Philadelphia, PA

Receive five dollars off tickets to Rock ‘n’ Roll at the Wilma Theater through October 26th.

On Thursday, October 16th, 2008, twelve theatre companies across the Philadelphia area will be opening their doors to introduce you to the joys of live theatre – absolutely free! Whether you’ve never been to the theatre before, or just haven’t been in a long time, Free Night of Theater has something for you.

Click here to reserve two free tickets to a show in Philadelphia! Hurry, tickets are going fast!

I will be at The People’s Light & Theatre Company on October 16th at 7:30 p.m. seeing The Persians.

The Delaware Theatre Company kicks off its upcoming season on October 15th with Master Harold…and the Boys. The show runs October 15th thru November 2nd, 2008.

The show is about a boy named Hally who has grown up in South Africa in the affectionate company of Sam and Willie, the black servants in his mother’s tea room. Produced at DTC 20 years ago, this production of Fugard’s masterpiece celebrates an exhilarating drama about coming-of-age in the age of apartheid.

Master Harold…and the Boys stars Seamus Mulcahy as Hally, DJ Howard as Sam, and Kenajuan Bentley as Willie. Directed by Richard Corley.

Following Master Harold…and the Boys, is a musical for the whole family, A Year With Frog and Toad.

The First State Children’s Theater proudly returns to the DTC stage with a bright and bouncy musical for the whole family.

Journey through a year of perilous adventure and wacky amusement with forever friends Frog (the eternal optimist) and Toad (the perpetual worry-wart) and a host of woodland critters. A whimsical look at and loving tribute to friendship, this smart and snappy toe-tapping trip through the seasons with an unforgettable cast of characters will charm and delight all audiences!

A Year With Frog and Toad runs November 6th thru November 16th, 2008.

The show stars Michael Boudewyns, Brad Cain, Kyle Dylan Conner, Nathan Ohm, Amanda McCrossin, and Johanna Schloss.. Directed by Michael Boudewyns and Sara Valentine.

Visit The Delaware Theatre Company online to purchase tickets at delawaretheatre.org.

Who loves you?

The 2008 Barrymore Awards have arrived, and the nominees have been announced.

The Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre are the Greater Philadelphia region’s only comprehensive theatre awards program, recognizing artists for excellence and innovation while serving to increase awareness of the richness of the local theatre community.

Each year, over 100 productions produced by the region’s professional theatres are reviewed by the Barrymore nominating committee. At the annual awards presentation each Fall, the Barrymore Awards are presented to honor excellence in acting, design, choreography, music, education, community service and lifetime achievement.

Outstanding Overall Production of a Play
Frozen (InterAct Theatre Company)
Skylight (Lantern Theater Company)
Six Characters in Search of an Author (The People’s Light & Theatre Company)
Bug (Theatre Exile)
Eurydice (The Wilma Theater)

Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical
The World Goes ‘Round (11th Hour Theatre Company)
Assassins (Arden Theatre Company)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Azuka Theatre)
Les Misérables (Walnut Street Theatre)
The Irish… And How They Got That Way (Walnut Street Theatre, Independence Studio on 3)

Harmelin Media Award for Outstanding Direction of a Play
Dan Kern (Skylight, Lantern Theater Company)
Whit MacLaughlin (Frozen, InterAct Theatre Company)
Ken Marini (Six Characters in Search of an Author, The People’s Light & Theatre Company)
Matt Pfeiffer (Bug, Theatre Exile)
Blanka Zizka (Eurydice, The Wilma Theater)

Outstanding Direction of a Musical
Mark Clements (Les Misérables, Walnut Street Theatre)
Kevin Glaccum (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Azuka Theatre)
Terrence J. Nolen (Assassins, Arden Theatre Company)
Steve Pacek (The World Goes ‘Round, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
Marc Robin (Peter Pan, Walnut Street Theatre)

Outstanding Musical Direction
Eric Ebbenga (Assassins, Arden Theatre Company)
Troy Herion (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Azuka Theatre)
Dan Kazemi (The World Goes ‘Round, 11th Hour Theatre Company)
Douglass G. Lutz (Les Misérables, Walnut Street Theatre)
Ethan Popp (Being Alive, Philadelphia Theatre Company)

Ark Media Award for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Play
Chris Faith as Steve (Grace, Luna Theater Company)
Kes Khemnu as Boy Willie (The Piano Lesson, Arden Theatre Company)
Jeb Kreager as Ralph (Frozen, InterAct Theatre Company)
Peter Pryor as Iago (Othello, Lantern Theater Company)
Matt Saunders as Peter Evans (Bug, Theatre Exile)

Charlotte Cushman Award for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Play
Kim Carson as The Stepdaughter (Six Characters in Search of an Author, The People’s Light & Theatre Company)
Grace Gonglewski as Agnes White (Bug, Theatre Exile)
Mary Martello as Nancy (Frozen, InterAct Theatre Company)
Geneviève Perrier as Kyra (Skylight, Lantern Theater Company)
Amanda Schoonover as Lucy (Mr. Marmalade, Theatre Exile)

Garfield Refining Company Award for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical
Jeffrey Coon as John Wilkes Booth (Assassins, Arden Theatre Company)
Steve Luker as The Sewerman (Dear World, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Hugh Panaro as Jean Valjean (Les Misérables, Walnut Street Theatre)
Paul Schoeffler as Javert (Les Misérables, Walnut Street Theatre)
Dito van Reigersberg as Hedwig/Tommy Gnosis (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Azuka Theatre)

Garfield Refining Company Award for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Musical
Kim Carson as Yitzhak (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Azuka Theatre)
Ann Crumb as Florence Foster Jenkins (Souvenir, The Media Theatre)
Mary Gutzi as Countess Aurelia (Dear World, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Cary Michele Miller as Peter Pan (Peter Pan, Walnut Street Theatre)
Erin Weaver as Jamie Hawkins (Treasure Island, The People’s Light & Theatre Company)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play
Peter DeLaurier as The Director (Six Characters in Search of an Author, The People’s Light & Theatre Company)
Jeb Kreager as Mr. Marmalade (Mr. Marmalade, Theatre Exile)
Triney Sandoval as Nasty Interesting Man/Lord of the Underworld (Eurydice, The Wilma Theater)
Yaegel T. Welch as Lymon (The Piano Lesson, Arden Theatre Company)
William Zielinski as Jerry Goss (Bug, Theatre Exile)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play
Lee Ann Etzold (The Happiness Lecture, Philadelphia Theatre Company)
Geneviève Perrier as Girleen (The Lonesome West, Lantern Theater Company)
Ceal Phelan as The Mother (Six Characters in Search of an Author, The People’s Light & Theatre Company)
Marcia Saunders as Madame Pace (Six Characters in Search of an Author, The People’s Light & Theatre Company)
Catharine K. Slusar as Margo (Mr. Bailey’s Minder, Walnut Street Theatre, Independence Studio on 3)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical
Jeffrey Coon as Enjolras/Ensemble (Les Misérables, Walnut Street Theatre)
Chris Faith as Ezekial Machete Scabbs (Treasure Island, The People’s Light & Theatre Company)
Scott Greer as Samuel Byck (Assassins, Arden Theatre Company)
Scott Greer as Thénardier/Ensemble (Les Misérables, Walnut Street Theatre)
James Sugg as Charles Guiteau (Assassins, Arden Theatre Company)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical
Julie Craig as Cosette (Les Misérables, Walnut Street Theatre)
Christina DeCicco as Eponine (Les Misérables, Walnut Street Theatre)
Danielle Herbert as Anita (West Side Story, The New Candlelight Theatre)
Gwendolyn Jones as Mme. Contance (Dear World, Bristol Riverside Theatre)
Mary Martello as Sara Jane Moore (Assassins, Arden Theatre Company)

Outstanding Set Design, sponsored by KieranTimberlake Associates LLP
Beowulf Boritt (Art, Delaware Theatre Company)
Dirk Durossette (Skylight, Lantern Theater Company)
Michael Fagin (M. Butterfly, Philadelphia Theatre Company)
Mimi Lien (Eurydice, The Wilma Theater)
Matt Saunders (Bug, Theatre Exile)

PECO Award for Outstanding Lighting Design
Chris Lee (M. Butterfly, Philadelphia Theatre Company)
Tyler Micoleau (Eurydice, The Wilma Theater)
Tyler Micoleau (Mary’s Wedding, Delaware Theatre Company)
David O’Connor (Skylight, Lantern Theater Company)
Joshua Schulman (Art, Delaware Theatre Company)

Earl Girls Award for Outstanding Costume Design
Colleen Grady (Les Misérables, Walnut Street Theatre)
Richard St. Clair (Sleeping Beauty, Arden Theatre Company)
Janus Stefanowicz (Age of Arousal, The Wilma Theater)
Charlotte Cloe Fox Wind (The Illusion, Villanova Theatre)
Lisa Zinni (Go, Dog. Go!, Arden Theatre Company)

Clear Sound Award for Outstanding Sound Design
Chris Colucci (Suburban Love Songs, 1812 Productions)
Jorge Cousineau (The Happiness Lecture, Philadelphia Theatre Company)
Jorge Cousineau (Eurydice, The Wilma Theater)
Fabian Obispo (Mary’s Wedding, Delaware Theatre Company)
James Sugg (Bug, Theatre Exile)

Outstanding Original Music
Michael Keck (I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to Me by a Young Lady from Rwanda, The People’s Light & Theatre Company)
Robert Maggio (M. Butterfly, Philadelphia Theatre Company)
Fabian Obispo (Mary’s Wedding, Delaware Theatre Company)
Michael Ogborn (Treasure Island, The People’s Light & Theatre Company)
Toby Twining (Eurydice, The Wilma Theater)

Outstanding Choreography/Movement
Samantha Bellomo (Go, Dog. Go!, Arden Theatre Company)
Lee Ann Etzold & Whit MacLaughlin (Prom, New Paradise Laboratories)
Karen Getz (Suburban Love Songs, 1812 Productions)
Bill Irwin (The Happiness Lecture, Philadelphia Theatre Company)
Chu Shan Zhu (M. Butterfly, Philadelphia Theatre Company)

Independence Foundation Award for Outstanding New Play
Wittenberg (By David Davalos, Arden Theatre Company)
The Happiness Lecture (Conceived by Bill Irwin, Philadelphia Theatre Company)
House, Divided (By Larry Loebell, InterAct Theatre Company)
Six Characters in Search of an Author (By Luigi Pirandello, Newly Translated and Adapted by Louis Lippa, The People’s Light & Theatre Company)
Getting Near to Baby (By Y York, Based on the Novel by Audrey Couloumbis, The People’s Light & Theatre Company)

City Paper Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Play
Suburban Love Songs (1812 Productions)
Go, Dog. Go! (Arden Theatre Company)
Animal Farm (Mum Puppettheatre)
The Happiness Lecture (Philadelphia Theatre Company)
Mr. Marmalade (Theatre Exile)

Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical
The World Goes ‘Round (11th Hour Theatre Company)
Assassins (Arden Theatre Company)
Being Alive (Philadelphia Theatre Company)
Les Misérables (Walnut Street Theatre)
The Irish… And How They Got That Way (Walnut Street Theatre, Independence Studio on 3)

The Ted and Stevie Wolf Award for New Approaches to Collaborations
Arden Theatre Company & Christ Church (Our Town in Old City)
Philadelphia Young Playwrights & Mural Arts Program (Poetic Life and The Choices We Make)
Theatre Exile & American Society of Capoeira & Arts from Brazil (Roosters)

Excellence in Theatre Education and Community Service Award Prize, sponsored by the Virginia and Harvey Kimmel Arts Education Fund
1812 Outreach (1812 Productions)
Delaware Young Playwrights Festival (Delaware Theatre Company)
Classroom Connections (Lantern Theater Company)
Access Education (Montgomery Theater)
The Open Door Project (Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival)
PASSPORT Theater Residency Program (Philadelphia Theatre Company)

F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist (semi-finalists)
Kala Moses Baxter
Chris Colucci
Jeb Kreager
Rosemarie McKelvey
Matt Pfeiffer
Peter Reynolds
Sarah Sanford
Joshua Schulman
David Stradley
Charlotte Cloe Fox Wind

Lifetime Achievement Honoree
Dolly Beechman Schnall

To purchase tickets for this years Barrymore Award ceremony on October 6th, 2008 at 6:30 p.m., click here.

Since we last reported on Our Town which is coming to the Arden Theatre Company on May 22nd, 2008, we have learned that the Arden has set up a Pay-What-You-Can performance for May 21st, 2008 at 8:00 p.m.

Here’s the facts:

Arden Theatre Company presents an unprecedented event!

OUR TOWN in Old City
by Thornton Wilder
directed by Terrence J. Nolen

sponsored by Comcast

What: Pay-What-You-Can performance
When: Wednesday, May 21 at 8pm

Beneficiary: Philadelphia Cares

Where: Arden Theatre Company - 40 N. 2nd Street, Old City Philadelphia

The finale of our 20th Anniversary season is an unprecedented event that
celebrates community. Winner of the 1938 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Our
Town has become a much beloved classic and is, perhaps, the most
frequently produced play by an American playwright. Interweaving past
and present, Wilder’s stark and simple masterpiece chronicles the daily
life of close knit families and reveals the universal truth that connect
us all.

Act I (Daily Life) will be played at the Arden’s Haas Stage. At
intermission, the audience will walk through the churchyard to Christ
Church where we will stage the wedding of Act II (Marriage and Love).

To further involve our Philadelphia community, we will bring together
different musical groups - one night a boys choir, the next a gospel
choir, the next perhaps a string quartet? Each night we will have
special community guests as part of the production.

This is an event not to be missed!

If you have any Philadelphia News, Events, etc. please email them to phillytips@kyledylanconner.com.

The Wilma Theater has announced the productions for its 30th Anniversary season, which will open with the Philadelphia premiere of Tom Stoppard’s Rock ‘n’ Roll, September 17-October 19. Blanka Zizka will direct this work, which spans the years 1968-1990 from the double perspective of Prague, Czechoslovakia, where a rock ‘n’ roll band comes to symbolize resistance to the Communist regime, and of Cambridge, England, where the verities of love and death are shaping the lives of three generations in the family of a Marxist philosopher.
Over the holiday season, the Wilma will produce the U.S. premiere of Schmucks (December 3-January 4), a comic fantasy by Roy Smiles that tells of a fictitious meeting between two comic icons, Groucho Marx and Lenny Bruce. Jiri Zizka will direct.

Following will be the Philadelphia premiere of Scorched (February 25-March 29) from the internationally acclaimed Lebanese-born playwright Wajdi Mouawad. The play, to be directed by Blanka Zizka, portrays characters searching for humanity while surrounded by the irrationality of war in the Middle East.

The season will close with the Philadelphia premiere of Terry Johnson’s Olivier Award Winner for Best New Comedy, Hysteria (May 13-June 14), based on an historical meeting between Sigmund Freud and Salvador Dalí. This production full of surrealist imagery will feature a set by Barrymore Award winner Mimi Lien. Jiri Zizka will direct.

For more information visit the Wilma Theater online at wilmatheater.org.

The most eagerly awaited world premier of Tony Award winner Bill Irwin’s The Happiness Lecture finally opens this month at the Philadelphia Theatre Company. The Happiness Lecture will run May 16th thru June 15th, 2008. Conceived, directed and starring Bill Irwin, Lecture concerns a group of adventurers who embark on a journey in pursuit of happiness.

The Walnut Street Theatre concludes it’s 199th year with one of the 20th century’s biggest and best loved musicals Les Miserables, May 13th thru August 1st, 2008. Reportedly one of the first self-producing theatre’s chosen by Lez Miz producer Cameron Mackinstosh to create a new concept for the 1985 musical, director Mark Clements’ production stars Broadway vet Hugh Panaro as Jean Valjean and Walnut favorite Paul Schoeffler as Valjean’s dogged pursuer Inspector Javert.

While we’re on the topic of musicals, this May the Cadillace Broadway Series offers two award winning shows bound to satisfy any fan. Taking the stage May 2nd thru 4th, 2008 at the Academy of Music is the irreverent hit Hairspray, a high-energy tale about a full-bodied girl who becomes an overnight celebrity. May 9th thru 11th, the Academy hosts the legendary musical Gypsy. Set during the heyday of vaudeville and burlesque, Gypsy features a wondrous score from Julie Styne (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) including the classics “Everything’s Come up Roses” and “Some People.”

Fans of experimental theatre will applaud the long-awaited Philadelphia premier of New Paradise Laboratories’ 2004 work Prom, May 1st thru 11th, makes it’s local debut at Drexel University’s Mandell Theatre. The first installment in NPL’s “American Ethnographies” trilogy, Prom employs dance and athletics to recall this memorable teenage rite of passage.

The Bristol Riverside Theatre concludes it’s season with a revival of Jerry Herman’s 1969 musical Dear World, Now thru May 18th, 2008. A musical fable about the dangers of greed, World is a rarely-seen gem from the composer of Mame and Hello Dolly.

The Wilma Theater - who scored a hit in 2005 with Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House - now stages the playwright’s highly-acclaimed Eurydice, Now thru June 1st, 2008, directed by Blanka Zizka. An original retelling of the myth of Orpheus. The play is a magical exploration of the divide between life and death. Featuring an original score by composer Toby Twining, the Wilma’s surreal production promises to be one of the month’s most visually-dazzling offerings.

The Arden Theatre Company concludes it’s 20th anniversary season with an unconventional staging of Thornton Wilder’s masterpiece Our Town, May 22nd thru June 22nd, 2008. The first act of director Terrence J. Nolen’s production takes place at the Arden’s Haas Stage. During intermission the show moves next door to the historic Christ Church, which houses the second half of Wilder’s classic look at life in small town America.

Flashpoint Theatre Company takes on the reality TV craze with the company’s production of Eric Coble’s The Dead Guy, May 14th thru May 31st, 2008, which focuses on America’s seemingly boundless interest in the so-called reality of others.

Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre Company has announced it’s full cast and creative team for Our Town, directed by Terrence J. Nolen, to run May 22-June 22.

This production will take place in both the Haas Theatre and the adjacent Christ Church, and will feature guest appearances from over 100 local personalities and 36 community choirs.

The principal cast will feature Oberon Adjepong (Joe Stoddard), Fred Andersen (Simon Stimson), Krista Apple (A Woman From Among the Dead / Ensemble), Bev Appleton (Professor Willard), Carla Belver (Mrs. Soames), Rebecca Blumhagen (Emily Webb), David Corenswet (Si Crowell/Joe Crowell/Ensemble), Chioma Dunkley (Rebecca Gibbs), Sherri L. Edelen (Mrs. Gibbs), Nathan Edmondson (Sam Craig), Eric Hissom (Stage Manager), Cleo House, Jr. (Constable), Jordan Johnson (Wally Webb), Kevyn Morrow (Dr. Gibbs), Harry Philibosian (Ensemble), Peterson Townsend (George Gibbs), JoAnna Rhinehart (Mrs. Webb), Brian Anthony Wilson (Howie Newsome), Greg Wood (Mr. Webb), and Damien Wallace (A Man From Among the Dead / Ensemble).

The townspeople will be played by Robert Bauer, Craig Bazan, Katrina Yvette Cooper, Juanita Frederick, Andy Joos, Brian Kurtas, Erin Read, Wendy Staton, and Tara Van Ness.

The creative team will include Jim Kronzer (sets), Richard St. Clair (costumes), Justin Townsend (lighting), and Troy Herion (sound).

For more information, call 215-922-1122 or visit www.ardentheatre.org.

What is Our Town about?

Our Town is a three act play by Thornton Wilder which is, perhaps, the most frequently produced play by an American playwright. The play is set in the fictional community of Grover’s Corners, modeled after several New Hampshire towns in the Mount Monadnock region: Jaffrey, Peterborough, Dublin, and others. Using meta-theatrical devices, the play is set in a 1930’s theater. Through the actions of the Stage Manager, the town of Grover’s Corners is created for the audience and scenes from its history between the years of 1901 and 1913 play out. Wilder, in his 30s, lived in MacDowell Colony in Peterborough in June, 1937, one of many locations where Wilder worked on the play. The third act was drafted entirely in one day during a visit to Zurich in September of 1937 after a long evening walk in the rain with a friend.

Our Town is a story of character development that details the interactions between citizens of an everyday town in the early 20th century through their everyday lives (particularly the lives of George Gibbs, a doctor’s son, and Emily Webb, the daughter of a newspaper editor).

Our Town was first performed at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey on January 22, 1938. It next opened at the Wilbur Theater in Boston on January 25, 1938. Its New York City debut was on February 4, 1938 at Henry Miller’s Theatre, and later moved to the Morosco Theatre.

Les Miserables comes to the Walnut Street Theatre this summer, the oldest regional theatre in the United States of America. Les Mis is the most see show in Philadelphia. Les Mis will run May 13th thru August 3rd, 2008. Les Mis is the musical the swept the world. It is a truly spectacular finale to the Walnut’s 199th season. Based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel, Les Miserables is a sweeping, heartfelt and epic saga. The fugitive, Jean Valjean, is pitted against the tenacious inspector Javert in a lifelong struggle to evade capture. What follows is a deeply personal tale set against a historical backdrop of an unparalleled scale.

Les Mis is directed by Mark Clements. Some of the featured cast are, Hugh Panaro as Jean Valjean, Paul Schoeffler as Javert, Dawn Spence as Madame Thenardier, Scott Greer as Thenardier, Julie Craig as Cosette, and much more.

You can purchase tickets to Les Miserables at the Walnut Street Theatre by visiting www.walnutstreettheatre.org or by calling the box office at 215-574-3550.

I would also like to take the time to introduce myself, as you may have noticed this is my first blog post here at about-philadelphiaPA.com. I am a professional Actors’ Equity Association and Guild of Italian American Actors actor. I also run the blog, omigod.net. I am looking forward to a long relationship with 451press.