In-person performances will resume at the Atlantic Theater Company August 26 with previews of Ngozi Anyanwu’s The Last of the Love Letters at the Off-Broadway institution’s Linda Gross Theater. The Patricia McGregor-helmed production kicks off a 2021–2022 season that also includes The Bedwetter and world premieres by Clare Barron, David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori, and Sanaz Toossi.
The Last of the Love Letters will open September 13, with 2020 Steinberg Playwright Award winner Anyanwu as part of the cast. The play follows two people contemplating the thing they love most and whether to stick it out or to leave it behind.
Up next is the world premiere musical Kimberly Akimbo (November 5–December 26), with a book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize winner Lindsay-Abaire and music by Tony winner Tesori, based on Lindsay-Abaire’s play of the same name. The production is directed by Jessica Stone and choreographed by Danny Mefford.
In 2022, Barron’s SHHHHH (January 12–February 13) will kick off programming at Atlantic Stage 2. Barron also directs and stars in the study in kink, trauma, pleasure, and revenge. Back at the Linda Gross Theater will be the world premiere of Toossi’s play English (February 3–March 13), directed by Knud Adams, and co-produced by Roundabout Theatre Company’s Roundabout Underground. The play is set in Iran, where four adult students are preparing for the TOEFL exam.
Finally, the season concludes with The Bedwetter (April 30–June 19), which was originally part of Atlantic’s 2019–2020 season. The musical features a book by Joshua Harmon and Sarah Silverman, music by the late Adam Schlesinger, and lyrics by Schlesinger and Silverman. Anne Kauffman directs with choreography by Byron Easley. Prior to the shutdown, Tony winners Stephanie J. Block and Linda Lavin were among the cast announced for the show. Casting for the new dates will be confirmed later.
No update was provided on Ethan Coen’s A Play is a Poem, originally scheduled to begin previews May 14, 2020. Organizers said last year that they were looking at when they could stage the work.
Atlantic Theater Company kept busy during the shutdown by launching a digital classroom and resource center and hosting virtual readings of past shows. The non-profit was also the recipient of several grants throughout the extended pause. As it prepares for its reopening, the company will monitor guidelines provided by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the City of New York to keep performers, staff, and audiences safe.
For more information about the season, click here.
