Theater News

59E59 Announces Fall 2017 Lineup

The season will include a David Harrower play, a Stephen King opera adaptation, and a new musical from Allan Harris.

Cody Robinson in Nancy Bannon and Mollye Maxner's Occupied Territories, part of 59E59's fall 2017 season.
Cody Robinson in Nancy Bannon and Mollye Maxner's Occupied Territories, part of 59E59's fall 2017 season.
(© C. Stanley Photography)

59E59 Theaters has announced its lineup of shows for fall 2017.

The season kicks off with a new production of David Harrower's Knives in Hens, directed by Paul Takacs, and starring Robyn Kerr, Alvin Keith, and more to be announced later. Running October 19-November 12, it is described as follows: "In a preindustrial rural world, poised on the cusp of transformation, the fates of a young woman, her ploughman husband, and the local miller collide in a quest for knowledge, agency, and freedom."

From October 20 to November 5, Nancy Bannon and Mollye Maxner's Occupied Territories will take the stage, directed by Maxner, and starring Nancy Bannon, Kelley Rae O'Donnell, Cody Robinson, Donte Bonner, Diego Aguirre, Thony Mena, Nile Harris, and Nathan Jan Yaffe. It is described as follows: "When Jude enters her estranged father’s basement on the night of his funeral she unleashes his secret past. As she digs, two worlds collide, challenging everything she always believed about her family. This powerfully intimate theatrical event carries us between a suburban basement and the jungles of Vietnam."

New York City Opera will bring composer Tobias Picker's opera adaptation of Stephen King's Dolores Claiborne to 59E59 October 22-29, with libretto by J.D. McClatchy. The music will be conducted by the company's principal conductor Pacien Mazzagatti, while the production will be directed by Michael Capasso. The cast will be announced later.

Saviana Stanescu's Toys: A Dark Fairy Tale will be at 59E59 November 7-26. The production will be directed by Gabor Tompa, and will feature Tunde Skovran and Julia Ubrankovics. It is described as follows: "Shari was born into a war-torn country, alone and fending for herself; Clara grew up in New York with the best of everything. These two very different characters — who led two very different lives — meet in an explosive encounter and discover a shared secret from their past."

At around the same time, November 7-December 17, Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk's The Mad Ones will be performed in a production directed by Stephen Brackett, with a cast to be announced later. According to a press release, "Featuring break-out hit songs 'Run Away with Me' and 'Say the Word,' The Mad Ones immerses audiences in the complex inner life of Samantha Brown — a young woman on the brink of change. Sitting in her parent’s driveway, Samantha faces a choice: will she follow in her mother's footsteps, or take the dare of her impetuous best friend and chart a new path?"

Stephen Kaliski's The Briefly Dead follows, November 16-December 10, in a production directed by Elizabeth Ostler, and featuring Mia Aguirre, Kristin Fulton, Katie Proulx, Sarah Wadsley, and Ioanna Zafiropoulos. Billed as "A Doll's House, Part 2 for the Ancient Greek theater," the play is described as follows: "Good news: you actually can bring the love of your life back from the dead! Bad news: breakfast the next morning is really awkward. When it comes to the unexpected resurrection of his beloved wife Alcestis, King Admetos learns the hard way that the aftermath of a miracle ain't as peachy as we might assume."

November 28-December 31 brings Cross That River, a new musical with book and lyrics by Allan and Pat Harris, and music by Allan Harris. The production will be directed by Reggie Life, and the cast will include Maya Azucena, Allan Harris, Alan Grubner, Miki Hayama, Seth Johnson, Caroline Leonhart, Jeffery Smith, Shirazette Tinnin, and Jay White. The show is described as follows: "The unsettled West of the 1860s provides a new life and new dreams for Blue, a run-away slave, who escapes to Texas to become one of America’s first black Cowboys. This compelling tale of freedom integrates fiction with historical fact, and each song presents a different page in this complicated chapter of American History."

And finally, from December 12 to December 31, Daniel Llewelyn-Williams's solo show A Regular Little Houdini will close out the fall season. It is described as follows: "Edwardian Newport, South Wales: A dockworker's son, smitten by Harry Houdini, dreams of a life of magic. Doggedly training himself to emulate his hero on the industrial detritus, his relentless ambition finally brings him face-to-face with the world’s greatest showman — and one of the most terrifying events in British industrial history."

For more information on 59E59 Theaters, click here.