David Cromer's next venue: Angel Island

Any theater fans wondering if we were soon to lose in-demand director David Cromer for good—a thought I'll admit has crossed my mind—got a dose of good news this morning with the announcement of his latest project: the Midwest premiere of Cherrywood, created by Austin's Rude Mechs, for Mary-Arrchie Theatre Company at Angel Island, the company's tiny homebase above a Lakeview liquor store in June 2010. This follows Cromer's current project, the big-time Broadway revivals of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound (Brighton Beach began previews this weekend), and the U.S. premiere in February of Australian playwright Andrew Bovell's When the Rain Stops Falling at Lincoln Center Theater. We knew Cromer would be back to direct A Streetcar Named Desire for Writers' next spring (that was announced as part of Writers' season back in March), but it's heartening to see the now undeniably high-profile director keeping a toe in the storefront scene, too. Mary-Arrchie's season also includes two other Midwest premieres: British playwright Fin Kennedy's How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found, directed by Rich Cotovsky and opening next month, and Andrew Case's The Rant in February.