New Works by Bekah Brunstetter, John Patrick Shanley, More Will Be Part of Transcendency Rising Short Plays

Theater Breaking Through Barriers will present the original short works at Theatre Row.

March 10, 2026 By Andrew Gans

Bekah Brunstetter (Heather Gershonowitz)

Theater Breaking Through Barriers, Off-Broadway’s leading theatre company advancing artists with disabilities, will present an evening of original short works March 21–April 11 at Theatre Row.

Entitled Transcendency Rising: Short Plays About Defying Limitation, the new plays explore various aspects of transcendence, or moving beyond challenging circumstances. Playwrights include Pulitzer Prize and Oscar winner John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Moonstruck), Tony nominee Lyle Kessler (Orphans), Tony nominee Bekah Brunstetter (The Notebook, This Is Us), Cate Allen (Lick), Kathryn Grant (The Good Counselor), and Jeff Tabnick (The Intimacy Effect).

The plays will feature a mix of performers with and without disabilities, embodying the company’s belief that artistic excellence and disability are not mutually exclusive, but mutually enriching. As with all TBTB productions designed for accessibility and inclusion, they will all be fully captioned and utilize audio description throughout.

The lineup of plays includes From Buffalos by Adam Linn, directed by Nicholas Viselli, and featuring Fareeda Pasha; How The Universal Will Spends Its Sundays by Jeff Tabnick, directed by Eric Nightengale, and featuring Ann Marie Morelli, Dan Teachout, Aya Ibaraki, and Melanie Portsche; Monologue by Tatiana G. Rivera, directed by Nicholas Viselli, and featuring Katharine Rose Kessler; Forgotten Corners Of Your Dark, Dark Place by Bekah Brunstetter, directed by Brian Leahy Doyle, and featuring Jennifer Elizabeth Bradley, Jamie Petrone, Amanda Cortinas, and Emma Shafer; Original Monologue by Marc Winski, directed by Nicholas Viselli, and featuring Marc Winski; The Upside Down Man by John Patrick Shanley, directed by Ivette Dumeng, and featuring Nelson Avidon and Veronica Cruz; Sounds of Stillness by Dipti Mehta, directed by Nicholas Viselli, and featuring Dipti Mehta; The Calling by Kathryn Grant, directed by Ann Marie Morelli, and featuring Carla Brandberg, Scott Barton, Enrique Huili, and Melanie Portsche; Redemption by Lyle Kessler, directed by Nicholas Viselli, and featuring Xen Theo; and The Body Is a Waiting Room for Ghosts by Cate Allen, directed by Pamela Sabaugh, and featuring Samantha Debicki, Stuart Green, John Little, Ann Flanagan, and Christine Bruno.

“This evening brings together some of the most important voices in American theatre to explore what it means to transcend adversity and defy the limits of the human experience. These plays remind us that the human spirit is inherently expansive. At Theater Breaking Through Barriers, we believe the stage is a place where possibility expands, where barriers dissolve, and where audiences are invited to see the world and each other with renewed clarity and compassion,” said Artistic Director Nicholas Viselli in a statement.

For ticket information visit BFANY.org.