She is profiled in Jade Magazine.

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Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2015 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

The stars are aligning tonight for the 69th Annual Tony Awards, hosted by Tony winners Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming, and the evening will be packed with entertainment and performances. The 2015 Tony Awards is being broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, on CBS, on Sunday, June 7th 8:00 – 11:00 p.m. (ET/PT time delay) and are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

Jennifer Lopez, Nick Jonas, Kiesza, Harry Connick, Jr., Jennifer Grey, Joel Grey, Dulé Hill, Judith Light, Patina Miller, Bernadette Peters and Phylicia Rashad will take the stage at Radio City Music Hall.

As previously announced the night will feature a special performance by Josh Groban who will be joined on stage by 175 performers. The night will also include performances by Kristin Chenoweth and the cast of On the Twentieth Century; Kelli O’Hara, Ken Watanabe and Ruthie Ann Miles from The King and I; Sydney Lucas, Michael Cerveris and Beth Malone from Fun Home; Brian d’Arcy James, Brad Oscar and the cast of Something Rotten!, Leanne Cope, Robert Fairchild, Brandon Uranowitz, Max von Essen and the cast of An American in Paris, Chita Rivera and the cast of The Visit; Tony Yazbeck and the cast of On the Town; Matthew Morrison, Kelsey Grammer and the cast of Finding Neverland; Vanessa Hudgens, Cory Cott and Victoria Clark and the cast of Gigi; Lisa Howard, Adam Heller and Tyne Daly from It Shoulda Been You. The evening will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Jersey Boys on Broadway.

Other names who will be taking center stage include: Bradley Cooper, Neil Patrick Harris, Jim Parsons, Amanda Seyfried, Ashley Tisdale, Bryan Cranston, Joe Manganiello, Kiefer Sutherland, Anna Chlumsky, Larry David, Jason Alexander, Misty Copeland, Sting, Corey Stoll, David Hyde Pierce, Debra Messing, Jennifer Nettles, Marg Helgenberger, Rita Wilson, Rose Byrne, Thomas Sadoski, Sutton Foster, Taye Diggs, Taylor Schilling, Bobby Cannavale and Tommy Tune, among others.

The 2015 Tony Awards will be broadcast on Sunday, June 7th, 2015 (8:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET/PT time delay) on the CBS Television Network, live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The Tony Awards, which honors theater professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway, has been broadcast on CBS since 1978. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

For more information on the Tony Awards, visit TonyAwards.com and Facebook.com/TheTonyAwards and follow @TheTonyAwards on Instagram and Twitter.

About the Tony Awards
The 2015 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. At The Broadway League, Robert E. Wankel is Chairman and Charlotte St. Martin is President. At the American Theater Wing, William Ivey Long is Chairman and Heather A. Hitchens is President.

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon and Taxman. She has guest starred on “One Life to Live,” “As the World Turns,” and “New York Undercover.” Lia starred as Carole Barbara in Lorey Hayes’ Power Play at the National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, N.C., with Pauletta Pearson Washington and Roscoe Orman. She is profiled in Jade Magazine.

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Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2015 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Ruthie Ann Miles. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Sutton Foster, Ruthie Ann Miles, and Corey Stoll attend the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. Photo courtesy of The Tony Awards/Facebook

Congratulations to Ruthie Ann Miles on winning the 2015 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for her role as Lady Thiang opposite Ken Watanabe and Kelli O’Hara in the well-received revival of The King and I at Lincoln Center.

Miles has been awarded a 2015 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical and was nominated for the 2015 Drama League Award for her Distinguished Performance in The King and I. The role marks her Broadway debut.

In addition to Miles’ win, The King and I was named Best Revival of a Musical and won in the categories of Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for Kelli O’Hara and Best Costume Design of a Musical for Catherine Zuber. Other nominations included Ken Watanabe (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical), Bartlett Sher (Best Direction of a Musical), Michael Yeargan (Best Scenic Design of a Musical), Donald Holder (Best Lighting Design of a Musical), Christopher Gattelli (Best Choreography).

Photos: 2015 Tony Award Winners and Performances

O’Hara, Miles, Watanabe and the cast of The King and I performed a medley of Rodgers and Hammerstein favorites like “Getting to Know You,” “Shall We Dance?” and “Something Wonderful.

Click below to hear Ruthie Ann Mile’s Acceptance Speech.

The New York Times called Miles “first-rate,” and said she “turns ‘Something Wonderful’ into an exquisite expression of romantic realism that could be the show’s anthem.”

Ruthie Ann Miles (center) as Imelda Marcos and Jose Llana (on staircase) as Ferdinand Marcus. Photo by Joan Marcus

Miles recently starred in David Byrne & Fat Boy Slim’s Off-Broadway hit musical Here Lies Love at The Public Theater, directed by Alex Timbers, in which she played former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos. Miles won critical acclaim for originating the role of Imelda, garnering a Theatre World Award and a Lucille Lortel Award. Other favorite productions include Avenue Q, Band Geeks, Two By Two, and the National tours of both Annie, and Sweeney Todd (as Adolfo Pirelli – playing the accordion, flute and piano onstage.) She received her Masters in music performance from NYU Steinhardt. Miles hails from Kaimuki in Honolulu, Hawai’i.

Lucille Lortel Awards for Here Lies Love, Fun Home, The Open House, Good Person of Szechwan
Jose Llana, Ruthie Ann Miles, Melody Butiu, Conrad Ricamora and More Open in David Byrne- Fatboy Slim’s Here Lies Love on May 1

Click here for all of the Tony Award winners.

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon and Taxman. She has guest starred on “One Life to Live,” “As the World Turns,” and “New York Undercover.” Lia is co-hosting AAFLTV’s “Focus on the Philippines“, Monday nights in June. She is profiled in Jade Magazine.

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Original Cast of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE including Jose Llana, Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg, to Reunite for 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert on July 6
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World Premiere Musical HAMILTON Transfers to Broadway; Previews begin July 13
Crafting a Career
Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.
All text, graphics, articles & photographs: © 2000-2015 Lia Chang Multimedia. All rights reserved. All materials contained on this site are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Lia Chang. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content. For permission, please contact Lia at liachangpr@gmail.com

Jason Alexander and Tony Award winner Kelli O’Hara at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. Photo courtesy of The Tony Awards/Facebook

Sutton Foster, Tony Award winner Ruthie Ann Miles, and Corey Stoll at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. Photo courtesy of The Tony Awards/Facebook

The Lincoln Center Theater production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s THE KING AND I won 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Kelli O’Hara (Best Leading Actress in a Musical), Ruthie Ann Miles (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and Best Costume Design for Catherine Zuber.

The King and I’s Ruthie Ann Miles Wins Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical

Photos: 2015 Tony Award Winners and Performances

The 2015 Broadway Cast Recording of THE KING AND I starring six-time Tony Award nominee Kelli O’Hara (THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, SOUTH PACIFIC) as Anna Leonowens and Tony Award nominee (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical) and Academy Award nominee Ken Watanabe on the Decca Broadway/Universal Music Classics label, is now available on iTunes, and will be in stores on June 9. Check out broadway.com’s exclusive Behind-the-scenes video of the cast recording here.

O’Hara, Miles, Watanabe and the cast of THE KING AND I performed a medley of Rodgers and Hammerstein favorites like “Getting to Know You,” “Shall We Dance?” and “Something Wonderful.”

Watanabe perform with the cast of the King and I onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe perform with the cast of the King and I onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Here Lies Love stars Ruthie Ann Miles and Conrad Ricamora are featured as Lady Thiang and Lun Tha, respectively. The principal cast also includes Ashley Park (Mamma Mia!) as Tuptim, Edward Baker-Duly (Peter and the Starcatcher) as Sir Edward Ramsey, Jon Viktor Corpuz (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) as Prince Chulalongkorn, Murphy Guyer (South Pacific) as Captain Orton, Jake Lucas (Newsies) as Louis, Paul Nakauchi (Chu Chem) as Kralahome and Marc Oka (Anything Goes) as Phra Alack. The production, helmed by Bartlett Sher, began preview performances Thursday, March 12, 2015, and opened on Thursday, April 16, 2015, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65 Street).

Ken Watanabe, Paul Nakauchi, Ashley Park and company. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Ashley Park and Conrad Ricamora. Photo by Paul Kolnik

In addition to nods for Watanabe, O’Hara and Miles, the critically acclaimed musical received a total of nine Tony Award Nominations including Best Revival of a Musical, Bartlett Sher (Best Direction of a Musical), Michael Yeargan (Best Scenic Design of a Musical), Catherine Zuber (Best Costume Design of a Musical), Donald Holder (Best Lighting Design of a Musical), Christopher Gattelli (Best Choreography).

The King and I garnered three 2015 Outer Critics Circle Award including Best Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for Ruthie Ann Miles, and Best Costume Design for Catherine Zuber; the Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for Favorite Revival of a Musical, and the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Musical. It has been nominated for two 2015 Fred and Adele Astaire Awards, including Best Female Dancer (XiaoChuan Xie) and Best Choreographer (Christopher Gattelli).

HAMILTON AND CURIOUS INCIDENT take top honors at 2015 Drama Desk Awards

Ruthie Ann Miles and Kelli O’Hara. Photo by Paul Kolnik

One of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s finest works, THE KING AND I boasts a score which features such beloved classics as “Getting To Know You,” “Hello Young Lovers,” “Shall We Dance,” “I Have Dreamed,” and “Something Wonderful”. Set in 1860’s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher, whom the imperious King brings to Siam to tutor his many wives and children.

Cole Horibe and XIAOCHUAN XIE. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Jon Viktor Corpuz. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Featured in the ensemble of the 51-member cast are Aaron Albano, Adriana Braganza, Amaya Braganza, Billy Bustamante, LaMae Caparas, Hsin-Ping Chang, Andrew Cheng, Lynn Masako Cheng, Olivia Chun, Ali Ewoldt, Ethan Halford Holder, Cole Horibe, MaryAnn Hu, James Ignacio, Christie Kim, Q GyuJin Lim, Kelvin Moon Loh, Sumie Maeda, Paul HeeSang Miller, Rommel Pierre O’Choa, Kristen Faith Oei, Autumn Ogawa, Yuki Ozeki, Stephanie Jae Park, Diane Phelan, Sam Poon, William Poon, Brian Rivera, Bennyroyce Royon, Lainie Sakakura, Ann Sanders, Ian Saraceni, Atsuhisa Shinomiya, Michiko Takemasa, Kei Tsuruharatani, Christopher Vo, Rocco Wu, and Timothy Yang.

Kelli O’Hara and Ken Watanabe. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Press raves for THE KING AND I are unanimous: “★★★★★ Grand & glorious,” said Time Out New York; “A landmark production and a shot of purest rapture. I never wanted it to end,” from The Hollywood Reporter and “Too beautiful to miss. An astonishing achievement. Ruthie Ann Miles is powerfully moving,” from New York Magazine. “Something wonderful. A musical of enduring and affecting power… Kelli O’Hara is one of our greatest reinterpreters of musical standards. The King himself is embodied by the commanding Ken Watanabe. A five-handkerchief masterpiece. Breathtaking. Exquisite. Remarkable,” from The New York Times. Click here to read The New York Times review in its entirety and see a clip from the show.

Kelli O’Hara, Ken Watanabe and company. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Lincoln Center Theater (under the direction of Producing Artistic Director Andre Bishop) just announced an extended run of the KING & I indefinitely at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65 Street). In addition, the Ambassador Theatre Group and NETworks Presentations LLC will launch a national tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production in November 2016 in Providence, RI. The National Tour will play multi-week and single week engagements throughout the 2016-17 touring season and beyond. Casting and additional engagements for the tour will be announced in the future.

The company of THE KING AND I. Photo by Paul Kolnik

This open-ended run of The King and I is performed Tuesday evenings at 7pm, Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8pm, with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm and Sunday at 3pm. Beginning July 9, all Thursday evening performances will begin at 7pm. Tickets, priced from $87 to $162, are now available at the Lincoln Center Theater box office (150 West 65 Street), at telecharge.com, or by visiting KingandIBroadway.com. A limited number of tickets priced at $32 are available at every performance through LincTix, LCT’s program for 21 to 35 year olds. For information and to enroll, visit LincTix.org.

The company of THE KING AND I. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Photos: 2015 Tony Award Winners and Performances

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon and Taxman. She has guest starred on “One Life to Live,” “As the World Turns,” and “New York Undercover.” Lia is co-hosting AAFLTV’s “Focus on the Philippines“, Monday nights in June. She is profiled in Jade Magazine.

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Hosts Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming perform onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Tony winners Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming co-hosted the 69th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City last night. The Tony Awards, which honors theater professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway, has been broadcast on CBS since 1978. The Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

The night included performances by Kristin Chenoweth and the cast of On the Twentieth Century; Kelli O’Hara, Ken Watanabe, Ruthie Ann Miles and the company of The King and I; Sydney Lucas, Michael Cerveris and Beth Malone from Fun Home; Brian d’Arcy James, Brad Oscar and the cast of Something Rotten!, Leanne Cope, Robert Fairchild, Brandon Uranowitz, Max von Essen and the cast of An American in Paris, Chita Rivera and the cast of The Visit; Tony Yazbeck and the cast of On the Town; Matthew Morrison, Kelsey Grammer and the cast of Finding Neverland; Vanessa Hudgens, Cory Cott and Victoria Clark and the cast of Gigi; Lisa Howard, Adam Heller and Tyne Daly from It Shoulda Been You. Josh Groban was joined on stage by 175 performers for the In Mem.The evening also celebrated the 10th Anniversary of Jersey Boys on Broadway.

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: Chita Rivera and Michelle Veintimilla perform in 'The Visit' onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: Kristen Chenoweth, Peter Gallagher and the cast of 'On The Twentieth Century' perform onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: Sydney Lucas performs onstage with the cast of 'Fun Home' at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: Vanessa Hudgens and the cast of 'Gigi' perform onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: The cast of On the Town performs onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: Brian d'Arcy James (C) and the cast of Something Rotten perform onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: Josh Groban performs onstage during the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: Bradley Cooper speaks onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: Jennifer Lopez and Benny Medina attend the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: Anna Chlumsky, Rose Byrne, Taylor Schilling and Debra Messing attend the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07:(L- R) Laura Michelle Kelly, Kayte Walsh, and Kelsey Grammer attend the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: Actors Patina Miller (L) and Sutton Foster attend the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: Dule Hill and Taye Diggs attend the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: Rita Wilson (L) and Amanda Seyfried attend the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Presenters included Jennifer Lopez, Nick Jonas, Kiesza, Harry Connick, Jr., Jennifer Grey, Joel Grey, Dulé Hill, Judith Light, Patina Miller, Bernadette Peters, Phylicia Rashad, Bradley Cooper, Neil Patrick Harris, Jim Parsons, Amanda Seyfried, Ashley Tisdale, Bryan Cranston, Joe Manganiello, Kiefer Sutherland, Anna Chlumsky, Larry David, Jason Alexander, Misty Copeland, Sting, Corey Stoll, David Hyde Pierce, Debra Messing, Jennifer Nettles, Marg Helgenberger, Rita Wilson, Rose Byrne, Thomas Sadoski, Sutton Foster, Taye Diggs, Taylor Schilling, Bobby Cannavale and more.

Congrats to all the winners.

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Cast and creative of “Fun Home” accept the award for Best Musical onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Musical
An American in Paris
Fun Home
Something Rotten!
The Visit

Best Play
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Disgraced
Hand to God
Wolf Hall

Best Revival, Musical
The King and I
On the Town
On the Twentieth Century

Best Revival, Play
The Elephant Man
Skylight
This Is Our Youth
You Can’t Take It With You

Best Lead Actor, Musical
Michael Cerveris, Fun Home
Robert Fairchild, An American in Paris
Brian d’Arcy James, Something Rotten!
Ken Watanabe, The King and I
Tony Yazbeck, On the Town

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Actress Kelli O’Hara accepts the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for “The King and I” onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Lead Actress, Musical
Kristin Chenoweth, On the Twentieth Century
Leanne Cope, An American in Paris
Beth Malone, Fun Home
Kelli O’Hara, The King and I
Chita Rivera, The Visit

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Alex Sharp, winner of the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” poses in the press room at the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Lead Actor, Play
Steven Boyer, Hand to God
Bradley Cooper, The Elephant Man
Ben Miles, Wolf Hall
Bill Nighy, Skylight
Alex Sharp, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Helen Mirren, winner of the award for Best Lead Actress in a Play for “The Audience,” poses in the press room during the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Lead Actress, Play
Geneva Carr, Hand to God
Helen Mirren, The Audience
Elisabeth Moss, The Heidi Chronicles
Carey Mulligan, Skylight
Ruth Wilson, Constellations

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Richard McCabe, winner of the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play for “The Audience,” poses in the press room during the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Matthew Beard, Skylight
K. Todd Freeman, Airline Highway
Richard McCabe, The Audience
Alessandro Nivola, The Elephant Man
Nathaniel Parker, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Micah Stock, It’s Only a Play

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Annaleigh Ashford, winner of the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for “You Can’t Take It With You,” poses in the press room at the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play
Annaleigh Ashford, You Can’t Take It with You
Patricia Clarkson, The Elephant Man
Lydia Leonard, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Sarah Stiles, Hand to God
Julie White, Airline Highway

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Christian Borle, winner of the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for “Something Rotten!,” poses in the press room at the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
Christian Borle, Something Rotten!
Andy Karl, On the Twentieth Century
Brad Oscar, Something Rotten!
Brandon Uranowitz, An American in Paris
Max von Essen, An American in Paris

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Ruthie Ann Miles, winner of the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical for “The King and I,” poses in the press room at the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
Victoria Clark, Gigi
Judy Kuhn, Fun Home
Sydney Lucas, Fun Home
Ruthie Ann Miles, The King and I
Emily Skeggs, Fun Home

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Marianne Elliott, winner of the award for Best Direction of a Play for “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” poses in the press room at the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Direction of a Play
Stephen Daldry, Skylight
Marianne Elliott, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Scott Ellis, You Can’t Take It With You
Jeremy Herrin, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Moritz von Stuelpnagel, Hand to God

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Sam Gold, winner of the award for Best Direction of a Musical for “Fun Home,” poses in the press room at the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Direction of a Musical
Sam Gold, Fun Home
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
John Rando, On the Town
Bartlett Sher, The King and I
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Lisa Kron (L) and Jeanine Tesori, winners of the award for Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Wrtitten for the Theatre for “Fun Home,” pose in the press room at the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
Fun Home, Music: Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics: Lisa Kron
The Last Ship, Music & Lyrics: Sting
Something Rotten!, Music & Lyrics: Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick
The Visit, Music: John Kander, Lyrics: Fred Ebb

Best Book of a Musical
An American in Paris, Craig Lucas
Fun Home, Lisa Kron
Something Rotten!, Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell
The Visit, Terrence McNally

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope from “An American in Paris” perform onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Choreography
Joshua Bergasse, On the Town
Christopher Gattelli, The King and I
Scott Graham & Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten!
Christopher Wheeldon, An American in Paris

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: .Christopher Austin (L) and Bill Elliott, winners of the award for Best Orchestrations “An American in Paris,” pose in the press room at the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Orchestrations
Christopher Austin, Don Sebesky, Bill Elliott, An American in Paris
John Clancy, Fun Home
Larry Hochman, Something Rotten!
Rob Mathes, The Last Ship

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Bunny Christie (L) and Finn Ross, winners of the award for Best Scenic Design of a Play for “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” pose in the press room at the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Bunny Christie and Finn Ross, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Bob Crowley, Skylight
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
David Rockwell, You Can’t Take It With You

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Bob Crowley and 59 Productions, An American in Paris
David Rockwell, On the Twentieth Century
Michael Yeargan, The King and I
David Zinn, Fun Home

Best Costume Design of a Play
Bob Crowley, The Audience
Jane Greenwood, You Can’t Take It With You
Christopher Oram, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
David Zinn, Airline Highway

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Catherine Zuber, winner of the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical for “The King and I,”. poses in the press room at the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Gregg Barnes, Something Rotten!
Bob Crowley, An American in Paris
William Ivey Long, On the Twentieth Century
Catherine Zuber, The King and I

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Paule Constable, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Paule Constable and David Plater, Wolf Hall Parts One & Two
Natasha Katz, Skylight
Japhy Weideman, Airline Highway

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Lighting Designer Natasha Katz accepts the award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical for “An American in Paris” onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Donald Holder, The King and I
Natasha Katz, An American in Paris
Ben Stanton, Fun Home
Japhy Weideman, The Visit

Tommy Tune accepting a 2015 Tony Honors for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater. Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 07: Hosts Kristen Chenoweth and Alan Cumming hug Tommy Tune as he accepts a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre performs onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Tony Award for Lifetime Acheivement in Theatre: Tommy Tune

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: John Cameron Mitchell, winner of a Special Tony Award, poses in the Paramount Hotel Winners’ Circle at the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Special Tony Award: John Cameron Mitchell

Regional Theatre Tony Award: Cleveland Play House, Cleveland, Ohio

Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award: Stephen Schwartz

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Corey Mitchell of the Northwest School of the Arts, winner of the Excellence in Theatre Education Award, poses in the press room at the 2015 Tony Awards on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Excellence in Theatre Education Award: Corey Mitchell of the Northwest School of the Arts

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Crafting a Career

Project1VOICE will recapture the magic of the legendary Negro Ensemble Company with benefit staged readings of Home by Samm-Art Williams in locations around the world on Monday June 15, 2015. This international salute to the American theater will honor the 35^th year anniversary of HOME’s Broadway debut and will celebrate the legacy of the historic Negro Ensemble Company. The fifth annual 1VOICE/1PLAY/1DAY international event will also commemorate another milestone–this one in civil rights—the 150^th anniversary of the 13^th Amendment to the United States Constitution. This amendment ended slavery and involuntary servitude in America–officially making the United States of America home for any then–enslaved persons and their descendants. This international theater experience—including over 30 black theaters, museums and diverse institutions throughout the world–will feature prominent actors including Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) alums and local enthusiasts. NEC alums and others will return to their hometowns to participate in special HOME-coming stage readings: Andre Holland Selma and Cinemax’s The KNICK (Birmingham), James Pickens Jr. ABC’s Greys Anatomy (Cleveland), Woodie King, Jr., producer/director and Aku Kadogo For Colored Girls… (Detroit). These events will explore the meaning of home– is it a place, a state of mind or both? How it connects us as human beings? How it enriches and heals us? The readings will be followed by a panel discussion in select cites.

Elain Graham and S. Epatha Merkerson. Photo by Lia Chang

Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Photo by Lia Chang

Project1VOICE and the Negro Ensemble Company is presenting the flagship production in New York City at the Harlem Hospital Mural Pavilion–506 Lennox Avenue at West 135^th Street–on June 15, 2015 at 7PM. Directed by renowned Negro Ensemble Company alum and Tony Award nominee Michele Shay (A Raisin in the Sun, Seven Guitars), the NYC cast includes Negro Ensemble Company alums Elain Graham (While I Yet Live, Smash, 666 Park Ave) Golden Globe, Emmy, SAG and NAACP Award winning S. Epatha Merkerson (Law and Order, Lackawanna Blues) and Tony Award Winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Seven Guitars, Selma). The flagship post show discussion will be led by national television and radio legal analyst Eric L. Welch Guster, founder and managing attorney of the Guster Law Firm. Tony Nominee Norm Lewis (Scandal, Phantom of the Opera) is scheduled to introduce the evening. Proceeds from the NYC-Manhattan event will benefit Project1VOICE and the Negro Ensemble Company. HOME will be ASL interpreted.

Norm Lewis. Photo by Lia Chang

For NYC flagship presentation tickets ONLY and a partial list of participating organizations visit: www.project1VOICE.org. HOME is presented by special permission granted by Samuel French.

General admission $25
w/Reception at 6PM—$50
w/Post show reception and meet and greet–$75

Home, received great acclaim at NEC in 1979, transferring to Broadway’s Cort Theatre on May 7^th, 1980. The original cast starred Charles Brown, L. Scott Caldwell and Michele Shay with direction by NEC co-founder Douglas Turner Ward. The play ran for 278 performances. Home is rich in specific detail about the African American experience and universal in its reach.

WATCH Project1VOICE on ARISE 360 with Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Arthur French and Erich McMillan-McCall

Also on June 15, P1V NYC will present a special 50^th anniversary staged-reading of another NEC seminal work, Happy Ending by Douglas Turner Ward. This presentation will take place at 2PM in the Harlem Hospital Mural Pavilion. Directed by critically acclaimed Yale University alum Timothy Douglas (Arena Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park) the cast includes: original NEC member Arthur French (A Trip to Bountiful), Ebony Jo-Ann (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Lizan Mitchell (Having Our Say) and Leslie Odom, Jr. (Hamilton). Happy Ending/Day of Absence a program of two one-act plays premiered at the St. Mark’s Playhouse in Manhattan on November 15, 1965 and ran for 504 performances. This was prior to the NEC’s inception. Ward received a Drama Desk Award for his writing. Tickets are available at www.project1voice.org. HAPPY ENDING is made possible with special permission granted by the Dramatists Play Services.

At the New York City event, NEC co-founder Douglas Turner Ward and original director of HOME will receive the first annual Special Project1VOICE Honors Award for Lifetime Achievement. Actor/Director Billie Allen will receive the first annual Project1VOICE Honors NYC Award for Outstanding Achievement in the American Theater.

A staged reading of HOME will also be presented on June 15^th at the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn. This reading features NEC alums Peggy Alston, Dean Irby and Carol Maillard directed by Femi Sarah Heggie. For P1V Brooklyn tickets and information visit www.weeksvillesociety.org.

About HOME
HOME is a brilliantly inventive, lyrically expressive play deals joyfully with the coming of age of a young black man from rural South Carolina. The action begins on the small farm in South Carolina that Cephus Miles, an orphan, has inherited from his family. Young and strong, he is content to work the land—until his childhood sweetheart rejects him and goes off to college. Not believing in the Vietnam War, Cephus is imprisoned as a draft evader for refusing to serve. By the time he is released, Cephus has lost his land to the tax collector so he heads north to build a new life. With a good job and a slinky new girlfriend, he finds the big city exciting and rewarding. But soon after, the dream begins to fade—Cephus loses his job and becomes involved in drugs and prostitution. Pulling himself together, he returns to South Carolina and settles back on the land with his old sweetheart. Despite all, he has never lost his joyous goodwill, his indomitable spirit and the conviction that one day his quest for fulfillment will be rewarded.

About the playwright Samm-Art Williams
Samm-Art Williams was born in Burgaw, North Carolina. He is an American playwright and screenwriter, and a stage and film/TV actor. He entered New York City theater as an actor in 1973, performing with New York’s famed Negro Ensemble Company. Much of his work as writer concerns the African-American experience. He was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for his play Home (1979), which moved from the Negro Ensemble Company to a Broadway production in 1980. Among his television credits Williams wrote the PBS productions Kneeslappers and Experiment in Freedom; episodes for the series Cagney and Lacey, The New Mike Hammer, Miami Vice and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and the NBC special Motown Returns to the Apollo (1986), among other work. He received two Emmy nominations for his work for TV series. Among his other plays are The Dance on Widows’ Row, The Waiting Room and Montford Point Marin.

About HAPPY ENDING
Happy Ending is the story of two sisters, Ellie and Vi, who work as maid and laundress for the wealthy Harrisons. As the play begins they are sitting at the kitchen table in a tenement apartment in Harlem, lamenting the end of their good times. Mr. Harrison has discovered his wife in an act of infidelity. The sisters fear that if the marriage breaks up they will be both out of a job. Their nephew, Junie, chides them for their slavish sentiments at a time when blacks are on the march toward liberation. But Ellie explains the facts of life to him: how she feeds and dresses her relatives and furnishes their homes at the Harrison’s expense.

About the playwright Douglas Turner Ward
Douglas Turner Ward is a Negro Ensemble Company co-founder, actor, director, and playwright. He was born in Burnside. He moved to NYC in 1949 at the age of nineteen. In 1956, Ward began his off-Broadway career as an actor in Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh; he went on to perform and understudy for a part in A Raisin in the Sun. In 1965, Ward, Robert Hooks, and Gerald Krone formed the Negro Ensemble Company; he made his playwriting debut that same year with the oft produced Happy Ending/Day of Absence. In 1967, the Negro Ensemble Company was officially opened with Ward serving as artistic director; some of the NEC’s notable productions include A Soldier’s Play, Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, Home, First Breeze of Summer and The River Niger, which became the company’s first play to go to Broadway. The River Niger eventually won a Tony Award for Best Play. Ward went on to write other plays, including The Reckoning and Brotherhood.

As a result of Ward and his colleagues’ hard work, the Negro Ensemble Company went on to produce more than two hundred plays, and to become a place for Black theater professionals to gain experience and prominence in the theatre, television and film. Some notable actors who have worked with the Negro Ensemble Company include Adoph Caesar, Louis Gossett, Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Phylicia Rashad, Roxie Roker, Esther Rolle, Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Denzel Washington.

“The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. is honored to have a role in celebrating the legacy and the legends responsible for making Theatre great. It is our contention that without the extraordinary vision of Douglas Turner Ward, Co-founder, Playwright, Actor and Director, the art of Theatre could not have created the profound impact on American culture, international politics and intellectual/social progression that has informed more than three generations. With assistance from brilliant playwrights, including Samm-Art Williams, Steve Carter, Judi Ann Mason, Wole Soyinka, Charles Fuller, and Leslie Lee, NEC touched and moved the world with innovative thought and amazing performances. The time to pay homage is long overdue. It is our sincere hope that we follow the footsteps today and in all the future today’s in ways that give tribute,” says Karen Brown, Negro Ensemble Company Executive Director.

“The overall mission of the NEC is to present live theatre performances by and about black people to a culturally diverse audience that is often underserved by the theatrical community. The NEC cannon created emotionally resonant characters with depth and variety. The NEC paved the way for black Americans to present a voice that had been aggressively stifled for three hundred years–opening the door for others. With the NEC, many black actors found their first opportunity to play characters with depth and meaning. What an honor for Project1VOICE to celebrate and honor the brilliance of this indefatigable legacy of NEC–a legacy that continues to transform American and global theater today. NEC is truly part of the ground on which we all stand,” says Erich McMillan-McCall CEO/Founder of Project1VOICE.

Project1VOICE, in partnership with organizations all over the world will use the staged readings of HOME to expand the conversation about the need to preserve the legacy and tradition of the American theater most specifically African American playwrights and theaters worldwide. For more information about 1VOICE/1PLAY/1DAY and other programs and events offered by Project1VOICE, visit www.project1VOICE.org.

Erich McMillan-McCall

About Project1VOICE (Producer)
Founded by actor/producer Erich McMillan-McCall, Project1VOICE is a national organization whose mission is to strengthen and promote African American theater and playwrights through its innovative initiatives and approaches to audience development, volunteerism and community engagement, as well as fundraising. Project1VOICE focuses attention on the challenges confronting African American theaters and assists in providing solutions for sustainability and long-term institutional growth with programs that educate, enlighten and entertain. Project1VOICE seeks to preserve the legacy of African American theater and cultivate future generations of artists and arts patrons. What began as a grassroots organization for survival in response to the economic downturn of 2008-09 soon developed into a national initiative. Project1VOICE has produced 5 staged readings in as many years–Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress, The Amen Corner by James Baldwin, A Soldier’s Play by Charles Fuller and For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange respectively. In 2013 a special staged reading of Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963 was performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in association with Howard University, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, African Continuum and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. This event– directed by NEC alum and Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad–commemorated the 50^th anniversary of the bombing that killed the four girls in Birmingham, Alabama. The reading was performed on the precise 50^th anniversary date–Sunday, September 15, 2013 and live streamed globally.

Now celebrating its 5^th consecutive year, Project1VOICE is an evolving and continuing voice for American theater. Key members of the Project1VOICE team are producer/production manager Gwen Gilliam, award-winning playwright and MOTOWN: the Musical director Charles Randolph-Wright and marketing consultant/producer Marcia Pendelton (Walk Tall Girl Productions). HOME is made possible with special permission granted by Samuel French. HAPPY ENDING is made possible with special permission granted by the Dramatists Play Services.

ABOUT NEGRO ENSEMBLE COMPANY (Producer)
The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. (NEC) is the premiere theatrical performance company developing and producing important and superior works by and about African American artists. The company was founded in 1967 by playwright Douglas Turner Ward, actor/producer Robert Hooks, theater manager Gerald Krone. The NEC created a legacy producing critical works that illuminate the very heart and soul of our culture and experience.

Since its founding in 1967, the NEC has produced more than two hundred new plays and provided a theatrical home for more than four thousand cast and crew members. Among its ranks have been some of the world’s finest creative talents from stage, television and film, including Charles Fuller, Louis Gossett Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Leslie Lee, Phylica Rashad, Roxie Roker, Esther Rolle and Denzel Washington. The NEC is respected worldwide for its commitment to excellence and has won dozens of honors and awards. It has garnered 1 Pulitzer Prize, 2 Tony Awards, 13 Obies; with a total of 46 total theatrical achievement awards. While these accolades point to the larger success of the NEC, it has created something far greater. It has been a constant source and sustenance for black actors, directors, writers and other theater professionals as they have worked to break down walls of racial injustices.

NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 07: Chita Rivera and Michelle Veintimilla perform in ‘The Visit’ onstage at the 2015 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

The Visit starring Chita Rivera will play its final performance at the Lyceum Theatre (149 West 45th Street), on Sunday, June 14th (3 PM). Previews began on March 26th and opening night was April 23, 2015.

Chita Rivera & Cast of THE VISIT. Photo by Thom Kaine

The Visit was nominated for 5 Tony Award® nominations including Best Musical. It is the final collaboration of John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics). Book is by Terrence McNally and it is directed by John Doyle with choreography by Graciela Daniele.

Cast of THE VISIT. Photo by Thom Kaine

Speaking on behalf of the production, lead producer Tom Kirdahy said “The Visit has created a sensation on Broadway and generated interest in productions around the world. We are eager for the release of the original recording of our CD and look forward to future productions across the globe. It has been our great privilege to present the legendary Chita Rivera in the final Kander and Ebb musical. This has been one for the history books”.

The cast is led by Tony Award® winner and 2015 nominee Chita Rivera as Claire Zachanassian. Ms. Rivera received the 2015 Drama League Award for Outstanding Performance of the Year, the 2015 John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre at the 71st Annual Theatre World Awards and the first-ever Legendary Lilly Award at the 6th Annual Lilly Awards for her role.

The Curious Incident Of the Dog in the Nighttime, An American in Paris, The King and I, You Can’t Take It With You and Chita Rivera among Drama League Award Winners
Two-Time Tony Award Winner Chita Rivera, Broadway Producer Daryl Roth, Graciela Daniele, Lisa D’Amour, Deirdre O’Connell, Shakina Nayfack, Boo Killebrew, Quincy Tyler Bernstein to be honored at the 6th Annual Lilly Awards on June 1

The Broadway cast also features Tom Nelis as Anton Schell, George Abud as Karl, Jason Danieley as Frederich Kuhn, Matthew Deming as Louis Perch, Diana Dimarzio as Annie Dummermut, David Garrison as Peter Dummermut,Rick Holmes as Father Josef, Ken Krugman as Rudi, Chris Newcomer as Jacob Chicken, Mary Beth Peil as Matilde Schell, Aaron Ramey as Otto Hahnke, Elena Shadow as Ottilie, Timothy Shew as Hans Nusselin, with John Riddle and Michelle Veintimilla.

Final performances are Tuesday , Wednesday and Thursday at 7 pm. Friday and Saturday at 8 pm with matinees on Saturday at 2 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets can be purchased at Telecharge.com (212 239-6200).

The Visit is produced by Tom Kirdahy, Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Tom Smedes, Hugh Hayes, Peter Stern, Judith Ann Abrams, Rich Affannato, Hunter Arnold, Carl Daikeler, Ken Davenport, Bharat Mitra & Bhavani Lev, Peter May, Ted Snowdon, Bruno Wang Productions, Taylor Cleghorn, Sandy Moran, Mark Lee & Ed Filipowski, Gabrielle Palitz/Weatherby & Fishman LLC, Marguerite Hoffman/Jeremy Youett, Carlos Arana, Veenerick & Katherine Vos Van Liempt, 42ND. Club/Silva Theatrical, Kate Cannova/Terry Loftis and The Shubert Organzation in association with Williamstown Theatre Festival.

The Visit garnered seven Drama Desk nominations including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Chita Rivera), Outstanding Director of a Musical (John Doyle), Outstanding Music (John Kander), Outstanding Lyrics (Fred Ebb), Outstanding Book of a Musical (Terence McNally) and Outstanding Set Design (Scott Pask).
Hamilton leads 2015 Drama Desk Awards Nominations with 13, along with An American in Paris, Something Rotten!, The Visit, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Visit received five Outer Critics Circle nominations including Outstanding New Broadway Musical, Outstanding Book of a Musical, Outstanding New Score Outstanding Lighting Design (Japhy Weideman) and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical (Chita Rivera); three Drama League nominations -Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical, The Distinguished Performance Award for Roger Rees and The Drama League Distinguished Performance Award for Ms. Rivera, which she won.

2014-15 Outer Critics Circle Award Nominations; Something Rotten!, On the Twentieth Century, An American in Paris garner most nods

Other articles by Lia Chang
Film Lab Presents “Focus on the Philippines” Monday nights in June on AAFLTV, co-hosted by Jennifer Betit Yen, Erin Quill and Lia Chang
Photos: The 11th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Launch Party at The Korea Society; TWO FACES is this year’s theme
The 2015 72 Hour Shootout Launch Party: Look Deeper! at The Korea Society on June 4
The King and I wins 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Kelli O’Hara (Best Leading Actress in a Musical), Ruthie Ann Miles (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and Catherine Zuber (Best Costume Design)
The King and I’s Ruthie Ann Miles Wins #TonyAwards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Photos: 2015 Tony Award Winners and Performances
Tony Award winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s Commencement Speech at SUNY Purchase
Photos: Traveling through the mouth of the Dragon with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA’s James Hong, Peter Kwong, Lia Chang, Gerald Okamura, George Cheung, Al Leong, Jeff Imada, James Lew, Gary Goldman, Eric Lee, Joycelyne Lew
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Cultural Interplay between the East and West in “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met
Photos: Inside “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met with Wong Kar-Wai, Vivienne Tam, Wendi Murdoch, Anna Wintour and More
Dr. Leroy Chiao honored with 2015 Blue Cloud Award at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Dr. Leroy Chiao, The Hon. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., Shirley and Walter Wang Honored at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Garth Kravits as a Statue of Liberty Street Performer on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie
Michael K. Lee, Christopheren Nomura, Greg Watanabe and More Join George Takei, Lea Salonga and Telly Leung in Broadway’s ALLEGIANCE; Full Cast Announced!
Photos: Edie Falco, Bryce Pinkham, Stephanie McKay, Lena Hall, Nick Blaemire, Jacob Ming-Trent, Matthew Saldívar at The 52nd Street Project’s Gala FANCY THAT
Tony Award® Nominees Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed star in Rajiv Joseph’s GUARDS AT THE TAJ at Atlantic Theater Company; Opens June 11
Original Cast of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE including Jose Llana, Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg, to Reunite for 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert on July 6
Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Between Riverside and Crazy Garners 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
ABC Renews “Fresh Off the Boat” and Picks up Ken Jeong’s “Dr. Ken”
An Intimate Evening with Author Amy Tan at the New-York Historical Society
World Premiere Musical HAMILTON Transfers to Broadway; Previews begin July 13
Crafting a Career

Playwrights Stephen Adly Guirgis and Rajiv Joseph.

Atlantic Theater Company presents a conversation with Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis (Between Riverside and Crazy) & Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph (Guards at the Taj). These two prolific creators of theater share the process of writing their stories and bringing them to the stage.

Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Between Riverside and Crazy Garners 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

THE GET DOWN, Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama Series Set in 1970s NYC That Gave Birth to Hip-Hop, Punk and Disco, to Premiere on Netflix in 2016

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is presenting the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize® finalist Rajiv Joseph’s play Guards at the Taj, starring Tony Award® nominees Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed, and directed by Tony Award® nominated actor and director Amy Morton. Guards at the Taj began previews on May 20th and will play a limited engagement through Sunday, June 28 Off Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company at The Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street). Opening night is Thursday, June 11. Click here to purchase tickets.

Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj. Photo by Doug Hamilton

In 1648 India, two Imperial Guards watch from their post as the sun rises for the first time on the newly-completed Taj Mahal – an event that shakes their respective worlds.

Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj. Photo by Doug Hamilton

When they are ordered to perform an unthinkable task, the aftermath forces them to question the concept of friendship, beauty and duty, and changes them forever.

Omar Metwally, director Amy Morton, playwright Rajiv Joseph and Arian Moayed in rehearsal for Atlantic Theatre Company’s production of GUARDS AT THE TAJ. Photo courtesy of Rajiv Joseph

Steppenwolf Theatre Company member Amy Morton’s directing credits include The Way West, Penelope, Clybourne Park, American Buffalo, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Pillowman, Dublin Carol and Topdog/Underdog for the company. She received Tony® and Drama Desk award nominations for both her acclaimed performances in the most recent revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and August: Osage County on Broadway in addition to appearing in over thirty Steppenwolf Theatre Company productions.

Playwright Rajiv Joseph. Photo by Lia Chang

Rajiv Joseph‘s play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize® and received a Drama Desk award nomination for Outstanding Play. His other plays include Gruesome Playground Injuries, Animals Out of Paper, The North Pool, The Lake Effect and Mr. Wolf. He is the librettist and co-lyricist for the musical, Fly. Joseph also wrote for the Showtime series “Nurse Jackie” for its third and fourth seasons and was the co- screenwriter of the film Draft Day, which was released last year, starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. Joseph received his B.A. in Creative Writing from Miami University and his M.F.A. in Playwriting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa. Joseph was named a 2010 Rockefeller Fellow by United States Artists. He is the recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award, the Whiting Award, the Glickman Award, the 2013 Equity Jeff Award for The Lake Effect, produced by Silk Road Rising in Chicago and the prestigious 2013 Steinberg Playwright Award from the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. Joseph just returned from Morocco and the set of Army of One, a new film he co-wrote with Scott Rothman, loosely based on a GQ article by Chris Heath about Gary Faulkner, an ex-con who made 11 attempts to travel to the most volatile region of Pakistan to capture Osama bin Laden, armed with only a sword. Directed by Larry Charles (“Borat”), Army of One stars Nicholas Cage, Russell Brand, Denis O’Hare, Ken Marino, Paul Scheer, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Rainn Wilson. Click here to read the full article. In 2016, Opera Theatre of St. Louis will present the world premiere of composer Jack Perla and Joseph’s Shalimar the Clown, adapted from the novel by Salman Rushdie.

Arian Moayed in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj. Photo by Doug Hamilton

Guards at the Taj features scenic design by Timothy R. Mackabee, costume design by Bobby Frederick Tilley II, lighting design by David Weiner, original music and sound design by Rob Milburn & Michael Bodeen, special effects design by Jeremy Chernick and fight direction by J. David Brimmer. Guards at the Taj was awarded the 2015 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award, given annually for an unproduced, full-length play of social relevance by an emerging American playwright.

Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj. Photo by Doug Hamilton

Arian Moayed and Omar Metwally in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj. Photo by Doug Hamilton

Arian Moayed in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj. Photo by Doug Hamilton

Other articles by Lia Chang
Photos: The 11th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Launch Party at The Korea Society; TWO FACES is this year’s theme
The King and I wins 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Kelli O’Hara (Best Leading Actress in a Musical), Ruthie Ann Miles (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and Catherine Zuber (Best Costume Design)
The King and I’s Ruthie Ann Miles Wins #TonyAwards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Photos: 2015 Tony Award Winners and Performances
Tony Award winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s Commencement Speech at SUNY Purchase
HAMILTON AND CURIOUS INCIDENT take top honors at 2015 Drama Desk Awards
AAFLTV “Focus on the Philippines” Monday nights in June, hosted by Jennifer Betit Yen, Erin Quill and Lia Chang
Photos: Anna May Wong as Fashion Muse in “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met
Dr. Leroy Chiao honored with 2015 Blue Cloud Award at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Dr. Leroy Chiao, The Hon. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., Shirley and Walter Wang Honored at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Inside “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met with Wong Kar-Wai, Vivienne Tam, Wendi Murdoch, Anna Wintour and More
Photos: Traveling through the mouth of the Dragon with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA’s James Hong, Peter Kwong, Lia Chang, Gerald Okamura, George Cheung, Al Leong, Jeff Imada, James Lew, Gary Goldman, Eric Lee
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Photos: Garth Kravits as a Statue of Liberty Street Performer on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie
Michael K. Lee, Christopheren Nomura, Greg Watanabe and More Join George Takei, Lea Salonga and Telly Leung in Broadway’s ALLEGIANCE; Full Cast Announced
Photos: Edie Falco, Bryce Pinkham, Stephanie McKay, Lena Hall, Nick Blaemire, Jacob Ming-Trent, Matthew Saldívar at The 52nd Street Project’s Gala FANCY THAT
Original Cast of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE including Jose Llana, Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg, to Reunite for 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert on July 6
BETWEEN RIVERSIDE & CRAZY, HAMILTON, Austin Pendleton & More Win Off Broadway Alliance Awards
HAMILTON, James Houghton, Usman Ally, Ayad Akhtar, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Douglas Thompson and Suzan-Lori Parks among 2015 Obie Award Winners
Ruthie Ann Miles, Helen Mirren, Kristin Chenoweth, Alex Sharp, Andy Karl, Annaleigh Ashford, Richard McCabe, Robert Fairchild Among 2015 Outer Critics Circle Winners; Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Leads with 5; An American in Paris wins 4, The King and I and Hamilton Each Receive 3
Hamilton Sweeps 2015 Lucille Lortel Awards with 10 Wins; Between Riverside and Crazy Garners 3
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS AND FUN HOME Lead 2015 Tony Award Nominations with 12 each; Ken Watanabe, Ruthie Ann Miles, Kelli O’Hara, Chita Rivera, Bradley Cooper, Kristin Chenoweth, Bill Nighy, Helen Mirren, Elisabeth Moss, Carey Mulligan, Ruth Wilson, K. Todd Freeman, Patricia Clarkson Among the Nominees
ABC Renews “Fresh Off the Boat” and Picks up Ken Jeong’s “Dr. Ken”
An Intimate Evening with Author Amy Tan at the New-York Historical Society
World Premiere Musical HAMILTON Transfers to Broadway; Previews begin July 13
Crafting a Career

Jon Viktor Corpuz. Photo by Paul Kolnik

Jon Viktor Corpuz is currently appearing as Prince Chulalongkorn in Lincoln Center’s Tony Award winning Broadway revival of The King and I, opposite Ken Watanabe and Tony Award winners Kelli O’Hara and Ruthie Ann Miles.

On Monday, June 15, 2015, 54 Below is presenting the 18 year old Corpuz in his solo debut in “Confessions of a Teenage Drama King,” an unforgettable evening of pop hits, unique spins on Broadway favorites, and perhaps a coming-of-age story or two. Doors open shortly after 5 p.m., the performance is at 7 p.m.

Corpuz will be joined by special guests Telly Leung (Glee, Wicked, Rent, Godspell, Allegiance), Brynn Williams (13, Bye Bye Birdie), his sister Kristin Corpuz (Berklee College of Music), Madelyn Murphy (LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts), and Jonathan Mousset (Florida State University).

With direction by Blaine Krauss (The Lion King), music direction by Ethan Pakchar (Lyons & Pakchar, Wicked, Newsies, Rent), assistant musical direction by Stephanie Jae Park (Cinderella, The King & I), and featuring Steven Feifke (The Steven Feifke Big Band) and Jacob Yates (Wicked).

Jon Viktor Corpuz in “Confessions of a Teenage Drama King” plays 54 Below (254 West 54th Street) on June 15, 2015 at 7 p.m. Doors open shortly after 5 p.m. Cover charge starts at $25 and there is a $25 food and beverage minimum. Tickets and information are available at www.54Below.com/jon. Tickets on the day of performance after 4:00 are only available by calling (646) 476-3551. DISCOUNT CODE: CORPUZ5 for a $5 discount.

Jon Viktor Corpuz first moved to New York City after having been cast in the Godspell Cast of 2032 as mini-Telly Leung, where he got to perform in Godspell on Broadway for one night only! Since then, he has racked up his share of professional credits around the city. Notable credits include: Julie Taymor’s production (and film) of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Theater for a New Audience, which marked Taymor’s NYC directorial comeback after Spiderman and the inaugural production of the Polonsky Shakespeare Center – TFANA’s new home in Brooklyn. Starring as Patrick in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, and currently Prince Chulalongkorn in the 2015 Tony Award winning Broadway revival of Rodger’s & Hammerstein’s The King & I, directed by Bartlett Sher, where both he and the show are getting rave reviews!

Other articles by Lia Chang
Photos: The 11th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Launch Party at The Korea Society; TWO FACES is this year’s theme
Tony Award winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s Commencement Speech at SUNY Purchase
HAMILTON AND CURIOUS INCIDENT take top honors at 2015 Drama Desk Awards
AAFLTV “Focus on the Philippines” Monday nights in June, hosted by Jennifer Betit Yen, Erin Quill and Lia Chang
Photos: Anna May Wong as Fashion Muse in “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met
Dr. Leroy Chiao honored with 2015 Blue Cloud Award at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Dr. Leroy Chiao, The Hon. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., Shirley and Walter Wang Honored at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Inside “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met with Wong Kar-Wai, Vivienne Tam, Wendi Murdoch, Anna Wintour and More
Photos: Traveling through the mouth of the Dragon with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA’s James Hong, Peter Kwong, Lia Chang, Gerald Okamura, George Cheung, Al Leong, Jeff Imada, James Lew, Gary Goldman, Eric Lee
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Photos: Garth Kravits as a Statue of Liberty Street Performer on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie
Michael K. Lee, Christopheren Nomura, Greg Watanabe and More Join George Takei, Lea Salonga and Telly Leung in Broadway’s ALLEGIANCE; Full Cast Announced
Photos: Edie Falco, Bryce Pinkham, Stephanie McKay, Lena Hall, Nick Blaemire, Jacob Ming-Trent, Matthew Saldívar at The 52nd Street Project’s Gala FANCY THAT
Original Cast of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE including Jose Llana, Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg, to Reunite for 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert on July 6
BETWEEN RIVERSIDE & CRAZY, HAMILTON, Austin Pendleton & More Win Off Broadway Alliance Awards
HAMILTON, James Houghton, Usman Ally, Ayad Akhtar, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Douglas Thompson and Suzan-Lori Parks among 2015 Obie Award Winners
Ruthie Ann Miles, Helen Mirren, Kristin Chenoweth, Alex Sharp, Andy Karl, Annaleigh Ashford, Richard McCabe, Robert Fairchild Among 2015 Outer Critics Circle Winners; Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Leads with 5; An American in Paris wins 4, The King and I and Hamilton Each Receive 3
Hamilton Sweeps 2015 Lucille Lortel Awards with 10 Wins; Between Riverside and Crazy Garners 3
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS AND FUN HOME Lead 2015 Tony Award Nominations with 12 each; Ken Watanabe, Ruthie Ann Miles, Kelli O’Hara, Chita Rivera, Bradley Cooper, Kristin Chenoweth, Bill Nighy, Helen Mirren, Elisabeth Moss, Carey Mulligan, Ruth Wilson, K. Todd Freeman, Patricia Clarkson Among the Nominees
ABC Renews “Fresh Off the Boat” and Picks up Ken Jeong’s “Dr. Ken”
An Intimate Evening with Author Amy Tan at the New-York Historical Society
World Premiere Musical HAMILTON Transfers to Broadway; Previews begin July 13
Crafting a Career

Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere of Pulitzer Prize® finalist Rajiv Joseph’s play Guards at the Taj, starring Tony Award® nominees Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed, and directed by Tony Award® nominated actor and director Amy Morton. Guards at the Taj opened to critical acclaim on June 11. The play began previews on May 20th and will play a limited engagement through Sunday, June 28 Off Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company at The Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street). Click here to purchase tickets.

Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj. Photo by Doug Hamilton

In 1648 India, two Imperial Guards watch from their post as the sun rises for the first time on the newly-completed Taj Mahal – an event that shakes their respective worlds.

Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj. Photo by Doug Hamilton

When they are ordered to perform an unthinkable task, the aftermath forces them to question the concept of friendship, beauty and duty, and changes them forever.

Arian Moayed and Omar Metwally in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj. Photo by Doug Hamilton

Check out what the critics are saying:

FRISKY, FUNNY DIALOGUE! Directed by Amy Morton with a RICH SENSE OF ATMOSPHERE that raises potent questions about the human price paid throughout history for the caprices of the mighty!” – The New York Times

“RIVETING! The most astounding brutal tableau you’ll ever see on stage! Beautifully illustrated by Metwally and Moayed who bring QUIET INTENSITY, FEROCITY, and UNBRIDLED EMOTION!
YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO LOOK AWAY FROM THESE TWO ACTORS!” – Entertainment Weekly

“An ENVELOPE-PUSHING PLAYWRIGHT and TWO STUNNING ACTORS under the MUSCULAR DIRECTION of Amy Morton!
It’s DEEPLY MOVING, LOVINGLY ACTED, and PACKED WITH IDEAS with EXISTENTIAL ANGST, SILLINESS, HORROR and PITCH-BLACK HUMOR!” – Associated Press

Click here to read all the reviews.

Omar Metwally, director Amy Morton, playwright Rajiv Joseph and Arian Moayed in rehearsal for Atlantic Theatre Company’s production of GUARDS AT THE TAJ. Photo courtesy of Rajiv Joseph

Playwright Rajiv Joseph. Photo by Lia Chang

Arian Moayed in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj. Photo by Doug Hamilton

Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj. Photo by Doug Hamilton

Arian Moayed in Atlantic Theater Company’s world premiere of Rajiv Joseph’s Guards at the Taj. Photo by Doug Hamilton

Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Between Riverside and Crazy Garners 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

THE GET DOWN, Baz Luhrmann’s New Drama Series Set in 1970s NYC That Gave Birth to Hip-Hop, Punk and Disco, to Premiere on Netflix in 2016

Other articles by Lia Chang
Photos and Video: BD Wong at premiere of JURASSIC WORLD at the Dolby Theatre
Photos: The 11th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Launch Party at The Korea Society; TWO FACES is this year’s theme
The King and I wins 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Kelli O’Hara (Best Leading Actress in a Musical), Ruthie Ann Miles (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and Catherine Zuber (Best Costume Design)
The King and I’s Ruthie Ann Miles Wins #TonyAwards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Photos: 2015 Tony Award Winners and Performances
Tony Award winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s Commencement Speech at SUNY Purchase
HAMILTON AND CURIOUS INCIDENT take top honors at 2015 Drama Desk Awards
AAFLTV “Focus on the Philippines” Monday nights in June, hosted by Jennifer Betit Yen, Erin Quill and Lia Chang
Photos: Anna May Wong as Fashion Muse in “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met
Dr. Leroy Chiao honored with 2015 Blue Cloud Award at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Dr. Leroy Chiao, The Hon. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., Shirley and Walter Wang Honored at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Inside “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met with Wong Kar-Wai, Vivienne Tam, Wendi Murdoch, Anna Wintour and More
Photos: Traveling through the mouth of the Dragon with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA’s James Hong, Peter Kwong, Lia Chang, Gerald Okamura, George Cheung, Al Leong, Jeff Imada, James Lew, Gary Goldman, Eric Lee
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Photos: Garth Kravits as a Statue of Liberty Street Performer on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie
Michael K. Lee, Christopheren Nomura, Greg Watanabe and More Join George Takei, Lea Salonga and Telly Leung in Broadway’s ALLEGIANCE; Full Cast Announced
Photos: Edie Falco, Bryce Pinkham, Stephanie McKay, Lena Hall, Nick Blaemire, Jacob Ming-Trent, Matthew Saldívar at The 52nd Street Project’s Gala FANCY THAT
Original Cast of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE including Jose Llana, Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg, to Reunite for 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert on July 6
BETWEEN RIVERSIDE & CRAZY, HAMILTON, Austin Pendleton & More Win Off Broadway Alliance Awards
HAMILTON, James Houghton, Usman Ally, Ayad Akhtar, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Douglas Thompson and Suzan-Lori Parks among 2015 Obie Award Winners
Ruthie Ann Miles, Helen Mirren, Kristin Chenoweth, Alex Sharp, Andy Karl, Annaleigh Ashford, Richard McCabe, Robert Fairchild Among 2015 Outer Critics Circle Winners; Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Leads with 5; An American in Paris wins 4, The King and I and Hamilton Each Receive 3
Hamilton Sweeps 2015 Lucille Lortel Awards with 10 Wins; Between Riverside and Crazy Garners 3
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS AND FUN HOME Lead 2015 Tony Award Nominations with 12 each; Ken Watanabe, Ruthie Ann Miles, Kelli O’Hara, Chita Rivera, Bradley Cooper, Kristin Chenoweth, Bill Nighy, Helen Mirren, Elisabeth Moss, Carey Mulligan, Ruth Wilson, K. Todd Freeman, Patricia Clarkson Among the Nominees
ABC Renews “Fresh Off the Boat” and Picks up Ken Jeong’s “Dr. Ken”
An Intimate Evening with Author Amy Tan at the New-York Historical Society
World Premiere Musical HAMILTON Transfers to Broadway; Previews begin July 13
Crafting a Career

Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams, who portrayed the iconic couple “Angie and Jesse” on the long running daytime television series “All My Children,” will serve as Celebrity Co-Chairs for the 2015 National Black Theatre Festival, August 3-8 in Winston-Salem, NC.

Connect with the Marvtastic passion, splendor and valor of the African and the African American cultures as Black Theatre takes center stage in Winston-Salem, NC over six exciting days.

Highlights include the Star Studded Opening Night Celebrity Gala, Theatre Productions, Readers’ Theatre of New Works/Plays, Theatre Workshops, International Colloquium (presented by NBTF, Winston-Salem State University and the Black Theatre Newtork), the Youth/Celebrity Project and Teen TeenTastic, films, seminars, a teen poetry slam and the International Vendor’s Market which features vendors and crafts from every corner of the globe and live entertainment. Don’t forget to buy a 2015 Souvenir Journal and learn more about the participating companies, the distinguished NBTF honorees, a map of the performance venues and much more.

August 3, 2015
5:30pm – OPENING NIGHT GALA – $262 (#1)
Make reservations for this glamorous event.
Tickets $262 per person, $2,620 table seating 10.
(M.C. Benton Convention Center)

6:30pm – CELEBRITY PROCESSION
With NBTF Co-Chairs, Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams.

6:45pm – AWARDS PRESENTATION
2015 National Black Theatre Festival Honorees
Sidney Poitier Lifelong Achievement Award
Bill Cobbs
Larry Leon Hamlin Producer Award
Nate Jacobs
Emerging Producer Award
Erich McMillan-McCall
August Wilson Playwright Award
Katori Hall
Lloyd Richards Director Award
Clinton Turner Davis
Living Legend Award
A. Peter Bailey
Maurice Hines
Robert Hooks
Grace Jones
Hattie Winston
Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design
ESOSA
Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Design
Allen Lee Hughes
Outstanding Achievement in Scenic Design
Harlan Penn
Theatre Longevity Award
The Carpetbag Theatre, Inc. – Knoxville, TN
Special Recognition Award
Karamu House (100 years old)
Cleveland, OH
Special Recognition Award
Rachel P. Jackson
Marvtastic Philanthrophy Award
The Millennium Fund
Theatre Arts & Humanitarian Award
Warren Dell Leggett
9:00pm – BLACK STARS OF THE GREAT WHITE WAY

A Chapman Roberts Concept, Inc., New York, NY
A soaring music and dance celebration of the glorious 100 year history of African Americans on Broadway and at Carnegie Hall, this Gala All Broadway Star Production is specifically designed to honor NBTF luminaries past and present. (Musical – General Audience) University of North Carolina School of the Arts Stevens Center

10:30pm – CELEBRITY RECEPTION
Mix and mingle with the honorees,celebrity guests and other theatre patrons. (Marriott Hotel)

Theatre Festival Play Schedule – A schedule of plays and events can be obtained by contacting the NBTF for a printed schedule or going online to NBTF.org. The schedule will include the play’s title, date, time, location and the play number. Some plays are performed several times during the week, so knowing the play number is very important.

Purchasing Tickets – Advance tickets may be purchased for the 2015 festival by calling the Festival box office at (336) 723-7907. These tickets will be mailed up to two weeks prior to the festival or picked up at the M.C. Benton Convention Center.

On Thursday, August 6, 2015, the Celebration of Life reception saluting the late theatre icon Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. will be at The Sawtooth Art Gallery, The Sawtooth School for Visual Arts, 251 North Spruce Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.

The late Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. at The Festival’s opening night gala on July 29, 2013. Born on February 14, 1938 in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Garland Lee Thompson, Sr., passed away quickly and peacefully on November 18, 2014. He was 76 years old. Photo by Lia Chang

Live Jazz and African/Native American Drummers and more; complimentary food and wine will be served. To join the presenting committee, email your full name to ndove@hotmail.com or call 678-739-6674.

Feb. 14: Remembering Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. with a Memorial at St. James Presbyterian Church; Presentation-Reception at Theater for the New City
Photos: Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, Micki Grant, Woodie King Jr., Voza Rivers, Talvin Wilks, Garland Thompson Jr., Charles Turner, Jamal Joseph, Debra Ann Byrd and More at harlem is…Theater
Remembering Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. (1938-2014); Memorial Set for February 14, 2015

If you are interested in being one of the 1,500 volunteers for the National Black Theatre Festival, download a volunteer application from www.NBTF.org or call (336) 723-2266.

The NBTF official hotels are:
Marriott Twin City Quarter Embassy Suites
425 N. Cherry Street 460 N. Cherry Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Winston-Salem, NC 27101
336/725-3500 – 877/ 888-9762 336/724-3400 – 800/362-2779
www.marriott.com http://www.embassysuites.com

Visit www.NBTF.org for other festival hotels.

Festival History
Founded in Winston-Salem by the late Larry Leon Hamlin in 1989 and hosted by the North Carolina Black Repertory Company (NCBRC), NBTF is a biennial event with a purpose of uniting black theatre companies from around the world and ensuring the presence of this phenomenal genre. Mr. Leon Hamlin described the experience as “MARVTASTIC,” a combination of marvelous and fantastic! With the support of Dr. Maya Angelou, who served as the Festival’s first Chairperson, the National Black Theatre Festival was born. The ’89 Festival offered 30 performances by 17 of America’s best professional black theatre companies. It attracted national and international media coverage. According to The New York Times, “The 1989 National Black Theatre Festival was one of the most historic and culturally significant events in the history of black theatre and American theatre in general.” Over 10,000 people attended. Today that number reaches well over 65,000 attendees.

Ten years prior to starting the National Black Theatre Festival, Larry Leon Hamlin founded another black theater movement in Winston-Salem that is still present today. The North Carolina Black Repertory Company is the state’s first professional Black theater company. NCBRC is committed to introducing diverse audiences to Black classics, the development and production of new works, improving artistic quality, and sustaining Black theatre internationally. NCBRC was founded with the purpose of providing theatre professionals the opportunity to earn a living through their craft.

NCBRC presents three to four productions annually featuring members of its ensemble or through collaborations with other theatre companies from around the country. The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration and the holiday presentation of Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity have become two of the Company’s staples. The critically acclaimed NCBRC production, Mahalia, Queen of Gospel (written and directed by Mabel Robinson, the company’s Artistic Director) was a National Black Theatre Festival showcase performance.

Hartford Stage’s production of the Darko Tresnjak helmed Hamlet garnered nine nominations for the 2014-2015 Connecticut Critics Circle Awards including Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Actor in a Play (Zach Appelman), Outstanding Director of a Play (Darko Tresnjak), Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Edward James Hyland), Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Andrew Long), Outstanding Lighting Design (Matthew Richards), Outstanding Costume Design (Fabio Toblini), Outstanding Sound Design (Jane Shaw), and Outstanding Debut (Brittany Vicars).

Andrew Long, Brittany Vicars, Edward James Hyland, and Kate Forbes in Hamlet at Hartford Stage. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Carmen de Lavallade

Special Awards recipients include Carmen de Lavallade, who will receive the Killen Award for outstanding contribution to Connecticut theater, the Summer Theatre of New Canaan for its DramaRamas program, the Split Knuckle Theatre Company for its production of “Endurance,” and Shawn Boyle, for his work on Yale Repertory’s production of “Elevada.”

The ceremony, which is as much a celebration of theater in Connecticut as it is the opportunity to acknowledge excellence, will be held at The Iseman Theater, located at 1156 Chapel Street in New Haven on Monday, June 22. The event, which begins at 7:30 p.m., is open to the public. Seating is limited and will be available on a first-come-first-served basis. Click here for more information.

Congrats to all of the nominees.

Outstanding Production of a Play

Arcadia, Yale Rep
Elevada, Yale Rep
Hamlet, Hartford Stage
Reverberation, Hartford Stage
The Liar, Westport Country Playhouse

Outstanding Production of a Musical

All Shook Up, Ivoryton
Fiddler on the Roof, Goodspeed
Holiday Inn, Goodspeed
Kiss Me, Kate, Hartford Stage
…Spelling Bee, Playhouse on Park

Outstanding Actress in a Play

Laurel Casillo
Elevada, Yale Rep
Margaret Colin
Second Mrs. Wilson, Long Wharf
Keilly MacQuail
Bad Jews, Long Wharf
Nikki Walker
Intimate Apparel, Westport Country Playhouse
Shaunette Renee Wilson
The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Yale Rep

Outstanding Actor in a Play

Zach Appelman
Hamlet, Hartford Stage
Aaron Krohn
The Liar, Westport Country Playhouse
Luke Macfarlane
Reverberation, Hartford Stage
Tom Pecinka
Arcadia, Yale Rep
Steven Skybell
The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Yale Rep

Outstanding Actress in a Musical

Nancy Anderson
Guys and Dolls, Goodspeed
Danielle Bowen
All Shook Up, Ivoryton
Elissa DeMaria
Little Shop of Horrors , MTC Mainstage
Patti Murin
Holiday Inn, Goodspeed
Rebecca Spigelman
Hairspray, STONC

Outstanding Actor in a Musical

David Edwards
La Cage Aux Folles, Ivoryton
Preston Ellis
All Shook Up, Ivoryton
Michael Damian Fasano
Footloose, Seven Angels
Adam Heller
Fiddler on the Roof, Goodspeed
Noah Racey
Holiday Inn, Goodspeed

Outstanding Director of a Play

James Bundy
Arcadia, Yale Rep
Jackson Gay
Elevada, Yale Rep
Penny Metropulos
The Liar, Westport Country Playhouse
Darko Tresnjak
Hamlet, Hartford Stage
Maxwell Williams
Reverberation, Hartford Stage

Outstanding Director of a Musical

Richard Amelius
All Shook Up, Ivoryton
Gordon Greenberg
Holiday Inn, Goodpseed
Susan Haefner
…Spelling Bee, Playhouse on Park
Rob Ruggiero
Fiddler on the Roof, Goodspeed
Darko Tresnjak
Kiss Me, Kate, Hartford Stage

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

Edward James Hyland
Hamlet, Hartford Stage
Greg Keller
Elevada, Yale Rep
Andrew Long
Hamlet, Hartford Stage
Carl Lundstedt
Reverberation, Hartford Stage
Max Gordon Moore
Arcadia, Yale Rep

Tyrone Mitchell Henderson and Tonya Pinkins in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ War at Yale Rep. Photo by Joan Marcus

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

Rebekah Brockman
Arcadia, Yale Rep
Rebekah Brockman
The Liar, Westport Country Playhouse
Kate Forbes
Hamlet, Hartford Stage
Kristin Harlow
Angels in America, Playhouse on Park
Tonya Pinkins
War, Yale Rep

Photos: Tonya Pinkins, Trezana Beverley, Tyrone M. Henderson and More Set for World Premiere of War by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins at Yale Repertory Theatre through December 13

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Elizabeth DeRosa
Fiddler on the Roof, Goodspeed
Barrie Kreinik
Fiddler on the Roof, Goodspeed
Sharon Malone
Hairspray, STONC
Susan Mosher
Holiday Inn, Goodspeed
Megan Sikora
Kiss Me, Kate, Hartford Stage

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical

Scott Cote
Guys and Dolls, Goodspeed
Stephen DeRosa
Sing For Your Shakespeare, Westport Country Playhouse
Noah Marlowe
Holiday Inn, Goodspeed
John Payonk
Fiddler on the Roof, Goodspeed
Nick Reynolds
Hairspray, STONC

Outstanding Choreographer

Richard Amelius
All Shook Up, Ivoryton
Peggy Hickey
Kiss Me, Kate, Hartford Stage
Denis Jones
Holiday Inn, Goodspeed
Alex Sanchez
Guys and Dolls, Goodspeed
David Wanstreet
Fingers and Toes, Ivoryton

Outstanding Set Design

Andromache Chalfant
Reverberation, Hartford Stage
Alexander Dodge
Kiss Me, Kate, Hartford Stage
Alexander Dodge
Private Lives, Hartford Stage
Chika Shimizu
The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Yale Rep
James Youmans
Ether Dome, Hartford Stage

Outstanding Lighting Design

David Lander
Ether Dome, Hartford Stage
John Lassiter
Fiddler on the Roof, Goodspeed
Tyler Micoleau
Elevada, Yale Rep
Matthew Richards
Hamlet, Hartford Stage
Matthew Richards
Reverberation, Hartford Stage

Outstanding Costume Design

Tracy Christensen
Guys & Dolls, Goodspeed
Jessica Ford
The Liar, Westport Country Playhouse
Fabio Toblini
Hamlet, Hartford Stage
Fabio Toblini
Kiss Me, Kate, Hartford Stage
Alejo Vietti
Holiday Inn, Goodspeed

Outstanding Sound Design

David Budries
Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Long Wharf
Kate Marvin
Elevada, Yale Rep
Adam Phalen
Forever, Long Wharf
Jane Shaw
Hamlet, Hartford Stage
Matt Tierney
The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Yale Rep

Outstanding Ensemble

Cast of Altar Boyz
Playhouse on Park
Brandon Beaver
Nick Bernardi
Adam Cassel
Greg Laucella
Mark G. Merritt
Brock Putnam

Cast of Picasso at the Lapin Agile
Long Wharf
Penny Balfour
Grayson DeJesus
Tom Riis Farrell
Ronald Guttman
David Margulies
Dina Shihabi
Jake Silberman
Jonathan Spivey
Robbie Tann

Cast of …Spelling Bee
Playhouse on Park
Kevin Barlowski
Hillary Ekwall
Emily Kron
Steven Mooney
Maya Naff
Joel Newsome
Norman Payne
Natalie Sannes
Scott Scaffidi

Cast of Woody Sez
TheaterWorks
David Finch
David M. Lutken
Leenya Rideout
Helen J. Russell

Outstanding Debut

Curtis J. Cook
Brownsville Song, Long Wharf
Carl Lundstedt
Reverberation, Hartford Stage
Dina Shihabi
Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Long Wharf
Brittany Vicars
Hamlet, Hartford Stage

Other articles by Lia Chang
Teagle F. Bougere, Jeremy Kushnier, Amanda Leigh Cobb, Edward James Hyland and More set for Pittsburgh Public Theater’s OTHELLO through May 17
Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon on view at the National Portrait Gallery in London, July 2 – October 18, 2015
Photos: Anna May Wong as Fashion Muse in “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met
Photos: Inside “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met with Wong Kar-Wai, Vivienne Tam, Wendi Murdoch, Anna Wintour and More
Photos and Video: BD Wong at premiere of JURASSIC WORLD at the Dolby Theatre
Photos: The 11th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Launch Party at The Korea Society; TWO FACES is this year’s theme
AAFLTV “Focus on the Philippines” Monday nights in June, hosted by Jennifer Betit Yen, Erin Quill and Lia Chang
The King and I wins 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Kelli O’Hara (Best Leading Actress in a Musical), Ruthie Ann Miles (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and Catherine Zuber (Best Costume Design)
The King and I’s Ruthie Ann Miles Wins #TonyAwards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Photos: 2015 Tony Award Winners and Performances
Tony Award winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s Commencement Speech at SUNY Purchase
Dr. Leroy Chiao honored with 2015 Blue Cloud Award at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Dr. Leroy Chiao, The Hon. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., Shirley and Walter Wang Honored at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Traveling through the mouth of the Dragon with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA’s James Hong, Peter Kwong, Lia Chang, Gerald Okamura, George Cheung, Al Leong, Jeff Imada, James Lew, Gary Goldman, Eric Lee
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Photos: Garth Kravits as a Statue of Liberty Street Performer on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie
Photos: Edie Falco, Bryce Pinkham, Stephanie McKay, Lena Hall, Nick Blaemire, Jacob Ming-Trent, Matthew Saldívar at The 52nd Street Project’s Gala FANCY THAT
Original Cast of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE including Jose Llana, Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg, to Reunite for 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert on July 6
ABC Renews “Fresh Off the Boat” and Picks up Ken Jeong’s “Dr. Ken”
An Intimate Evening with Author Amy Tan at the New-York Historical Society
World Premiere Musical HAMILTON Transfers to Broadway; Previews begin July 13
Michael K. Lee, Christopheren Nomura, Greg Watanabe and More Join George Takei, Lea Salonga and Telly Leung in Broadway’s ALLEGIANCE; Full Cast Announced
Crafting a Career

Mike Pride, Pulitzer Prize Administrator (left) and Lee C. Bollinger, President of Columbia University (center), present the 2015 Drama Prize to Stephen Adly Guirgis on Thursday, May 28, 2015, at a luncheon ceremony at Low Library on the Columbia University campus in New York City. Photos by Eileen Barroso and Jake Young

On Monday, June 22, Barefoot Theatre Company celebrates the second annual Vassallo Awards with a Spring Gala beginning at 7:15 pm at the American Ballroom Theater on 25 West 31st Street in Manhattan. Actress Anna Chlumsky (“VEEP”) and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis (Riverside and Crazy) are among those honored for artistic achievements.

The ceremony, hosted by VH1’s Ellie Lee, also honors mentorship and educational outreach to the younger generation of artists in memory of Ed Vassallo, whose artistic career spanned 20 years and included work producing for the LAByrinth Theatre Company and volunteering with the 52nd Street Project.

RED-CARPET CELEBRATION
VIP COCKTAIL HOUR – 7:15pm / CURTAIN – 8pm
Running Time (presentation & awards ceremony) – 75mins
$25 in advance / $35 at the door
Tickets: web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/10010055

Chlumsky, who will accept the Vassallo Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts, said of all the theatre companies she’s been linked to, “Barefoot is the one I most respect, that I most enjoy working with.” Guirgis, who recently received the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Between Riverside and Crazy, a nuanced, beautifully written play about a retired police officer faced with eviction that uses dark comedy to confront questions of life and death, will receive the Vassallo Award for Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting. Barefoot also salutes Kamilah Forbes of Hi-Arts with the Educational Outreach Program Award, and Daniel Talbott of Rattlestick Playwrights Theater with the Mentorship Award.

Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Between Riverside and Crazy Garners 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Video: ATC Uncovered: Guards of the Stage — A Playwright’s Talk with Stephen Adly Guirgis and Rajiv Joseph

In addition to the awards presentation, the Gala includes live music, dancing and a performance of Waiting for Waiting For Godot by Mike Reiss, Emmy and Peabody award-winning writer for “The Simpsons”. Directed by Barefoot Theatre Company founder and Artistic Director Francisco Solorzano, the short play stars Jerry Adler (Larry David’s Fish in the Dark), Allison Anderegg, Jeremy Brena, Charles Everett, Daniel K. Isaac, Kenneth King, Margaret Ladd, Sevrin Mason, Michael Pantozzi, and Christa Wroblewski. “I’ve had the good fortune of working several times with Frank and Barefoot,” Reiss said. “They are consummate professionals and wonderful people.”

Barefoot founded the awards after Vassallo lost a two-year battle with cancer in 2014. The company was inspired to recognize Vassallo’s dedication to the arts, which included work producing the TENN99 and NYNY festivals for the LAByrinth Theatre Company as well as feature films which saw release at the Tribeca Film Festival and IFC/Sundance Selects. Vassallo’s passion extended to work as a mentor with the 52nd Street Project, which pairs New York City children and teens from with professional theatre artists. For this reason, the awards acknowledge not only artistic achievements but also educational outreach and mentorship that engages the next generation of artists.

The Vassallo Awards are sponsored by Sixpoint Brewery, American Ballroom Theater & Barefoot Studio Pictures.

Barefoot Theatre Company was founded in 1999 by a multicultural group of artists determined to produce vital, thought-provoking works, both new and existing. Now based out of both New York City and Los Angeles, hey have developed, work shopped and produced over 150 new plays staged at INTAR; RATTLESTICK; THE FLEA; CHERRY LANE THEATRE; IRT THEATER; HERE ARTS CENTER; THE BRICK; LABYRINTH THEATER CO., THE ACTOR’S STUDIO, and THEATRE ROW THEATRES, among others. Recent collaborations with award-winning writers include Jose Rivera, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristoffer Diaz, Israel Horovitz, Bernardo Cubria, Hilary Bettis, Mando Alvarado, Ed. Cardona Jr., Mike Reiss, actors Chris Cooper, Ethan Hawke, Bobby Cannavale, Gina Gershon, Richard Kind, Mickey Sumner, Craig ‘muMs’ Grant, Will Rogers, Caitlin FitzGerald, Alfredo Narciso, Annabella Sciorra, and Michael Stuhlbarg. Now in its 16th season, Barefoot is also developing films via sister company Barefoot Studio Pictures. Their award winning short film, Floating Sunflowers, is currently playing the festival circuit and stars ensemble members Anna Chlumsky (“Veep”; My Girl; In the Loop) and Lynn Cohen (Munich; Hunger Games 2; “Sex and the City”). Another short, written and directed by Caitlin FitzGerald (“Masters of Sex”) is currently in post-production.

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Behind the Scenes of the Asian American Film Lab’s 72 Hour Shootout with Lia Chang, Garth Kravits, Evan Daves and Alicia Manns in HIDE AND SEEK
Photos: The 11th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Launch Party at The Korea Society; TWO FACES is this year’s theme
Photos: Traveling through the mouth of the Dragon with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA’s James Hong, Peter Kwong, Lia Chang, Gerald Okamura, George Cheung, Al Leong, Jeff Imada, James Lew, Gary Goldman, Eric Lee
Photos and Video: BD Wong at premiere of JURASSIC WORLD at the Dolby Theatre
The King and I wins 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Kelli O’Hara (Best Leading Actress in a Musical), Ruthie Ann Miles (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and Catherine Zuber (Best Costume Design)
The King and I’s Ruthie Ann Miles Wins #TonyAwards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Photos: 2015 Tony Award Winners and Performances
Tony Award winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s Commencement Speech at SUNY Purchase
Cultural Interplay between the East and West in “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met
Photos: Anna May Wong as Fashion Muse in “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met
Photos: Inside “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met with Wong Kar-Wai, Vivienne Tam, Wendi Murdoch, Anna Wintour and More
Dr. Leroy Chiao honored with 2015 Blue Cloud Award at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Dr. Leroy Chiao, The Hon. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., Shirley and Walter Wang Honored at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Michael K. Lee, Christopheren Nomura, Greg Watanabe and More Join George Takei, Lea Salonga and Telly Leung in Broadway’s ALLEGIANCE; Full Cast Announced
Photos: Edie Falco, Bryce Pinkham, Stephanie McKay, Lena Hall, Nick Blaemire, Jacob Ming-Trent, Matthew Saldívar at The 52nd Street Project’s Gala FANCY THAT
Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon on view at the National Portrait Gallery in London, July 2 – October 18, 2015
Original Cast of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE including Jose Llana, Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg, to Reunite for 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert on July 6
ABC Renews “Fresh Off the Boat” and Picks up Ken Jeong’s “Dr. Ken”
An Intimate Evening with Author Amy Tan at the New-York Historical Society
World Premiere Musical HAMILTON Transfers to Broadway; Previews begin July 13
Bill Cobbs, Nate Jacobs, Erich McMillan-McCall, Katori Hall, Clinton Turner Davis, ESOSA, A. Peter Bailey, Maurice Hines, Robert Hooks, Grace Jones, Hattie Winston, Karamu House & More among 2015 National Black Theatre Festival Honorees; Gala on August 3
Crafting a Career

Jeff Weiss in front of PS 122 in New York in 1993. Photo by Lia Chang

Mark Bennett (Photo by Lia Chang)

For the first time in two decades, The Kitchen will present a new edition of the acclaimed performance series And That’s How the Rent Gets Paid, written by downtown legends Jeff Weiss and Richard C. Martinez. For three nights only (July 14-16), Weiss and Martinez’s thrilling serial drama, which follows a charming serial killer through the queer underbelly of New York City, will be brought to life by director and producer Brooke O’Harra with Kate Valk and Nicky Paraiso. The three-day marathon performance features an eclectic group of 50 performers including David Cale, Jennifer Miller, Keith McDermott, Becca Blackwell, Jess Barbagallo, Moe Angelos and Mark Bennett, among others. Weiss will appear in the production, in various cameo performances, throughout the three-day run.

Performances of And That’s How the Rent Gets Paid will take place July 14-16 at The Kitchen at 7pm. The Kitchen is located at 512 West 19th Street in Manhattan. Tickets are $15 ($12 students, seniors) and available online at thekitchen.org or by phone at 212.255.5793 x11.

Jeff Weiss and the cast of Hot Keys at PS 122 in New York in 1993. Photo by Lia Chang

In the 1980s, the East Village storefront studio of Jeff Weiss and his partner Richard C. Martinez was a hive of artistic experimentation. Week after week, the space would transform into the site of multilayered performance extravaganzas that reached Dionysian heights. Years passed, hundreds of actors and non-actors appeared opposite Weiss in his dark, anarchic satires, of which And That’s How the Rent Gets Paid is one of the most prodigious. In 1984, Mel Gussow in The New York Times wrote, “Jeff Weiss is a triple threat as playwright, actor and director – a man with an unbridled field of energy. Bottle him and he could give Con Edison a run for your money.”

Jeff Weiss and the cast of Hot Keys at PS 122 in New York in 1993. Photo courtesy of Lia Chang

Over many years this long running collaborative work appeared and reappeared under many titles – And That’s How the Rent Gets Paid, The Confessions of Conrad Gerhardt, Hot Keys, Come Clean, and Spring Offensive.

Nick Rodgers, Paul Beauvois, Lia Chang, Kristen Johnston, Brenda Cummings in a scene from Hot Keys at Naked Angels in New York in 1991. Photo courtesy of Lia Chang

I appeared in Hot Keys in the 90’s and it was one of the best theatrical experiences of my acting life. I will be forever grateful to Jeff and Carlos.

Stephen Sable and Lia Chang in Jeff Weiss\’ Hot Keys at P.S. 122 in New York in 1993.

And then, suddenly, like the era itself, it was all over. A “For Rent” sign appeared on the door of the storefront and Weiss disappeared back to Allentown, PA, where he’d been born – first to care for his ailing mother, and then to care for Martinez.

The performances feature: Jeff Weiss, Andrea Darriau, Becca Blackwell, Brenda Cummings, Brian Buys, Brian Liem, Chris Hurt, Christine Donnelly, Ciaran Walsh, Dan Peeples, Danaya Esperanza, Danny Ryan, David Cale, David Pittu, Dorothy Cantwell, Eric Lockley, Hanna Allerton, Heather Litteer, Hye Young Chyun, Jacob Burckhardt, Jane Bradley, Janet Bryant, Jennifer Miller, Jess Barbagallo, Jiro Ueno, John Jeserun, John Walker, Kate Valk, Keith McDermott, Margherita Fapiano,Mark Bennett, Mary Schultz, Moe Angelos, Michael Roth, Neil Greenberg, Nicky Paraiso, Nicolas Norena, Richard Sheinmel, Sturgis Warner, and Tanya Selvaratnam, among others.

About the artists

Jeff Weiss at PS 122 in New York in 1993. Photo by Lia Chang

Jeffrey Weiss (born 1938) is an Obie Award-winning American playwright, impresario and actor both on and off Broadway. He was the founder of Good Medicine & Company, a theater space that he ran with his partner Carlos Richardo Martinez in the East Village, New York City. His work has been presented in LaMaMa and Cafe Cino. In 2000 he was the recipient of a Robert Chesley Award. He currently resides in Allentown, PA.

In 1999, Brooke O’Harra co-founded, with composer Brendan Connelly, the NYC-based The Theatre of a Two-headed Calf. The ensemble-driven company layers various theatrical styles, texts and musical forms for unexpected experiences such as the 1970s punk rock-inspired adaptation of the 18th-century, Chikamatsu play Drum of the Waves of Horikawa (OBIE Award, 2007), or the re-imagined take on chamber opera and motherhood, You, My Mother (2012). As part of the Dyke Division of Two-headed Calf, she conceived, directed, wrote, and performed the popular lesbian soap opera Room For Cream, (La Mama, 2008-2011). In addition to developing and directing all 14 of the Two-headed Calf productions, she is also a freelance director with multiple honors including a NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors grant. She is currently working on a nine part performance project titled, I’m Bleeding All Over the Place: Studies in directing or nine encounters between you and me; the first three events were performed at The New Museum in May 2014. Brooke recently developed a new musical with playwright Lisa D’Amour and composer Brendan Connelly titled Jack Spicer’s Billy the Kid, which featured Becca Blackwell. She also has an ongoing collaborative performance, Time Passes, with visual artist Sharon Hayes.

Kate Valk is a long time performer with The Wooster Group, a theater company under the direction of Elizabeth LeCompte based at The Performing Garage in Soho, New York. Kate also founded the group’s summer institute for NYC public school students. Most recently Ms.Valk directed her first piece, Early Shaker Spirituals.

Nicky Paraiso backstage at Hot Keys at PS 122 in New York in 1993. Photo by Lia Chang

Nicky Paraiso is Director of Programming at The Club at La MaMa and is also Curator for the annual La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival, now celebrating its 10th Anniversary. He has been an actor/performer in the NY downtown theater, dance and performance scene since 1979, working with actor/playwright Jeff Weiss and director/visual artist Richard C. Martinez on such major works as And That’s How The Rent Gets Paid Parts III & IV, the latter with the Wooster Group in the summer of 1984. Nicky was also Music Director (with Mark Bennett) for the legendary OBIE-Award winning serial theater play, Hot Keys, from its inception in 1992-3 at Naked Angels & Manhattan Class Company through the summers of 1996-1997 at Performance Space 122. Nicky has also been a member of Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble, Yoshiko Chuma & The School of Hard Knocks, and has worked as an actor/performer with Anne Bogart, John Jesurun, Dan Hurlin, Dan Froot, Jessica Hagedorn, Robbie McCauley, Laurie Carlos, Richard Elovich, Fred Holland, Mary Shultz, Mark Bennett, Brooke O’Harra, among many others. Nicky’s one-man shows (including Asian Boys, Houses and Jewels, and House/Boy) have been presented at La MaMa, Dixon Place, BACA Downtown, Performance Space 122, Dance Theater Workshop, Pillsbury House Theater (Minneapolis), the 4th Int’l Festival of Cabaret (Mexico City), the KO Festival (Amherst College), Dublin Theatre Festival and the Initiation Performance Festival in Singapore (both in 2007). Paraiso’s awards include a 1987 New York Dance & Performance BESSIE Award, a 2004 Spencer Cherashore Fund grant for mid-career actors, a 2005 NY Innovative Theater Award, and the 2012 BAX Arts and Artists in Progress Arts Manager Award. Nicky is a graduate of Oberlin College/Conservatory & NYU’s Graduate Acting Program. His writing appears in the anthology Love, Christopher Street: Reflections of New York City, edited by Thomas Keith (Vantage Point Books, 2012).

Funding Credits
The Kitchen’s presentation of this project is made possiblewith support in part by public funds from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

About The Kitchen
The Kitchen is one of New York City’s most forward-looking nonprofit spaces, showing innovative work by emerging and established artists across disciplines. Our programs range from dance, music, performance, and theater to video, film, and art, in addition to literary events, artists’ talks, and lecture series. Since its inception in 1971, The Kitchen has been a powerful force in shaping the cultural landscape of this country, and has helped launch the careers of many artists who have gone on to worldwide prominence.

Other articles by Lia Chang:
Behind the Scenes of the Asian American Film Lab’s 72 Hour Shootout with Lia Chang, Garth Kravits, Evan Daves and Alicia Manns in HIDE AND SEEK
FILM LAB PRESENTS “Focus on the Philippines” featuring John Day’s Matud Nila, narrated by Raul Aranas
Photos: The 11th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Launch Party at The Korea Society; TWO FACES is this year’s theme
Photos: Traveling through the mouth of the Dragon with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA’s James Hong, Peter Kwong, Lia Chang, Gerald Okamura, George Cheung, Al Leong, Jeff Imada, James Lew, Gary Goldman, Eric Lee
Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, Anna Chlumsky, Kamilah Forbes, Daniel Talbott to Be Honored at Barefoot’s 2015 Vassallo Awards on June 22
Photos and Video: BD Wong at premiere of JURASSIC WORLD at the Dolby Theatre
The King and I wins 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Kelli O’Hara (Best Leading Actress in a Musical), Ruthie Ann Miles (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and Catherine Zuber (Best Costume Design)
The King and I’s Ruthie Ann Miles Wins #TonyAwards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Photos: 2015 Tony Award Winners and Performances
Tony Award winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s Commencement Speech at SUNY Purchase
Cultural Interplay between the East and West in “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met
Photos: Anna May Wong as Fashion Muse in “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met
Photos: Inside “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met with Wong Kar-Wai, Vivienne Tam, Wendi Murdoch, Anna Wintour and More
Dr. Leroy Chiao honored with 2015 Blue Cloud Award at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Dr. Leroy Chiao, The Hon. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., Shirley and Walter Wang Honored at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Michael K. Lee, Christopheren Nomura, Greg Watanabe and More Join George Takei, Lea Salonga and Telly Leung in Broadway’s ALLEGIANCE; Full Cast Announced
Photos: Edie Falco, Bryce Pinkham, Stephanie McKay, Lena Hall, Nick Blaemire, Jacob Ming-Trent, Matthew Saldívar at The 52nd Street Project’s Gala FANCY THAT
Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon on view at the National Portrait Gallery in London, July 2 – October 18, 2015
Original Cast of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE including Jose Llana, Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg, to Reunite for 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert on July 6
ABC Renews “Fresh Off the Boat” and Picks up Ken Jeong’s “Dr. Ken”
An Intimate Evening with Author Amy Tan at the New-York Historical Society
World Premiere Musical HAMILTON Transfers to Broadway; Previews begin July 13
Bill Cobbs, Nate Jacobs, Erich McMillan-McCall, Katori Hall, Clinton Turner Davis, ESOSA, A. Peter Bailey, Maurice Hines, Robert Hooks, Grace Jones, Hattie Winston, Karamu House & More among 2015 National Black Theatre Festival Honorees; Gala on August 3
Crafting a Career

Hamilton

The world premiere musical Hamilton – a sold-out hit during its run in The Public’s Newman Theater earlier this year– is transferring to Broadway, with previews set to begin July 13 prior to an official opening night on August 6 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre (226 W. 46 St.)

Hamilton, inspired by the book “Alexander Hamilton” by Ron Chernow, with book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and directed by Tony Award nominee Thomas Kail, is produced on Broadway by Jeffrey Seller, Sander Jacobs, Jill Furman and The Public Theater.

Tickets for the Broadway engagement can be purchased via Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.

The Schuyler sisters work it in Paul Tazewell’s costumes: Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Jasmine Cephas Jones, who plays their sib and Hamilton’s mistress. Photo by Joan Marcus

Jonathan Groff returns as King George for HAMILTON. Photo by Joan Marcus

The Broadway-bound cast stars Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hamilton, Christopher Jackson as George Washington, Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton, Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Phillip Hamilton, Daveed Diggs as Marquis De Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson and Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler.

Jonathan Groff will reprise his Off-Broadway performance in Hamilton as King George, in a role originated by Brian d’Arcy James, who left the cast to join Something Rotten!

The ensemble will feature Jasmine Cephas Jones, Okieriete Onaodowan, Carleigh Bettiol, Andrew Chappelle, Ariana DeBose, Alysha Deslorieux, Sydney James Harcourt, Neil Haskell, Sasha Hutchings, Thayne Jasperson, Stephanie Klemons, Morgan Marcell, Emmy Raver-Lampan, Javier Munoz, Jon Rua, Austin Smith, Seth Stewart, Betsy Struxness, Ephraim Sykes and Voltaire Wade-Greene.

From the creative team behind the Tony Award-winning In The Heights comes a wildly inventive new musical about the scrappy young immigrant who forever changed America: Alexander Hamilton. Tony and Grammy Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda wields his pen and takes the stage as the unlikely founding father determined to make his mark on a new nation as hungry and ambitious as he is. From bastard orphan to Washington’s right hand man, rebel to war hero, loving husband caught in the country’s first sex scandal to Treasury head who made an untrusting world believe in the American economy, Hamilton is an exploration of a political mastermind. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Eliza Hamilton, and lifelong Hamilton friend and foe, Aaron Burr, all attend this revolutionary tale of America’s fiery past told through the sounds of the ever-changing nation we’ve become.

Hamilton dominated this year’s awards season. Below is the awards tally.

The Public Theater’s Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda (including special citations for Andy Blankenbuehler, Thomas Kail, and Alex Lacamoire) received the OBIE Award for Best New American Theatre Work, which is accompanied by a $1,000 check.

Hamilton received 8 Drama Desk Awards including Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Renee Elise Goldsberry), Outstanding Director of a Musical (Thomas Kail), Outstanding Sound Design in a Musical (Nevin Steinberg); and three for Lin-Manuel Miranda in the categories of Outstanding Music, Outstanding Book of a Musical and Outstanding Lyrics. Andy Blankenbuehler also received a Special Drama Desk Award for his choreography for Hamilton.

Hamilton was named Best Musical by the Off Broadway Alliance Award and Best New Musical by the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards.

Daveed Diggs received a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance and Phillipa Soo received a Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Female Performer.

Hamilton received 3 2015 Outer Critics Circle Awards including Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical, Outstanding Book of a Musical and Outstanding Score.

Hamilton swept the Lucille Lortel Awards winning in ten of the twelve categories it was nominated for including outstanding musical, acting awards for Lin-Manuel Miranda (outstanding lead actor in a musical), Phillipa Soo (outstanding lead actress in a musical), Daveed Diggs (outstanding featured actor in a musical), Renée Elise Goldsberry (outstanding featured actress in a musical), director (Thomas Kail), choregrapher (Andy Blankenbuehler), lighting design (Howell Binkley), sound design (Nevin Steinberg) and costume design (Paul Tazewell).

Hamilton features scenic design by David Korins; costume design by Paul Tazewell; lighting design by Howell Binkley; sound design by Nevin Steinberg; hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe; music direction and orchestrator Alex Lacamoire; and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler.

LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA (Book, Music, and Lyrics/Alexander Hamilton) is the Tony and Grammy award-winning composer-lyricist-star of Broadway’s In the Heights. In the Heights received four 2008 Tony Awards (including Best Musical, Best Orchestrations, Best Choreography), with Miranda receiving a Tony Award for Best Score, as well as a nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. In the Heights was also recognized as a Finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Miranda is the co-composer (with Tom Kitt), and co-lyricist (with Amanda Green) of Broadway’s Bring it On: The Musical (2013 Tony nom., Best Musical, 2013 Drama Desk nom., Best Lyrics in a Musical). Miranda contributed new songs to the revival of Stephen Schwartz’ Working and provided Spanish translations for the 2009 Broadway revival of West Side Story. Miranda, along with Kitt, won the 2014 Creative Arts Emmy for Best Original Music and Lyrics for their work on the 67th Annual Tony Awards. As an actor, Miranda appeared in the City Center Encores! productions of Merrily We Roll Along (Charley Kringas), and tick, tick… BOOM! (Jonathan). He is a co-founder and member of Freestyle Love Supreme, an improvisational hip-hop group that will launch a self-titled television series in October 2014 on Pivot TV. Additional TV and film credits include “The Electric Company,” “Sesame Street,” “The Sopranos,” “House,” “Modern Family,” “Do No Harm,” “Smash,” “How I Met Your Mother,” The Sex and the City Movie, The Odd Life of Timothy Green, and 200 Cartas.

THOMAS KAIL (Director). His Broadway credits include In the Heights (Tony nomination for Best Director); and two new plays, Lombardi and Magic/Bird. His Off-Broadway credits include In the Heights (Callaway Award, Drama Desk nom., Outer Critics nom.); at New York City Center Randy Newman’s Faust and The Wiz; Lincoln Center Theater’sBroke-ology and When I Come to Die; The Flea Theater’s Family Furniture (Drama Desk Nom.); and Second Stage Uptown’s The Tutors. Other credits include Williamstown Theater Festival’s Broke-ology; Paper Mill Playhouse’s Once on this Island; and the National Tour of In the Heights. He is the co-creator and director of the hip-hop improv groupFreestyle Love Supreme, which played the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, US Comedy Arts Festival, Montreal Comedy Festival and Melbourne Comedy Festival. He served as the Creative Director of the 2012, 2013 & 2014 Webby Awards. For television he directed episodes of “2 Broke Girls”; “Oprah Winfrey’s 2010 Primetime Oscar Special” for ABC; the pilot episode of “Storymakers” for AMC; and he served as Co-Music Director and consulting producer on first season of PBS show “The Electric Company”. He is the Executive Producer and Co-Creator of new TV Series “Freestyle Love Supreme” for Pivot; and he is the recipient of the Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center and is a graduate of Wesleyan University, CT.

ANDY BLAKENBUEHLER (Choreography)’s Broadway credits include In The Heights (Tony, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Awards), Bring It On, 9 To 5, The People In The Picture, The Apple Tree, Annie, The Wiz (City Center Encores). Regionally his credits include FLY (Dallas Theatre Center), Desperately Seeking Susan (West End), A Little Princess(Andrew Lippa), Joseph (National tour). Upcoming projects include Only Gold with British singer/songwriter Kate Nash.

JEFFREY SELLER is the winner of three Tony Awards for Best Musical: Rent (1996), Avenue Q (2004) and In The Heights (2008). Additional productions include De La Guarda, Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party, La Boheme, the 2009 revival of West Side Story, and this season’s The Last Ship. As director his credits include Fly (2013) at Dallas Theater Center. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

SANDER JACOBS has been represented on Broadway with the Tony Award-winning Best Musical In The Heightsand the Tony Award-nominated West Side Story revival. Jacobs has served as a co-producer and/or investor for numerous Broadway, national and international productions, with a selection of theatre’s most celebrated and critically-acclaimed musicals including Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Follies and The Last Ship.

JILL FURMAN received the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical for In The Heights. Other Broadway credits include Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, The Heiress, Seminar, West Side Story, The Drowsy Chaperone, Sly Fox andFortune’s Fool. Off-Broadway her credits include On The Line and Adult Entertainment. Furman executive produced the Pivot television series “Freestyle Love Supreme,” starring the hip-hop improv group of the same name, and also produces the live version of the show. In 2011, Furman received the Robert Whitehead Award for Outstanding Achievement in Commercial Theatre Producing. She is a member of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.

Other articles by Lia Chang
FILM LAB PRESENTS “Focus on the Philippines” featuring John Day’s Matud Nila, narrated by Raul Aranas
Behind the Scenes of the Asian American Film Lab’s 72 Hour Shootout with Lia Chang, Garth Kravits, Evan Daves and Alicia Manns in HIDE AND SEEK
Photos: The 11th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Launch Party at The Korea Society; TWO FACES is this year’s theme
Photos: Traveling through the mouth of the Dragon with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA’s James Hong, Peter Kwong, Lia Chang, Gerald Okamura, George Cheung, Al Leong, Jeff Imada, James Lew, Gary Goldman, Eric Lee
Photos and Video: BD Wong at premiere of JURASSIC WORLD at the Dolby Theatre
The King and I wins 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Kelli O’Hara (Best Leading Actress in a Musical), Ruthie Ann Miles (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and Catherine Zuber (Best Costume Design)
The King and I’s Ruthie Ann Miles Wins #TonyAwards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Photos: 2015 Tony Award Winners and Performances
Tony Award winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s Commencement Speech at SUNY Purchase
Cultural Interplay between the East and West in “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met
Photos: Anna May Wong as Fashion Muse in “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met
Photos: Inside “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met with Wong Kar-Wai, Vivienne Tam, Wendi Murdoch, Anna Wintour and More
Dr. Leroy Chiao honored with 2015 Blue Cloud Award at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Dr. Leroy Chiao, The Hon. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., Shirley and Walter Wang Honored at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Michael K. Lee, Christopheren Nomura, Greg Watanabe and More Join George Takei, Lea Salonga and Telly Leung in Broadway’s ALLEGIANCE; Full Cast Announced
Photos: Edie Falco, Bryce Pinkham, Stephanie McKay, Lena Hall, Nick Blaemire, Jacob Ming-Trent, Matthew Saldívar at The 52nd Street Project’s Gala FANCY THAT
Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon on view at the National Portrait Gallery in London, July 2 – October 18, 2015
Original Cast of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE including Jose Llana, Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg, to Reunite for 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert on July 6
ABC Renews “Fresh Off the Boat” and Picks up Ken Jeong’s “Dr. Ken”
An Intimate Evening with Author Amy Tan at the New-York Historical Society
World Premiere Musical HAMILTON Transfers to Broadway; Previews begin July 13
Bill Cobbs, Nate Jacobs, Erich McMillan-McCall, Katori Hall, Clinton Turner Davis, ESOSA, A. Peter Bailey, Maurice Hines, Robert Hooks, Grace Jones, Hattie Winston, Karamu House & More among 2015 National Black Theatre Festival Honorees; Gala on August 3
Crafting a Career

Morgan Jenness. Photo Credit: Alexandre M.S. Carvalho

Morgan Jenness, a recipient of the $80,000 Doris Duke Impact Award, is a freelance dramaturg who has worked at the Public Theater for over a decade as a manager, director, and associate producer; New York Theater Workshop as an Associate Artistic Director; and Los Angeles Theater Center. She has provided key dramaturgical support on projects including Stacy Klein’s The Grand Parade, currently touring nationally and internationally, Taylor Mac’s The Lily’s Revenge (2009), and SURRENDER (2007), her MAP Fund supported collaboration with the International WOW company. In 2003, she was presented with an OBIE Award Special Citation for Longtime Support of Playwrights. She has taught as a visiting artist and adjunct faculty at Bread Loaf, Brown University, Columbia University, Fordham University, University of Iowa, and New York University. Her current project is This Distracted Globe, a consulting entity intended to provide dramaturgical input and overall guidance to creative projects that meld the arts, sciences, and humanities.

Morgan Jenness. Photo by Lia Chang

Miss Jenness said, “My key goals for the award period are to more actively explore the idea of the creative agora, the intersections between professional, educational, and community worlds and audiences, and to further investigate the notion of “social sculpture” —how theater, as a potential container for all the arts, can serve as a central magnetic force for investigation, dialogue and inspiration for various diverse communities. I also want to find Creative Campus/Creative Community venues for the projects with which I have already started to engage, including POWER TO THE PEOPLE: The Solutions Grassroots Tour (dealing with impact of fossil fuel industry in our society, from climate change, to environmental damage to war); The Grand Parade (of the 20th Century) — encouraging inter-connectivity between history, arts and education programs, Transcripts — collecting and presenting personal narratives from transgender communities and Don’t Feed the Indians, a comedic interactive revue looking at Native representation within the larger culture. I also want to continue to find, help develop, and facilitate works that serve as ethical and aesthetic structures for multiple engagements and which can also cross the boundaries between arts and activism.”

Ms. Jenness is among the second group of 20 individuals to receive Doris Duke Impact Awards, announced by The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF). The award is part of the larger Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards, launched in late 2011 as a special 10-year initiative of the foundation to empower, invest in and celebrate artists by offering flexible, multi-year funding in response to financial challenges that are specific to the performing arts. Each recipient of a Doris Duke Impact Award is receiving $80,000, totaling in $1.6 million to 20 new grantees. Since April 2014, the foundation has awarded a total of $3.2 million in Impact Awards to 40 artists in the fields of jazz, dance and theatre.

Ben Cameron, program director for the arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, said, “The Doris Duke Impact Awards are based on nominations submitted by artists, identifying others (often less widely known) that will have enormous impact on the jazz, dance or theatre fields in the future. This year’s group is a thrilling one: we are honored to support them and look forward, not only to how they will use their funds, but to the ways they will shape and change the performing arts in the future.”

The 2015 recipients of Doris Duke Impact Awards are:

Becca Blackwell (Theatre)
Lear deBessonet (Theatre)
Kris Davis (Jazz)
Mark Dresser (Jazz)
Michelle Ellsworth (Dance)
Beth Gill (Dance)
Milford Graves (Jazz)
Ishmael Houston-Jones (Dance)
Morgan Jenness (Theatre)
Heather Kravas (Dance)
Dohee Lee (Theatre)
Dianne McIntyre (Dance)
Matt Mitchell (Jazz)
Carlos Murillo (Theatre)
Brooke O’Harra (Theatre)
Susan Rethorst (Dance)
Tyshawn Sorey (Jazz)
Henry Threadgill (Jazz)
Reggie Workman (Jazz)
Pamela Z (Theatre)

To learn more about the 2015 Doris Duke Impact Award recipients and to view samples of each artist’s work, visit www.ddpaa.org.

About the Doris Duke Impact Awards

The Doris Duke Impact Award is one of two awards in the Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards program. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is granting these awards as part of a larger $50 million, 10-year commitment beyond its already existing funding for the performing arts. By the end of the 10 years, the foundation will have offered a total of at least 200 artists greatly expanded freedom to create, through an initiative that makes available the largest allocation of unrestricted cash grants ever given to individuals in contemporary dance, jazz and theatre.

Each recipient of a Doris Duke Impact Award is awarded $80,000—including an unrestricted, multi-year cash grant of $60,000, plus as much as $10,000 more in targeted support for audience development and as much as $10,000 more for personal reserves or creative exploration during what are usually retirement years for most Americans. Artists will be able to access their awards over a period of two to three years under a schedule set by each recipient. Creative Capital, DDCF’s primary partner in the Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards, will also offer the awardees the opportunity to participate in professional development activities, financial and legal counseling, and regional gatherings—all designed to help them personalize and maximize the use of their grants. The Doris Duke Impact Awards uniquely incentivize retirement savings and offer multi-year support that allows grantees to determine their own schedule for receiving the funds rather than mandating a uniform annual amount.

“The flexibility of both the award funding and Creative Capital’s advisory services makes it possible for us to tailor a support structure to each artist that wins this award,” said Ruby Lerner, founding president and executive director at Creative Capital. “This is so important, because an artist can have impact on the field at any career stage, whether they are emerging or in a later career stage, so their needs can vary widely.”

The Doris Duke Impact Awards are intentionally designed to support artists who are not eligible for the Doris Duke Artist Award, the other award in the larger program, either because the artists lack the necessary number of qualifying national awards, grants and prizes to become eligible for the Doris Duke Artist Award or because their artistic voices are still coming into focus. Within those parameters, Doris Duke Artists have the opportunity to nominate artists who inspire them to be considered for a Doris Duke Impact Award. A separate, anonymous panel of peers then selects the recipients based on evidence of exceptional creativity, self-challenge and the potential to make significant contributions to the fields of jazz, contemporary dance and theatre in the future. These grants are not tied to any specific project but are made as investments in the artists’ personal and professional development and future work.

The Doris Duke Artist Awards and the Doris Duke Impact Awards will be announced between 2012 and 2016, and 2014 and 2018, respectively. More information about the Doris Duke Performing Artist Awards is available at www.ddpaa.org.

About the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and child well-being, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke’s properties. The Arts Program of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation focuses its support on contemporary dance, jazz and theatre artists, and the organizations that nurture, present and produce them. For more information, please visit www.ddcf.org.

About Creative Capital
Creative Capital supports innovative and adventurous artists across the country through funding, counsel and career development services. Our pioneering approach—inspired by venture-capital principles—helps artists working in all creative disciplines realize their visions and build sustainable practices. Since 1999, Creative Capital has committed $30 million in financial and advisory support to 419 projects representing 529 artists, and our Professional Development Program has reached 7,000 artists in more than 300 communities. For more information, visit www.creative-capital.org.

Other articles by Lia Chang
Tony Award Winning Playwright David Henry Hwang Receives $275,000 Doris Duke Artist Award
FILM LAB PRESENTS “Focus on the Philippines” featuring John Day’s Matud Nila, narrated by Raul Aranas
Behind the Scenes of the Asian American Film Lab’s 72 Hour Shootout with Lia Chang, Garth Kravits, Evan Daves and Alicia Manns in HIDE AND SEEK
Photos: The 11th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Launch Party at The Korea Society; TWO FACES is this year’s theme
Photos: Traveling through the mouth of the Dragon with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA’s James Hong, Peter Kwong, Lia Chang, Gerald Okamura, George Cheung, Al Leong, Jeff Imada, James Lew, Gary Goldman, Eric Lee
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christopher Jackson, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillipa Soo, Anthony Ramos, Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff and more set for HAMILTON; Previews begin July 13
Photos and Video: BD Wong at premiere of JURASSIC WORLD at the Dolby Theatre
The King and I wins 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Kelli O’Hara (Best Leading Actress in a Musical), Ruthie Ann Miles (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and Catherine Zuber (Best Costume Design)
The King and I’s Ruthie Ann Miles Wins #TonyAwards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Photos: 2015 Tony Award Winners and Performances
Tony Award winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s Commencement Speech at SUNY Purchase
Cultural Interplay between the East and West in “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met
Photos: Anna May Wong as Fashion Muse in “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met
Photos: Inside “China: Through the Looking Glass” at The Met with Wong Kar-Wai, Vivienne Tam, Wendi Murdoch, Anna Wintour and More
Dr. Leroy Chiao honored with 2015 Blue Cloud Award at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Photos: Dr. Leroy Chiao, The Hon. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., Shirley and Walter Wang Honored at China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala
Coming to America through The Angel Island Immigration Station
Michael K. Lee, Christopheren Nomura, Greg Watanabe and More Join George Takei, Lea Salonga and Telly Leung in Broadway’s ALLEGIANCE; Full Cast Announced
Photos: Edie Falco, Bryce Pinkham, Stephanie McKay, Lena Hall, Nick Blaemire, Jacob Ming-Trent, Matthew Saldívar at The 52nd Street Project’s Gala FANCY THAT
Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon on view at the National Portrait Gallery in London, July 2 – October 18, 2015
Original Cast of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE including Jose Llana, Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg, to Reunite for 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert on July 6
ABC Renews “Fresh Off the Boat” and Picks up Ken Jeong’s “Dr. Ken”
An Intimate Evening with Author Amy Tan at the New-York Historical Society
World Premiere Musical HAMILTON Transfers to Broadway; Previews begin July 13
Bill Cobbs, Nate Jacobs, Erich McMillan-McCall, Katori Hall, Clinton Turner Davis, ESOSA, A. Peter Bailey, Maurice Hines, Robert Hooks, Grace Jones, Hattie Winston, Karamu House & More among 2015 National Black Theatre Festival Honorees; Gala on August 3
Crafting a Career

Jose Llana at the Lincoln Center American Songbook afterparty at Tavern on the Green in New York on March 12, 2015. Photo by Lia Chang

Hoon Lee

Jose Llana and Hoon Lee are set to play the King of Siam in Lincoln Center Theater’s Tony Award-winning production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I, directed by Bartlett Sher, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (150 West 65 Street). The King and I is the winner of 4 2015 Tony Awards — Best Revival of a Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Kelli O’Hara), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Ruthie Ann Miles), and Best Costume Design of a Musical (Catherine Zuber).

The King and I wins 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Kelli O’Hara (Best Leading Actress in a Musical), Ruthie Ann Miles (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and Catherine Zuber (Best Costume Design)
The King and I’s Ruthie Ann Miles Wins #TonyAwards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Photos: 2015 Tony Award Winners and Performances

On Tuesday, July 14, Jose Llana, who most recently starred as President Marcos in the long-running hit musical Here Lies Love at the Public Theater, will join Tony winners Kelli O’Hara and Ruthie Ann Miles (his Imelda from Here Lies Love) to perform the role of The King of Siam for a strictly limited 11-week engagement through Sunday, September 27. On Tuesday, September 29, immediately upon completion of filming his starring role on the fourth season of the Cinemax series “Banshee,” Hoon Lee will assume the role of The King, which was originated for this production by Tony Award nominee Ken Watanabe, who will play his final performance on Sunday, July 12.

The King and I also features Ashley Park (as Tuptim), Conrad Ricamora (as Lun Tha), Edward Baker-Duly (as Sir Edward Ramsey), Jon Viktor Corpuz (as Prince Chulalongkorn), Murphy Guyer (as Captain Orton), Jake Lucas (as Louis), Paul Nakauchi (as Kralahome), and Marc Oka (as Phra Alack), and Aaron J. Albano, Adriana Braganza, Amaya Braganza, Billy Bustamante, LaMae Caparas, Hsin-Ping Chang, Andrew Cheng, Lynn Masako Cheng, Olivia Chun, Ali Ewoldt, Ethan Halford Holder, Cole Horibe, MaryAnn Hu, James Ignacio, Misa Iwama, Christie Kim, Q GyuJin Lim, Kelvin Moon Loh, Sumie Maeda, Paul HeeSang Miller, Betsy Morgan, Rommel Pierre O’Choa, Kristen Faith Oei, Autumn Ogawa, Yuki Ozeki, Stephanie Jae Park, Diane Phelan, Sam Poon, William Poon, Brian Rivera, Bennyroyce Royon, Lainie Sakakura, Ann Sanders, Ian Saraceni, Atsuhisa Shinomiya, Michiko Takemasa, Kei Tsuruharatani, Christopher Vo, Rocco Wu, Xiaochuan Xie, and Timothy Yang.

Jose Llana and Ruthie Ann Miles in Here Lies Love. Photo by Joan Marcus

JOSE LLANA starred as President Marcos in the musical Here Lies Love at the Public Theater, for which he received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination. His Broadway credits include Wonderland, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Drama Desk Award), Flower Drum Song, Rent, Streetcorner Symphony, and the 1996 production of The King and I, in which he made his Broadway debut in the role of Lun Tha. His other off-Broadway credits include Saturn Returns (Public Theater), On The Town (Shakespeare in the Park), and Falling For Eve (York Theatre). He appeared in the national tour of the musical Martin Guerre and in regional theater in The Ballad of Little Joe at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre (Jefferson Award nomination), Myths and Hymns and Candide (Ethel Barrymore Award nomination) at Philadelphia’s Prince Music Theater, and as Bill Sykes in Oliver! at the Papermill Playhouse. His film and television credits include Hitch and “Sex and the City.” Earlier this year, Llana made his Lincoln Center American Songbook Debut. On July 6th, Llana will reunite with his original castmates from THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE including Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg, for a 10th Anniversary Concert to benefit The Actors Fund.

Original Cast of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE including Jose Llana, Derrick Baskin, Deborah S. Craig, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Dan Fogler, Lisa Howard, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jay Reiss, and Sarah Saltzberg, to Reunite for 10th Anniversary Benefit Concert on July 6
Photos: David Byrne, Alex Timbers, Jaygee Macapugay, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Adam Guettel, Sarah Saltzberg and More Celebrate Jose Llana’s Lincoln Center American Songbook Debut
Photos: In Rehearsal with Jose Llana; Set for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Debut on March 12

Francis Jue as HYH and Hoon Lee as DHH in David Henry Hwang’s YELLOW FACE at the Public Theater in New York. (Photo by Joan Marcus)

HOON LEE appeared on Broadway in Pacific Overtures (Roundabout Theatre Company), Flower Drum Song, and Urinetown. His off-Broadway credits include the Public Theater productions of Yellow Face (Theatre World Award, Drama League Award nomination) and Love’s Labor’s Lost; The School for Lies (Classic Stage Company); and Hamlet (Shakespeare in the Park). Currently a star of the Cinemax TV series “Banshee”, his other TV credits include the voice for Master Splinter on the Nickelodeon series “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and guest star roles on “Bosch” “The Blacklist” “Archer” “NYC-22″ “Blue Bloods” “White Collar” “Royal Pains” “Law & Order” and “Sex and the City”. He has been seen in the films Premium Rush, Exposed, The Oranges, We Own The Night, and Saving Face.

Nothing is Sacred in David Henry Hwang’s Comedy of Mistaken Racial Identity

The King and I is performed Tuesday evenings at 7pm and Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8pm, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm and Sunday at 3pm. Please note that beginning July 9, all Thursday performances will begin at 7pm. Tickets are available at the Lincoln Center Theater box office (150 West 65 Street), at telecharge.com, or by visiting KingandIBroadway.com. A limited number of tickets priced at $32 are available at every performance through LincTix, LCT’s program for 21 to 35 year olds. For information and to enroll, visit LincTix.org.

Other articles by Lia Chang
FILM LAB PRESENTS “Focus on the Philippines” featuring John Day’s Matud Nila, narrated by Raul Aranas
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Photos: The 11th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Launch Party at The Korea Society; TWO FACES is this year’s theme
Photos: Traveling through the mouth of the Dragon with BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA’s James Hong, Peter Kwong, Lia Chang, Gerald Okamura, George Cheung, Al Leong, Jeff Imada, James Lew, Gary Goldman, Eric Lee
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The Kitchen to present AND THAT’S HOW THE RENT GETS PAID, July 14-16
Morgan Jenness receives 2015 Doris Duke Impact Award
Photos and Video: BD Wong at premiere of JURASSIC WORLD at the Dolby Theatre
Tony Award winning playwright David Henry Hwang’s Commencement Speech at SUNY Purchase
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World Premiere Musical HAMILTON Transfers to Broadway; Previews begin July 13
Bill Cobbs, Nate Jacobs, Erich McMillan-McCall, Katori Hall, Clinton Turner Davis, ESOSA, A. Peter Bailey, Maurice Hines, Robert Hooks, Grace Jones, Hattie Winston, Karamu House & More among 2015 National Black Theatre Festival Honorees; Gala on August 3
Crafting a Career

Garth Kravits. Photo by Lia Chang

On Friday, June 26th at 3:00 pm, the York Theatre Company and its acclaimed Developmental Reading Series is presenting the new work Grounded for Life with book by Pat Hazell and Bill Habeeb, lyrics by Lawrence Goldberg and Mr. Hazell, and music by Mr. Goldberg at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter’s (619 Lexington Avenue, entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue). The reading is open to the public with a suggested donation of $5.00.

Grounded for Life: The Musical, with book by Pat Hazell and Bill Habeeb, lyrics by Lawrence Goldberg and Mr. Hazell, and music by Mr. Goldberg, is a “staying-of-age” comedy about Mitchell Mulligan, a thirty-something guy serving a life sentence in his childhood bedroom for throwing a snowball at a school bus when he was twelve. Twenty years later, in a literal case of arrested development, he is still doing his time. Secret visits from his best friends via a toy box tunnel have been keeping him going. But that is all about to come to an end. Mitch will have to face his own worst enemy: Himself. An absurd and relatable metaphor, Grounded for Life explores the ways people get stuck, hold themselves back, and allow their live to be limited by their own fears. Directed by Patrick O’Neill and with music direction by Matt Perri (Cagney), the cast will feature Klea Blackhurst as Mom, Michael Keyloun as Ernest McKeever (‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore), Garth Kravits as Mitch Mulligan (The Drowsy Chaperone), Eloise Kropp as Wendy Wheeler, Maxine Linehan as Tina Truesdale and Aaron Ramey as Mike Hardy/Death (The Visit). The Stage Manager is Melanie J. Lisby.

Reservations can be made by visiting www.yorktheatre.org.

The Developmental Reading Series presents some 40 readings and workshops of new musicals by emerging and established authors throughout the year, a vital part of the writing process. The series serves as an incubator for shows to be considered for Mainstage productions, thus serving the York’s unique mission of taking new musicals through the complete development process to full production.

The York Theatre Company offers the 54th Street Membership Program, an exclusive membership package for as low as $54.00 – with elite benefits that includes a 30% discount on tickets to York Theatre Productions (2 per membership), exclusive member pre-sale opportunities, 50% off on all lobby concessions, 20% off on all lobby merchandise, in addition to special member only receptions.

York Memberships may be purchased online at www.yorktheatre.org/membership, or by calling the York Theatre Company Box Office.

Other Articles on Garth Kravits:
Behind the Scenes of the Asian American Film Lab’s 72 Hour Shootout with Lia Chang, Garth Kravits, Evan Daves and Alicia Manns in HIDE AND SEEK
Photos: The 11th Annual 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Launch Party at The Korea Society; TWO FACES is this year’s theme
Laura Heywood, aka @BroadwayGirlNYC hosts 54 Below’s 2nd Annual Broadway Trivia Night: Tony Awards Edition, with special guest Garth Kravits
Photos: Garth Kravits, Laura Benanti, Brian Nash, Lena Hall, Erin Davie and More in “Broadway Sings Tori” Benefit Concert for RAINN
Photos: Garth Kravits as a Statue of Liberty Street Performer on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie
Garth Kravits Joins “NEW STANDARDS: Songs For The Stage By Jim Territo” Lineup at 42West on March 25
broadwayworld.com:STAGE TUBE: Garth Kravits Releases Oscar Voting Parody
Garth Kravits on NBC’s The Blacklist
Late Night Singing with Garth Kravits at 54 Below with The Skivvies, at Jim Caruso’s Cast Party at Birdland and Michael Raye’s Soul Gathering
broadwayworld.com: TUNE IN TIME, New York’s New Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge Show, Returns to Stage 72, 6/25 and 7/1
Wesley Taylor and Mitchell Jarvis’ ‘it could be worse’ Series Featuring Adam Chanler-Berat, Alison Fraser, Gideon Glick and More Airs on Pivot TV in June; and on Hulu in July
June 4: Garth Kravits, Lena Hall, Lesli Margherita, Wesley Taylor and More Strip Down with The Skivvies at 54 Below
Garth Kravits, Suzzanne Douglas, Erin Dilly, Gavin Lee and More Set for “From Carousel to Kinky Boots”, Bickford Theatre Guild’s annual fundraiser
Dec. 4 – 29: Garth Kravits Returns to Bucks County Playhouse for Meet Me in St. Louis: A Live Radio Play
centraljersey.com: Clang Clang Clang!’Meet Me in St. Louis’ in Bucks County
BWW Interviews: Garth Kravits Talks about Bucks County Playhouse’s MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS: A RADIO PLAY
nj.com: Jersey actor Garth Kravits sings the praises of appearing on Broadway and closer to home

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Crafting a Career

Euan Morton

The Old Globe is presenting the West Coast Premiere of Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, a new work by one of America’s great comic playwrights, familiar to millions for Lend Me a Tenor and Crazy for You. Baskerville is directed by Josh Rhodes, who previously choreographed the Globe’s productions of Bright Star and Working, as well as Broadway’s It Shoulda Been You, First Date, and Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella. The Old Globe engagement will begin performances on July 24, with opening night on Thursday, July 30 at 8:00 p.m., in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Although originally scheduled to run through August 23, Baskerville has been extended by popular demand through August 30, 2015!

The 2015 Summer Season continues the Globe’s 80th Anniversary festivities as part of the Balboa Park Centennial Celebration. Tickets for Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery are currently available by subscription only and are flying out the door! Subscription packages to the Globe’s 2015 Summer Season range from $97 to $346. Single tickets start at $29 and go on sale Friday, June 19 at 12 noon. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park.

A wildly inventive adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles makes its West Coast premiere. Ken Ludwig brings to life literature’s most famous detective-the inimitable Sherlock Holmes. Five fearless actors conjure the world of Victorian England as Holmes and Watson take on one of the most diabolical cases of their careers. This witty and clever romp delivers chills, laughter, and a great evening of theatre.

Usman Ally

Tony Award nominee Euan Morton plays the intrepid Sherlock Holmes. He was last at the Globe as Michelangelo Buonarroti in 2012’s Divine Rivalry. He originated the role of Boy George in Taboo on Broadway and the West End, appeared in Broadway’s Cyrano de Bergerac and Sondheim on Sondheim, and won an Obie Award for Measure for Pleasure at The Public Theater. Usman Ally is his trusted colleague Doctor Watson. He received a 2015 Obie Award for Off Broadway’s The Invisible Hand and has also appeared in Disgraced, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, The Jungle Book, “Madam Secretary,” and “Damages.” The 45 other people in the play are portrayed by Blake Segal as Man One (Mary Poppins national tour, Off Broadway’s Bones in the Basket and Les Enfants de Paris, “Blue Bloods”), Andrew Kober as Man Two (Broadway’s LES MISERABLES and Hair, “House of Cards,” “Boardwalk Empire”), and Liz Wisan as Woman One (Other Desert Cities on Broadway, Bill W. and Dr. Bob Off Broadway, the films Ready or Knot and Bitches, “Elementary”).

HAMILTON, James Houghton, Usman Ally, Ayad Akhtar, Stephen McKinley Henderson, John Douglas Thompson and Suzan-Lori Parks among 2015 Obie Award Winners

Ayad Akhtar’s THE INVISIBLE HAND Stars Usman Ally, Justin Kirk, Jameal Ali and Dariush Kashani at New York Theatre Workshop through January 4, 2015

81st Annual Drama League Awards Nominations

The creative team also includes Wilson Chin (Scenic Design), Shirley Pierson (Costume Design), Austin R. Smith (Lighting Design), Bart Fasbender (Original Music and Sound Design), David Huber (Vocal Coach), Caparelliotis Casting (Casting), and Annette Yé (Production Stage Manager).

“Ken Ludwig is an American master and one of the finest comic dramatists we have,” said Globe Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “I am thrilled to bring his latest brilliant creation to San Diego. It doesn’t take a super detective to figure out that our audiences will embrace its hilarious high-style and spine-tingling suspense. Director Josh Rhodes, another shining talent, will bring his own vivid and audacious style to the play, as will a cast as highly talented as any we’ve had here. Add a pipe, a magnifying glass, and a deerstalker hat, and Baskerville will deliver an evening of wit and panache that I know will prove one of the most memorable in Globe history.”

Ken Ludwig (Playwright) is an internationally acclaimed playwright whose work has been performed in more than 30 countries in over 20 languages. He has had six shows on Broadway and seven on London’s West End. His first play on Broadway, Lend Me a Tenor, won two Tony Awards and was nominated for seven. He has also won two Laurence Olivier Awards, a Charles MacArthur Award, twoHelen Hayes Awards, an Edgar Award, a Southeastern Theatre Conference Distinguished Career Award, and an Edwin Forrest Award. His newest book, How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, published by Random House, won a Falstaff Award. His plays have been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Old Vic. He has written 22 plays and musicals, including Crazy for You (five years on Broadway and the West End, Tony and Olivier Award winner for Best Musical), Moon Over Buffalo, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, Twentieth Century, Leading Ladies, Shakespeare in Hollywood, The Game’s Afoot, The Fox on the Fairway, The Three Musketeers, and The Beaux’ Stratagem. His most recent plays include Tiny Tim’s Christmas Carol (2015 Helen Hayes Award nominee), and A Comedy of Tenors, a sequel to Lend Me a Tenor, which will open this fall. His plays have starred Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Lynn Redgrave, Mickey Rooney, Hal Holbrook, Dixie Carter, Tony Shalhoub, Anne Heche, Joan Collins, and Kristin Bell. His work has been published by Yale Review, and he is a Sallie B. Goodman Fellow of McCarter Theatre Center. He holds degrees from Harvard, where he studied music with Leonard Bernstein, Haverford College, and Cambridge University.

Josh Rhodes (Director) previously choreographed the Globe’s productions of Bright Star and Working. His recent Broadway credits include It Shoulda Been You, First Date, and Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Outer Critics Circle, Astaire, and Drama Desk Award nominations). He choreographed Company starring Neil Patrick Harris, Sweeney Todd, and Sondheim! The Birthday Concert for theNew York Philharmonic and PBS. As a director his credits include Spamalot (The 5th Avenue Theatre), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Casa Mañana), and Broadway Bares XX and XXI. His other stage credits include Zorba (City Center Encores!), Working (Broadway Playhouse in Chicago, Drama Desk Award-winning production at Prospect Theater Company), John Kander’s The Landing (Vineyard Theatre), Broadway: Three Generations (The Kennedy Center), On the Town (Los Angeles Philharmonic), Annie Get Your Gun starring Patti LuPone (Ravinia Festival), Barnum (Asolo Repertory Theatre, Sarasota Magazine Theater Award), and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (The Shakespeare Theatre Company; Helen Hayes Award nomination).

Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery is supported in part through gifts from Paula and Brian Powers and Evelyn Mack Truitt. The Artist Sponsors for Euan Morton are Sue and Edward “Duff” Sanderson.

TICKETS to Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery are currently available only as part of a Season Package. Subscription prices for the 2015 Summer Season range from $97 to $346. Subscription packages may be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Single tickets go on sale Friday, June 19 at 12 noon. Performances begin on July 24 and continue through August 30. Performance times: Previews: Friday, July 24 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, July 26 at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00 p.m., and Wednesday, July 29 at 7:00 p.m. Opening night is Thursday, July 30 at 8:00 p.m. Regular Performances: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m., and Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. There will be no preview performances on Saturday, July 25. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors, and groups of 10 or more.

Additional events taking place during the run of Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery include:

INSIGHTS SEMINAR

Tuesday, July 28 at 5:30 p.m.

The seminar series features a panel selected from the current show. Reception at 5:00 p.m. FREE

POST-SHOW FORUMS

Tuesday, August 4, Wednesday, August 5, and Tuesday, August 11

Discuss the play with members of the cast and crew following the performance. FREE

The 2015 Summer Season opens June 21 with Shakespeare’s delightful and romantic Twelfth Night, directed by Rebecca Taichman, whose time-traveling Time and the Conways fascinated Globe audiences last April. It will continue as 2014 Tony Award winner for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and former Old Globe Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak returns July 1 to direct the spectacular musical classic Kiss Me, Kate, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Sam and Bella Spewack, and choreography by Peggy Hickey, in association with Hartford Stage. Rounding out the Summer Shakespeare Festival on August 16 is Shakespeare’s hilarious The Comedy of Errors, with seven-time Tony Award nominee Scott Ellis, who had three shows on Broadway this season, making his Old Globe directorial debut.

Twelfth Night and The Comedy of Errors will run in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. Kiss Me, Kate will play on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’sConrad Prebys Theatre Center.

The Globe will also present a series of free Monday night films relating to Shakespeare through the eras to celebrate both the Balboa Park Centennial and the theatre’s 80th Anniversary. On June 29 at 8:15 p.m., the Globe will present Henry V, directed by Laurence Olivier in 1944, in the Festival Theatre. It will be followed by Orson Welles’s 1965 classic Chimes at Midnight on July 13 at 7:00 p.m. and Joss Whedon’s 2012 Much Ado About Nothing on August 3 at 7:00 p.m. (both in the Globe Theatre), and the series will conclude on August 24 at 8:00 p.m. with Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins’s groundbreaking 1961 New York City riff on the Bard’s Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, in the Festival Theatre.

LOCATION and PARKING INFORMATION: The Old Globe is located in San Diego’s Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Guests may also be dropped off in front of the Mingei International Museum. The Balboa Park valet is also available during performances ($12), located in front of the Japanese Friendship Garden. For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org. For directions and up-to-date information, please visit www.TheOldGlobe.org/Directions.

Other articles by Lia Chang
The Old Globe Presents World Premiere of Christopher Gattelli Helmed IN YOUR ARMS Featuring Vignettes written by David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred Uhry, September 16 – October 25
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Bill Cobbs, Nate Jacobs, Erich McMillan-McCall, Katori Hall, Clinton Turner Davis, ESOSA, A. Peter Bailey, Maurice Hines, Robert Hooks, Grace Jones, Hattie Winston, Karamu House & More among 2015 National Black Theatre Festival Honorees; Gala on August 3
Crafting a Career

Kristin Chenoweth, Chita Rivera, Christian Borle, Brian d’Arcy James, Kelli O’Hara, Tyne Daly, Ken Watanabe Among the Performers for the 2015 Tony Awards

Jennifer Lopez, Nick Jonas, Kiesza, Harry Connick, Jr., Jennifer Grey, Joel Grey, Dulé Hill, Judith Light, Patina Miller, Bernadette Peters and Phylicia Rashad Among All Star Line-up at 69th Annual Tony Awards

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The King and I wins 4 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Kelli O’Hara (Best Leading Actress in a Musical), Ruthie Ann Miles (Best Featured Actress in a Musical) and Catherine Zuber (Best Costume Design)

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Jun. 15: Elain Graham, S. Epatha Merkerson and Ruben Santiago-Hudson set for PROJECT1VOICE’s 5th Annual 1VOICE/1PLAY/1DAY 2015 NYC staged-reading of HOME; Arthur French, Ebony Jo-Ann, Lizan Mitchell and Leslie Odom, Jr. set for 50th anniversary staged-reading of HAPPY ENDING

The Visit starring Chita Rivera to end run at Lyceum on June 14

Video: ATC Uncovered: Guards of the Stage — A Playwright’s Talk with Stephen Adly Guirgis and Rajiv Joseph

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Rajiv Joseph’s GUARDS AT THE TAJ starring Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed at Atlantic Theater Company opens to critical acclaim

Bill Cobbs, Nate Jacobs, Erich McMillan-McCall, Katori Hall, Clinton Turner Davis, ESOSA, A. Peter Bailey, Maurice Hines, Robert Hooks, Grace Jones, Hattie Winston, Karamu House & More among 2015 National Black Theatre Festival Honorees; Gala on August 3

Hartford Stage’s production of Hamlet leads 2014-2015 Connecticut Critics Circle Awards Nominations with 9 nods; Carmen de Lavallade, the Split Knuckle Theatre Company and Shawn Boyle to receive special awards

Outstanding Production of a Play

Outstanding Production of a Musical

Outstanding Actress in a Play

Outstanding Actor in a Play

Outstanding Actress in a Musical

Outstanding Actor in a Musical

Outstanding Director of a Play

Outstanding Director of a Musical

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical

Outstanding Choreographer

Outstanding Set Design

Outstanding Lighting Design

Outstanding Costume Design

Outstanding Sound Design

Outstanding Ensemble

Outstanding Debut

Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, Anna Chlumsky, Kamilah Forbes, Daniel Talbott to Be Honored at Barefoot’s 2015 Vassallo Awards on June 22

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Tony Award nominee Euan Morton, Obie Award winner Usman Ally, Blake Segal, Andrew Kober, Liz Wisan are set for Ken Ludwig’s BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY at The Old Globe, July 24 – August 23

Sanjit De Silva, Mel Duane Gionson, Teresa Avia Lim, James Saito, Jon Norman Schneider, David Shih, Alok Tewari, and Henry Yuk in NAATCO’s AWAKE AND SING! at The Public Theater, July 6- August 1