With BEST OF ENEMIES, New Stage Theatre in Jackson, Miss., confronted its audience with an unexpectedly timely tale of racial reconciliation.

When the Klansman and the Civil Rights Activist Could Be Friends

With ‘Best of Enemies,’ New Stage Theatre in Jackson, Miss., confronted its audience with an unexpectedly timely tale of racial reconciliation.

Rus Blackwell and Marci J. Duncan in “Best of Enemies” at New Stage. (Photo by Greg Campbell)

Reynolds, artistic director of New Stage Theatre in Jackson, Miss., wasn’t even thinking about the then-upcoming 2016 election season, and, like many Americans, she couldn’t have imagined the outcome. In the ensuing climate of sharp political and social divides, Mark St. Germain’s 2011 play—based on the true story of a Ku Klux Klan leader and a Civil Rights activist who clashed over the desegregation of public schools in Durham, N.C., in 1971—took on a whole new meaning.

“I was thinking we’d celebrate how far we’ve come,” said Reynolds, who directed Best of Enemies at New Stage Feb. 28-March 12. “I still think that’s something to do—to look at what has occurred since the early ’70s and celebrate the progress that has been made. But I also think, realistically, it brings up how some things have not changed, how some things were maybe buried, how we weren’t paying attention to what was going on in people’s minds.”

In the past year, a number of events have put the issue of desegregation back in the spotlight. Last spring, 62 years after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that segregation in schools is getting worse, not better: As of 2014 the number of U.S. schools with majority black or Hispanic students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches has almost doubled, from 9 percent to 16 percent, since 2001.

Read the riveting article by Brad Rhines from American Theatre here.

“A Searing Poetic Riff on Race in America” — CITIZEN, An American Lyric

We are so proud of this glorious production. Let’s make sure as many people experience CITIZEN as possible. We must stand up and speak out, as artists, now more than ever.  Onward! — Stephen Sachs
CRITIC’S CHOICE! “Powerful!” Los Angeles Times. The Fountain Theatre’s acclaimed and award-winning encore production of ‘Citizen: An American Lyric’ is the centerpiece of CTG’s Block Party at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. A searing, poetic riff on racism in America written by Claudia Rankine and adapted for the stage by Stephen Sachs. Directed by Shirley Jo Finney, featuring Bernard K. Addison, Leith Burke, Tony Maggio, Monnae Michael, Simone Missick and Lisa Pescia.

Jeffrey Tambor Promotes CITIZEN

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – JANUARY 11: Jeffrey Tambor poses for a portrait for People.com during the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Maarten de Boer/Getty Images)

DRAW THE CIRCLE by and starring Mashuq Mushtaq Deen will be presented at InterAct Theatre in June 2018

InterAct Announces 2017-18 Season of New Plays Including DRAW THE CIRCLE by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen

PHILADELPHIA: InterAct Theatre Company has announced its 2017-18 season, which will feature four plays, including world premieres by A. Rey Pamatmat and Fin Kennedy.

“InterAct’s mission of fostering civic discourse around the social, political, and cultural issues of our time holds a particular imperative as we celebrate this milestone 30th year,” said producing artistic director Seth Rozin in a statement. “Our goal of forwarding thought-provoking work that challenges audiences is more important than ever, and in this anniversary year we are excited to be presenting two world premieres, including a cinematic thriller about the integrity of truth and the importance of controlling narrative that is the largest show InterAct has ever produced. Our season will grapple with some of the most topical current themes, such as the darkly comedic side of LGBTQ mainstream ‘acceptance’ in the age of marriage equality, and the intensely personal and political journey of gender transition.”

The season will close with Mashuq Mushtaq Deen’s Draw the Circle (June 1-24, 2018). Deen will star in the one-person show that chronicles his gender transition and its effects on his traditional Muslim family.

Founded in 1988, InterAct produces new and contemporary plays explore the social, political, and cultural issues of our time.

Link to the article from American Theatre here.

Magic Theatre Introduces Its 2017-2018 Season Including THE EVA TRILOGY

MAGIC THEATRE ANNOUNCES ITS 2017-2018 SEASON

SEASONINCLUDES:
WORLD PREMIERE
THE EVA TRILOGY by Barbara Hammond

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (March 31, 2017) – ­ Magic Theatre (Artistic Director, Loretta Greco; Managing Director, Jaimie Mayer) announced its 2017-2018 season today, which includes the World Premiere of Barbara Hammond’s THE EVA TRILOGY.

Barbara Hammond’s THE EVA TRILOGY is a lyrical Irish epic spanning thirty years over the course of three plays: EDEN, ENTER THE ROAR, and NO COAST ROAD. In Hammond’s trilogy, an Irish expat named Eva returns home from her rebellious life in Paris and makes an irreparable choice when her ailing mother’s fate is placed in her hands. Her decision becomes legendary within her community and proceeds to haunt her through the rest of her life. Each play in the trilogy champions its own theatrical landscape, reflecting the tremendous range of Hammond’s writing and the evolving state of her subject. Magic will be the first theatre to take on all three parts in a single production. Julia McNeal (FRED’S DINER, A LIE OF THE MIND) will star as Eva.
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CONTACT: Jonathan White / 530-219-9797 or jonathanwhitepr@gmail.com

In December 2017, Magic Theatre will once again feature the Martha Heasley Cox Virgin Play Festival, Magic’s annual insiders’ look at plays in the making. The 2017 Virgin Play Series will showcase the next generation of bold theatrical voices, working alongside Magic’s family of visionary mid-career writers. All three World Premieres of this season were gestated within the Virgin Play Festival in 2016, and Magic’s consistent pipeline from workshop to production will once again be shared in 2017.
 
Since its inception in 1967, Magic Theatre has fostered courageous playwrights and produced explosive, entertaining, and ideologically robust plays. Magic believes that if we demonstrate faith in a writer’s vision by providing a safe, rigorous, and innovative artistic home, where a full body of work can be imagined, developed, and produced, then writers, in turn, will thrive.  Seventeen of the last nineteen world premiere plays developed and produced at Magic have enjoyed extended life in cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington DC, London, Manila, and Seoul.
 
With its intimate thrust stage, Magic is the perfect venue for audiences to experience new work up close. That intimacy extends beyond the mainstage through a number of special events: Community Nights that offer affordable access for the next generation of theatre audiences, Friday night actor Talkbacks, New Work Salons with playwrights and directors, and the Martha Heasley Cox Virgin Play Festival. Magic patrons enjoy unparalleled access to new plays, playwrights, and the process of taking theatre from the page to the stage.
 
Magic is also proud to be a community partner. Through its “Sheparding America” celebration of Sam Shepard’s legacy in the Bay Area, its Laney College Initiative and Magic: Oakland Annex, the Magic Apprenticeship Program, and active collaborations with A.C.T., Campo Santo, Word for Word, Intersection for the Arts, and The Commonwealth Club, Magic is a local industry leader.