Read on for more theatre news you may have missed in today's headlines.
Brian d'Arcy James Joins Love and Death Series
Three-time Tony nominee Brian d'Arcy James is among the new additions to the cast of the true crime series Love and Death on HBO Max, Deadline reports. Elizabeth Olsen and Tony nominee Lily Rabe (Seminar) lead the cast in the limited series about a Texas housewife who murders her lover's wife. Jesse Plemons and Patrick Fugit play the husbands of the two former friends, with James cast as Dr. Fred Fason, the psychiatrist who became key to the outcome of the trial. David E. Kelley, Nicole Kidman, and Lionsgate Television executive produce the series, with Kelley also penning the script. Additional cast includes Olivia Applegate, Mackenzie Astin, Adam Cropper, and Bruce McGill.
Emily Mann Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation has selected director and playwright Emily Mann to receive the Gordon Davidson Award, given annually for lifetime achievement and distinguished service in the national not-for-profit theatre. "She is an inspiration and shining light in our field. Her work as a director, playwright, artistic director, and mentor over the last four decades has changed thousands of lives. She has created wonderful work and shone a light on so many, many emerging talents," said selection committee chair and Center Theatre Group Associate Artistic Director Neel Keller. "Through her 30-year stewardship of the McCarter Theatre Center, she demonstrated how vital a theatre can be to the field, to the social discourse of the country, and to its specific hometown." Mann served as artistic director and resident playwright of the McCarter from 1990–2020. She has been nominated for Tony Awards as a playwright, director, and producer for works including Having Our Say, Anna in the Tropics, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. The Gordon Davidson Award has previously been presented to Oskar Eustis (2018), Lisa Peterson (2019), and Seret Scott (2020). Mann will be recognized at a virtual ceremony in winter 2021.
Details Announced for MAXLive 2021: The Neuroverse Arts Festival
MAX (Media Art Xploration) will present its first New York City-based arts festival MAXlive 2021: The Neuroverse, produced in association with New York Live Arts. The festival will consist of theatre and dance performances, audio installations and lectures, teaming artists with scientists to explore innovations in neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and the human-machine collaboration. Participating artists include Boys and Girls Club of Rosebud, Andy Bragen and Daniel Fish, Stephanie Dinkins, Gershon Dublon and Xin Liu, Grayson Earle, Annie Lewandowski and Kyle McDonald, Ethan Lipton and Leigh Silverman, Heidi Boisvert and Kat Mustatea, NUUM Collective with choreography by NiNi Dongnier, and Philipp Schmitt. The festival will take place November 5–7 at New York Live Arts, New Inc’s ONX Studio for Extended Reality, and the Invisible Dog Art Center. On November 7, MAX presents MAXforum: Day of the Future, gathering thought leaders—including acclaimed algorithmic theater visionary Annie Dorsen, science writer Anne Murphy Paul, and many artists featured in The Neuroverse—in discussion of and expansion on the festival’s core themes. For more information, festival schedule, and ticketing, click here.
Tune in alert: Last chance to catch IAMA Theatre Company's on-demand stream (through October 24) of Pass the Mic Festival, amplifying Asian American and Pacific Islander voices with five 10-minute short plays, each written and directed by AAPI artists. Company member Parvesh Cheena (Outsourced, My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and queer/transgender Tamil-Sri Lankan-American actor/writer/comic D’Lo co-host the online festival. Visit Playbill's Live Stream Calendar for details.
