Theatreworks USA
Encyclopedia
Theatreworks USA is a professional, not-for-profit theatre
for young and family audiences founded in 1961. The company is based out of New York City
, but has touring productions that run through forty-nine states as well as parts of Canada
. Plays and musicals produced by Theatreworks, which are staffed exclusively by actors and stage managers who are members of the Actors' Equity Association
, have reached over 78 million people since the company's foundation. According to their mission statement, Theatreworks has three main programs: class trips, touring, and free summer theatre. They also help operate Chelsea Studios
, a popular rehearsal space.
productions and free theatre
for families without the means to see live, professional theatre. The material the company performs ranges from the classical work of William Shakespeare
to musical revues appropriate for young children. Theatreworks has been reviewed positively by The New York Times
, The New York Post, Newsday
, and The Village Voice
among others.
, Romeo and Juliet
, and Sarah, Plain and Tall
. According to their own literature Theatreworks believes "all children should experience the excitement of going to the theatre, regardless of their financial circumstances." Roma Torre, a NY1
reporter, has said the following of the program:
The program has grown wildly, playing to packed houses nearly every day. Waiting lists are common place, and ticket
demand continually outnumbers the supply.
& biography
, literary adaptations, and original issue shows, such as discrimination
, peer-pressure, literacy
, and substance abuse, among many others. These shows will usually perform over one hundred times each. The groups are usually made up of anywhere between four to twelve actors and one or two stage managers. Typically, each season consists of twelve musicals and four plays.
for the 2009-2010 season is as follows:
Theatreworks is now booking the 2010-2011 season, which will include:
winning director Jerry Zaks
, Robert Jess Roth (Beauty and the Beast
), Michael Mayer
(Thoroughly Modern Millie), Gabriel Barre; writers Marta Kauffman
and David Crane
(TV's "Friends
"), Lynn Ahrens
and Stephen Flaherty
(Ragtime
, Once on This Island
), Jason Robert Brown
(Parade
), Larry O'Keefe
(Bat Boy: The Musical
), Robert Lopez
and Jeff Marx
(Avenue Q
); and Tony-winning actors Roger Bart
, Chuck Cooper
, and John Glover
. Esteemed performers F. Murray Abraham
, Daphne Rubin-Vega
, Henry Winkler
, and Judy Kuhn
also got their start with Theatreworks.
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
for young and family audiences founded in 1961. The company is based out of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but has touring productions that run through forty-nine states as well as parts of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Plays and musicals produced by Theatreworks, which are staffed exclusively by actors and stage managers who are members of the Actors' Equity Association
Actors' Equity Association
The Actors' Equity Association , commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or...
, have reached over 78 million people since the company's foundation. According to their mission statement, Theatreworks has three main programs: class trips, touring, and free summer theatre. They also help operate Chelsea Studios
Chelsea Studios
Chelsea Studios is a television studio and sound stage at 221 West 26th Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City.-History:The building was originally an armory that was home to Ninth Mounted Calvary which moved to 14th Street in 1914....
, a popular rehearsal space.
Productions
While Theatreworks is known largely for their touring shows, their seasonal roster also includes several Off-BroadwayOff-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
productions and free theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
for families without the means to see live, professional theatre. The material the company performs ranges from the classical work of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
to musical revues appropriate for young children. Theatreworks has been reviewed positively by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The New York Post, Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
, and The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
among others.
Free summer theatre
Since 1989 Theatreworks USA's Free Summer Theatre has provided young people and families with original, professional theatre free of charge. Each summer, tickets are distributed to children in over 200 social service and youth programs throughout the five boroughs. To date, over 200,000 children have attended free productions of some of the company's most popular shows, including Junie B. JonesJunie B. Jones
Junie B. Jones is a children's book series written by Barbara Park and illustrated by Denise Brunkus. The story is written in Junie B.'s perspective.-Characters:Junie Beatrice "Junie B." Jones...
, Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, and Sarah, Plain and Tall
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Sarah, Plain and Tall is a children's book written by Patricia MacLachlan, and the winner of the 1986 Newbery Medal and the 1986 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. It explores themes of loneliness, abandonment, and coping with change....
. According to their own literature Theatreworks believes "all children should experience the excitement of going to the theatre, regardless of their financial circumstances." Roma Torre, a NY1
NY1
NY1, New York One, is a 24-hour cable-news television channel focusing on the five boroughs of New York City. In addition to news and weather forecasts, the channel also features human-interest segments such as the "New Yorker of the Week" and the "Scholar Athlete of the Week", and specialty...
reporter, has said the following of the program:
The program has grown wildly, playing to packed houses nearly every day. Waiting lists are common place, and ticket
Ticket (admission)
A ticket is a voucher that indicates that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has...
demand continually outnumbers the supply.
Touring productions
During the fall and winter season, TheatreworksUSA tours its musicals and plays nationwide. The repertoire includes productions that fall into three general categories - historyHistory
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
& biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
, literary adaptations, and original issue shows, such as discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
, peer-pressure, literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
, and substance abuse, among many others. These shows will usually perform over one hundred times each. The groups are usually made up of anywhere between four to twelve actors and one or two stage managers. Typically, each season consists of twelve musicals and four plays.
Current repertoire
The current repertoireRepertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
for the 2009-2010 season is as follows:
- A Christmas CarolA Christmas CarolA Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
- Charlotte's WebCharlotte's WebCharlotte's Web is an award-winning children's novel by acclaimed American author E. B. White, about a pig named Wilbur who is saved from being slaughtered by an intelligent spider named Charlotte. The book was first published in 1952, with illustrations by Garth Williams.The novel tells the story...
- Click, Clack, Moo
- Freedom Train
- Henry and MudgeHenry and MudgeHenry and Mudge is a series of American children's books written by Newbery Medal winner Cynthia Rylant and published by Simon & Schuster. The series is a common read found in curriculums for 2nd grade and 3rd grade...
- If You Give a Pig a Pancake & Other Story Books
- Junie B. JonesJunie B. JonesJunie B. Jones is a children's book series written by Barbara Park and illustrated by Denise Brunkus. The story is written in Junie B.'s perspective.-Characters:Junie Beatrice "Junie B." Jones...
- The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Published in 1950 and set circa 1940, it is the first-published book of The Chronicles of Narnia and is the best known book of the series. Although it was written and published first, it is second in the series'...
- Max and RubyMax and RubyMax and Ruby is a Canadian animated series that debuted in 2002 that is aimed at a preschool audience. Created by children's book author/illustrator Rosemary Wells and based on the world of her Max and Ruby books, the episodes present stories about Max, a rambunctious and determined three-year-old...
- The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
- Nate the GreatNate the GreatNate the Great is a series of novels written by Marjorie Sharmat and illustrated by Marc Simont, with occasional co-authorship by Mitchell Sharmat or Craig Sharmat , and recent illustrations by Martha Weston or Jody Wheeler...
- SeussicalSeussicalis a musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty based on the books of Dr. Seuss that debuted on Broadway in 2000. The play's story is a rather complex amalgamation of many of Seuss's most famous books. After a Broadway run, the production spawned two US national tours and a UK tour...
- Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Two Beans Productions)
- We the People
Theatreworks is now booking the 2010-2011 season, which will include:
- The Berenstain Bears in 'Family Matters: The Musical' (Matt Murphy Productions)
- A Christmas CarolA Christmas CarolA Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
- Charlotte's WebCharlotte's WebCharlotte's Web is an award-winning children's novel by acclaimed American author E. B. White, about a pig named Wilbur who is saved from being slaughtered by an intelligent spider named Charlotte. The book was first published in 1952, with illustrations by Garth Williams.The novel tells the story...
- Click, Clack, Moo
- Fancy Nancy & Other Story Books
- Freedom Train
- Henry and MudgeHenry and MudgeHenry and Mudge is a series of American children's books written by Newbery Medal winner Cynthia Rylant and published by Simon & Schuster. The series is a common read found in curriculums for 2nd grade and 3rd grade...
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie & Other Story Books
- Junie B. JonesJunie B. JonesJunie B. Jones is a children's book series written by Barbara Park and illustrated by Denise Brunkus. The story is written in Junie B.'s perspective.-Characters:Junie Beatrice "Junie B." Jones...
- The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Published in 1950 and set circa 1940, it is the first-published book of The Chronicles of Narnia and is the best known book of the series. Although it was written and published first, it is second in the series'...
- The Mystery of King Tut
- SeussicalSeussicalis a musical by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty based on the books of Dr. Seuss that debuted on Broadway in 2000. The play's story is a rather complex amalgamation of many of Seuss's most famous books. After a Broadway run, the production spawned two US national tours and a UK tour...
- Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (Two Beans Productions)
- Virtually Me (Matt Murphy Productions)
- We the People
Managed Artists
In addition to their plays and musicals, Theatreworks USA offers unique, educational presentations by highly talented artists for school and public performances. Included are historical productions, as well as stories, songs and dance from many cultures featuring authentic artists who entertain as well as teach about their traditions. Artists and their shows include:- The Balsters -- large-scale magic (Duck Soup; Season's Greetings; The Wizard's Apprentice)
- History's Alive -- Patrick Garner's interactive historical impersonations (Thomas Edison: Inventor, Lecturer & Prankster; The Lewis & Clark Expedition; Benjamin Franklin: America's First Citizen; The Wright Brothers and Sister; American Tall Tales; Houdini and the Magic of Thinking Big)
- Jim West Puppet Productions-- large- scale puppeteering (Aesop's Fables; Aesop's Fables II; Dinosaurs; How Benjamin Franklin sucks
Alumni artists
Theatreworks has a history of giving young actors, writers, directors, and designers their first professional break. Amongst the alumni are four-time Tony AwardTony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
winning director Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks is a German-born American stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me A Tenor, and Six Degrees of Separation and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Drama...
, Robert Jess Roth (Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (musical)
Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Linda Woolverton, based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. Seven new songs were written for the stage musical...
), Michael Mayer
Michael Mayer (director)
Michael Mayer is an American stage and film director. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical in 2007 for directing Spring Awakening.-Biography:...
(Thoroughly Modern Millie), Gabriel Barre; writers Marta Kauffman
Marta Kauffman
Marta Kauffman is an American writer and TV producer, best known as the co-creator of the popular sitcom Friends, alongside David Crane. Both Crane and Kauffman were also executive producer of the show, along with Kevin Bright. Crane and Kauffman have also produced Veronica's Closet, starring...
and David Crane
David Crane
David Crane may refer to:* David Crane , former Chief Prosecutor for the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal for Sierra Leone* David Crane , video game designer, programmer and co-founder of Activision...
(TV's "Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
"), Lynn Ahrens
Lynn Ahrens
Lynn Ahrens is an American writer and lyricist for the musical theatre, television and film. She has collaborated with Stephen Flaherty for many years...
and Stephen Flaherty
Stephen Flaherty
Stephen Flaherty is an American composer of musical theatre. He works most often in collaboration with the lyricist/bookwriter Lynn Ahrens...
(Ragtime
Ragtime (musical)
Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty.Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in...
, Once on This Island
Once On This Island
Once on This Island is a one-act musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. Based on the novel My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy, set in the French Antilles in the Caribbean Sea...
), Jason Robert Brown
Jason Robert Brown
Jason Robert Brown is an American musical theater composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics...
(Parade
Parade (musical)
Parade is a musical with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. The musical was first produced on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on December 17, 1998. The production was directed by Harold Prince and closed 28 February 1999 after only 39 previews and 84 regular...
), Larry O'Keefe
Laurence O'Keefe (composer)
Laurence O'Keefe , also known as Larry, is a composer and lyricist for Broadway musicals, film and television.O'Keefe is a graduate of Harvard College, where he studied anthropology and wrote humor for the Harvard Lampoon and sang with the Harvard Krokodiloes...
(Bat Boy: The Musical
Bat Boy: The Musical
Bat Boy: The Musical is a musical with a book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming and music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe, based on a June 23, 1992 Weekly World News story about a half-boy, half-bat, dubbed "Bat Boy", found living in a cave....
), Robert Lopez
Robert Lopez
Robert Lopez is an American composer and lyricist of musicals best known for co-writing the Broadway musical Avenue Q and for co-creating the musical The Book of Mormon, receiving Tony Awards for both works....
and Jeff Marx
Jeff Marx
Jeff Marx is a composer and lyricist of musicals. He is best known for creating the Broadway musical Avenue Q with collaborator Robert Lopez.- Early life :...
(Avenue Q
Avenue Q
Avenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...
); and Tony-winning actors Roger Bart
Roger Bart
Roger Bart is an American actor and singer.-Life and career:Bart was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, the son of a teacher and a chemical engineer, and grew up in Bernardsville, New Jersey. His uncle is journalist Peter Bart. He made his Broadway debut in Big River as Tom Sawyer in 1987...
, Chuck Cooper
Chuck Cooper (actor)
This article is about the African-American actor. For the late former pioneering African-American NBA basketball player, see Chuck Cooper .Chuck Cooper is an American actor....
, and John Glover
John Glover (actor)
John Soursby Glover Jr. is an American actor, perhaps best known for a range of villainous roles in films and television, including Lionel Luthor on the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.-Personal life:...
. Esteemed performers F. Murray Abraham
F. Murray Abraham
Fahrid Murray Abraham is an American actor. He became known during the 1980s after winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Antonio Salieri in Amadeus. He has appeared in many roles, both leading and supporting, in films such as All the President's Men and Scarface...
, Daphne Rubin-Vega
Daphne Rubin-Vega
Daphne Rubin-Vega is a dancer, singer, and actress. She is best known for originating the role of Mimi Marquez in the Broadway musical Rent, and the role of Lucy, in the Off-Broadway play Jack Goes Boating.-Biography:Rubin-Vega was born in Panama City, Panama, the daughter of Daphine Vega, a...
, Henry Winkler
Henry Winkler
Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...
, and Judy Kuhn
Judy Kuhn
-Life and career:Kuhn was born in New York City and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. She attended Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C.She entered Oberlin College in 1976. Although she was very interested in singing and theater, she began Oberlin in the College, not the Conservatory. After taking...
also got their start with Theatreworks.
Awards
Theatreworks has won many awards in its long history. Some of these honors include:- 2001 Jonathan Larson Performing Arts FoundationJonathan Larson Performing Arts FoundationThe Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation was a foundation started in 1997 by the family and friends of Jonathan Larson, composer of the musical Rent. From 1997 to 2008, the foundation awarded grants to musical theatre composers, lyricists and book writers. Following the 2008 grants, the...
Award for "artistic vision and commitment to the support and development of theatre artists."
- 1996 Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
given by New York theatre critics for Theatreworks' "35 years of providing quality entertainment to children and their parents.
- 1996 Lucille LortelLucille LortelLucille Lortel was an American actress and theater producer who is remembered as the namesake of an off-Broadway playhouse and theatrical award....
Award given by Off Broadway theatres and producers, for "Outstanding Special Achievement."
- 1996 Staw Hat Award for Best Play awarded to The Color of Justice.
- 1984 AUDELCOAUDELCOAUDELCO, the Audience Development Committee, Inc., was established in 1973 by the late Vivian Robinson to honor excellence in New York African American Theatre through presentation of Vivan Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Awards...
Award at the Twelfth Annual Black Theatre Awards for Play to Win, a musical about Jackie RobinsonJackie RobinsonJack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
breaking the color barrier in major league baseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. The award was for "best writing of a new show by black authors for the non-commercial theatre."