Mike Doyle News

Primary Stages (Casey Childs, Founder & Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox, Managing Director) concludes its celebratory 25th Anniversary Season with a special celebrity benefit stage reading performance of Godfather IV written by Emmy Award-winner Tom Fontana ('St. Elsewhere,' 'OZ'), with original music by Stephen Elkins.

Primary Stages (Casey Childs, Founder & Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox, Managing Director) concludes its celebratory 25th Anniversary Season with a special celebrity benefit stage reading performance of Godfather IV written by Emmy Award-winner Tom Fontana ('St. Elsewhere,' 'OZ'), with original music by Stephen Elkins.

GPR Records, the new CD label specializing in Broadway, classical, spoken word and children's music, is sponsoring a poetry contest that will take place on Twitter, called TwItsPoetic, to celebrate National Poetry Month and the release of their first CD Poetic License: 100 Poems by 100 Performers.

GPR Records' first release will be 'Poetic License' featuring 100 poems read by 100 performers of the stage and screen. The CD will be released on April 2nd in celebration of National Poetry Month and will be available on Amazon.com and on itunes. There has never been a spoken word recording that has included so many performers reading such a wide variety of poetry, each selection a personal choice of the performer. GPR Records is presenting this collection in hopes of inspiring audiences with a new appreciation of the spoken word.

GPR Records' first release will be 'Poetic License' featuring 100 poems read by 100 performers of the stage and screen. The CD will be released on April 2nd in celebration of National Poetry Month and will be available on Amazon.com and on itunes. There has never been a spoken word recording that has included so many performers reading such a wide variety of poetry, each selection a personal choice of the performer. GPR Records is presenting this collection in hopes of inspiring audiences with a new appreciation of the spoken word.

GPR Records' first release will be 'Poetic License' featuring 100 poems read by 100 performers of the stage and screen. The CD will be released on April 2nd in celebration of National Poetry Month and will be available on Amazon.com and on itunes. There has never been a spoken word recording that has included so many performers reading such a wide variety of poetry, each selection a personal choice of the performer. GPR Records is presenting this collection in hopes of inspiring audiences with a new appreciation of the spoken word.

GPR Records' first release will be 'Poetic License' featuring 100 poems read by 100 performers of the stage and screen. The CD will be released on April 2nd in celebration of National Poetry Month and will be available on Amazon.com and on itunes. There has never been a spoken word recording that has included so many performers reading such a wide variety of poetry, each selection a personal choice of the performer. GPR Records is presenting this collection in hopes of inspiring audiences with a new appreciation of the spoken word.

GPR Records' first release will be 'Poetic License' featuring 100 poems read by 100 performers of the stage and screen. The CD will be released on April 2nd in celebration of National Poetry Month and will be available on Amazon.com and on itunes. There has never been a spoken word recording that has included so many performers reading such a wide variety of poetry, each selection a personal choice of the performer. GPR Records is presenting this collection in hopes of inspiring audiences with a new appreciation of the spoken word.

Glen Roven, Peter Fitzgerald, and Richard Cohen are pleased to announce the formation of a new CD label, GPR Records, (www.GPRRecords.com) which will record and distribute Broadway, classical, spoken word, and children's music. GPR aims to surprise listeners with recordings that are both unusual and entertaining

PAGE 73, a non-profit theater company that develops and produces exclusively the work of early-career playwrights who have yet to receive substantial production opportunities in New York City, will present 'Page 73 on Page 73' on Monday, June 22 at the 92 Y Tribeca (200 Hudson Street) from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

PAGE 73, a non-profit theater company that develops and produces exclusively the work of early-career playwrights who have yet to receive substantial production opportunities in New York City, will present 'Page 73 on Page 73' on Monday, June 22 at the 92 Y Tribeca (200 Hudson Street) from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

On Monday, April 6, Linda Lavin returned to the Broadway at Birdland stage with a new show, along with musical director/singer Billy Stritch, Steve Doyle on bass, and Steve Bakunas on drums. The show, 'Moments Like This' is a new show that gave the sold-out Birdland audience a chance to meet the Broadway and television star up-close and personal as she recalled her roots in the theater, her love of torch songs, and a life-long obsession with the big bands of the 1940's.

Original New York cast members Jeremy Beck, Mike Doyle (Law and Order: SVU), Sevan Greene and Waleed F. Zuaiter head the cast under the guidance of original director Pippin Parker when L.A. Theatre Works presents the West Coast premiere of Betrayed, the haunting new play by award winning writer and journalist George Packer. Five performances take place February 18-22 at the Skirball Cultural Center where they will be recorded to air on LATW's nationally syndicated public radio theater series, The Play's The Thing. In early 2007, George Packer published an article in The New Yorker about Iraqi interpreters who jeopardized their lives on behalf of the Americans in Iraq, yet were provided with little or no U.S. protection or security. The article drew national attention to the humanitarian crisis and moral scandal. Based on Mr. Packer's interviews in Baghdad, Betrayed tells the story of three young Iraqis - two men and one woman - who were motivated to risk everything by America's promise of freedom. The award-winning play explores their complex relationships with each other and with their American supervisor as they struggle to find purpose even as their country collapses around them. 'The voices of the Iraqi men and women I met were so powerful that even after I finished The New Yorker article, they wouldn't leave me alone,' Packer said in an interview. 'These Iraqis put their trust in us, went to work with us, risked their lives to work with us - and nothing is riskier in Iraq than working with Americans - and as they began to come under threat, we essentially walked away from them and left them on their own. It's of a piece with everything that's wrong with this war.'

Betrayed - Based on journalist-playwright George Packer's original article in The New Yorker, Betrayed is a haunting new play about three Iraqi translators who risk everything for America's promise of freedom, even as their own country collapses around them. Original New York cast members Mike Doyle (Law and Order: SVU), Sevan Greene, Waleed F. Zuaiter and Jeremy Beck are joined by Andrea Gabriel, John Getz and Sam Kanater under the guidance of original director Pippin Parker. Winner of the 2008 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding New Play. All performances are recorded to air on LATW's syndicated radio theater series, The Play's The Thing, which broadcasts weekly on public radio stations nationwide.

Original New York cast members Jeremy Beck, Mike Doyle (Law and Order: SVU), Sevan Greene and Waleed F. Zuaiter head the cast under the guidance of original director Pippin Parker when L.A. Theatre Works presents the West Coast premiere of Betrayed, the haunting new play by award winning writer and journalist George Packer. Five performances take place February 18-22 at the Skirball Cultural Center where they will be recorded to air on LATW's nationally syndicated public radio theater series, The Play's The Thing. In early 2007, George Packer published an article in The New Yorker about Iraqi interpreters who jeopardized their lives on behalf of the Americans in Iraq, yet were provided with little or no U.S. protection or security. The article drew national attention to the humanitarian crisis and moral scandal. Based on Mr. Packer's interviews in Baghdad, Betrayed tells the story of three young Iraqis - two men and one woman - who were motivated to risk everything by America's promise of freedom. The award-winning play explores their complex relationships with each other and with their American supervisor as they struggle to find purpose even as their country collapses around them. 'The voices of the Iraqi men and women I met were so powerful that even after I finished The New Yorker article, they wouldn't leave me alone,' Packer said in an interview. 'These Iraqis put their trust in us, went to work with us, risked their lives to work with us - and nothing is riskier in Iraq than working with Americans - and as they began to come under threat, we essentially walked away from them and left them on their own. It's of a piece with everything that's wrong with this war.'

THE 30thth ANNUAL SHELLIE AWARDS gala celebration honoring outstanding achievement in the performing arts in Central Contra Costa County was held Saturday, January 17th at 7:30pm at the Lesher Center for the Arts. The black-tie event featured production numbers from each of the nominated musicals along with scenes from each of the nominated plays. Ken Bergmann conducted the Shellie Awards Orchestra and the MC's for the evening were Jeff Collister, Jerry Motta, Kerri Shawn, and Michael White. Throughout the evening the audience was entertained with live and 'remote' video broadcasts from backstage and other areas throughout the Center. Shellie Awards innovator, Scott Denison, says 'The Shellie Awards were founded thirty years ago in order to recognize outstanding achievement in the performing arts in Central Contra Costa. This is an evening to honor the nominees, as well as the winners.' Patterned after Broadway's Tony awards, this year's Shellie Awards honored over 120 individuals and their work in musical and non-musical theatrical productions, which took place between September 1, 2007 and August 31, 2008. The 12 regional companies participating were: Act Now!, Antioch Rivertown Theatre, Center REPertory Company, Contra Costa Musical Theatre, DLOC, Galatean Players Ensemble Theatre, Onstage Repertory Theatre, Pittsburgh Community Theatre, Role Players Ensemble Theatre, Town Hall Theatre Company, The Vagabond Players, and Willows Theatre Company.

THE 30thth ANNUAL SHELLIE AWARDS gala celebration honoring outstanding achievement in the performing arts in Central Contra Costa County was held Saturday, January 17th at 7:30pm at the Lesher Center for the Arts. The black-tie event featured production numbers from each of the nominated musicals along with scenes from each of the nominated plays. Ken Bergmann conducted the Shellie Awards Orchestra and the MC's for the evening were Jeff Collister, Jerry Motta, Kerri Shawn, and Michael White. Throughout the evening the audience was entertained with live and 'remote' video broadcasts from backstage and other areas throughout the Center.

Monday night's Broadway at Birdland saw a sea of theater glitterati, cheering the hilarious rantings of Julie Halston. The star of Hairspray, Gypsy, The Women, Twentieth Century, and founding member of Charles Busch's Theater-in-Limbo, decided, for one night only, to throw caution to the wind and just go crazy with new material, old material and of course new clothes! Our BWW cameras were there, of course, to catch all the fun!

This week at the O'Neill the performances of national playwrights and national music theater conferences continue. There will be a freee Theatermakers performances on Tuesday, July 8th. PERFORMANCES OF NATIONAL PLAYWRIGHTS, NATIONAL MUSIC THEATER CONFERENCES CONTINUE! FREE THEATERMAKERS PERFORMANCE ON TUESDAY, JULY 8 The National Playwrights Conference continues with two new projects, SMUDGE and MAGNOLIA. National Music Theater Conference presents performances of MAX UNDERSTOOD and begins performances of IRON CURTAIN. SMUDGE by Rachel Axler Directed by Daniel Aukin Performances: Thurs., July 10 at 8:15 pm; Sat., July 12 at 8:15 pm When a young couple's first child doesn't turn out as expected, they're forced to revise their notions about what constitutes a life, and figure out -- in their own, specific ways -- how to be parents. A very, very, very dark comedy. CAST: Maria Dizzia* Mike Doyle* Jonathan Walker* MAX UNDERSTOOD Book by Nancy Carlin; Lyrics by Nancy Carlin and Michael Rasbury; Music by Michael Rasbury Directed by Jack Cumming Performances: Fri., July 11 at 8:00 pm; Sun., July 13 at 3:00 pm The transformative journey of a 7-year old autistic boy and those who love him, and how the need to communicate overcomes an unintelligible chasm. This sound-scaped musical may leave you feeling autistic yourself…and that's OK. CAST: Matthew Gumley* Jonathan Hammond* Hannah Laird* Lauren Marcus* Kerry O'Malley* Ben Roseberry* Paul Oakley Stovall* MAGNOLIA* by Regina Taylor Directed by Regina Taylor Performances: Fri., July 11 at 8:15 pm; Sunday, July 13 at 5:15 pm Magnolia is set in winter, 1963, as the schools, stores and real estate markets of Atlanta, Georgia are beginning to desegregate-much to the resentment of the white community. Lily, a white landowner, returns from Paris to find the Forest Estate, her family's land, on the brink of ruin. Thomas, a successful businessman and the descendent of former slaves to the estate, has a plan to save the land: turn it into subdivisions and sell it to the white families fleeing the city. Tensions build as members of the estranged family reunite to try and save their beloved land-magnolia trees and all. *MAGNOLIA is a collaboration with Chicago's The Goodman Theatre, Robert Falls, Artistic Director CAST: Tyla Abercrumbie* Tory Davis* Ted Dasy* Harriett Foy* Mattie Hawkinson* Stephen Henderson* Brandon Miller* Caitlin O'Connell* Tim Rhoze* David Ross* Stephen Schnetzer* Makela Spielman* IRON CURTAIN*** Book by Susan DeLallo, Lyrics by Peter Mills, Music by Stephen Weiner Directed by Cara Reichel Performances: Sat., July 12 at 8:00 pm; Weds., July 16 at 8:00 pm; Fri., July 18 at 8:00 pm; Sat., July 19 at 3:00 pm New York, 1956: two down-on-their luck songwriters are kidnapped by the KGB and brought to Moscow, where they are forced to write Communist Propaganda musicals. A madcap farce about fame vs. freedom, filled with divas and dominatrixes, stooges and spies, mishaps and misdirects as our heroes try desperately to get back home. ***IRON CURTAIN is funded in part through The ASCAP Residency. CAST: David Abeles* Alison Briner* Stephen Bogardus* Monique French* David Gregory Daniel Levine* Anne Torsiglieri* Dan Sharkey* Robby Sharpe* Lucy Sorenson* Gordon Stanley* Jessica Snow Wilson* *member of Actors' Equity Association THE PUB is open to the public before and after all performances. Come enjoy your favorite beverage and spend some time with our artists! COMING UP NEXT WEEK will be performances of THUNDER ABOVE, DEEPS BELOW and MISTAKES WERE MADE at the National Playwrights Conference, and IRON CURTAIN continues the National Music Theater Conference! Also Coming Soon: The Summer Gala Musicals Under the Star:, Celebrating 31 years of the National Music Theater Conference and NMTC co-founder and Artistic Director Paulette Haupt! July 19th at 6:30pm. For tickets and more information see www.theoneill.org or contact Suzanne Hendrix at 860-443-5378 x 217. All schedules and artists subject to change. Please call the O'Neill Box Office at 860-443-1238 for times, prices and reservations. Outdoor performances will be moved indoors in the event of rain. The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964, is the pre-eminent center for the development of new works and new voices for the American theater. It has been home to more than 1,000 new works for the stage and 2,500 emerging artists. Scores of projects developed at the O'Neill have gone on to full productions at other theaters around the world, including Broadway, off-Broadway and major regional theaters. The O'Neill has received a special Tony Award, the National Opera Award, the Jujamcyn Award for Theater Excellence and the Arts and Business Council Encore Award. The O'Neill's programs include the National Playwrights Conference, National Music Theater Conference, Puppetry Conference, Cabaret & Performance Conference, National Critics Institute, and the National Theater Institute, which includes semester-long, fully accredited intensive theater-training programs and a six-week accredited summer program, Theatermakers. In addition, the O'Neill owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage, a National Historic Landmark and the childhood home of Nobel Prize-winning and four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O'Neill. For more information regarding the Center, please visit the O'Neill website at www.TheONeill.org or call 860-443-5378.

This week at the O'Neill the performances of national playwrights and national music theater conferences continue. There will be a freee Theatermakers performances on Tuesday, July 8th. PERFORMANCES OF NATIONAL PLAYWRIGHTS, NATIONAL MUSIC THEATER CONFERENCES CONTINUE! FREE THEATERMAKERS PERFORMANCE ON TUESDAY, JULY 8 The National Playwrights Conference continues with two new projects, SMUDGE and MAGNOLIA. National Music Theater Conference presents performances of MAX UNDERSTOOD and begins performances of IRON CURTAIN. SMUDGE by Rachel Axler Directed by Daniel Aukin Performances: Thurs., July 10 at 8:15 pm; Sat., July 12 at 8:15 pm When a young couple's first child doesn't turn out as expected, they're forced to revise their notions about what constitutes a life, and figure out -- in their own, specific ways -- how to be parents. A very, very, very dark comedy. CAST: Maria Dizzia* Mike Doyle* Jonathan Walker* MAX UNDERSTOOD Book by Nancy Carlin; Lyrics by Nancy Carlin and Michael Rasbury; Music by Michael Rasbury Directed by Jack Cumming Performances: Fri., July 11 at 8:00 pm; Sun., July 13 at 3:00 pm The transformative journey of a 7-year old autistic boy and those who love him, and how the need to communicate overcomes an unintelligible chasm. This sound-scaped musical may leave you feeling autistic yourself…and that's OK. CAST: Matthew Gumley* Jonathan Hammond* Hannah Laird* Lauren Marcus* Kerry O'Malley* Ben Roseberry* Paul Oakley Stovall* MAGNOLIA* by Regina Taylor Directed by Regina Taylor Performances: Fri., July 11 at 8:15 pm; Sunday, July 13 at 5:15 pm Magnolia is set in winter, 1963, as the schools, stores and real estate markets of Atlanta, Georgia are beginning to desegregate-much to the resentment of the white community. Lily, a white landowner, returns from Paris to find the Forest Estate, her family's land, on the brink of ruin. Thomas, a successful businessman and the descendent of former slaves to the estate, has a plan to save the land: turn it into subdivisions and sell it to the white families fleeing the city. Tensions build as members of the estranged family reunite to try and save their beloved land-magnolia trees and all. *MAGNOLIA is a collaboration with Chicago's The Goodman Theatre, Robert Falls, Artistic Director CAST: Tyla Abercrumbie* Tory Davis* Ted Dasy* Harriett Foy* Mattie Hawkinson* Stephen Henderson* Brandon Miller* Caitlin O'Connell* Tim Rhoze* David Ross* Stephen Schnetzer* Makela Spielman* IRON CURTAIN*** Book by Susan DeLallo, Lyrics by Peter Mills, Music by Stephen Weiner Directed by Cara Reichel Performances: Sat., July 12 at 8:00 pm; Weds., July 16 at 8:00 pm; Fri., July 18 at 8:00 pm; Sat., July 19 at 3:00 pm New York, 1956: two down-on-their luck songwriters are kidnapped by the KGB and brought to Moscow, where they are forced to write Communist Propaganda musicals. A madcap farce about fame vs. freedom, filled with divas and dominatrixes, stooges and spies, mishaps and misdirects as our heroes try desperately to get back home. ***IRON CURTAIN is funded in part through The ASCAP Residency. CAST: David Abeles* Alison Briner* Stephen Bogardus* Monique French* David Gregory Daniel Levine* Anne Torsiglieri* Dan Sharkey* Robby Sharpe* Lucy Sorenson* Gordon Stanley* Jessica Snow Wilson* *member of Actors' Equity Association THE PUB is open to the public before and after all performances. Come enjoy your favorite beverage and spend some time with our artists! COMING UP NEXT WEEK will be performances of THUNDER ABOVE, DEEPS BELOW and MISTAKES WERE MADE at the National Playwrights Conference, and IRON CURTAIN continues the National Music Theater Conference! Also Coming Soon: The Summer Gala Musicals Under the Star:, Celebrating 31 years of the National Music Theater Conference and NMTC co-founder and Artistic Director Paulette Haupt! July 19th at 6:30pm. For tickets and more information see www.theoneill.org or contact Suzanne Hendrix at 860-443-5378 x 217. All schedules and artists subject to change. Please call the O'Neill Box Office at 860-443-1238 for times, prices and reservations. Outdoor performances will be moved indoors in the event of rain. The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964, is the pre-eminent center for the development of new works and new voices for the American theater. It has been home to more than 1,000 new works for the stage and 2,500 emerging artists. Scores of projects developed at the O'Neill have gone on to full productions at other theaters around the world, including Broadway, off-Broadway and major regional theaters. The O'Neill has received a special Tony Award, the National Opera Award, the Jujamcyn Award for Theater Excellence and the Arts and Business Council Encore Award. The O'Neill's programs include the National Playwrights Conference, National Music Theater Conference, Puppetry Conference, Cabaret & Performance Conference, National Critics Institute, and the National Theater Institute, which includes semester-long, fully accredited intensive theater-training programs and a six-week accredited summer program, Theatermakers. In addition, the O'Neill owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage, a National Historic Landmark and the childhood home of Nobel Prize-winning and four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O'Neill. For more information regarding the Center, please visit the O'Neill website at www.TheONeill.org or call 860-443-5378.