The Drama League’s 35th annual DirectorFest, showcasing the work of early and mid-career directors, will return January 11–28, 2019, on stages across Manhattan.

The seven directors selected encapsulate the varied perspectives, experiences, and conversations shaping modern American theatre: Jennifer Chang, Tara Elliott, Boyan Kracholov, Kemar Jewel, Seonjae Kim, Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li, and Whitney White.

Planned productions include a modern look at Craig Lucas and Norman René’s 1980 concept revue Marry Me a Little, which used trunk songs and rarely heard works by Stephen Sondheim to thread the story of two New Yorkers in search of love. Director Kemar Jewel reframes the musical to tell the story of two queer men of color, searching for love in the city that never sleeps.

The festival will also include The Clitorish, a new comedy by Mara Nelson-Greenberg, about a husband and wife who discover their teenage son has confused a diagram of a vagina for a map of the Middle East. Jennifer Chang directs.

Tara Elliott will direct a revival of Caryl Churchill’s elliptical allegory about American and British political relations Drunk Enough to Say I Love You. Seonjae Kim will helm Charles L. Mee’s First Love, while Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li will helm Jean Genet’s Deathwatch.

Also announced is the American premiere of This Is Not Hamlet—a fast-paced excavation of such playwrights as Shakespeare, Beckett, Moliere, Cervantes, and Stoppard—conceived and directed by Boyan Kracholov.

2018 Drama League Director in Residence Whitney White will offer an evening of songs from her musical adaptation of Three Sisters, currently in development. White brings lush, contemporary songs and actors into Chekhov’s timeless story of women on the verge.

For tickets, and performance schedules, visit DirectorFest.org.