About the Show

The Public Theater announces the fall line-up for New Work Now!, its nationally recognized festival of free play readings, which showcases a new generation of artists for the American theater. The fall schedule is as follows:

Friday, October 22 at 8pm
The Long Season: Book and lyrics by Chay Yew / Music by Fabian Obispo / Directed by Peter DuBois. Set against the backdrop of salmon cannery in Alaska, this musical involves an immigrant searching for love and security and an unhappy wife reliving her girlhood by picking a lover from a different island in the Philippines each summer.

Saturday, October 23 at 7pm
The Last Scene: By Victoria Stewart* / Directed by Steve Cosson.
It’s 1949 and Hollywood director Nick Ray is nervous. His leading lady is divorcing him and Humphrey Bogart is drunk again. The Last Scene is an evocative look into 1940s Hollywood, the beginning of the blacklist and the search for the perfect ending.

Sunday, October 24 at 3pm
Temp Odyssey: By Dan Dietz* / Directed by Randy White. Little Genny killed lot of chickens when she was younger. Now, it’s her first day on a temp job and she’s broken something. Not to mention the black hole lurking in the corner. Give her a few days, she’ll make sure everyone learns her name.

Sunday, October 24 at 6:30pm
Good Canary: By Zach Helm* / Directed by Kate Whoriskey. Annie and Jack Parker, who are suddenly thrust into the world of the literary elite after the success of Jack’s “raw” and “unnerving” book. But, Annie who is struggling with a speed addiction and bulimia, must fight for authenticity in the face of success. A love story.

Monday, October 25 at 7pm
Aphrodisiac: By Rob Handel / Directed by Ken Rus Schmoll. In a post-Monica Lewinsky world, everyone knows not to trust a Washington congressman’s relationship with his female intern. Now, an attractive, young intern has gone missing, leaving a congressman’s children wondering what happened and who to blame.

Tuesday, October 26 at 7pm
Reason for Leaving: By Amy Evans / Directed by Liz Diamond. A string of scenes portraying a survivor’s 25 years of entry-level positions. June’s faith in her own abilities and belief in her son’s future keeps pushing her forward but the toll of the struggle proves surprising and devastating.

Wednesday, October 27 at 7pm
The God Botherers: By Richard Bean / Directed by Will Pomerantz. Laura wants to change the world….A dark and deeply funny tale of foreign aid workers in far flung Tambia by one of Britain’s hottest playwrights. Not for the faint-hearted or politically correct, this play contains outbursts of a culturally intolerant nature.

Thursday, October 28 at 7pm
Morbidity and Mortality: By Courtney Baron / Directed by Ethan McSweeny. An interracial love affair between Carolyn Goldenhersch and Anil Patel inspires him to read Teach Yourself Hinduism and her to explore kosher delis. Not so unusual in New York — except that she’s already married and he’s the doctor who presided over the death of her newborn baby.

Friday, October 29 at 7pm
Revelations: The Outtakes: By Christina Anderson / Directed by Kristin Marting. “Ghetto fabulized” pop diva Cree’s life is rewound, stopped / and played in this rhythmic / exploration of her love / her sexuality / and her life. Winner of the Lorraine Hansberry ACTF award.

Saturday, October 30 at 7pm
Satellites: By Diana Son / Directed by Michael Greif. When Nina and Miles, an interracial couple, and their new baby move into the transforming Brooklyn neighborhood of Clinton Hill, they are welcomed by a rock through the window. Was the vandal an outsider, a neighbor, or someone very close to home? An exciting new play by the author of Stop Kiss.

Sunday, October 31 at 3pm
And/Or: By Andrew Barrett / Directed by Niegel Smith. What do you do when your eleven-year-old wants to change gender? With Stonewall veterans, school bullies, and a confusing tween love affair, and/or pushes and celebrates queer history.

Sunday, October 31 at 6:30pm
The Unknown: Book and Lyrics by Janet Allard and Jean Randich / Music by Shane Rettig / Directed by Jean Randich. A new musical inspired by the critically acclaimed 1927 silent film, with characters from a sleazy sideshow and a raw, Weillesque score. Alonzo, immortalized by Lon Chaney, is an armless knife thrower who uses his feet to wrap his stunning target with glittering blades, and gets more, or less, than he bargained for.

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