The three-day festival kicks off with the 7:30 PM premiere of Michael Friedman and Daniel Goldstein's musical Unknown Soldier. Friedman, an Obie winner for the Civilians' Gone Missing, has penned the score with book and lyrics by Goldstein (director of Huntington's The Cry of the Reed).
The WWI-era chamber musical, according to press notes, begins "when a modern-day woman discovers a cache of old letters. [She] enlists help from a far away researcher and their correspondence begins to mirror that of people they are studying." The cast for the musical includes Brendan McNab, Damian Baldet, Stephen Plunkett, Sara Saltzberg, and Maria Thayer. Will Frears directs the staged reading.
Sense of an Ending, penned by Huntington Playwriting Fellow Ken Urban, will be presented April 4 at 8 PM. The new work "follows an African-American journalist who arrives in Rwanda to uncover dark truths about an act of genocide. His trip becomes something more troubling, however, when he finds he may be part of the story."
Directed by Evan Cabnet, the cast of Sense of an Ending comprises Gilbert Owuor, Ato Essandoh, Johnny Lee Davenport, Jacqui Parker and Chinasa Ogbuagu.
Mat Smart's Thomas Repair will follow, playing April 5 at 2 PM. "A family crisis ensues when a mysterious girl appears at Jacob Thomas' quirky repair shop," press notes state. "She's blue – literally and figuratively – and as she attempts to come clean, the relationships around her are thrown into chaos." The cast for Thomas Repair includes Noah Bean, Zabryna Guevara, Lisa Joyce, Maureen Keiller, and Keith Randolph Smith.
Nathan Louis Jackson's Broke-ology, slated to make its world premiere at the Williamstown Theatre Festival later this summer, will be previewed for Boston audiences April 5 at 8 PM.
Broke-ology follows "two brothers caring for their ailing father [who] face the dilemma of following their dreams or honoring the unspoken promise of familial loyalty." The production features Chinasa Ogbuagu, Gilbert Owuor, Keenan Ramos, and Isaiah Whitlock, Jr.
The final work in the series is Melinda Lopez's Caroline in Jersey April 6 at 7 PM. Lopez's latest comedy "focuses on the troubled title character, whose husband has left her for a younger woman. But that's the least of her worries…she's about to be thrown out of her apartment, her landlady thinks she's crazy, and the spirit of Arthur Miller's accountant lives in her refrigerator."
The cast of Caroline in Jersey includes Will LeBow and Karen McDonald with Becky Ann Baker and David Beach.
"The Breaking Ground Festival has been incredibly successful in its goal to be a place where real work can get done on scripts with great potential. There is a lot of play development across the country, but in many places scripts are read once and not heard of again. The Huntington has made a firm commitment to choose, present, and support the best plays by the best playwrights in the country," explained Huntington's literary manager Ilana Brownstein in a statement.
Previous works seen in the Breaking Ground Festival include Sinan Unel's The Cry of the Reed, Melinda Lopez's Gary and Theresa Rebeck's Mauritius.
The fifth annual Breaking Ground Festival plays the Carol G. Deane Rehearsal Hall at the Calderwood Pavilion. Tickets are free; however, reservations are highly recommended. For reservations phone (617) 266-0800 or email [email protected].
For further information visit www.huntingtontheatre.org.
