New Jamestown Riverwalk Location and Additional CHQ Dates CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. — Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Andrew Borba and Managing Director Sarah Clare Corporandy, is pleased to continue their traveling Shakespeare for the second year in a row. This summer CTC will present A Midsummer Night’s Dream written by William Shakespeare, adapted by Jeff Witty of Avenue Q fame, and Directed by Sarah Elizabeth Wansley. CTC’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream re-imagines Shakespeare’s beloved comedy through a contemporary lens. Featuring intricate folk-harmonies from a fairy trio, physical comedy and gentle audience interaction, this...
Will Star Debra Messing and be Directed by Former CTC Artistic Director Vivienne Benesch Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Andrew Borba and Managing Director Sarah Clare Corporandy, is pleased to announce that its 2017 New Play Workshop Birthday Candles by Noah Haidle will be opening on Broadway in 2019–2020 season. Former CTC artistic director Vivienne Benesch will direct the Broadway premiere at the Roundabout Theatre Company, and the production will star Debra Messing, best known for her lead role in the NBC television series “Will & Grace.” Birthday Candles was originally commissioned by Detroit Public Theater...
Author Will Give Public Reading at Chautauqua Institution on Aug. 16 Chautauqua Institution is delighted to announce Anjali Sachdeva’s All the Names They Used for God: Stories (Spiegel & Grau) as the 2019 winner of The Chautauqua Prize. As author of the winning book, Sachdeva receives $7,500 and all travel and expenses for a summer residency at Chautauqua from Aug. 12 to 16, 2019. A public reading will take place at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16, in the Hall of Philosophy on the Institution’s grounds. Sachdeva said she was “incredibly grateful for all Chautauqua Institution has done to celebrate the arts and their potential to...
Performance Opens 90th Anniversary Season, 2019 Russian Festival Chautauqua Institution today announced that celebrated pianist Daniil Trifonov will be unable to join the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra for its Opening Night performance on June 27, 2019. A representative for Trifonov shared the following statement: Due to unforeseen circumstances, Daniil Trifonov is unable to leave Europe as planned to fulfill his commitment to Chautauqua. He withdraws with sadness because he has really looked forward to making music in such a special and beautiful place. He looks forward to a return engagement in the near future. Trifonov will be replaced on the CSO...
Term begins Oct. 1; Decision marks first time a woman will serve as chair At its quarterly business meeting today, the Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees elected as its next Chair Candace (Candy) Littell Maxwell of Wilmington, Delaware. Maxwell is a retired strategic advisor with more than 30 years of diverse experience in business leadership, governance, policy, and strategy. In October 2018, she completed eight years of service on the Institution’s Board of Trustees, during which time she served on the Board’s Special Committee on Amphitheater-Related Issues, on the Presidential Search Committee, and as Chair of the Audit Committee, as...
150 Forward to be made public in June, calls for bold new response At its quarterly business meeting today, the Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees approved a new strategic plan for the Institution titled 150 Forward. The plan was developed over the past year and a half following wide community consultation, market research, and externally advised analysis. The plan will guide strategic decision making over the next 10 years, leading up to the Institution’s 150th anniversary in 2024 and beyond. Framed within the context of Chautauqua’s mission to “… explore the best in human values and the enrichment of life...
Chautauqua Institution is pleased to announce seven exceptional books as the 2019 finalists for The Chautauqua Prize, now in its eighth year: Little, by Edward Carey (Riverhead Books) The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt: A Tyranny of Truth, by Ken Krimstein (Bloomsbury) Heavy: An American Memoir, by Kiese Laymon (Scribner) The Overstory, by Richard Powers (W.W. Norton) Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore, by Elizabeth Rush (Milkweed Editions) All the Names They Used for God, by Anjali Sachdeva (Spiegel & Grau) The Mercy Seat, by Elizabeth H. Winthrop (Grove Press) The winning book will be selected from this shortlist...
Chautauqua Institution today announced that it has signed on to the memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the Chautauqua Lake Weed Management Consensus Strategy championed by Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello. The MOA seeks to bring together lake agencies and organizations, as well as the municipalities located around Chautauqua Lake, so they can more effectively work together to manage invasive aquatic plants, nuisance native vegetation, and hazardous algal blooms in the lake while being considerate of the lake and its watershed’s economic, recreational and ecological significance. Chautauqua Institution President Michael E. Hill signed the MOA on the Institution’s behalf. “I proudly...
Author Will Give Public Lecture and Reading at Chautauqua Institution Chautauqua Institution is delighted to announce “Tree rings, like concentric ghosts” by My Tran as the 2019 winner of The Chautauqua Janus Prize. As the author selected from eight finalists by judge Vi Khi Nao, Tran receives $5,000, elevated this year from the original prize of $2,500, plus all travel and expenses for a summer residency at Chautauqua during the 2019 summer season. Tran will present a public lecture and reading at a celebratory event with music and refreshments at a date to be determined on the Institution’s grounds. Their writing...
Dear Chautauquans, We stand with Muslims around the world in grieving the acts of hatred and murder in Christchurch, New Zealand. Chautauqua Institution remains steadfast in its commitment to interfaith dialogue and engagement that build bridges and foster understanding across difference. Interfaith understanding doesn’t just happen — it takes work and study and face-to-face interactions with Muslims. That is why Chautauqua, through its Department of Religion, strives to bring leading Muslim voices to our 2 p.m. Interfaith Lecture Series and our Interfaith Fridays series. Ours is an emphasis on interfaith learning and respect that has gone on at Chautauqua for more...