Gallery Players Announced 23rd Annual Black Box New Play Festival

The Black Box New Play Festival is Gallery Players' signature festival of new works by both new and established playwrights, featuring world premieres of new comedies and dramas. Now in its 23rd year, the festival will premiere 18 new plays over the course of three weekends. The festival opens Thursday, January 9 and runs through January 26, with a new collection of plays presented each week. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30PM, and Sundays at 3PM. There will be a talk back with the playwrights directly after the Sunday matinees.

First Week, January 9 - 12, 2020:

SORRY SHAKESPEARE by Ken Levine, directed by David Thomas Cronin

Shakespeare is rejected by a ten-minute play festival in Liverpool and does not take it well.

AN EMPOWERED WOMAN by Barbara Anderson, directed by Hilary Goldman

Barbara Nicholson thinks she has become empowered as a woman when she runs smack into age prejudice.

SPILLED DICTATORS by Andrew Rosdail, directed by Kevin Bain

A week after the death of a country's dictator, Bernard Reykjavik finds himself in police custody, not knowing why he was arrested. He is subjected to a bizarre interrogation.

ON THE CHAIN GANG by Ron Asher, directed by Sarah Bellin

A young man is thrown into a holding cell where he is harassed and intimidated by a mysterious prisoner who lures him into a dangerous plot to escape at sunrise before the bus arrives to take them to County Jail.

THE PIAZZA by Barbara Anderson, directed by Elizabeth Bove

Mrs. Josephine Martin has spent her life thinking and saying what other people think and say until finally she does what she thinks.

FINAL JEOPARDY by Ken Levine, directed by David Thomas Cronin

It's a battle of wits between a longtime Jeopardy champion and the contestant who finally toppled him. When he makes a shocking proposal both have tough "Final Jeopardy" decisions to make.

SONGS OFFERED FROM THE HEART by Judd Lear Silverman, directed by Jonas Barranca

Two ladies are rescued from a burning church, where they had gone to practice their duet for Sunday's service. Shaken and a bit shocked, they try to answer Fireman Bill's questions as best they can, while the fireman tries to figure out what happened to start the blaze - and to find any possible remaining survivors.

Second Week, January 16 - 19, 2020:

THANKS TAKING by Art Walsh, directed by Justin Braun

Four grown children are shocked by what their mother tells them at their annual Thanksgiving dinner.

THE UNIVERSE IS CALLING by Michael Bille, directed by Mark Gallagher

Two men of different ages, backgrounds and circumstances meet in a specialty Manhattan sandwich shop and form a unique bond as they share stories of life, love, and mortality.

(IN)SECURITY IN PERPETUITY by Deborah Chava Singer, directed by Glenn Girón

A woman tries to navigate her way through bureaucracy, academic culture, and an existential crisis, all in her quest to graduate, or to start with - just get the required forms signed.

VACANCIES by Scott C. Sickles, directed by Whitney Stone

A flood has forced Carol and Graham to seek refuge at a motel. Their marriage already strained, Carol also blames Graham for a tragic act of negligence. When she's away from him, Graham is befriended by another guest who makes an unsettling yet alluring claim.

SEX by Greg Hovanesian, directed by Ted Thompson

A man and woman lie in bed. As they lie, they talk. As they talk, they travel. Not physically, but verbally and mentally. And as they approach some other place, perhaps the world of sleep and dreams, they may begin to wonder: do I really know this person lying next to me?

KILLING TIME: WHAT WE DO by Stephen J. Kudless, directed by Mike Mroch

Seth and Dolores know that something is terribly wrong in their lives and they punish each other and themselves for it.

THE PIECE by Lawson Caldwell, directed by Gabrielle Giacomo

Lucille Anders is a world renowned artist who hasn't presented a new piece of art in three years. She has chosen a small gallery in SoHo owned by Marie and Devon to present the work as her comeback. Margaret, Lucille's agent, arrives at the gallery for the unveiling. The Piece is not what everyone was expecting.

Third Week, January 23 - 26, 2020:

IN THE COLD, COLD NIGHT by Lesley Anne Moreau, directed by Nate Sayatovich

Annie's life has been in turmoil since the disappearance of her older sister, Nora. When she confronts a man from Nora's past, he may have more information than Annie bargained for.

THE F-WORD by Rhona Klein, directed by Kevin Michael Morin

Twenty-somethings brother and sister decide to take responsibility for their grandmother's declining state when their own mother, more committed to ending climate change than dealing with family needs, ignores her family's crisis. One of the grandkids must make a grand sacrifice. But who should that be? And how should they decide?

SONGS OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS by Meredith Green, directed by Noel MacDuffie

Two women, The Older and The Younger, are chained in a dark cave by a mysterious force. They don't know how long they have been there or who their captors are.

DEANNA AND PAUL by Dagney Kerr, directed by Trent Dawson

Deanna's a quirky waitress with a strict no tipping policy. Paul's a surly customer with a tight lid on his heart. Their lonely worlds collide one day in a small-town diner, where one cup of coffee can change everything.

Bringing the Black Box New Play Festival to the Gallery stage are Co-Producers, Dominic Cuskern and Sue Glausen; Lighting Designer, Ian McMorran; Sound Designer, Nick Long; Production Stage Manager, Chelsea Janke; and Assistant Stage Manager, Timothy Sheridan.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors over 65 and children under 12. Tickets can be purchased online at http://galleryplayers.com or by calling Ovationtix at 212-352-3101.

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