Next Fall Will Land on Broadway in Spring 2010

By Adam Hetrick
September 23, 2009

Next Fall, playwright Geoffrey Nauffts' exploration of faith in a modern gay relationship, will arrive on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre in 2010.

Naked Angels presented the May-August 2009 Off-Broadway world premiere, which was extended three times. Barbara Manocherian, Richard Willis and Anthony Barrile in association with Naked Angels (Nauffts serves as artistic director of the company) will produce the Broadway transfer that will officially open March 11, 2010. Previews will begin in mid-February.

Off-Broadway director Sheryl Kaller (Dangerous Beauty, Adrift in Macao, Last Smoker in America) will return to stage the provocative comedy-drama. Casting and creative duties have not been announced.

Next Fall, according to press notes, "takes a witty and provocative look at faith, commitment and unconditional love. While the play's central story focuses on the five-year relationship between Adam and Luke, Next Fall goes beyond a typical love story. This timely and compelling new American play forces us all to examine what it means to 'believe' and what it might cost us not to."

The Off-Broadway cast of Next Fall included Patrick Breen (Fuddy Meers, Brighton Beach Memoirs), Maddie Corman (Isn't It Romantic, "Some Kind of Wonderful"), Sean Dugan (Corpus Christi, Rough Crossing), Patrick Heusinger ("Gossip Girl," Spamalot), Connie Ray (The Heidi Chronicles) and Cotter Smith (An American Daughter).

Next Fall began performances Off-Broadway at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre May 26 and opened to positive reviews June 3. The sold-out production, which was to close June 21, resulted in three extensions through Aug. 8.

In addition to his work as an actor, Nauffts has directed plays by Kenneth Lonergan, Frank Pugliese, David Marshall Grant, Theresa Rebeck and Suzan-Lori Parks, as well as Steven Belber's Tape in New York, Los Angeles and London. He wrote, directed and co-starred in the award-winning short film "Baby Steps" with Kathy Bates and co-wrote "Jenifer," a movie of the week for CBS. He's currently collaborating with Anthony Barrile and Elton John on a score for "Showstopper," a screenplay he co-wrote with Barrile for Ben Stiller's company, Red Hour. In the fall of 2007 he took over as artistic director of Naked Angels where he's been a proud member for over twenty-two years.

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