O'Hare, Brecht, Pendleton, 'Othello', Proust Will Punctuate CSC Season. Classic Stage Company has revealed additional information about its 2008-09 Off-Broadway season, including the casting of Tony Award winner Denis O'Hare as Uncle Vanya, directed by Austin Pendleton.

Bierko and Maxwell Will Be Show Folk in Hitler's Shadow in 'To Be Or Not To Be'. The world premiere Broadway production of Nick Whitby's To Be Or Not To Be, based on the 1942 motion picture, will star Peter Benson, Craig Bierko and Jan Maxwell, among others, Manhattan Theatre Club announced June 30.

PLAYBILL.COM'S THEATRE WEEK IN REVIEW: Snap, Snap. In a slow, post-Tony week in the theatre, it was an upcoming reading that got people excited. Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane - a comedic pairing that seems so natural it's a wonder it hasn't been tried before - will star in an August reading of The Addams Family musical. The show is scheduled for the 2009-2010 Broadway season following an out-of-town tryout.

Berman's 'Perfect Couple', Story of Three Friends, Gets Extra Week Off-Broadway. The world premiere of Brooke Berman's A Perfect Couple, a play about a turbulent weekend for three longtime friends, has been extended by one week by Women's Expressive Theater.

The Mamas and The Papas Sing Again in 'Dream a Little Dream'. Dream a Little Dream, The Nearly True Story of The Mamas and The Papas, the new musical about one of the most influential singing groups of the sixties, makes its East Coast premiere starting June 26 in a production by Florida Stage in Manalapan, FL.

Galati's 'Kafka on the Shore' to Feature Guinan, Hill, de la Cruz, Larkin, Tejero at Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf Theatre Company has announced additional details about its 2008-2009 season opener, Kafka on the Shore, a world premiere "exploration of the imagination"adapted for the stage and directed by ensemble member Frank Galati.

Broadway's 'The Phantom of the Opera' Hits 8,500 Performances at the Majestic. A Broadway milestone no one would have imagined a century ago happens July 3 when The Phantom of the Opera plays its 8,500th performance at the Majestic Theatre.

PLAYBILL.COM'S BRIEF ENCOUNTER With Anna D. Shapiro. Anna D. Shapiro made theatre history on June 15 by becoming only the fifth woman to win a Tony Award for Directing, for her work on Tracy Letts' August: Osage County.

Dividing the Estate', a Play About a House, Finds a Broadway House. Horton Foote's Dividing the Estate will play Broadway's Booth Theatre. As previously announced, Lincoln Center Theater will produce, by arrangement with Primary Stages, which had an Off-Broadway hit with the play in 2007-08.

Surviving Sex' Will Get World Premiere in Falcon's All-Comedy Season in Burbank. Producer-director Garry Marshall, who co-founded Burbank's Falcon Theatre with his daughter, Kathleen, announced the troupe's all-comedy 2008-2009 season.

Broadway's Biltmore Will Be Called The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. The Tony Award-winning Manhattan Theatre Club's Broadway home, the Biltmore, will be renamed the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in recognition of the pioneering Broadway publicist, the troupe announced June 18.

Canadian Stage Will Lose Producer Martin Bragg in 2009. Martin Bragg, artistic producer of Canadian Stage Company, will leave the troupe following the 2008-2009 season, his 17th there.

Adriane Lenox to Star in World Premiere of Nottage's 'Ruined' in Chicago and NYC. Tony Award winner Adriane Lenox of Doubt will star in Manhattan Theatre Club's 2009 world premiere production of Lynn Nottage's Ruined, a co-production with the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

PLAYBILL.COM'S BRIEF ENCOUNTER With Hunter Foster. The year 2008 will see theatre artist Hunter Foster in all his various modes.

Summer and Smoke' to Billow Off-Broadway. A dawning troupe called Big Sky Theatre Company will present Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke, a sensuous tale of the Gothic South, Aug. 20-31 at the Clurman Theatre in Theatre Row in Manhattan. It is the company's inaugural Off-Broadway production.

Marvelous Wonderettes' to Play Off-Broadway's Westside Theatre. The Marvelous Wonderettes, which has played acclaimed engagements at the Laguna Playhouse and the El Portal Theatre, will begin an open-ended engagement at Off-Broadway's Westside Theatre Aug. 26.

Michael Greif Will Direct 'Boys' Life' for Second Stage. Second Stage Theatre announced June 18 that Tony Award-nominated director Michael Greif, who shepherded Rent and recently staged Second Stage's Next to Normal, will direct this fall's 20th anniversary production of Howard Korder's comedy Boys' Life.

Panhandle Slim,' Jeff Daniels' Western Comedy With Songs, Begins at MI's Purple Rose. The Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea, MI, launches the world premiere of Jeff Daniels' play-with-music, Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid, June 19 for a run through Aug. 30.

Mexican-American World War II Vets Get Voice in 'Heart's Desire' in CA. PCPA Theaterfest's world-premiere production of The Heart's Desire by JosÈ Cruz Gonz·lez begins its second leg July 3, under the stars in the Solvang Theaterfest in Solvang, CA.

Dennehy Opens in 'Hughie' and 'Krapp's Last Tape'. A double bill of Eugene O'Neill's Hughie and Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape, starring Brian Dennehy and directed by Robert Falls and Jennifer Tarver, respectively, opens June 28 at the Stratford Shakespeare Theatre in Ontario.