Off-Broadway NewsDuncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow's Whisper House to Premiere Off-BroadwayThe ghost-story musical is part of 59E59's winter 2020 season, which also includes Melissa Bubnic's Boys Will Be Boys and new productions from The Hearth and Less Than Rent.
By
Olivia Clement
November 05, 2019
Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow
59E59 Theaters has unveiled its upcoming 2020 winter season. The slate includes the Off-Broadway premiere of Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow's musical Whisper House, produced by The Civilians; a docu-theatre work about Revolutionary War re-enactors from Less Than Rent; a new play about Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist John Kennedy Toole, the author of A Confederacy of Dunces; a world premiere from The Hearth, the up-and-coming company behind last season's acclaimed Athena; and Melissa Bubnic's Boys Will Be Boys, seen at Sydney Theatre Company and London's Bush Theatre.
Kicking off the season in January, 59E59 will welcome the return of Olivier Award–winning company Fishamble with its production of Eva O'Connor's play Maz and Bricks. Previously seen in a critically acclaimed world premiere in Ireland, the play follows the unlikely friendship of two people over the course of a day. Jim Culleton directs the two-hander, starring O'Connor and Ciaran O'Brien. Performances will run January 7–February 2.
Beginning January 11, Less Than Rent presents Talene Monahon's How to Load a Musket, woven from verbatim conversations with Revolutionary War and Civil War re-enactors throughout the country. Jaki Bradley directs, with a cast to be announced. Performances will continue through January 26.
Also in January, Kidoons and WYRD Productions present Rick Miller’s BOOM, a solo musical tribute to the baby boomer generation spanning 25 years and giving voice to 100 influential politicians, activists, and musicians (January 9–February 23).
In February, The Hearth continues its mission of uplifting the next generation of female-identifying artists with the world premiere of Lily Akerman's The Commons, a new play about living with strangers and the small things (like missing almonds) that can become big. The Hearth's co-founder Emma Miller will direct, with performances scheduled for February 6–23. Casting to be announced.
Beginning February 28, Articulate Theatre Company, in association with Lagniappe Productions, presents Vivian Neuwirth's Mr. Toole, directed by Cat Parker. Told through the eyes of a student, the play is a reflection on renowned author Toole during his years as a teacher in New Orleans. Linda Purl, Ryan Spahn, Lou Libertore, Stephen Schnetzer, and John Ingle will make up the cast; performances are scheduled through March 15.
The cast of Whisper House
The February lineup also features Cary Gitter'sManhattan-set romantic comedy The Sabbath Girl, directed by Joe Brancato and presented by Penguin Rep (February 11–March 8).
Beginning March 12, The Civilians presents Grammy and Tony winner Sheik and Tony nominee Jarrow's Whisper House, seen at The Old Globe in 2010. A haunting story of love, loss, and forgiveness, directed by artistic director Steve Cosson, the setting for the musical is an eerie lighthouse on the remote coast of Maine at the height of World War II. There, a young Christopher begins to hear strange music seeping through the walls. Casting will be announced; performances will run through April 19.
Also in March, 59E59 will present Happenstance's devised physical comedy Barococo, full of 18th-century finery, wigs, panniers, gestural styling, elaborate ornamentation and the excesses of Rococo. The production is directed by Mark Jaster and Sabrina Selma Mandell, and will feature Gwen Grastorf, Caleb Jaster, Mark Jaster, Mandell, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, and Alex Vernon.
Rounding out the winter season will be the Off-Broadway premiere of Bubnic's Boys Will Be Boys, the story of two female traders in the male-dominated world of banking and high finance. Presented by The Pond Theatre Company and directed by Lily Dorment, performances will run March 26–April 12. Casting to be announced.
For more information on the season and to purchase tickets visit 59e59.org.
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Sheik and Jarrow's Whisper House Haunts the Old Globe
Sheik and Jarrow's Whisper House Haunts the Old Globe
Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow's new musical, Whisper House, plays its world premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.
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