Roundabout Theatre Company will present its ninth annual Roundabout Underground Reading Series in February, featuring new plays by Benjamin Benne, Majkin Holmquist, Shayan Lotfi, Nick Mecikalski, and Harrison David Rivers—whose play the bandaged place, the 2019 winner of the Relentless Award, will receive a reading. Lotfi's play Park-e Laleh was also recently presented at the Lark's Playwrights' Week.
The reading series will run February 3–7, with each reading kicking off at 5 PM at StubHub (1412 Broadway). Tickets are free.
READ: Why Roundabout Theatre Company Develops New Playwrights—Not Just New Plays
Check out the full lineup below.
February 3: In His Hands; or the gay christian play
By Benjamin Benne, directed by Mike Donahue
Christian is the new guy at the tech start-up. Daniel is the receptionist at the tech start-up. This is a list of things discussed in this play: faith, religion, Mario Kart, candy, conversion therapy, divinity school, sex. In His Hands; or the gay christian play explores the space where the spiritual and the sexual intersect.
February 4: Park-e LaLeh
By Shayan Lotfi
18 days since arrival. 419 days since arrival. 904 days since arrival. Amir—a gay Iranian asylum seeker—attempts to “settle” in the U.K., but comes to realize his new life in London is not what he had expected, and includes a set of challenges for which he was unprepared. How long will it take for London to finally feel like home?
February 5: Bad Star
By Nick Mecikalski
Billie has done something. Something bad. Quite bad, actually. Bad enough that she might not be a good person anymore. As her days begin to unwind, Billie unwinds herself, searching for an answer to a question that grows larger by the minute: Was she ever a good person to begin with?
February 6: Tent Revival
By Majkin Holmquist, directed by Teddy Bergman
Rural Kansas, 1957. A farmer-turned-preacher searches for inspiration, his wife for hope, and their daughter for a sense of stability. When a seeming miracle turns their church on its head, young Ida follows her parents across the state as they spread the word of their newfound faith. But when the miracles begin to multiply, and the demand for spiritual healing grows faster than anyone expected, Ida must confront the cost of deeds done to inspire devotion.
February 7: The Bandaged Place
By Harrison David Rivers, directed by Jeffrey Page
When Jonah’s livelihood as a dancer is threatened by an injury inflicted by a former lover, he retreats far within himself. The only people who might be able to pull him out are his tenacious grandmother, Geraldine, his spirited eight-year-old daughter, Ella and her ballet teacher, Sam. But will he allow them to help him heal? At once hopeful and heartbreaking, Harrison David Rivers’ delicate new drama considers how we move forward when our deepest wounds are often caused by those we love.
