the week of october 18-24, 2024
carmelita tropicana, astro boy, nomi malone
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Graphic Design: Elizabeth Morton | Editorial Support: Ryan Adelsheim
world premieres
John Leguizamo’s The Other Americans starts performances October 18th at DC’s Arena Stage. Ruben Santiago-Hudson directs the new drama about “a Colombian-Puerto Rican laundromat owner grappling with a failing business and buried secrets.”
Ngozi Anyanwu’s Leroy and Lucy runs October 24 - December 15 at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. The sultry play with music “inspired by the myth of musician Robert Johnson” is directed by Awoye Timpo.
Alina Troyano and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Give Me Carmelita Tropicana! starts performances October 23rd at Soho Rep. Eric Ting directs the “part love letter to an iconic performance artist, part intergenerational debate about the legacy of ‘downtown’ New York, part theatrical interrogation of the uses and abuses of nostalgia, real estate, representation, and the avant-garde—and 100% fantastical journey in which Jacobs-Jenkins attempts to buy Tropicana from her creator…but at what cost?”
productions
Natsu Onoda Power’s Astro Boy and the God of Comics starts performances October 19th at Flying V Theatre in Silver Spring, MD. Dylan Arrendondo directs the “retro-futuristic race against time with the titular manga & pop culture icon and his creator Osamu Tezuka.”
Meghan Brown’s The Pliant Girls runs October 18 - November 9 in a co-pro between Nu Sass and Theatre Prometheus at the Montgomery College Community Arts Center in Silver Spring, MD. The adaptation of Aeschylus’ The Suppliants “telling the story of fifty sisters seeking protection after murdering the fifty brothers they would have been forced to marry” is directed by Ileana Blustein.
Mary Zimmerman’s The Matchbox Magical Flute starts performances October 18th at Berkeley Rep. Zimmerman also directs her “mesmerizing English language adaptation of Mozart’s iconic Magic Flute, using only 10 singers and five musicians.”
Marlène Saldana and Jonathan Drillet’s Showgirl runs October 18 & 19 at NYU Skirball. The “trashy American musical, absurd cabaret, and techno oratorio of gender stereotypes” exploring Paul Verhoeven’s cult film (which I definitely wrote a term paper on in undergrad) is presented as part of the 2024 Crossing the Line Festival.
Steven Drukman’s Pru Payne starts performances October 18th at Speakeasy Stage in Boston. Paul Daigneault directs the “remarkable, funny, and emotional journey about the evolution of love and identity in the face of memory loss.”
Morgan Gould’s Jennifer Who Is Leaving runs October 18-December 1 at Urbanite Theatre in Sarasota, FL. The Dunkin’-set comedy “capturing the demands placed on women, delving into the physical, emotional, and mental toll of caregiving–and the moments that push us to the edge” is directed by Céline Rosenthal. (If you’re asking yourself, “Wait, didn’t Sarasota just get directly hit by a catastrophic hurricane?” — the theatre suffered no damage and is offering comp tickets for the first weekend.)
Caleen Sinnette Jennings’ Queens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains starts performances October 20th at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore. Danielle A. Drakes directs the final chapter of the Queen Girls trilogy chronicling “Jacqueline Marie Butler’s years at Bennington College in Vermont amidst the raging Vietnam war and the Kent State shootings.” (It stars Deirdre Staples, who was so excellent in John Proctor is the Villain and Good Bones at Studio Theatre.)
George Brant’s Marie and Rosetta runs October 22 - December 22 at Milwaukee Rep. The “unsung story of rock ’n’ roll’s roof-raising soul sisters Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight” is directed by E. Faye Butler.
Mark Sonnenblick’s Midnight at The Never Get starts performances October 24th at Diversionary Theatre in San Diego. Stephen Brotebeck directs the “dreamy musical meditation on memory, personal and political courage, and the enduring power of love.”
Eboni Booth’s Primary Trust runs October 24 - November 24 at Seattle Rep. The Pulitzer-wining “intimate and offbeat comedy about one man’s leap of faith and the friends he makes along the way” is directed by Kaytlin McIntyre.
John Logan’s RED starts performances October 24th at Theatre Exile in Philadelphia. Matt Pfeiffer directs the “searing portrait of Mark Rothko's ambition and vulnerability as he tries to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting: a series of murals for New York’s famed Four Seasons Restaurant.” (The Mark Rothko: Paintings on Paper exhibition at the NGA this year was revelatory and one of my favorite recent museum-going experiences.)
Rajiv Joseph’s King James is now playing through November 3rd at Theatre Works Silicon Valley in Mountain View, CA. The “slam-dunk comedy about two superfans forging a friendship through a shared love of their hometown Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James” is directed by Giovanna Sardelli.
Charlotte Booker’s Elsa Lancaster: She’s Alive! is now playing through October 31st at the Venus Cabaret Theatre in Chicago. Joe Kinosian directs the solo musical play recreating the titular actress’ “bawdy cabaret/nightclub act, along with behind-the-scenes stories of her unconventional life.”
workshops & readings
Psalmayene 24 and Eugene H. Russell IV’s Young John Lewis will have workshop performances on October 20 & 22 at Theatrical Outfit in Atlanta. The “new hip hop musical examines the ten crucial years in the early life of the congressman, and his journey from student activist to major leader in the Civil Rights movement — all by the time he was 28.”
Jan Rosenberg’s Amputations will have a reading on October 20th at The Tank in NYC. Gabi Carrubba directs the drama about a celebrated novelist returning home for their sister’s wedding where “dark things that should've been left buried in the backyard arise.”
Asha Hayes-Roberts’ From Time will have a reading on October 21st as part of Broadway for All’s Front Door Reading Series. The new work centers on “a lawyer and stay-at-home mom who are the picture of Black Excellence” until an old friend’s visit disrupts their idyllic life.
James Ijames’ Proxy will have readings on October 21st as part of The Public Theater’s inaugural Judith Champion New Work Series. The drama follows a psychotherapist unraveling the truth about “her new client, who claims to have committed a grisly crime, and a city-wide search for two missing boys” and is directed by Saheem Ali and dramaturged by Jack Moore.
Jojo Jones’ Veal will have readings on October 21 & 22 as part of Jungle Theater’s Greenhouse Reading Series in Minneapolis. The new work is a “deceptive little monster of a post-apocalyptic play exploring the intersocial dynamics of middle school girls and the long-lasting ramifications of those relationships.”
Classic Stage Company’s Rediscovery Readings series continues October 21st. The evening of short plays includes Susan Glaspell’s Trifles, Alice Childress’ Florence, and Josefina Niggli’s Soldadera; all will be directed by Cristina Angeles.
Jordan Ramirez Puckett’s Transitional Love Stories will have readings October 23-26 as part of The Playwrights Realm’s Beyond the Realm series. Ellie Heyman directs the choose-your-adventure-style exploration of an “ostensibly happy heterosexual, monogamous couple wondering if different career, personal, and romantic choices could have led to a better outcome.”
The TEAM’s Reconstructing (Still Working but the Devil Might Be Inside) will have work-in-progress showings October 24-27 as part of BAM’s Next Wave Festival. Rachel Chavkin and Zhailon Levingston direct the “new work of theater, collectively written by 21 artists, that explores intimacy between Black-, POC- and white-identifying Americans, and wrestles, meta-theatrically, with the question of how we might move through history together in the aftermath of slavery.”
festivals
The Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival runs October 21-27 at Littlefield and Playwrights Horizons in NYC. The annual event to showcase new work by and for trans, non-binary, and Two-Spirit artists will include Noax and George Strus’ TRUTH //: An Interdisciplinary Variety Show; Nissy Aya’s Prunin, Hoein, n Cuttin Grapes (directed by Dominique Rider); Harvest Olives: A Collective Improvisation by Yaffa AS in collaboration with Rad Pereira; MJ Kaufman’s Fireside Dances (directed by Aya Ogawa); A Rare Bird, written and directed by Zaza Diana Oh; Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel’s Lupe Finds Me in the Garden of Dreams (directed by Adin Walker); and / DARE: A Collection of Commissioned Scenes and Monologues, co-conceived by L Morgan Lee and George Strus and featuring new work by D.A. Mindell, Dillon Yruegas, Esmé Maria Ng, Ianne Fields Stewart, Imani Russell, Jayne Deely, Jen Silverman, Jordan Ramirez Puckett, Nikhil Mahapatra, Nora Brigid Monahan, Sasha Velour, and Sophie Sagan-Gutherz.
The NAMT Festival of New Musicals runs October 24 & 25 at New World Stages in NYC. The line-up includes readings of Tim Macy, Ramaa Mosley, Chaz Cardigan’s The Brass Teapot (directed by Catie Davis); Be Steadwell’s Dear Ex (directed by Miranda Haymon); Barrett Riggins and Graham Techler’s Helsinki (directed by Marshall Pailet); Rebecca Simmonds and Jack Miles’ In Clay (directed by Ellie Heyman); Mike Ross and Dylan MarcAurele’s Lewis Loves Clark (directed by Ryan Dobrin); abs wilson and Veronica Mansour’s Lighthouse (directed by Sarah Rasmussen); Parisa Shahmir’s Medusa (directed by Arpita Mukherjee); Jennifer Paz and Anthony Fedorov’s Proud Marys (directed by May Adrales).
labor news
The Atlantic Theater Organizing Committee shared an update on their ongoing contract negotiations — or lack thereof — with the Off-Broadway theatre:
IATSE is filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board to hold the Atlantic accountable. If you want to show your solidarity, the organizing committee created a petition to demand the Atlantic end their union-busting tactics and negotiate a fair contract for the production workers.
2025 updates
Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor is the Villain is coming to Broadway this spring. The production will star Sadie Sink and be directed by Danya Taymor. (Apologies to everyone I lied to this year when asked if I knew of any plans for a New York production.) A general PSA that you can now buy the script, so stop circulating old PDFs!
Woolly Mammoth announced its spring 2025 programming. The DC theatre’s line-up includes Manuel Oliver’s Guac (co-written by James Clements and directed by Michael Cotey), FlawBored's It's a Motherf**king Pleasure, Black in Space’s revue Unforgivable Blackness 5, and the world premiere of Julia Izumi's Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (with Live & Active Cultures!)
the nyc theatre game of thrones
James Morgan abruptly resigned as producing artistic director of Off-Broadway’s York Theatre Company. Morgan’s exit was preceded by the departure of associate artistic director Gerry McIntyre. Per Playbill, McIntyre wrote a Facebook post “announcing his own resignation after raising concerns about a lack of diversity at recent York programming. In the post, McIntyre said his concerns were met with anger and yelling from Morgan.” Morgan, who suffered a stroke in 2022, responded to the allegations in a letter:
During a recent staff meeting, I responded to a colleague’s concerns about the diversity of our audiences in a way that was inappropriate and hurtful. The words came out—at a raised volume that has been one of the side effects of the stroke—differently than I intended them.
There’s no question I was being defensive. I’ve tried to make diversity a consideration in everything we do—our programming, our outreach, our hiring, our everything. Were we late coming to the table? Yes. Could we—should we—have been doing more? Always.
So, I am heartsick that the words that came out of my mouth reflected the exact opposite of how I feel, not only about diversity but also about my friend of more than three decades, Gerry McIntyre…
I think the world of Gerry and I’m committed to finding a way to repair our friendship. I’ve also learned that my aphasia, an after-effect of the stroke, has caused hurt and misunderstandings among the staff. I should have realized that sooner. Whether because of ego or stubbornness—or maybe just cluelessness—I didn’t. And I apologize.
that’s not a living wage
Here are this week’s featured underpaid job listings, paired with the living wage for a 40-hour work week for one adult with no children in that area and the most recently available 990 data. (You can read more about the methodology here.)
Marketing Associate at Chicago Shakespeare Theater: $44,000 – $47,000 (Full-Time)
Living Wage for Chicago, IL: $49,330
Revenue (2023): $16.14 million / Net Income: -$2.27 million
Executive Compensation:
It's a Motherf**king Pleasure was a banger of a piece at Fringe 2023 - I am so thrilled to hear it is coming to DC!