Fresh for June! This month’s new publications highlight a range of distinctive voices and compelling stories. Add these fresh titles to your library and bring bold new work to your stage.
New Plays
Peter Pan Goes Wrong by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer & Henry Shields
Brace yourselves for an awfully big adventure when the inept and accident-prone Cornley Drama Society set out to present J. M. Barrie’s much-loved classic tale of Peter Pan, their most audacious production to date. Flying? Pyrotechnics? Sharp hooks? What ensues is two acts of hysterical disaster, battling technical hitches, flying mishaps and cast disputes. But will they ever make it to Neverland?
You’ll laugh; they’ll cry. Something so wrong has never been so right.
The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol, adapted by Patrick Myles
There’s no money in honesty. Gogol’s most-produced comedy is adapted to a provincial town in the United Kingdom during the Victorian era, whose Governor and other local officials grift their constituents at every possible turn. When leadership gets word that London has sent a government inspector to make sure their work is up to snuff, they mistake snobby rich-kid Percy’s sense of entitlement as authority and mistakenly label him the inspector. Percy takes advantage of their idiocy as he’s regaled with food, booze, and bribes before leaving while the getting is good. This adaptation of The Government Inspector pairs Gogol’s time-less satire with a uniquely witty British flair.
There or Here by
Robyn and Ajay—a married couple—want a baby eventually, but not anytime soon. However, their plans abruptly change after Robyn receives a troubling diagnosis, and the couple finds themselves traveling halfway around the world to visit a surrogacy service in India. This turn of events is just another for them where things are not going according to their plans. And what they both want is some normalcy: Robyn wants to understand her husband again and her changing body; Ajay wants to reconnect with his wife and himself. For the future of their suddenly growing family, they discover that doubling down on the promise of their relationship is their best way toward a happier future.
tiny father by
Overnight, Daniel’s entire life changes when his former lover gives birth to his daughter several months early. Now forced to reevaluate his previ-ously casual relationship with his daughter’s mother, he begins to learn the ins and outs of caring for a premature baby with the help of NICU nurse Caroline. But Daniel’s initial ambivalence toward parenthood turns into a growing distrust of Caroline’s rigid adherence to hospital protocols. Caroline, in return, questions Daniel’s fitness as a father and feels as though she’s the only one properly advocating for the baby’s well-being. tiny father focuses on the tension between parents, healthcare professionals, and the business of hospitals as their priorities overlap, conflict, and come to a head.
Eclipse by Tracy Wells
May 10, 1994: A lunar eclipse’s path of totality sweeps across the United States, and Americans of all kinds look to the future for love, success, a first shot, a second chance, and more. In a series of sweet and hopeful snapshots, a teenager works up the nerve to talk to their crush, a window washer feels inspired by Romeo and Juliet, a Radio Shack customer discovers new technology, and an amateur investigator looks for signs of alien life. Each character is changed by the once-in-a-generation eclipse, a reminder of our connection to the cosmos and each other.
Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher
LONDON. 1610. It’s plague time again. When a wealthy gentleman flees to the country, his trusted servant opens his house to a pair of con artists and sets up a den of criminal capitalism. Claiming alchemical powers, the quick-witted trio fleece an onslaught of greedy sheep with their virtuosic ability to improvise amidst increasingly frantic comings and goings. It’s comic gold with dupes, double-dupes, duels, disguises, and a lucky flea named “Lewis”.
New Signature Acting Editions
Love Letters by
Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and Melissa Gardner, both born to wealth and position, are childhood friends whose lifelong correspondence begins with birthday party thank-you notes and summer camp postcards. Romantically attached, they continue to exchange letters through the boarding school and college years—where Andy goes on to excel at Yale and law school, while Melissa flunks out of a series of “good schools.” While Andy is off at war Melissa marries, but her attachment to Andy remains strong and she continues to keep in touch as he marries, becomes a successful attorney, gets involved in politics and, eventually, is elected to the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, her marriage in tatters, Melissa dabbles in art and gigolos, drinks more than she should, and becomes estranged from her children. Eventually she and Andy do become involved in a brief affair, but it is really too late for both of them. However Andy’s last letter, written to her mother after Melissa’s untimely death, makes it eloquently clear how much they really meant, and gave to, each other over the years—physically apart, perhaps, but spiritually as close as only true lovers can be.
Ride the Cyclone; Book, Music, & Lyrics by Jacob Richmond & Brooke Maxwell
In this hilarious and outlandish story, the lives of six teenagers from a Canadian chamber choir are cut short in a freak accident aboard a roller coaster. When they awake in limbo, a mechanical fortune teller invites each to tell a story to win a prize like no other—the chance to return to life. This popular musical is a funny, moving look at what makes a life well-lived!
