Playwrights Horizons Announces a Thrilling Line Up for 2018/2019 Season

Playwrights Horizons, under the leadership of Artistic Director Tim Sanford and Managing Director Leslie Marcus, is proud to announce the six productions of its 2018/2019 Season. The six new works will be presented at the theater company's home at 416 West 42nd Street. In season order, they will be:

I WAS MOST ALIVE WITH YOU - the New York premiere of a new play written and directed by three-time Tony Award nominee and three-time Obie Award winner Craig Lucas (Small Tragedy, Three Postcards, Prayer for My Enemy at Playwrights; Prelude to a Kiss, Reckless, Amélie, The Light in the Piazza) and co-directed by Tyne Rafaeli (The Rape of the Sabine Women by Grace B. Matthias, In a Word), with Sabrina Dennison (Santa Sangre, the world premiere of I Was Most Alive with You) serving as Director of Artistic Sign Language. I WAS MOST ALIVE WITH YOU is performed in both English and American Sign Language. The cast will feature Marianna Bassham (the world premiere of I Was Most Alive with You, Moonrise Kingdom), Tad Cooley (the world premiere of I Was Most Alive with You, "Secrets and Lies"), two-time Obie Award winner Lisa Emery (For Peter Pan..., Marjorie Prime, Marvin's Room at Playwrights; Six Degrees of Separation), Theatre World Award winner Russell Harvard (the world premiere of I Was Most Alive with You, Tribes, There Will Be Blood, "Fargo"), two-time Tony Award nominee Lois Smith (Marjorie Prime, After the Revolution, 100 Saints You Should Know at Playwrights; Buried Child, Grapes of Wrath, Lady Bird, "True Blood") and Gameela Wright (the world premiere of I Was Most Alive with You, "She's Gotta Have It"). The play will be simultaneously performed in American Sign Language by a shadow cast of Deaf actors, including Beth Applebaum (The Diaries of Adam and Eve), Seth Gore (collaborations with New York Deaf Theatre), Dickie Hearts ("Grace & Frankie"), Amelia Hensley (the world premiere of I Was Most Alive with You, Deaf West Theatre's Spring Awakening), Anthony Natale (Mr. Holland's Opus, "Curb Your Enthusiasm") and Alexandria Wailes (Deaf West Theatre's Big River and Spring Awakening). I WAS MOST ALIVE WITH YOU will be the first production of the theater company's season, beginning previews on Friday, August 31, 2018 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater. The Playwrights Horizons production of I WAS MOST ALIVE WITH YOU is made possible by a generous grant from The Roy Cockrum Foundation.

THE THANKSGIVING PLAY - the world premiere of a new play by Larissa Fasthorse (What Would Crazy Horse Do?), directed by Tony Award nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Present Laughter, Hand to God), presented at Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theater, beginning October 2018.

NOURA - the New York premiere of a new play written by and featuring Lucille Lortel Award winner Heather Raffo (performed in The Profane at Playwrights, 9 Parts of Desire), directed by Joanna Settle (9 Parts of Desire), presented at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, DC), beginning November 2018. NOURA is currently receiving its world premiere at Shakespeare Theatre Company in association with Playwrights Horizons, also directed by Ms. Settle.

IF PRETTY HURTS UGLY MUST BE A MUHFUCKA - the world premiere of a new play by Tori Sampson (This Land Was Made, Cadillac Crew, Where Butterflies Go in the Winter), directed by Tony Award nominee and Obie and Lucille Lortel awards winner Liesl Tommy (Eclipsed on Broadway; Kid Victory, Relevance, Party People), presented at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater, beginning February 2019.

THE PAIN OF MY BELLIGERENCE - the world premiere of a Playwrights Horizons commissioned new play written by and featuring Halley Feiffer (I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit...), with a director to be announced, presented at Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theater, beginning April 2019. THE PAIN OF MY BELLIGERENCE is the result of a Playwrights Horizons Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust commission.

A STRANGE LOOP - the world premiere of a new musical with book, music and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson (Teeth, Only Children) and directed by Stephen Brackett (The Mad Ones, The Lightning Thief, Buyer & Cellar). Presented in association with Page 73, A STRANGE LOOP will begin performances in May 2019 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater. A STRANGE LOOP was originally developed at Musical Theatre Factory, one of Playwrights Horizons' Resident Companies.

A 6-Show Subscription package to Playwrights Horizons' 2018/2019 season is now available ($310, four Mainstage and two Peter Jay Sharp Theater productions). In addition to discounts on all season productions, subscribers receive priority booking and seating, ticket exchange privileges, parking and dining discounts, and exclusive mailings of Playwrights Horizons Bulletins. Flex Passes (customizable bundle, $220+) and Memberships ($45 to join, $25 preview tickets) are also now on sale. Patron packages start at $1,750. Packages are available at www.phnyc.org.

Playwrights Horizons is dedicated to cultivating the most important American Playwrights, composers and lyricists, as well as developing and producing their bold new plays and musicals. Under Artistic Director Tim Sanford and Managing Director Leslie Marcus, Playwrights builds upon its diverse and renowned body of work, counting 400 writers among its artistic roster. In addition to its onstage work each season, Playwrights' singular commitment to nurturing American theater artists guides all of the institution's multifaceted initiatives: our acclaimed New Works Lab, a robust commissioning program, an innovative curriculum at its Theater School and more. Playwrights has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including six Pulitzer Prizes, 13 Tony Awards and 39 Obie Awards. Prior artistic directors include André Bishop and Don Scardino. Robert Moss founded Playwrights Horizons in 1971 and oversaw its first decade, cementing the mission that continues to guide the institution today. Notable productions include six Pulitzer Prize winners - Annie Baker's The Flick (2013 Obie Award, 2013 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize), Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park (2012 Tony Award, Best Play), Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife (2004 Tony Award, Best Play), Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles (1989 Tony Award, Best Play), Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George.

Currently playing at the Playwrights Horizons Peter Jay Sharp Theater as part of the Redux Series is the critically-hailed Off-Broadway premiere of MILES FOR MARY, a new play created by The Mad Ones, directed by Lila Neugebauer (extended through February 25). The current Playwrights Horizons 2017/2018 Season will continue with THIS FLAT EARTH, the world premiere of a new play by Lindsey Ferrentino, directed by Tony Award winner Rebecca Taichman (previews begin March 16); DANCE NATION, the world premiere of a new Susan Smith Blackburn Prize-winning play by Obie Award winner Clare Barron, directed by Obie Award winner Lee Sunday Evans (April 2018); and conclude with LOG CABIN, the world premiere of a new play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Jordan Harrison, directed by Tony Award and Obie Award winner Pam MacKinnon, featuring Jesse Tyler Ferguson (June 2018).

Playwrights Horizons' season productions are generously supported in part by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Playwrights Horizons is supported in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. In addition, Playwrights Horizons receives major support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation and the Time Warner Foundation.