the week(s) of november 17-30, 2023
it is a truth universally acknowledged that a theatre in possession of a budget deficit must be in want of a hit holiday show
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Graphic Design: Elizabeth Haley Morton | Editorial Support: Ryan Adelsheim
productions
The world premiere of Buena Vista Social Club starts previews November 17th at the Atlantic Theater Company. The new musical — featuring a score from the titular Grammy-winning Cuban ensemble, book by Marco Ramirez, choreography by Patricia Delgado and Justin Peck, and direction by Saheem Ali — tells the decades-in-the-making story of Buena Vista Social Club’s eponymous 1997 album, honoring “the artists who survived upheaval and oppression to make the music they loved.”
Bradley Michalakis’ adaptation of The Turn of the Screw runs November 17 - December 9 at Catastrophic Theatre in Houston. The new environmental and multimedia theatrical adaptation of Henry James’ 1898 horror novella is directed by Afsaneh Aayani and Adam J. Thompson.
Lloyd Suh’s The Heart Sellers starts performances November 21st at The Huntington in Boston. May Adrales directs the 1973-set work about two recent Asian immigrants finding commonality as they “dream of disco dancing, learning to drive, and even a visit to Disneyland, and share their hopes and challenges for making a new home in a new land with grace and dignity.”
Sara Porkalob’s Dragon Lady runs November 24 - December 17 at Marin Theatre Company in Mill Valley, CA. Andrew Russell directs the solo cabaret musical by Seattle-based storyteller and activist Porkalob, which is the first in her trilogy of “matrilineal” musicals about her Filipino-American gangster family.
James Ijames’ Fat Ham runs November 24 - December 23 at The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia. The Pulitzer-winning riff on Hamlet set at a Southern barbecue is directed by Amina Robinson. (The Wilma digitally premiered a filmed production of the play in 2021.)
The world premiere of Harrison David Rivers’ The Salvagers starts performances November 24th at Yale Rep. Mikael Burke directs the new dramedy about a father and son at odds under the same roof during a snowy Chicago winter.
John Logan and The Avett Brothers’ musical Swept Away starts performances November 25th at DC’s Arena Stage. Set in the aftermath of an 1884 whaling ship disaster, the new work directed by Michael Mayer follows “the four survivors facing a reckoning: how far will they go to stay alive? And can they live with the consequences?”
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (Enchanted Edition) runs November 25-December 23 at Baltimore Center Stage. Tom Briggs’ adaptation blends elements of classic and contemporary versions of Cinderella (most notably the 1997 television movie starring Brandy and Whitney Houston) and is directed by Kevin S. McAllister in a co-pro with ArtsCentric.
Kate Hamill’s adaptation of Little Women is now playing through December 17th at Seattle Rep. Marti Lyons directs the interpretation of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel about the March sisters coming of age in 19th-century New England.
Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley runs November 25 - December 17 at Pittsburgh’s City Theatre Company. Set two years after the end of Pride and Prejudice, the holiday-themed sequel is directed by Kyle Haden.
Kate Hamill’s Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really starts previews November 25th at Portland Center Stage. Marissa Wolf directs the adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel that “bounces between horror and humor, [questioning] who the true monsters are.”
Stewart Melton and Finn Anderson’s Islander: A New Musical runs November 29 - December 17 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The Scottish modern myth “staged with a contemporary folk-inspired score and epic storytelling” is conceived and directed by Amy Draper.
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate starts previews November 29th at Second Stage. Lila Neugebauer directs the darkly comic drama about an estranged white family discovering disturbing artifacts as they settle their late father’s estate. (The production marks Branden’s full Broadway playwriting debut, after contributing additional material to last year’s revival of The Skin of Our Teeth.)
Lara Foot and Handspring Puppet Company’s Life & Times of Michael K runs November 29 - December 23 at St. Ann’s Warehouse. Foot also directs the adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s 1983 novel that “brings dignity to a humble man who finds solace in nature on an epic journey through a mythical, war-torn landscape.” The production is a collaboration between South Africa’s Baxter Theatre Centre and Germany’s Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus.
Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity starts performances November 29th at Penumbra Theatre in Minneapolis. The poet’s adaptation of the Nativity story re-told in narrative, pantomime, gospel song, and folk spirituals features the Kingdom Life Choir & Friends and is directed by Lou Bellamy.
The Glass Menagerie starts previews November 30th at Diversionary Theatre in San Diego. Lisa Berger directs “the mother of queer classics…a nostalgic story of love, regret, and letting go that introduced a young Tennessee Williams to the world.”
Madhuri Shekar’s A Nice Indian Boy runs December 1 - 17 at Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska. The “vibrant and touching intercultural rom-com exploring the complexities of family, tradition, and identity” is directed by Vinita Sud Belani.
workshops & readings
José Rivera’s Sonnets for an Old Century will have a workshop production November 17-19 at INTAR in NYC. Rebecca Aparício, Mariana Carreño King, and Melissa Crespo direct members of INTAR’s early-career, non-union Unit 52 ensemble in the theatrical anthology about “a collection of souls faced with a final chance to give their side of the story to the universe, as far as we know.”
Rachel Lin’s Dear John will have a workshop performance November 30-December 2 at Brick Aux in NYC. Nana Dakin directs the new solo performance “spanning three continents and four decades, weaving together a father’s letters to his estranged daughter, a recorded interview with a woman who left a changing China in the 1980s, and stories of growing up undocumented in New York City.” (I talked with Rachel on her podcast Upstage Left in 2021 and it’s one of my favorite interviews I’ve ever done.)
Andraya Rand-Mathis’ Diving Within will have a workshop performance December 1-2 at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater in Pittsburgh. The choreographer’s new work uses dance, music, drag, performative storytelling, and audio from first person interviews with trans women “to reflect on the peaks and valleys of the [Black/African-American community’s] healing process related to grief, heartbreak, and childhood trauma.”
digital/streaming
Stephen Brower and Zachary Prince’s Palatable Gay Robot will livestream from Ars Nova on December 1st at 7:30 PM ET. The Edinburgh hit “comedically explores the pejorative portrayal of gay men in show business.”
Florencia Iriondo’s SOUTH will be available to stream on-demand for 24 hours starting December 1st at 12 Noon ET. The intimate new musical “follows one Argentinian woman’s journey from the southernmost tip of South America to the sprawling streets of New York City.”
2024 season updates
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival announced its 2024 season. The summer line-up includes Whitney White’s By the Queen (directed by Shana Cooper) and two world premieres: Heidi Armbruster’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (directed by Ryan Quinn) and Luis Quintero’s Medea: Re-Versed (co-conceived and directed by Nathan Winkelstein).
the regional theatre game of thrones
Gustavo Ott is the new producing artistic director of GALA Hispanic Theatre in DC. The Venezuelan playwright and founder of Teatro San Martín in Caracas was most recently the executive artistic director of Teatro Dallas. He succeeds the late Hugo Medrano, who co-founded and led GALA for 47 years before his death in May.
playwrights
The Public Theater announced its 2023-25 Emerging Writers Group. The cohort includes Karina Billini, Tomas Endter, Jesse Jae Hoon, Humaira Iqbal, Celeste Jennings, Nina Ki, Gloria Oladipo, Valen-Marie Santos, Amita Sharma, and Al Sierra. Each artist receives a $10,000 stipend over the two-year fellowship.
