Moonbox Productions Selects Seven Original Plays By Local Playwrights For Its 2nd Annual Boston New Works Festival

Moonbox Productions has announced that it has selected seven original plays by local playwrights for its 2nd Annual Boston New Works Festival. Moonbox will host the 2023 Boston New Works Festival June 22nd - 25th at the Boston Center for the Arts.

Once again, Moonbox's request for submissions garnered a broad assortment of musicals and plays from very talented playwrights in the Boston area. From the over 50 submissions, Moonbox's diverse panel of judges chose seven original theatrical pieces for this year's festival. This year's festival includes three musicals and four original plays. In the coming months, the playwrights will be part of an extensive workshop process that will culminate in staged productions at the festival in June.

"It is sometimes hard to find silver linings around the dark cloud of the COVID pandemic, but the Boston New Works Festival is one of those glimmers of light," said Producer, Sharman Altshuler. "Had we not been forced to shutter for a year, we would not have had the time and restlessness to develop the idea for a festival of new works, and after a hugely successful debut last June, it is with immeasurable joy that we make good on our mission to make this an annual event - supporting, celebrating and spotlighting brand new, home grown art," said Altshuler.

Selected playwrights and plays for the 2nd Annual Boston New Works Festival include:

Ken Green - The F&L at 1330

The F&L at 1330 is a play that looks at gentrification of a dive bar on Chicago's Near North Side through the eyes of the owners. Carla and Bernardo are the brother-and-sister owners of Fernando and Lalo's, a bar started by their father and uncle. It's been in its location at 1330 N. Larrabee Street since the 1970s. But as the neighborhood goes "upscale," a bar like the F&L becomes a relic on valuable land. With city government and developers circling, Carla and Bernardo also confront family issues that force them to decide whether it's worth it to fight "progress."

David Reifel - Glory

Glory is an original musical that probes today's volatile mix of politics, power, community, and religion.

In a small town, a local church sees a threat in a billboard across the road. The billboard suggests God might not exist, and the congregation has appealed to a nationally known Christian Dominionist preacher and his wife, Glory, for help. But when Glory has a strange encounter with Victor, a homeless man on a quest of his own, her world is shaken. As battle lines are drawn, Glory must choose which is more sacred: her faith, or the truth.

Erin Davis - honeyhole

In the hot, sweaty heat of one southern summer; Lou, a young queer beauty queen, meets Ellis, the new girl in town. In this original play, Lou begins to realize that the thing her mama has always thought would be her ticket to a bigger life outside of a few-stoplight-gossipy-sorta-town, might just be the thing that's holding her back from becoming who she is, who she wants to be, and what she dreams of doing: hiking the Appalachian Trail like her father once did. honeyhole follows Lou's journey with self-realization, first love, and allowing herself to be seen.

Regie Gibson - The Juke

In this musical, a young pastor, from a long line of pastors has inherited a church and the leadership of the town of Crossroads. But, a charismatic stranger comes to town with a power that threatens to destabilize everything. The Juke: A Blues Bacchae uses elements of the Euripidean tragedy to explore African-American family, music, history and spirituality.

Gabriela Tovar - La Lengua No Tiene Hueso

La Lengua No Tiene Hueso is a play about a Latinx family experiencing important historical events related to Latinx/Hispanic culture and community. La Lengua No Tiene Hueso or the Tongue Has No Bone, is based on a Latinx proverb. The tongue has no bone, but it cuts the deepest, and through the deepest things. La lengua no tiene hueso, pero corta lo más grueso. A family of four, mama, papa, hija, and hijo, use pieces of media, literature, and conversation to explore 10 moments of latino history. As they take us on this journey, they beg to ask the questions; who is the American dream for? Does it matter what language we tell our stories in? And how does this country treat nuestro pueblo today?

Angele Maraj & Brianna Pierre - Once Upon a Carnival

Once Upon a Carnival is an original musical set in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad & Tobago. When 16-year-old Bhavan is forced to move from New York City to his mother's home country of Trinidad after his father's death, he is faced with the task of overcoming grief and accepting his identity through a magical quest in the mythological bush land. Set to a vibrant score infused with chutney, soca and calypso sounds, Bhavan's adventure will test his and the audience's notions of grief, identity and found family while exploring the magical world of Trinidad at Carnival time.

Sophie Kim - SWAN

If you had to give up everything you knew, everyone you loved, to be something you didn't understand...would you? SWAN is a fantastical, darkly comedic retelling of Swan Lake that follows Richard, a Korean American college student, and Aiden, a moderately YouTube-famous white tradwife. Their dreams are haunted by a mysterious voice called Swan, who invents dreamscapes of the past and future. Aiden attempts to fight off these visions, while Richard is drawn deeper into Swan's narrative. Both are forced to confront their fears of the future, the queerness they've buried, and their need to be who they truly are, even if that means becoming monstrous.

For more information about the Boston New Works Festival, go to www.moonboxproductions.org

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