2016-2017
Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play
Performance Dates: September 29 - October 8, 2016
After the collapse of civilization, a group of survivors share a campfire and begin to piece together the plot of The Simpsons episode "Cape Feare" entirely from memory. 7 years later, this and other snippets of pop culture (sitcom plots, commercials, jingles, and pop songs) have become the live entertainment of a post-apocalyptic society, sincerely trying to hold onto its past. 75 years later, these are the myths and legends from which new forms of performance are created. Mr. Burns is an animated exploration of how the pop culture of one era might evolve into the mythology of another.
American Idiot
Performance Dates: October 27 - November 12, 2016
American Idiot is a sung-through stage adaptation of punk rock band Green Day's rock opera, American Idiot. The story, expanded from that of the concept album, centers on three disaffected young men looking for meaning in life. They escape suburbia to try out the freedom and excitement of the city. One quickly gives up on life in the city, joins the military, and is shipped off to war. Another turns to drugs and finds a part of himself that he grows to dislike. American Idiot is an exploration of ideological freedom and the harsh realities of the world.
Hand to God
Performance Dates: February 16 - 25, 2017
After the death of his father, meek Jason finds an outlet for his anxiety at the Christian Puppet Ministry, in the devoutly religious, relatively quiet small town of Cypress, Texas. Jason’s complicated relationships with the town pastor, the school bully, the girl next door, and - most especially - his mother are thrown into upheaval when Jason’s puppet, Tyrone, takes on a shocking and dangerously irreverent personality all its own. Hand to God explores the startlingly fragile nature of faith, morality, and the ties that bind us.
Disgraced
Performance Dates: April 13-22, 2017
Lawyer Amir Kapoor and his wife Emily host an Upper East Side dinner. Amir is an American-born, Muslim-raised Manhattan mergers and acquisitions lawyer, while Emily is an up-and-coming artist who focuses on Islamic themes in her art. In all, the dinner table assembly includes an ex-Muslim, an African-American, a Jew and a WASP dining over the topic of religious faith. The play asks challenging questions about the nature of faith, about relationships between white and non-white races in post-9/11 America, and about the process and responsibilities of creating art.
Hit the Wall
Performance Dates: June 15-24, 2017
It's the summer of '69 and the death of music icon Judy Garland has emboldened her gay followers. A routine police raid on an underground Greenwich Village hotspot erupts in to a full-scale riot, the impetus of the modern gay rights movement. That's the well-known, oft-rehearsed myth of Stonewall, anyhow. Smash that myth against the vivid theatrical imagination of playwright Ike Holter, add a howling live rock 'n roll band, and you get the play, Hit the Wall. Remixing this historic confrontation reveals ten unlikely revolutionaries, caught in the turmoil and fighting to claim "I was there."