Second Stage Theatre has announced three New York premieres as part of its upcoming 38th season. The slate will feature works by acclaimed writers Tracy Letts, Anna Deavere Smith and Bruce Norris.
The season will kick off October 11 with the Off-Broadway debut of Notes From The Field: Doing Time In Education, the latest work created, written and performed by theatre artist Smith, with direction by Leonard Foglia. Billed as “urgent and inspiring,” it depicts the personal accounts of students, parents, teachers and administrators caught in America’s school-to-prison pipeline. The documentary solo piece is drawn from interviews with more than 200 people.
The production will mark Smith and Foglia’s return to Second Stage following their earlier collaboration, Let Me Down Easy in 2008.
The new year will launch with the New York premiere of Pulitzer and Tony winner Lett’s 2003 play, Man From Nebraska, directed by David Cromer. From the writer of August: Osage County, comes the story of Ken, a middle-aged man from Nebraska who suddenly finds himself devoid of purpose and embarks on a wild adventure. Performances are slated to begin in winter 2017.
In summer 2017, the theatre will stage Norris’ A Parallelogram, directed by Michael Greif. Norris, who is also a Pulitzer Prize winner for his acclaimed play Clybourne Park, debuts his newest work about Bee, who can click through different moments of her life with the touch of a remote control. “If you knew in advance exactly what was going to happen in your life, and how everything was going to turn out, and if you knew you couldn't do anything to change it, would you still want to go on with your life?” ask production notes. “That is the question facing Bee who, much to Jay’s confusion, can click through different moments in her life with the touch of a remote control. Past, present and future collide in this existential farce that questions whether we can make peace with those things we don’t have the power to change.”
“The upcoming season at Second Stage promises to do what we do best: to provoke, to challenge, and, most importantly, to entertain our audiences with unique stories and perspectives on the American experience,” says Second Stage Theatre artistic director Carole Rothman in a press statement. “I am thrilled to kick off the season with the incomparable Anna Deavere Smith and her revolutionary style of playwriting and performance. Her play, Let Me Down Easy, was a highlight for everyone at Second Stage and this latest work promises to be another singular, thought-provoking experience. In 2017 we will welcome two playwrights I have long wanted to work with – Tracy Letts and Bruce Norris – both incredibly perceptive writers with two superlative works that have not yet been seen by New York audiences. And to have Leonard Foglia, David Cromer, and Michael Greif, all artists of the highest caliber, directing these plays is truly an honor.”
A fourth mainstage production will be announced at a later date.
Subscriptions for these three plays are available by calling the Second Stage Box Office at (212) 246-4422 or visiting 2ST.com. All productions are staged at Second Stage’s Tony Kiser Theatre, 305 West 43rd Street, New York.
