the week of february 7-13, 2025
demigods, suffragettes, aliens of extraordinary ability
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icymi: bills, bills, bills
This month’s money diary is from a Broadway general management staffer (and recent home buyer) living and working in Manhattan:
The Broadway production of Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor is the Villain revealed its full cast and creative team. I don’t normally share casting & staffing announcements but I will make an exception when the buried lede here is that I am the dramaturg. Beyond elated to start rehearsals next week.
The “bitingly funny new play that flips the script on an American classic and who gets to be the heroes in the stories we tell” starts performances March 20th and there’s special $50 preview pricing available for a limited time right now. (This isn’t even spon! You’re welcome, TodayTix!)
world premieres
Sandy Rustin’s The Suffragette’s Murder runs February 7 - March 9 as part of the Colorado New Play Summit at The Denver Center. The farcical whodunit that “becomes an examination of early American suffrage movements and the political systems that have historically sought to snuff out feminist voices” is directed by Margot Bordelon.
Keiko Green’s Empty Ride starts performances February 8th at The Old Globe in San Diego. Sivan Battat directs the “funny and poignant story of a woman who returns to her small Japanese hometown after the 2011 tsunami to help her ailing father by driving his taxi cab, [only to be] haunted by the supernatural remnants of what the floodwaters left behind.”
Jennifer Haley’s Froggy runs February 9 - March 2 at CenterREP in Walnut Creek, CA. The “sensory-rich thriller fusing the styles of graphic novels, film noir, and today’s revolutionary virtual media” is directed by Matt M. Morrow with creative technology direction by Jared Mezzocchi.
Kate Hamill’s adaptation of The Odyssey starts performances February 9th at A.R.T. in Cambridge, MA. Shana Cooper directs the contemporary reimaging of “both Odysseus and Penelope’s stories [that] asks how we can learn to embrace healing and forgiveness in order to end cycles of violence and revenge.”
Zora Howard’s BUST runs February 13 - March 16 at The Alliance in Atlanta, GA. The “ground-breaking, form-defying, laugh-out-loud new drama interrogating what it costs to be Black and free” is directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz.
productions
Theresa Rebeck’s Seared starts performances February 7th at The Alley Theatre in Houston, TX. Brandon Weinbrenner directs the “spicy comedy of culinary chaos and artistic vision that clashes with the hard realities of business.”
Mfoniso Udofia’s The Grove runs February 7 - March 9 at The Huntington in Boston. The second play in Udofia’s Ufot Cycle “exploring the delicate balance between a young woman’s personal desires and the traditions of the close-knit Nigerian community she holds dear” is directed by Awoye Timpo.
Nathan Louis Jackson’s Broke-ology runs February 11 – March 2 at Kansas City Rep. The “poignant exploration of the complexities of family, sacrifice, and resilience” is directed by Francois Battiste.
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ In the Heights starts performances February 11th at Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA. James Vásquez directs the Tony-winning musical following the “vibrant inhabitants of Washington Heights sharing hope, loss and love as they plan their futures while cherishing their home.”
Inua Ellams’ The Half-God of Rainfall runs February 11 – March 2 at The Wilma in Philadelphia. The “blend of Yoruba and Greek mythologies into an incredible story of a demigod-turned-NBA superstar” is directed by Lindsay Smiling.
Harrison David Rivers’ we are continuous starts performances February 13th at Diversionary Theatre in San Diego. Kian Kline-Chilton directs the “poignant exploration of identity, love, and the invisible threads that connect us.”
Sarah Mantell’s Everything That Never Happened runs February 13 - March 19 at Baltimore Center Stage. The spin on Merchant of Venice about “disguise, romantic intrigue, and the terrible price we must sometimes pay to be free” is directed by Jessica Kubzansky.
Mark O’Rowe’s new version of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts starts performances February 13th at Lincoln Center Theater. Jack O'Brien directs the “devastating moral thriller in which ideas of love, duty and family are mercilessly put to the test.”
readings & workshops
Fay Kanin's Goodbye, My Fancy will have a reading on February 10th as part of Classic Stage Company’s Rediscovery Readings series. Jess Chayes directs the 1948 comedy about a congresswoman returning to her alma mater to receive an honorary degree — only to revert to her teenage antics once she’s back on campus.
Chloé Hung’s Alien of Extraordinary Ability will have in-person readings on February 10 & 11 at The Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis. The surrealist and timely exploration of the hierarchy of the American immigration system “asks us to consider how we decide who belongs, and on what terms.” (The readings will be available to stream online March 3–9.)
Douglas Lyons’ Don’t Touch My Hair will have a workshop production February 13-24 at IAMA Theatre in Los Angeles. Velani Dibba directs the comedy about “a laced blunt launching a pair of life-long best friends into a hilarious hallucination that allows them to confront the oppressors of the past dead-on.”
the nyc theatre game of thrones
Nidia Medina is the next artistic director of INTAR Theatre. Medina is the current producing director of the Latine theater company; she succeeds Lou Moreno, who will step down in June after 15 years.
awards
The Susan Smith Blackburn Prizes announced the 2025 finalists. The nine shortlisted plays for the international award for women and non-binary writers are Chris Bush’s Otherland, Carys Coburn’s BÁN, Keiko Green’s You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World, Haruna Lee’s 49 Days, Isobel McArthur’s The Fair Maid of the West, Suzie Miller’s Inter Alia, a.k. payne’s Furlough’s Paradise, Else Went’s An Oxford Man, and Anna Ziegler’s The Janeiad.
Christina Anderson and Mfoniso Udofia are the winners of the 2024 Steinberg Playwright Awards. The two $100,000 prizes are presented annually to early-to-mid-career playwrights whose work exhibits exceptional talent and artistic excellence.
The 2025 OBIE Awards were announced. The winners included Jeremy Tiang’s Salesman之死 , Ife Olujobi’s Jordans, Ariel Stess’ Kara & Emma & Barbara & Miranda; directors nicHi douglas, Jack Serio, and Tiffany Nichole Greene; the directors and ensemble of CATS: The Jellicle Ball; and two of my favorite performances from last year (Gabby Beans in Jonah and Cole Escola in Oh, Mary!). Sustained achievement awards recognized director Sarah Benson, actor Greg Keller, The Bengsons, lighting designer Adam Honoré, and scenic designer Jian Jung. You can read the full list of honorees — I only listed a handful here! — (and watch the winners' recorded acceptance speeches) at obieawards.com.
(Special congrats to my fellow independent publisher 3Views on Theater on winning the Michael Feingold Award!)
How exciting to be continuing your work on JPITV! It must be so rewarding to see this trajectory for a show you championed for its world premier.