I had such a good time at the Commonweal Theatre and the town of Lanesboro, MN that I had to write two posts about it. The Town of Lanesboro A while ago I wrote about Lanesboro being named one 0f the Top Twelve Artplaces in the U.S., Yahoo naming it one of America's prettiest towns and it's distinction of being the Bed and Breakfast Capital on Minnesota. After a weekend there I can tell you it's true. First off, everyone [...]
In my Great American Theatre Talk-Back Tour of 2014, I landed at the Commonweal Theatre in Lanesboro, MN for a weekend. If I had to describe Minnesota in a word it would be “spectacular.” If I had to describe it in two words it would be “f**king spectacular.” Which, by the by, should be Minnesota’s new tourism slogan: “Minnesota – F**king Spectacular.” The Commonweal Theatre generously flew me out to see their production of Around the World in 80 Days and [...]
Who Knew There Was a National Cheesecake Day? I'm back from vacation and what better way to kick off my return to the internet than to announce National Cheesecake Day. I had no idea there was a National Cheesecake Day but it doesn't surprise me. This year we celebrate all that is good about cheesecakes on July 30, 2014. I have no idea how this day started or how long people have been celebrating it. But if they want to [...]
You can watch the World Cup Final with playwright Mark Brown The World Cup only comes around every four years so the opportunities to watch the World Cup final with playwright Mark Brown are very rare. Before he was an award winning playwright, Mark was a star soccer player. In fact, he was recruited to play soccer by a nationally ranked University (Appalachian State, 10th in the nation). Mark is also a lifelong fan of the German National Team. He [...]
On July 13 I'll be a guest speaker at the Commonweal Theatre as part of their popular Sunday Salon Series. "Part presentation and part audience discussion, Commonweal’s Sunday Salon series takes an opportunity to explore in greater depth some of the themes and historical contexts of Commonweal Theatre productions. Brown will share his journey of adapting one of Jules Verne’s most acclaimed works, while the cast of 80 Days will also be on hand to engage in the post-performance discussion." [...]
Today there are not one but two openings of my play Around the World in 80 Days. The first one (it being on eastern time) is at The Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, NY. My good friend, Mark Shanahan, who directed the recent World Premiere of my play Tom Jones at the Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota, FL is reprising his role of Phileas Fogg. Mark was previously in a production at the Westport Country Playhouse and was terrific. The second [...]
My adaptation of Tom Jones opened April 11 at the Florida Studio Theatre. Working on this show was a hoot and a half. Mark Shanahan did a fantastic job of directing it and I couldn't have asked for a better cast. I was making changes up until the first curtain and am still making a few tweeks here and there. The show runs until May 31, so if you're in the Sarasota, FL area, stop on by for a few [...]
There's a nice article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune about the coming world premiere of my new play Tom Jones. Here's what director Mark Shanahan has to say about me: “When you’re doing a Mark Brown play, you have to understand anarchy. He takes the form of the theater and rips it apart at the seams and rebuilds it." Thank you, Mark, for making my pants seem fancy, even though my pants are merely a place for seltzer to go [...]
I've posted a few times about my play Around the World in 80 Days being performed in Turkey. The show is in Erzurum right now . The season will end in May but the show will continue next season starting from September 2014 into the 2015 season. Here's another teaser of the production. Oh how I wish I could get over there to see it.
Today I received a lovely email from a woman in Alabama. Her son's 2nd grade class is doing a "Living Museum" project. The students pick a famous American, researches this person and then dresses up like the person and reads aloud biographical information to parents, grandparents, and visitors that come that morning to listen to all the "biographers" at the school! The kid chose me. WHAT!? I thought it had to be a mistake. Surely he meant Marc Brown, the author [...]