THEATRE NEWS: Luminato AD announced; Gina Prize inaugurated; Mirvish tinkers with 2012 season
22 SEPT/11

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency

Jörn Weisbrodt, most recently director of New York's Watermill Centre and executive director of RW Work Ltd. (specializing in the work of the legendary Robert Wilson), has been named the new artistic director of Toronto's Luminato Festival.

Weisbrodt, whose international connections range from New York to Berlin, Italy to Great Britain, will step into shoes vacated earlier this year by outgoing artistic director Chris Lorway, in January, 2012. Weisbrodt is credited with playing a pivotal role in the remount of Einstein on the Beach, slated to play next year's edition of Luminato.

Weisbrodt and his partner, singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright — to whom he is engaged — plan to make their home in Toronto. Luminato 2012 runs from June 8-17.

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The memory of late actor/playwright/director Gina Wilkinson will be honoured with a new award, designed to benefit emerging female directors. The $1,000 Gina Wilkinson Prize, which is to be presented annually, beginning in March, 2012, was funded by more than 200 contributions from across the country in the wake of Wilkinson’s untimely death from cancer less than a year ago. Nominations for the inaugural award close Dec. 1 and should be sent to ginasprize@gmail.com. Each nomination should include a letter in support of the nominee from a recognized theatre professional, as well as an acknowledgment of the nomination from the nominee and the nominee’s resumé.

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David Mirvish is doing some fine tuning on his subscription season.

Although it will still play Toronto, the revival of Hair, which was slated to close the 2011/12 subscription season, has been pulled from the line-up and replaced with a production of Bring It On: The Musical, directed by the Tony Award-winning Andy Blankenbuehler and set in the world of competitive cheerleading. It features a libretto by Jeff Whitty, lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Amanda Green and music by Tom Kitt. Hair, for its part, will now run outside of the subscription season at the Royal Alexandra, opening Dec. 14, after a single preview and run through Dec. 31. Scheduling difficulties were cited in the release announcing the changes.