Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has announced the recipients of the second round of the 2017 Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards.
Among the 27 world-premiere productions that made the list were Rajiv Joseph’s Describe the Night (commissioned by Alley Theatre ) and Lauren Yee’s The Great Leap, which will both play Off-Broadway’s Atlantic Theater Company as part of the 2017–2018 season; and Lucy Thurber’s Transfers, which will premiere at MCC in the spring. The Portuguese Kid by John Patrick Shanley, currently having its world premiere in a production from MTC Off-Broadway, is also a recipient.
The list also includes the new musicals The Beast in the Jungle (John Kander, David Thompson, Susan Stroman), set to have its world premiere at the Vineyard Theatre next year; Snow Child (John Strand, Bob Banghart, Georgia Stitt, George Stitt), the musical adaptation of Eowyn Ivey’s acclaimed novel; and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (Colman Domingo, Robert Cary, Des McAnuff), which kicks off next month at the La Jolla Playhouse.
Read: LACHANZE, ARIANA DEBOSE, AND STORM LEVER WILL STAR IN DONNA SUMMER MUSICAL WORLD PREMIERE
The world premieres of Manahatta by Native American playwright Mary Kathryn Nagle at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Blind Date by Rogelio Martinez at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, are also among the recipients.
The awards, totaling $1,051,000, allow 27 productions extra time for the development and rehearsal of new plays with the entire creative team.
“If you weren’t sure about whether we were in a golden age for playwriting, this round of Edgerton Foundation recipients should confirm it,” said Teresa Eyring, executive director of TCG, in a press statement. “By supporting the initial rehearsal process for these plays, the Edgerton Foundation propels these works to future productions and inclusion in our ever-expanding theatrical canon.”
Completing the list are Cleo by Lawrence Wright; Magellanica by E.M. Lewis; The Trials of Sam Houston by Aaron Loeb; American Mariachi by José Cruz González; Chasing Mem’ries: A Different Kind of Musical by Josh Ravetch, Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Bill Cantos, Mari Falcone, Dave Grusin, Marvin Hamlisch, Michel Legrand, and Johnny Mandel; Support Group for Men by Ellen Fairey; Seder by Sarah Gancher; Fall by Bernard Weinraub; Admissions by Joshua Harmon; One House Over by Catherine Trieschmann; Saint George and the Dragon by Rory Mullarkey; Issei, He Say (Or The Myth of the First) by Chloé Hung; The Way the Mountain Moved by Idris Goodwin; Sex and Other Disturbances by Marisa Smith; Ibsen in Chicago by David Grimm; Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee; Doing It by Boo Killebrew; and Bread by Regina Taylor.
The Edgerton Foundation New Plays Program, directed by Brad and Louise Edgerton, officially launched in 2007. The initiative has supported 375 plays to date, 27 of which have transferred to Broadway.
