Vanessa Williams, Kelli O'Hara, Raul Esparza, Tectonic's UNCOMMON SENSE and More Set for Sheen Center's 2017 Lineup

Tahe Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street) announces the fall and winter programming of their 2017-2018 season.

Fresh off a diverse season that included the center's first foray into theatrical producing with Bill Cain's 9 Circles; an acclaimed dual-language production of Hamlet; starring Arian Moayed; conversations with John Lithgow, Brian Dennehy, John Patrick Shanley, and Chirlane McCray; sneak previews of Hacksaw Ridge and The Promise with talkbacks with director Mel Gibson and actor James Cromwell respectively; and concerts with Broadway stars Andréa Burns and Michael Cerveris, The Sheen Center returns with fresh thought-provoking theater, music, film, art, and discourse.

Anchoring the first half of the 2017-2018 season is The Sheen Center's co-production of the New York premiere of Tectonic Theater Project's Uncommon Sense, by Anushka Paris-Carter and Andy Paris (also directing) about autism and the spectrum of love. Based on three years of interviews, this multimedia play reveals our universal challenges with "difference," our desire to connect, and the lengths to which we go for the people we love. This five-week limited engagement (October 25-November 26) features talkbacks after the Saturday matinees beginning November 4 and a special panel, Autism and Faith: Animating Hope on November 5.

Theater highlights of the upcoming season include: Grammy, Emmy, and Tony nominee Vanessa Williams (After Midnight, Into the Woods, "Ugly Betty") on September 9, Tony winner Kelli O'Hara (The King and I, Bridges of Madison County, South Pacific) on October 3, and four-time Tony nominee and three-time Drama Desk Award winner Raúl Esparza (Company, "Law & Order: SVU") on December 14, all three part of Broadway Bares Soul: An Intimate Evening of Song & Spirit, a new series featuring a 90-minute interview and performance session hosted by CNN Faith & Religion commentator, Fr. Edward Beck, C.P.

There will be two readings of new plays this fall: Daylight by Bill Cain about Dorothy Day starring Ann Dowd ("The Handmaid's Tale") and The Wars of Dagger John by Turlough McConnell about 19th century Archbishop "Dagger John" Hughes. In THE BLACK BOX are Loveless Texas (September 6-24), The Mecca Tales(October 20-November 4), Hold These Truths (a one-man play starring Joel de la Fuente of "The Man in the High Castle", December 2-20), and The Enlightenment of Mr. Mole (based on The Wind in the Willows, adapted and directed by B.H. Barry, December 27-31).

Thought and talk features include an evening with former NFL player and the New York Mets' Tim Tebow (December 7); a conversation between Ross Douthatand Fr. James Martin, S.J. (November 13) moderated by Fr. Matt Malone, S.J. that kicks off the Civility in America series; author Chris Lowney (Everyone Leads: How to Revitalize the Catholic Church) (November 8); The Albacete Lecture on Faith and Culture (October 13) given by Fr. Julián Carrón.

Film highlights include the return of the Justice Film Festival (October 6-8) featuring screenings of Newtown, Outcasts, and Sacred, among others; an exclusive sneak peek of Sony Pictures Animation's new animated movie The Star with celebrity guests and Timothy CardinAl Dolan in attendance (October 4); and the animated Christmas classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which will be part of a Sheen Center Christmas (December 12).

Music highlights include the return of Drama Desk winner Andréa Burns (On Your Feet!, In the Heights) with her smokin' hot concert series Latin Broadway Party (September 16) and Broadway Holiday Party (December 11). Other special events during the Christmas season include Grammy-winning fiddler Eileen Ivers and friends (December 6), Broadway Inspirational Voices (December 4) adding a Gospel tinge to the season, Fr. Bob VerEecke, S.J.'s Christmas Revelations: Stories and Dances for the Christmas Season, and more.

Education offerings include a series of day-long Theater Mini-Courses including a silent playwriting retreat with Erik Ehn (October 21), a directing workshop withFr. George Drance, S.J. (October 28), a Shakespearean acting workshop with Kevin Collins as well as DirectorFest (January 13-20, 2018), presented by the Drama League.

Art gallery exhibitions feature work by Fr. Frank Sabatté, C.S.P. (August 10-September 1), Laura Mogollon Lee (September 7-29), a photo exhibition on the life of the Swiss Guards (October 5-20), Anne Smith (November 30-December 11), Dorothy Day Guild (December 16-January 12), and Bethany Lee (January 18-February 2).

Named after the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, best known for his popular radio and TV ministry in the 1950s and 60s, The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture is a project of the Archdiocese of New York with the mission of showcasing works in the performing and visual arts, lectures and symposia that highlight the true, the good, and the beautiful as they have been expressed throughout the ages. The state-of-the-art complex has a 274-seat proscenium theater equipped with five-camera high-definition livestream capability and a multi-track recording studio with thirty-two onstage inputs; an 80-seat BLACK BOX theater; four rehearsal studios; and an art gallery. This facility is the newest arts center in Manhattan in 35 years and a significant addition to the growing artistic community in NoHo.

Season events and dates are subject to change. Tickets now available at www.sheencenter.org.