News

American Repertory Theater has announced its 2025/26 season, highlighted by two major world premiere musicals adapted from beloved films, Black Swan and Wonder, featuring a slate of Broadway talent both on and offstage. Black Swan will begin performances May 26, 2026, at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge. Based on Darren Aronofsky’s Academy Award-nominated psychological thriller, the production will be directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Sonya Tayeh, known for Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Gatsby at A.R.T. The musical features a new score by Obie Award winner Dave Malloy, a book by Guggenheim Fellow Jen Silverman (Collective Rage), and music direction by Or Matias. A gala performance is scheduled...

Downtown at the Minetta Lane Theatre, Audible Theater is celebrating its sixth off-Broadway season. This one is extra special however, as it marks a new collaboration with Sonia Friedman and Hugh Jackman’s new company, Together. The result is two fully-produced plays that are debuting in repertory this summer. Ian Rickson is at the helm of both (running through June 18)- Hannah Moscovitch’s Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, with Ella Beatty and Hugh Jackman; and Jen Silverman’s new adaptation of August Strindberg’s Creditors, with Liev Schreiber, Maggie Siff, and Justice Smith. "Together is an initiative to very humbly create an environment for actors to be in relationship to each other- much more like the ensembles of...

Despite decades of acclaim as an actress, Mia Farrow went into her role in the Broadway play The Roommate last fall with some trepidation.

“I am not a supremely confident individual. From what I’ve learned of life, confidence is almost always misplaced, in any area you care to glance,” Farrow said.

“I do have self doubt, but I’ve learned to live with it. I’m able to sort strut around feeling supremely confident,” she continued.

That confidence paid off as Farrow received her first Tony nomination for her role as the initially meek homebody Sharon in the play by Jen Silverman, which ran at the Booth Theatre on Broadway from September through December 2024. Farrow starred in the two-hander, opposite Patti LuPone, who plays a Bronx grifter renting a room in Sharon’s Iowa farmhouse. That pairing opens up Farrow’s Sharon to the world, including the world of criminal activities,...

You can now get a first look at Liev Schreiber, Maggie Siff, and Justice Smith in Jen Silverman’s new version of August Strindberg’s Creditors, directed by Ian Rickson and now in performances at Audible's Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City. Adi, a struggling painter, finds his creative spark reignited by Gustav, a magnetic stranger at an isolated sea-side hotel. Their connection is instant and intimate, but what seems like a chance encounter quickly twists into something far darker, as Gustav becomes intrigued by Adi's wife, the dazzling Tekla. Talk into the night devolves into an intricate web of deception, seduction and revelation, where the lives of all involved may be destroyed or transformed. The cast of Jen Silverman’s gripping adaptation of August Strindberg’s...

Audible and Together will present Jen Silverman’s new version of August Strindberg’s Creditors, with Liev Schreiber, Maggie Siff, and Justice Smith, beginning performances this Saturday, May 10 at Audible's Minetta Lane Theatre in New York City. See rehearsal photos here! Adi, a struggling painter, finds his creative spark reignited by Gustav, a magnetic stranger at an isolated sea-side hotel. Their connection is instant and intimate, but what seems like a chance encounter quickly twists into something far darker, as Gustav becomes intrigued by Adi's wife, the dazzling Tekla. Talk into the night devolves into an intricate web of deception, seduction and revelation, where the lives of all involved may be destroyed or transformed. The cast of Jen Silverman’s gripping adaptation of August Strindberg’s psychological...

Exclusive: Linden Productions has acquired rights to adapt bestselling author Eric Blehm’s latest book, The Darkest White. Riva Marker of Linden Productions will produce the film alongside Storm City. Blehm will remain on the project and serve as an Executive Producer.

The book tells the extraordinary and inspiring journey of Craig Kelly, a latchkey kid whose athletic prowess and innovations would revolutionize winter sports, take him around the globe, and push him into ever more extreme environments that would ultimately take his life. It is also a definitive, immersive account of snowboarding and the cultural movement that exploded around it, growing the sport from minor Gen X cult hobby to Olympic centerpiece and a billion-dollar business full of feuds and rivalries.

“Craig Kelly was more than just a four-time world champion, he was a hero to an army of misfits who brought skateboarding and surf culture into the mountains and with his death,...

Throughout her esteemed career, Mia Farrow has earned seven Golden Globe nominations (including a win for 1964's Guns at Batasi) as well as three BAFTA bids. Yet notably she has never been recognized at the Emmys, Oscars, or Tonys. This year, she might finally add a major peer group bid to her résumé: a Tony nomination in Best Actress in a Play for The Roommate.

In 1964, Farrow burst onto the scene in a major way. She not only had her aforementioned Golden Globe win for Guns at Batasi, but also her role as Allison MacKenzie on the first two seasons of Peyton Place. The former didn't result in an Oscar nom and, despite getting in at the Globes for the latter, it didn't translate to an Emmy nod. In 1968, she starred as the title character in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby. Her performance resulted in Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.

Wolverine: Originsstars Hugh Jackman and Liev Schrieber are preparing to collaborate on two Off-Broadway stage plays.

Per Deadline, Schrieber has signed on to star in one of two plays which will also star Jackman, Ella Beatty, Maggie Siff, and Justice Smith. The plays are being produced via Jackman's new theatrical partnership with producer Sonia Friedman, Together, in collaboration with Audible. Jackman will star opposite Beatty in Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, while Schreiber will star alongside Siff and Smith in Creditors. Both plays are being directed by Ian Rickson, and will be performed in Audible's Minetta Lane Theatre Off-Broadway.

"The Minetta Lane is a gem of a theater with a rich history, and over the past seven years, Audible has re-established it as a crucial center for top-tier productions, and a shining example of Off-Broadway excellence," Jackman and Friedman said in a joint statement. "Adding to that, their innovative...

Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber will be performing on the same stage this spring, but not at the same time.

The actors will be returning to the New York stage in plays directed in repertory by Ian Rickson as part of a collaboration between Audible Theater and Together, the new theatrical partnership led by Hugh and producer Sonia Friedman.

Plays performed in “repertory” are performed on a rotating schedule.

Hugh will star in the play Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes by Hannah Moscovitch with co-star Ella Beatty.

Liev will lead Jen Silverman’s new adaptation of August Strindberg’s Creditors co-starring Maggie Siff and Justice Smith.

The two plays will be performed in repertory, with a detailed performance calendar to be released soon. The plays will likely switch off nights once they are both running, but we’ll know more details soon.

Head inside for a synopsis of both plays…...

Just a week after actor Hugh Jackman and producer Sonia Friedman announced their new theatrical partnership called Together, the venture has its first high profile project: In a collaboration with Audible, Together will stage two fully-produced plays – starring Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ella Beatty and others – in repertory at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre Off Broadway.

In a joint statement, Friedman and Jackman said, “The Minetta Lane is a gem of a theater with a rich history, and over the past seven years, Audible has re-established it as a crucial center for top-tier productions, and a shining example of Off Broadway excellence.

“Adding to that,” they continued, “their innovative model of producing work on stage and in audio, it was clear to us and director Ian Rickson that launching our first Together venture with Audible was a perfect match. What makes this collaboration even more meaningful is our shared belief in...

Ronan Farrow revealed at the Variety Studio presented by Audible at Sundance that he was the one to gently nudge his mother, Mia Farrow, back into acting. Farrow spent last fall on Broadway opposite Patti LuPone in Jen Silverman’s play “The Roommate.” Prior to that, she had a supporting run on the Ryan Murphy-produced Netflix series “The Watcher.” But she’s otherwise been off screens for nearly a decade.

“I look at a career like my moms and she’s such an incredible talent,” Ronan tells Variety’s Tatiana Siegal. “I run into directors and writers in my generation who are obsessed with her body of work and want her to share that and share her talent. Understandably, she has gone through periods of time where she’s reluctant to come back to it. Lord knows she’s had go of it in this industry, highs but also the dark side of it.

Exclusive: Veteran manager Trent Hubbard will join Linden Entertainment.

Hubbard moves to Linden after four years at Echo Lake Entertainment and previous to that he was in the Motion Picture Talent Department at UTA. He is currently executive producing Adam Rehmeier’s feature film Carolina Caroline starring Samara Weaving; executive producing Alok Vaid-Menon’s comedy special Biology!, who Hubbard represents and just secured a first look deal in Sony TV for them and executive producing Meredith Alloway’s directorial debut Forbidden Fruits with Mason Novick and Diablo Cody which is written by Alloway and Lily Houghton, both of whom Hubbard will continue to represent at Linden. Hubbard is also on the advisory board of the non-profit Rainbow Labs.

Other clients that will follow Hubbard includes Sarah Ramos (The Bear); Shirley Chen (Didi); Sarah Kameela Impey (We Are Lady Parts); Nadia Tereszkiewicz (Forever Young); Michelle Trachtenberg (Gossip Girl); Charly Clive (The...

The Agatha All Along cast clearly got along well on set because they stepped out to support Patti LuPone at the opening of her new Broadway show!

Kathryn Hahn and Joe Locke were in attendance for the opening night performance of Patti‘s new play The Roommate on Thursday (September 12) at the Booth Theatre in New York City.

Patti is starring alongside Mia Farrow in the new play by Jen Silverman.

Here is the synopsis: “Sharon (Farrow) has never had a roommate before. But after her divorce, she needs a housemate to pay the bills. That’s when Robyn (LuPone) arrives. The Roommate is about an unexpected, life-changing friendship that’s both funny and deeply moving, between two very different middle-aged women as they navigate the complexities of identity, morality, and the dream of reinvention.”

Patti and Mia were joined backstage after the performance by their sons Josh Johnston and Ronan Farrow.

Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone make for an appealing and very welcome stage duo in Broadway’s new comedy-drama The Roommate, a pairing that’s selling out the Booth Theatre in an engagement opening tonight.

Unfortunately, their third costar – a beige landline telephone that gets an implausibly large role for a play set in the current day – is required to pull more weight than it or the story can handle.

First produced in 2015 at a Louisville regional theater, Jen Silverman’s play shows its age with that wall phone – the superfluous presence of an iPhone suggests maybe there’s been some tinkering over the years, and, if so, not enough – while other details might have seemed dated even nine years ago.

And those aren’t the only flaws in this awkwardly paced, abruptly mood-shifting tale of two very...

At the start of Jen Silverman’s The Roommate, Sharon (Mia Farrow) has just invited Robyn (Patti LuPone) to stay in her Iowa home. This pair of near-strangers couldn’t be less alike. Sharon is a divorced mother who’s just joined a book club, while Robyn is a lesbian from the Bronx who may or may not be on the lam from a criminal past. Sharon wears a plaid shirt and Pippi Longstocking pigtails, while Robyn wears a leather jacket and sunglasses. And, most crucially, Sharon is a fully realized, sharply crafted human being, while Robyn is a fuzzily drawn sketch of a character that never comes into focus throughout the play.

That contrast lies, in large part, in the casting of Silverman’s 2015 buddy comedy, staged simply but efficiently by veteran Jack O’Brien in its New York premiere. Farrow, in her long-awaited return to Broadway, makes Sharon instantly specific and complex.

Broadway legend Patti LuPone roasted celebrity star Kim Kardashian’s acting skills for the second time publicly.

In an episode of Hot Ones on September 10, LuPone promoted her new show Agatha All Along alongside her co-star, Aubrey Plaza.

Agatha All Along, a spin-off of the MCU show WandaVision, is a variation of Kathryn Hahn’s interpretation of the classic comic character Agatha Harkness, one of the world’s most powerful witches. The two-episode premiere hits Disney+ on September 18.

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Hot Ones is a popular game show on which host Sean Evan interviews celebrities and other guest speakers while they eat chicken wings with increasing levels of spiciness.

As LuPone and Plaza braved the hot wings before them, LuPone sharply jabbed Kardashian’s acting debut on the sixth episode of American Horror Story: Delicate, which...

A new Broadway season has begun, and there are currently nine productions of plays set to open this fall. Could we see any of them contend at next year’s Tony Awards? Below, find the plot of each play as well as the awards histories of its author, cast and creative team, plus the opening and (where applicable) closing dates.

“The Roommate” (opens September 12; closes December 15)

In this new play by Jen Silverman, Sharon has never had a roommate before. But after her divorce she needs a housemate to pay the bills. That’s when Robyn arrives. The story follows an unexpected, life-changing friendship that’s both funny and deeply moving between two very different middle-aged women as they navigate the complexities of identity, morality and the dream of reinvention.

The production stars Golden Globe winner Mia Farrow and three-time Tony winner Patti LuPone. It is directed by three-time Tony winner Jack O’Brien.

The actress Mia Farrow recently spoke about her late ex-husband, Frank Sinatra. Describing him to CBS Sunday Morning on 1 September, along with her friend and fellow stage and screen star, Patti LuPone, Farrow, to whom Sinatra was married from 1966 to 1968.

When she spoke with the journalist Seth Doane, the 79-year-old actress pointed out that Sinatra was Sicilian, and compared his ethnicity to LuPone’s. “Like Patti, he was Sicilian,” she said with a laugh, sitting beside LuPone, who is 75. “But unlike Patti, he had a temper.”

Farrow, who was almost three decades younger than Sinatra, described him as “so compassionate and shy,” and someone who was always “readily available” to her, more so than anyone else she had ever known.

Despite their marriage ending in 1968, Farrow revealed that their bond transformed into a lasting friendship that continued until Sinatra’s death in 1998.

Recalling Past Marital Life With Frank Sinatra

The...

Broadway turned out to see favorites Patti LuPone and Mia Farrow for the first weekend of The Roommate, the new Jen Silverman play at the Booth. In its first weekend of previews, The Roommate played to over 100% of the Booth’s capacity, grossing $315,873 for four previews.

Previews began August 29 ahead of a September 12 opening night.

The play stars LuPone and Farrow as two very different women thrown into the very close proximity that the title suggests. As the synopsis has it, the play “shatters expectations with its witty and profound portrait of a blossoming intimacy between two women from vastly different backgrounds, as they navigate the complexities of identity, morality, and the promise of reinvention. Being bad never felt so good as it does in this riveting one-act about second acts.”

Another notable Broadway box office figure for the week ending September 1 – which included the Labor Day Weekend holiday – was...

Exclusive: Following a Tony season in which it collected 28 nominations and a number of notable wins, UTA has upped Patrick Herold and Rachel Viola to co-heads of its theater practice.

Based in the agency’s New York office, the pair will oversee day-to-day operations of the department and report to Jay Gassner, partner and co-head of talent; and Allan Haldeman, partner and co-head of TV lit.

Herold joined UTA in 2022 after nearly 20 years at ICM, where he was a partner and head of theater. His previous roles in the industry have included owning literary agency Helen Merrill Ltd. and holding the posts of associate general manager of Lincoln Center Theater, director of development at New York Theatre Workshop and trustee of Dramatists Play Service.

Herold’s clients include the estates of Arthur Miller, Eugene O’Neill, Sam Shepard, Horton Foote, Moss Hart, Tina Howe, Christopher Durang, and Wendy Wasserstein. He...

On Tuesday night Late Night With Seth Meyers welcomes Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone, Myha’la Herrold and author Simon Rich. Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone join Seth Meyers to discuss their upcoming Broadway play, “The Roommate”. The play, written by Jen Silverman, is set to open on September 12, 2024, at the Booth Theatre. Farrow, […]

Late Night With Seth Meyers: Mia Farrow & Patti LuPone...

Put those lightsabers down and pick up a Playbill because Adam Driver is returning to the stage. The Tony and Academy-Award nominated actor will be starring in a new Off-Broadway revival of Kenneth Lonergan’s “Hold on to Me Darling” at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in Manhattan’s West Village this Fall for a limited 13-week engagement starting on September 24 and running until December 22.

The official synopsis for “Hold on to Me Darling” reads, “On learning of his mother’s death, country music icon Strings McCrane (Driver) finds himself in an existential tailspin. The only way out, he decides, is to abandon superstardom in favor of the simple life, so he moves back to his hometown in Tennessee. The simple life turns out to be anything but simple in this brilliantly observed tragicomedy, as the consequences of Strings’ success and mind-bending effects of his fame prove all but impossible to outrun.

Exclusive: Linden Productions has hired veteran producer and executive Deanna Barillari as SVP of Development and Production, Deadline has learned.

Barillari joins after consulting in Physical Production at MGM Features and serving as VP of Production and Development for Wishmore Entertainment. In her new role, she will continue to build out the Linden’s diverse slate across film and television.

As part of the company expansion, Mia Samuels is also being promoted to Creative Executive.

Most recently, Barillari produced Chelsea Peretti’s directorial debut, First Time Female Director, for Fox Entertainment Studios alongside Amy Poehler and her Paper Kite Productions. Other feature credits include Argyris Papadimitropolous’ Monday, starring Sebastian Stan, which received Greece’s Iris Award nomination in the category of Best Picture; Steve Basilone’s Long Weekend for Sony Pictures; and Phyllis Nagy’s Call Jane starring Elizabeth Banks for Roadside Attractions. Barillari has also worked closely with auteur Paul Thomas Anderson,...

Exclusive: Tom Francis, the Olivier Award-winning actor who will reprise his West End portrayal of Joe Gillis in Jamie Lloyd’s West End production of Sunset Boulevard when the revival moves to Broadway this fall, has signed with Linden Entertainment.

Francis stars opposite Nicole Scherzinger, who plays Norma Desmond in the revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Don Black-Christopher Hampton musical adaptation of Billy Wilder’s 1950 film classic.

In addition to Scherzinger and Francis, West End cast members making the move to Broadway’s St. James Theatre include Grace Hodgett-Young (playing Betty Schaefer) and David Thaxton (Max Von Mayerling). Previews begin Sept. 28, with an opening night of Oct. 20.

Francis, who won the Best Leading Actor/Musical Olivier for his Sunset performance, can be seen on screen when he returns to Netflix’s You, currently filming its fifth and final season. His prior stage roles include &Juliet (Shaftesbury Theatre); What’s New Pussycat...

Exclusive: Following a competitive bidding, Linden Productions has acquired the rights to Alice Sadie Celine, the adult debut novel of Nyt-Bestselling author, Sarah Blakley-Cartwright. Jen Silverman will adapt the script with Linden Productions on board to develop and produce the feature film. Blakley-Cartwright will also remain on the project as an Executive Producer.

The story centers on a lauded feminist who becomes entangled with her daughter’s best friend. The novel was selected for the Indie Next List, showcasing the top nominated titles that booksellers nationwide are most excited to share with readers.

The deal was helmed by producer Riva Marker of Linden Entertainment. Marker is a known visionary for bold and provocative storytelling, shown especially in her championing of first-time directors such as Paul Dano’s Wildlife, Susanna Fogel’s Life Partners, Natalie Erika James’ Relic and most recently Tina Satter’s award-winning HBO Films crime-drama Reality starring Sydney Sweeney,...

Patti LuPone is heading back to Broadway this summer in the new comedy The Roommate, just two years after she gave up her Actor’s Equity membership card.

For those who don’t know, Actor’s Equity Association is the union that represents live theatre actors, including all of the performers on Broadway.

Back in 2022, Patti called Actor’s Equity the “worst union” and decided to withdraw her membership after five decades.

“They accepted my resignation and told me that if I ever wanted to rejoin, I’d have to be approved,” Patti told People at the time. “And it’s the perfect reason I withdrew from Equity. Fifty years to this year … I’ve been a card-carrying member of Equity, and they don’t know who I am basically. They just said, ‘Fine, but if you want to rejoin, we’re going to have to approve you.’”

“I just thought,...

Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone will return to Broadway starring in new comedy The Roommate by Jen Silverman this August, producer Chris Harper announced today.

Directed by Jack O’Brien, The Roommate will begin performances on Thursday, August 29, with an official opening night of Thursday, September 12, at Broadway’s Booth Theatre.

“The Roommate is funny, quirky and brilliantly written, and when I learned that Patti LuPone was interested in doing it, how could I resist?,” said Farrow in a statement. “She is, of course, a Broadway icon without parallel and we have been friends for decades. It is exciting to be returning to Broadway.”

LuPone said, “It’s always a big decision to return to the stage, and I certainly had no intention of being back on Broadway so fast. But when I read the play and heard Mia was attached, it became the easiest decision of my life. I’ve...

Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone will come to Broadway in the new comedy, The Roommate, by Jen Silverman.

The play, directed by Jack O’Brien, will begin performances on Aug. 29, with an official opening night on Sept. 12, at the Booth Theatre. This marks LuPone’s first return to the stage after giving up her Actors’ Equity membership after the run of Company ended in 2022. Farrow was last on Broadway in 2014, in the A.R. Gurney play Love Letters.

“It’s always a big decision to return to the stage, and I certainly had no intention of being back on Broadway so fast. But when I read the play and heard Mia was attached, it became the easiest decision of my life. I’ve always been a fan of Mia’s work and she is a treasured friend. We’re going to have a blast,” LuPone said.

“The Roommate is funny, quirky and brilliantly written,...

Chicago – The internet has invented news ways to harass people, and the category of celebrity has taken the brunt force of it all. Dana Delany is one such A-lister, who began an online communication with a anonymous teen, and tells about it live in “Highway Patrol,” at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre through February 18th. For information and tickets, click Highway.

Play Rating: 4.0/5.0

As Dana Delany was doing the TV series “Body of Proof” in 2012, she began an online correspondence with Cam (embodied by Thomas Murphy Malony), a teenage heart transplant patient. As the series grind became more stressed, Delany becomes more dependent and intimate with Cam. It eventually becomes clearer that Cam and his grandmother (Dot-Marie Jones) don’t exactly seem to be who they are.

Dana Delany in Goodman Theatre’s ‘Highway Patrol’

Photo credit: GoodmanTheatre.org

Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio review of “Highway Patrol” …

”Highway Patrol” is at the Goodman Theatre,...

Elle Fanning will make her Broadway debut this December when she appears in Pulitzer Prize finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate, which is set to run as part of Second Stage’s 45th anniversary season.

The Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominee will join the previously announced cast for Jacobs-Jenkins’ Broadway debut, which includes Sarah Paulson, Corey Stoll, Natalie Gold and Alyssa Emily Marvin in the Lila Neugebauer-directed play. Details were not available on Fanning’s role, and additional casting will be announced at a later date.

The story follows the Lafayette family, who has returned to the Arkansas home of their late patriarch’s in the summer to handle his estate. The eldest daughter Toni, portrayed by Paulson, has hopes the family will spend their weekend remembering and reconnecting over their father, while Stoll’s Bo is more focused on recouping the funds he spent on his end of life care.

New plays by Pulitzer Prize-winning Paula Vogel and Obie-winning Branden Jacobs-Jenkins will be among the Broadway offering of the Second Stage Theater 2023-24 season, the company announced today.

In addition to the two Broadway productions, the Second Stage season also will include an Off Broadway world premiere staging of Jen Silverman’s Spain.

Additional Second Stage productions will be announced in the coming months.

The company’s 45th Anniversary season will kick off in November with Spain, directed by Tyne Rafaeli, at one of Second Stage’s Off Broadway venues, the Tony Kiser Theater. Set in 1936, Spain follows two filmmakers who, according to the synopsis, “have landed their next big project: a sweeping Spanish Civil War film with the potential to change American hearts and minds. It just happens to be bankrolled by the Kgb. This seductive and funny new play about the art of propaganda and the dangerous ongoing...

Elle Fanning and Sarah Paulson are to star in 'I Am Sybil'.The pair have boarded the movie that is to be co-written and directed by Mirrah Foulkes.The picture is to explore the true story behind the cultural-sensation case of Sybil, one of the first mainstream cases of dissociative identity disorder (formerly known as multiple personality disorder), which raised questions in the public consciousness around identity and mental health.Sybil was a pseudonym given to art teacher Shirley Mason in a 1973 work of non-fiction by Flora Rheta Schreiber – which assessed her treatment for multiple personality disorder by psychologist Connie Wilbur.The film will draw on Debbie Nathan's 2011 book 'Sybil Exposed: The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case', one of several texts that disputes Schreiber's account of the case.Sources say that Fanning will play Mason with Paulson starring as Wilbur in the movie.The story...

Elle Fanning and Sarah Paulson are set to star in Mirrah Foulkes' I am Sybil, an upcoming film based on the famous case of Shirley Mason, who was given the alias Sybil to protect her identity. Mason's fascinating story first came into public view in 1973, when Flora Rheta Schreiber's non-fiction novel Sybil was published. The book quickly became a bestseller, with 6 million copies sold worldwide. According to the novel, Mason sought professional help for social anxiety and memory loss. Through treatment, the author shared, Mason's psychologist Connie Wilbur found that Mason had multiple personality disorder (now recognized as dissociative identity disorder) and manifested sixteen personalities due to sexual and physical abuse.

However, I Am Sybil will draw from a different book about Mason's ordeal for its plot, Sybil Exposed: The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case. The 2011 book by Debbie Nathan argued the authenticity of the 1973 bestseller,...

Two of the most enigmatic actresses of our time, Elle Fanning and Sarah Paulson, will lead Mirrah Foulkes’ new film project, I Am Sybil. Foulkes directs from a script she co-wrote with Jen Silverman, recreating the true story of Sybil, one of the first widely recognized cases of dissociative identity disorder (formerly called multiple personality disorder).

Sybil was the name given to Shirley Mason, who, in a study conducted by Flora Rheta Schreiber, examined Mason’s treatment for Mpd by psychologist Connie Wilbur. The forthcoming film draws inspiration from Debbie Nathan‘s 2011 novel Sybil Exposed: The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case, examining flaws in Schreiber’s findings.

We don’t know who Fanning and Paulson play in Foulkes’ film project, but sources say Fanning plays Mason while Paulson plays Wilbur. I Am Sybil is not the first cinematic retelling of Mason’s story. Sally Field and Joanne Woodward...

Exclusive: Elle Fanning (The Great) and Sarah Paulson (Ratched) are attached to star in I Am Sybil, a new film co-written and directed by Mirrah Foulkes (Judy & Punch) that explores the gripping true story behind the best-selling book and cultural-sensation case of Sybil, one of the first mainstream cases of dissociative identity disorder, which spurred questions in the public consciousness around identity and mental health.

Sybil was a pseudonym given to Shirley Mason in a 1973 work of nonfiction by Flora Rheta Schreiber, which examined the young woman’s treatment for Mpd by psychologist Connie Wilbur. The source material the new film will draw on is Debbie Nathan’s 2011 book Sybil Exposed: The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case, one of a number of texts that dispute the facts of Schreiber’s account.

While the producers wouldn’t confirm the...

The WGA East’s second Showrunner Academy gets underway today, with the 31-member class taking part in a program designed to support television writer-producers, upper-level writers and new show creators in honing the skills necessary to become successful showrunners and TV industry leaders.

The Academy, which provides instruction from current showrunners and other industry professionals on a wide range of topics, is led by Diana Son and Frank Pugliese.

“Being a showrunner is so much more than being the creative voice of the show,” Son said in a statement. “It’s also managing a multimillion-dollar endeavor with over 100 employees. We’re bringing in accomplished and experienced showrunners who’re willing to share the breadth of their experience – the good, bad and the ugly – so new showrunners can have a head start on figuring out what kind of showrunner they’re going to be.

Exclusive: High Maintenance co-creator Ben Sinclair and Tales of the City writer Jen Silverman are adapting Lauren Oyler’s conspiracy theory novel Fake Accounts as a series.

The pair have teamed up with Ozark star Julia Garner, who will produce through her new production banner, and Anonymous Content’s AC Studios to develop the project.

Playwright Silverman, who wrote plays such as Witch and The Roommate and is developing feature Sybil Exposed for Annapurna, will write and exec produce the series with Sinclair, who co-created, starred in and directed HBO weed comedy High Maintenance, directing the pilot episode and exec producing.

AC Studios will serve as the studio and will produce with Garner’s Alma Margo. Garner will exec produce alongside Rowan Riley with Oyler also exec producing with AC Studios’ Whitney Dibo.

Fake Accounts, which was published by Catapult in February 2021, follows a young woman who, on the eve of Trump’s inauguration,...

Exclusive: Producer Mark Gordon has launched Mark Gordon Pictures, a new production venture that is backed by EOne. Gordon has put together a staff of producers to create new film and TV productions and continue to shepherd the ones he already had in the works. Part of the plan is to expand into theater in the U.S. and U.K.

Gordon exited as president of EOne in June, 2019, this after selling to EOne 51% of the Mark Gordon Co. in 2015 for $133 Million, and the remaining 49% of The Mark Gordon Co. for $209 million in January 2018. Gordon has a long track record as a hit making producer of such TV shows as Grey’s Anatomy, Ray Donovan and Criminal Minds, and for eOne Designated Survivor and the Nathan Fillion-starrer The Rookie. Gordon’s long list of movie credits includes Saving Private Ryan, Speed, Murder on the Orient Express, The Messenger, 2012, The Day After Tomorrow,...

The Ferryman, Network, To Kill A Mockingbird and What The Constitution Means To Me are among the Broadway and Off Broadway productions taking nominations in this year’s New York Drama League Awards.

The 2019 nominees were announced today in the categories of Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the Distinguished Performance Award. The roster was read this morning by the current stars of Broadway’s Waitress, Shoshana Bean and Jeremy Jordan at Sardi’s Restaurant.

The 85th Annual Drama League Awards will be held on Friday, May 17.

Here is the complete list of nominees:

Outstanding Production Of A Broadway Or Off-broadway Play

Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties

by Jen Silverman

Directed by Mike Donahue

McC Theater

Dance Nation

Written by Clare Barron

Directed by Lee Sunday Evans

Playwrights Horizons

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Written by Jackie Sibblies...

Netflix has rounded out cast for Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City, its 10-episode limited series revival. Paul Gross returns to reprise his role as Brian Hawkins from the original miniseries, ex-husband of Mary Ann Singleton and father of Shawna Hawkins, played by previously announced Laura Linney and Ellen Page, respectively. The series is currently in production for a 2019 premiere.

Murray Bartlett (Looking) has been cast as the lovable Michael ‘Mouse’ Tolliver, longtime resident at Barbary Lane and Mary Ann’s best friend; Charlie Barnett (Chicago Fire) plays Mouse’s boyfriend Ben Marshall; newcomers Josiah Victoria Garcia plays Jake Rodriguez, a newer resident on Barbary Lane who is a transgender man and a caregiver for Anna Madrigal (previously announced Olympia Dukakis) and May Hong (High Maintenance) as Jake’s long-term girlfriend Margot Park. Previously announced Barbara Garrick also returns as DeDe Halycon Day.

Recurring cast...

Eat your heart out, The Persecution And Assassination Of Jean-paul Marat As Performed By The Inmates Of The Asylum Of Charenton Under The Direction Of The Marquis De Sade. Paul Weiss' 1963 historical drama, better known as Maratsade, now hands over the crown for play with the longest title to mount a major New York production to Jen Silverman's delightful bit of heartfelt absurdism, Collective Rage A Play In 5 Betties In Essence, A Queer And Occasionally Hazardous Exploration Do You Remember When You Were In Middle School And You Read About Shackleton And How He Explored The Antartic Imagine The Antarctic As A Pussy And It's Sort Of Like That.

Exclusive: Emmy winner Dana Delany has been tapped for a series regular on CBS’ new drama series The Code.

In The Code, whose pilot was penned by Limitless creator Craig Sweeny from a story by him and Craig Turk and directed by Marc Webb, the military’s brightest minds take on our country’s toughest challenges – inside the courtroom and out – where each attorney is trained as a prosecutor, a defense lawyer, an investigator – and a Marine.

Delany will play Colonel Eisa Turnbull, the Commanding Officer of the Marine Corps’ Judge Advocate Division. Eisa demands excellence of herself and her staff, inspiring fierce loyalty from the attorneys who serve under her command. One of the highest‐ranking female officers in the Corps, Eisa is also the mother of two sons who are serving overseas.

The role was played in the pilot by Mira Sorvino. It is one of two series...

On Your Feet! star Ana Villafañe has a signed a one-year overall talent deal with ABC Studios and ABC Entertainment. Under the pact, ABC Studios and ABC will target comedy and drama projects for Villafañe.

Actress-singer Villafañe made her Broadway debut as Gloria Estefan in the Tony-nominated hit musical On Your Feet!, earning the 2016 Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut Performance. On the screen, she played the female lead in Max Steel and has appeared on Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle. Most recently, she starred in the Sony Television Studios/CBS Studios/CBS half-hour multi-camera pilot History Of Them, written and executive produced by Gloria Calderon Kellett.

Villafañe will return to the New York stage later this month in a new comedy by Jen Silverman, Collective Rage, being produced by McC. She is repped by Untitled Entertainment and UTA.

Ana Villafañe has signed a one-year talent deal with ABC Studios and ABC Entertainment.

Under the deal, ABC Studios and ABC will target comedy and drama projects for Villafañe. Most recently, she starred in the CBS comedy pilot “History of Them,” which was written and executive produced by Gloria Calderon Kellett, the creator and showrunner on Netflix’s “One Day at a Time.”

Villafañe is also known for her Broadway debut in the role of Gloria Estefan in the Tony-nominated hit musical about Estefan’s life, “On Your Feet,” which was directed by Jerry Mitchell. She spent two years with the musical and received rave reviews for her performance in the show. She will return to the New York stage later this month in a new comedy by Jen Silverman, “Collective Rage,” being produced by McC.

Her other onscreen roles include “Mozart in the Jungle,” “Max Steel,” “South Beach,” “Rizzoli & Isles,...

At the end of Bruce Beresford’s 1981 coming-of-age film “Puberty Blues,” two teenage girls who had been relegated to surfer-groupie status grab their own boards and defiantly charge into the waves. More than 30 years later, young women are still fighting for their corner of extreme sports, and “Skate Kitchen” celebrates female skateboarders who demand their right to grind and pop and kickflip whether the boys like it or not.

The narrative debut of documentarian Crystal Moselle (“The Wolfpack”), “Skate Kitchen” celebrates the liberation and the sisterhood that comes with skateboarding, with a mostly refreshing take on how teen girls deal with parents, boys and each other.

Young phenom Rachelle Vinberg stars as Camille, a shy, bespectacled Long Islander who is nonetheless skilled and fearless. In the opening scene, we see her wipeout after attempting to jump over a set of stairs; the board gets her between the legs (another character...

Magnolia Pictures is doubling down with director Crystal Moselle. After releasing her 2015 Sundance award-winning documentary, The Wolfpack, the company has scooped up the North American distribution rights to her latest Sundance film entry, Skate Kitchen. Written by Moselle, Aslihan Unaldi, and Jen Silverman, the pic, which was inspired by the real-life group of New York City female skateboarders, will get its theatrical release this summer. Starring actual skateboarder…...

Distributor handled Crystal Moselle’s previous film, The Wolfpack.

Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to Sundance Next selection Skate Kitchen, Crystal Moselle’s follow-up to her Sundance 2015 hit The Wolfpack.

The film premiered in Park City last month and paints a boisterous picture of a Long Island teenager whose life changes when she befriends a group of female skateboarders in New York. Magnolia plans a theatrical release this summer.

Rachelle Vinberg, Dede Lovelace, Nina Moran, Ajani Russell and Kabrina Adams star alongside Jaden Smith. Moselle wrote the screenplay with Aslihan Unaldi and Jen Silverman.

The Bow and Arrow Entertainment and Rt Features presentation was made in association with Pulse Films and Kotva Films.

Lizzie Nastro, Izabella Tzenkova, Julia Nottingham, Moselle, Matthew Perniciaro, Michael Sherman, and Rodrigo Teixeira produced. Executive producers are Lourenco Sant’Anna and Sophie Mas.

“Crystal Moselle has proven in impressive style that The Wolfpack was no fluke,” Magnolia president [link=nm...

Editor's Note: I've been away at the National Critics Institute in Ct but will be back in a few days to regular blogging right here at The Film Experience. In the meantime please enjoy this review of one of the shows I saw in my absence, starring two of television's best actresses. The Roommate is playing through July 16th at the Williamstown Theater Festival and you should expect a transfer to NYC stages. - Nathaniel R

S. Epatha Merkerson in rehearsals. Photo by Daniel Rader

She wanted to be a spy… or a baker if espionage didn’t work out. It’s tough to square these interchangeably silly abandoned dreams with timid Iowa retiree Sharon, standing right there in her well-stocked suburban kitchen. Sharon dreamt of being a spy? — Sharon!?! Her new roommate doesn’t seem trustworthy but is right about at least one thing: Sharon shouldn’t “mummify” herself...

The Maxamoon Theatre and Performance Podcast is back, and on this episodeJose, Diep and Lindsay discuss four new shows opening this week beyond Broadway, The Light Years from The Debate Society at Playwrights Horizons, The Moors by Jen Silverman presented by The Playwrights Realm at The Duke on 42nd Street, and Sundown, Yellow Moon by Rachel Bonds and music and lyrics by The Bengsons presented by Ars Nova and Women's Theater Project at the McGinnCazale Theater. Villa written by Guillermo Calderon translated by William Gregory presented by The Play Company at The Wild Project...