Chosen from five plays developed during Asolo Rep's 2010 Unplugged festival of new plays, The Innocents will open in April 2011 as part of the repertory season and in conjunction with the 2011 Unplugged festival.

"A darkly comic mystery," according to the Asolo announcement, The Innocents "is a brilliant and witty examination of the difference between innocence and naiveté. The family unit constructed by a middle-aged gay man and his closest female friend is threatened when two very appealing young men enter the picture. The romantic and sexual dynamic tilts wildly in this fascinating new play that touches on what it means to be an American in the 21st century."

The Innocents will run April 15-May 14, 2011, in the Cook Theatre.

"The Innocents is a smart, sexy and fresh romance with a political charge that is utterly timely in its depiction of behavior, ideas and language," Asolo producing artistic director Michael Donald Edwards said in a statement. "We rely on our writers to observe, ask questions and help us grasp our moment."

Greg Leaming, Unplugged's curator and Asolo Rep associate artistic director, added, "Unplugged is about drawing new artists from around the country; it's about bringing playwrights into the fold and helping them to develop their work. It's our way to connect with them and bring them into our community, and to offer our audiences a chance to create a relationship with them and their work at a fascinating stage of the development process. Steven is not only a playwright whose work is ready to come into the consciousness of the population, but he's also a playwright who needed a place to develop this play. Unplugged provided that incubator. We're eager to continue our involvement with that process and proud to be such an integral part of the production's journey to the stage." Drukman's play, The Bullet Round, received its world premiere at the Arena Stage in Portland, OR, in 2009. His play In This Corner premiered in January 2008 at The Old Globe in San Diego and won the Critics' Circle Best New Play award. His newest play, The Innocents, was the first-ever commission by New York City's Naked Angels. Other produced plays include Another Fine Mess (Portland Center Stage, nominee for Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2003), Going Native (Long Wharf Theatre), Flattery Will Get You (Connecticut Rep), Collateral Damage (Illusion Theater, Minneapolis), Snowmaiden (Bob Hope Theatre, Dallas). He is an associate arts professor at New York University where he teaches playwriting.

For more information about the 2010-11 Asolo season, call (941) 351-8000 or (800) 361-8388; or buy online at www.asolorep.com.