HAND TO GOD Tops American Theatre Magazine's 10 Most-Produced Plays List for 2016-17

American Theatre magazine, published by Theatre Communications Group (TCG), has released its annual October Season Preview issue, which includes lists of the Top 10 Most-Produced Plays and Top 20 Most-Produced Playwrights for the coming season.

Robert Askins' Hand to God will be the most-produced play, with 13 total productions, and August Wilson will be the most-produced playwright, with 18 total productions.

Based on the 2016-17 seasons reported by TCG's Member Theatres, these lists customarily omit holiday-themed shows (The Santaland Diaries and A Christmas Carol) as well as works by Shakespeare. These lists appear online at AmericanTheatre.org, as well as in the October 2016 Season Preview issue of American Theatre magazine.

"These lists from American Theatre not only spotlight the exciting new plays and resurgent classics on our stages, but also ignite critical conversations about the state of our field," said Teresa Eyring, executive director of TCG. "In particular, this year's Top 20 Most-Produced Playwrights list gives us hope that our field's growing commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion is manifesting in theatres' season selections."

Askins said he was "totally shocked" about his play making the top of the most-produced list, saying, "I think that the puppet play, especially the aggressive, religious, sexual puppet play, is just not a genre we have in the American theatre. So to see people embrace it-I'm into it."

The 2016-17 American Theatre Top 10 Most-Produced Plays*:

Hand to God by Robert Askins: 13

Constellations by Nick Payne: 10

Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar: 10

Million Dollar Quartet by Floyd Mutrux and Colin Escott: 10

The Christians by Lucas Hnath: 8

Peter and the Starcatcher, adapted by Rick Elice from Dave

Barry and Ridley Pearson: 8

The Legend of Georgia McBride by Matthew Lopez: 7

Sex With Strangers by Laura Eason: 7

Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage: 6

King Charles III by Mike Bartlett: 6

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry: 6

Sister Act, with book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner, music by Alan Menken, and lyrics by Glenn Slater: 6

*Due to ties, there are 12 plays in the Top 10.

Lauren Gunderson, who will be most-produced living playwright of the coming season, said, "Usually the top of the list is a Pulitzer winner or someone as incredible and revered as August Wilson," who this year occupies the top spot. "It is a pretty exciting confirmation that you don't have to live in New York, or even have that much of a presence in New York, to have a career." Gunderson, who is based in San Francisco, appeared on the list as the eighth most-produced playwright last year.

The 2016-17 American Theatre Top 20 Most-Produced Playwrights*:

August Wilson: 17

Lauren Gunderson: 16 (including 4 cowriting credit)

Arthur Miller: 15

Ayad Akhtar: 14

Tennessee Williams: 14

Robert Askins: 13

Annie Baker: 12

Quiara Alegría Hudes: 11 (including 6 cowriting credits)

Ken Ludwig: 11 (including 1 cowriting credit)

Tony Kushner: 10 (including 2 cowriting credits)

Suzan-Lori Parks: 10

Nick Payne: 10

Karen Zacarías: 10

Rick Elice: 9 (including 1 cowriting credit)

Lucas Hnath: 9

Matthew Lopez: 9

Lynn Nottage: 9

Mark St. Germain: 9 (including 1 cowriting credit)

Mike Bartlett: 8

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins: 8

Molière: 8

*Due to ties, there are 21 playwrights in the Top 20.

For more information about the American Theatre Top 10 Most-Produced Plays and Top 20 Most-Produced Playwrights lists, visit www.americantheatre.org.

American Theatre magazine is published 10 times a year by Theatre Communications Group. As the nation's essential magazine for professional not-for-profit theatre, American Theatre has been providing theatre professionals, students, advocates and audiences a comprehensive journal for 30 years. American Theatre is available online, at selected newsstands nationwide or through an Individual Membership in TCG by visiting www.tcg.org/about/membership/individual.cfm or contacting custserv@tcg.org. Unlimited exclusive content on AmericanTheatre.org is only available through the TCG Individual Membership program.

For over 50 years, Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for U.S. theatre, has existed to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit theatre. TCG's constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 11,000 individuals nationwide. TCG offers its members networking and knowledge-building opportunities through conferences, events, research and communications; awards grants, approximately $2 million per year, to theatre companies and individual artists; advocates on the federal level; and serves as the U.S. Center of the International Theatre Institute, connecting its constituents to the global theatre community. TCG is North America's largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 14 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning American Theatre magazine and ARTSEARCH, the essential source for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre. For more, visit www.tcg.org.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus