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Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis)
The Phoenix Theatre has presented productions since 1983. An Equity house, the Phoenix presents the Midwest and Indiana premieres of many Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, and has presented 94 World Premieres (through the end of the 2014–15 season). In May 2018, the Phoenix moved to a newly constructed, 20,000 square foot building, the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, at 705 N. Illinois St. in the heart of downtown Indianapolis with two stages: the 144 seat Steve and Livia Russell Theatre and a flexible blackbox space, the Frank and Katrina Basile Theatre (capacity of 90). As of 2024, Phoenix has rebranded as Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre where it houses 7 resident theatre companies. They are Actors Ink Theatre Company, American Lives Theatre, Eclipse, Indianapolis Shakespeare Company, Naptown African American Theatre Collective, Phoenix Theatre, and Summit Performance Indianapolis. Its previous location was at 749 N. Park Ave. in downtown Indianapolis near Massachusetts Avenue, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Massachusetts Avenue (Indianapolis)
The Mass Ave Cultural Arts District, colloquially known as Mass Ave, is one of seven designated cultural districts in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The district centers on of its namesake Massachusetts Avenue, from its southern terminus at New York and Delaware streets to its northern terminus at Bellefontaine Street. The avenue is one of the four original diagonal streets included in Alexander Ralston's plan of 1821. Mass Ave also contains the Massachusetts Avenue Commercial District, a historic district included on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982. Today it lies at the heart of the city's arts district. It offers some of the city's most visible theaters and art galleries as well as a number of shops and eateries. Gentrification in the 1990s propelled the area from squalor to one of the city's more fashionable addresses. Currently, redevelopment of Mass Ave focuses on fostering locally owned shops, theaters, and restaurants. Massachusetts Avenue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plenty (play)
''Plenty'' is a play by David Hare, first performed in 1978, about British post-war disillusion. Productions The inspiration for ''Plenty'' came from the fact that 75 per cent of the women engaged in wartime SOE operations divorced in the immediate post-war years; the title is derived from the idea that the post-war era would be a time of "plenty", which proved untrue for most of England. Directed by the playwright, ''Plenty'' premiered in the Lyttelton Theatre on London's South Bank on 7 April 1978, featuring Kate Nelligan as Susan, the protagonist, and Stephen Moore as Raymond. It was nominated for the Olivier Award as ''Play of the Year'' and Nelligan as ''Best Actress in a New Play'', losing to '' Whose Life is it Anyway?'' and Joan Plowright in '' Filumena''. The play premiered Off-Broadway on 21 October 1982, at the Public Theater, where it ran for 45 performances. Directed by Hare, Nelligan reprised the role of Susan, supported by Kelsey Grammer and Dominic Chiane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Finn
William Alan Finn (February 28, 1952 – April 7, 2025) was an American composer and lyricist. He was best known for his musicals, which include ''Falsettos'', for which he won the 1992 Tony Awards for Tony Award for Best Original Score, Best Original Score and Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, Best Book of a Musical, ''A New Brain'' (1998), and ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' (2005). Early life Finn was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 28, 1952. He was Jewish, raised in conservative Judaism,Wayne Hoffman (author), Hoffman, Wayne''Tablet (magazine), Tablet'' October 26, 2016 and grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, with his parents and siblings, Michael and Nancy. He attended the Temple Israel in Natick, where his rabbi was Harold Kushner. In Hebrew school, Finn wrote his first play, and said, "I don't think I ever told anyone this: The first play I ever wrote was in Hebrew. I have no idea what it was about. But it was horrible, I guarantee it. I could ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
March Of The Falsettos
''March of the Falsettos'' is a 1981 musical with book, lyrics, and music by William Finn. It is the second in a trilogy of musicals, preceded by '' In Trousers'' and followed by '' Falsettoland''. ''March of the Falsettos'' and ''Falsettoland'' later formed the first and second act respectively of the 1992 musical ''Falsettos.'' Concept A sequel to '' In Trousers'', the one-act continues the story of Marvin and his journey in search of self-understanding, inner peace, and a life with a "happily ever after" ending. His extended family consists of ex-wife Trina, son Jason, lover Whizzer Brown, and psychiatrist Mendel, who complicates matters by becoming involved with Trina. The musical explores themes of family, Judaism, queerness, and love. Sequel plays Production The musical premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons on May 20, 1981 and closed on September 26, 1981. It transferred to the Westside Theatre on October 13, 1981 and closed on January 31, 1982 after 268 performan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Durang
Christopher Ferdinand Durang (January 2, 1949 – April 2, 2024) was an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s, though his career seemed to get a second wind in the late 1990s. '' Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You'' was Durang's watershed play as it brought him to national prominence when it won him the Obie Award for Best Playwright (1980). His play ''Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike'' won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2013. The production was directed by Nicholas Martin, and featured Sigourney Weaver, David Hyde Pierce, Kristine Nielsen, Billy Magnussen, Shalita Grant and Genevieve Angelson. Durang was a past co-director of the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at Juilliard. Early life and education Durang was born on January 2, 1949, in Montclair, New Jersey, the son of two WWII veterans, architect Francis Ferdinand Durang Jr. and Patricia Elizabeth Durang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baby With The Bathwater
''Baby with the Bathwater'' is a play by Christopher Durang about a boy named Daisy, his influences, and his eventual outcome. Synopsis Act I Two parents who are completely unprepared for parenthood bring home their newborn baby. The two cannot seem to name the baby. John thinks the baby is a boy, but Helen says the doctors said they could decide later. When the baby cries, the two cannot quite decide what to do. To their rescue comes Nanny – who enters their apartment as if by magic, and is full of abrupt shifts of mood, first cooing at the baby soothingly, then screaming at it. In subsequent scenes, John and Nanny have an affair, Helen takes baby and leaves, only to come back a moment later rain-soaked and unhappy. Act II By the time the baby is a toddler, Daisy has finally been named. At this age Daisy has a penchant for running in front of buses and for lying, depressed, in piles of laundry. The audience hears an alarming essay Daisy has written in school, and the prin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Goldman
James Goldman (June 30, 1927 – October 28, 1998) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He won an Academy Award for his screenplay '' The Lion in Winter'' (1968). His younger brother was novelist and screenwriter William Goldman. Biography Born in June 30, 1927, the first son of a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, Goldman grew up primarily in Highland Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. He is most noted as the playwright of '' The Lion in Winter'' and for writing the screenplay of its 1968 film adaptation, for which he received an Academy Award. He also wrote the book for the Broadway musical '' Follies'' (1971), which was nominated for a Tony Award. He attended the University of Chicago and Columbia University, earning a master’s degree and studying music criticism.James Goldman '' |
The Lion In Winter
''The Lion in Winter'' is a 1966 play by James Goldman, depicting the personal and political conflicts of Henry II of England, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, their children and their guests during Christmas 1183. It premiered on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre on March 3, 1966, starring Robert Preston and Rosemary Harris, who won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Eleanor. It was adapted by Goldman into an Academy Award-winning 1968 film of the same name, starring Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn. The play has been produced numerous times, including Broadway and West End revivals. Synopsis Set during Christmas 1183 at Henry II of England's castle in Chinon, Anjou, Angevin Empire, the play opens with the arrival of Henry's wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom he has had imprisoned since 1173. The story concerns the gamesmanship between Henry, Eleanor, their three surviving sons Richard, Geoffrey, and John, and their Christmas Court guest, the King of France, Philip II ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beth Henley
Elizabeth Becker Henley (born May 8, 1952) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress. Her play '' Crimes of the Heart'' won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 1981 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play, and a nomination for a Tony Award. Her screenplay for '' Crimes of the Heart'' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Biography Henley was born in 1952 in Jackson, Mississippi. She was one of four sisters. Her parents were Charles B. Henley, an attorney, and Elizabeth Josephine Henley, an actress. Henley attended Murrah High School in Jackson, followed by Southern Methodist University, where she was a member of the acting ensemble.Andreach, Robert (2006). ''Understanding Beth Henley''. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina. . While at college, Henley completed her first play, a one-act piece entitled ''Am I Blue''. She graduated from Southern Methodist in 1974 with a BFA. From 1975 to 1976, she ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crimes Of The Heart
''Crimes of the Heart'' is a play by American playwright Beth Henley. It is set in Hazlehurst, Mississippi in the mid-20th century. The play won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. In 1986, the play was novelized and released as a book, written by Claudia Reilly. Synopsis The tragicomedy relates the story of the three Magrath sisters, Meg, Babe, and Lenny, who reunite at Old Granddaddy's home in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, after Babe shoots her abusive husband. The sisters were raised in a dysfunctional family with a penchant for ugly predicaments. Each has endured her share of hardship and misery. Past resentments bubble to the surface as the sisters are forced to deal with assorted relatives and past relationships while coping with Babe's latest incident. Each sister is forced to face the consequences of the "crimes of the heart" she has committed. Summary In Act One, Lenny and Chick walk into the scene talking about the news ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Pielmeier
John Pielmeier (born February 23, 1949) is an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. Life and career Pielmeier was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the son of Louise (Blackburn) and Len Pielmeier. He was raised Catholic. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Catholic University of America in 1970 and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1978. He began his career as an actor, working with such repertory companies as Actors Theater of Louisville and the Guthrie Theater. In 1976, Pielmeier's first play, ''A Chosen Room'', was produced in Minneapolis. Three years later, ''Agnes of God'' was performed in a staged reading at the O'Neill National Playwrights' Conference in Waterford, Connecticut and won the 1979 Great American Play Contest. A full production was mounted for the Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in 1980, and the Broadway production opened in March 1982 at the Music Box Theatre, where it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agnes Of God
''Agnes of God'' is a 1979 play by American playwright John Pielmeier which tells the story of a novice nun who gives birth but does not believe she has. After the child is found dead, a psychiatrist and the mother superior of the convent clash during the resulting investigation. The title is a pun on the Latin phrase '' Agnus Dei'' ("lamb of God"). Synopsis The stage play concerns three main characters: Martha, the psychiatrist; the Mother Superior; and Agnes, the novice. There are no other characters on stage. All three roles are considered demanding for the actors playing them. Martha covers the full gamut of emotion during the play, from antagonist to nurturer, from hard nosed court psychiatrist and atheist to faith-searching healer. She is always on stage and has only three small respites from monologues or dialogue while Agnes and the Mother Superior enact flashbacks to events at the convent. The Mother Superior must expound the possibilities of miracles while recognizing t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |