In the Schoolyard

Theater for the New City presents the world premiere of the musical In the Schoolyard, featuring book and lyrics by
Paulanne Simmons and music by Margaret Hetherman.
Simmons directs, with musical direction by Hetherman.

In the Schoolyard tells the story of native Brooklynite childhood buddies, Larry, Jerry, Dave, Eddie and Manny. They played stoopball and stickball on the streets and basketball in the schoolyard of P.S. 8. They all worked in or stole from the grocery store owned by Manny’s mother, Mrs. Rivera. Although they have all married, started their careers and moved away, they still come back to Brooklyn on the last Saturday of September to play basketball, have a few drinks at O’Leary’s bar and talk about old times and new.
But this time things are a little different — Larry is going through a major crisis that’s causing him to reevaluate the some of the decisions he’s made in his life and Dave is in trouble once again. As the guys look back to the past, they figure out how they are going to face the future.

In the Schoolyard is based on a newspaper story playwright Paulanne Simmons wrote for the Brooklyn Papers about a group of former Brooklynites who come back to their old neighborhood to play basketball once a year. In 2001 she turned the story into a drama that ran for three weeks at Theater for the New City. Now, with Margaret Hetherman as composer and musical director, In the Schoolyard has become a musical – the kind of old-fashioned, exuberant show that is so greatly loved and missed.