Ensemble Studio Theatre Announces 2023-24 Mainstage Productions

Ensemble Studio Theatre has announced two mainstage productions for its 2023-24 season. The company is now in its 55th year of operation.

The season will open in October with the New York premiere of Redwood, written by Brittany K. Allen (who will also star in the production) and directed by EST Member Artist Mikhaela Mahony. The play is described as follows: “When Steve Durbin goes down the rabbit hole of charting his family’s genealogy, he makes an unwelcome discovery that throws the entire Durbin clan into turmoil. Chiefly: his niece, Meg, who’s forced to reconsider her relationship with Drew, a white physicist. With acid wit, love, and dance, Redwood ponders the project of interracial family-making in a haunted country.” Performances will run October 18-November 12 with an official October 26 opening.

Coming to the mainstage in the spring will be the world premiere of Borinqueñas, written by Nelson Diaz-Marcano and directed by Rebecca Aparicio. The play is presented by the EST/Sloan Project in collaboration with the Latinx Playwrights Circle, and is described as follows: “It’s the 1950’s in Puerto Rico and Maria, Fernanda, Yolanda, Rosa, and Chavela are fighting to live full lives in a changing country with crushing societal rules for women. In the United States, Dr. Gregory Pincus is on the verge of perfecting a miracle that could give them freedom – if only he could find test subjects to participate in preliminary trials. This is the story of the birth control pill and the women who risked everything for the chance to live free.” Performances will run in April 2024.