The Manhattan Theatre Club 2018–2019 Broadway season will feature the American premiere of The Nap, by One Man, Two Guvnors playwright Richard Bean and directed by Daniel Sullivan; and Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play Choir Boy, which was originally commissioned by MTC and played Off-Broadway in 2013. The Broadway premiere will be directed by Trip Cullman.
Off-Broadway, MTC will produce Jaclyn Backhaus’ India Pale Ale at New York City Center – Stage I with direction by Charm director Will Davis.
The Nap will kick off the new season on September 4 ahead of a September 27 opening. The play, billed as a “fast-paced comedy thriller” offers a look at the world of snooker, the British version of pool. A cast and full creative team will be announced at a later date.
Choir Boy will begin performances December 27 ahead of a January 22, 2019, opening night. The music-filled play, which received rave reviews in 2013, follows the hopes and dreams of the young singers at the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys, an institution dedicated to the education of strong, ethical black men.
India Pale Ale is set to begin performances October 2 ahead of an October 23 opening night. Amid a flurry of wedding celebrations, the story follows the clashing ideals of different generations within a tight-knit Punjabi community in Wisconsin. The production will reunite Davis and Backhaus after their acclaimed collaboration on Men on Boats. Casting and a creative team will be announced at a later date.
Backhaus is a playwright in residence at Lincoln Center Theater, Clubbed Thumb and has been commissioned by Playwrights Horizons and Ars Nova, among other institutions. She is the co-founder of Fresh Ground Pepper, and her other works include Folk Wandering, People Doing Math Live!,The Incredible Fox Sisters, and You On The Moors Now.
McCraney’s plays include Head of Passes (produced at the Public Theater Off-Broadway), Wig-Out (produced at the Vineyard Theatre), and In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, which inspired the Academy Award-winning film Moonlight. The movie tells the story of a young man coming of age in Miami during the 1980s. McCraney is currently the chair of the playwriting department at the Yale School of Drama.
Bean’s plays include Young Marx, which recently played London’s Bridge Theatre, The Hypocrite, Kiss Me, The Mentalists, Made In Dagenham, and Toast, among others.
