This adaptation of Henry James’ WASHINGTON SQUARE centers on Catherine Sloper, a wealthy young woman raised in a house of grief by a father bitterly dead to love. Surrounded by a society and family who perceive her as plain and soft spoken, Catherine remains steadfastly committed to her forward-thinking optimism. When Morris Townsend, a young, mysterious suitor, makes a bid for her heart, Catherine is torn between following her instincts and heeding the warnings of her father and meddling aunt.
While the novel is set in the fashionable downtown of late 19th century New York City, Sharp’s radical interpretation strips away the excess of the time period to deeply focus on Catherine’s journey to becoming her own person. This sparse, actor-focused design heightens the psychological underpinnings of the story, building tension as the play hurtles towards its inevitable conclusion.
HOLD ON! is about the struggle for democratic rights which took place in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. The heart of the play is a complex struggle between Martin Luther King and Lyndon Baines Johnson set against thunderous, fast-moving events. Both brilliant leaders at the peak of their powers, their personal battle — like the battle on the streets of Selma — is ultimately decided by King’s moral courage.
72 year-old Krystyna fights for life in a hospital as four people wait and reveal the reasons why her survival is vital to them. Rachel is a driven young doctor whose brother Jonathan died in the Trade Center; financier David is Rachel’s adoring ex-fiancé, rejected in the fall-out from Jonathan’s death; Nicolas is the truck-driver who, distracted, wrecked Krystyna’s car; and Klaus is a hospital volunteer who believes Krystyna is someone he loved long ago in Poland. But even if she survives, is it too late for love? What purpose or meaning remains for any of them? Will Krystyna have their answers?
At a church-sponsored halfway house in Western North Carolina, the arrival of a charismatic high-school English teacher shakes up the household dynamic, leading to new friendships, routines, and intrigues. As romantic rivalries and racial tensions escalate, the house’s residents and two founders—a taciturn, broad-minded minister and an idealistic social worker—must confront their own failings and the limits of their mission.
Nora, a lovelorn musicologist with a drinking problem, schemes to steal the husband of a former Miss Idaho (runner-up). When the extramarital hijinks go brutally awry, Nora flees to the Rocky Mountains, tracks down her estranged mother’s partner, and weasels her way into their wholesome domestic existence. But in her bid for help, Nora risks losing the only family she’s ever had—this time, forever.
Trying her luck at an annual dating convention for farmers, a South Carolina army widow who loves Modern Family and talks to her goats angles for romance with an Oklahoma fundamentalist. Over the course of an evening, as she tests his convictions and pries into his darkest secrets, both characters must confront the painful reasons they’ve been starving for love for so long.
“Women feel just as men feel. They need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do.”
Charlotte Brontë’s timeless romance, JANE EYRE, is a Gothic story of resilience, in which a penniless orphan is determined to craft a fulfilling life for herself, against all odds. When Jane is hired as a governess at Thornfield Hall, she falls passionately in love with her brooding employer, only to discover that he—and his home—are surrounded by dark secrets. When the secrets are revealed, how will Jane preserve her chances for happiness?
A young father in the playground, eleven-month-old baby in tow, engages another parent in the park in a conversation about neighborhoods, parenthood, and culture, processing some of his traumas and insecurities along the way as he tries to predict the factors that will shape his child’s Latinx identity. Meanwhile, his alter-ego, a swaggering hip hop jester named MC Plátano, comments on the action, fills in some of the blanks, and asks us some difficult questions.
Set in a small town middle American town called Principal, this is the story of teenaged best friends Jimmy T. and Kia B. Jimmy wants to take Kia to prom, but it’s complicated. Jimmy is white and Kia is black, and Principal has been holding racially segregated proms for decades. In this contemporary coming of age story, filled with music and magic, rhymes and beats, Jimmy and Kia work to hold fast to their friendship. With a little help from a musical superstar, they both fight to envision a different future for themselves and their town.
Set in the heart of Seattle’s Central District to the rhythms that shaped a generation, THE BOY WHO KISSED THE SKY, is inspired by the early life and influences of Seattle native and musical icon Jimi Hendrix. The early era of rock ‘n roll music sets the stage as a young Black boy conjures his creativity as a budding guitarist. Guided by the spirit of music itself, the boy learns to find harmony inside the challenging noises of his life. Told with vibrant music and daring imagination, this play inspires us to dream big when it matters most.
