Danielle Ferland Will Lead THE LIGHTS ARE ON at Theatre Row

New Light Theater Project, in association with Embeleco Unlimited, will present the world premiere production of THE LIGHTS ARE ON, a new play by Owen Panettieri (he/him), directed by Sarah Norris (she/her), at Theatre One at Theatre Row for a special limited engagement this fall in New York City. 

From the award-winning writer of The Timing of a Day, Vestments of the Gods, Meaningful Conversation and A Burial Place, THE LIGHTS ARE ON marks Panettieri’s third New York stage production with New Light Theater Project. The production will run for five weeks, beginning October 7, through November 11, 2023. 

The cast of THE LIGHTS ARE ON stars Danielle Ferland (she/her) (Broadway: Little Red Riding Hood in the original cast of Into the Woods, All My Sons, A Year with Frog and Toad, The Crucible, original cast of Sunday in the Park with George. Other favorite NY theater: Tartuffe (NY Theater Festival), original cast of How I Learned to Drive. Film/TV: The Normal Heart (HBO), Mighty Aphrodite, Alaska Daily (CBS), Jessica Jones (Netflix)) as Liz, Jenny Bacon (she/her) (Off-Broadway: More Stately Mansions (NYTW; Herald Angel Award at Edinburgh Theatre Festival), A Streetcar Named Desire (NYTW), Heartless (Signature Theatre), In the Wake (Public Theatre); TV: East New York, Blue Bloods, all three Law & Order series) as Trish, and Marquis Rodriquez (he/him) (Best known for Queen Sugar, Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us, Modern Love and Monsterland) as Nathan.  Additional casting includes Carolyn Baeumler (she/her) as Understudy for Liz/Trish, and Hugo Wehe (he/him) as Understudy for Nathan.

When Trish arrives home one night to find the lights on and a stranger waiting at her bedroom window, she runs straight to her neighbor Liz's house for help. Though they haven't spoken in years, Liz invites her inside, but immediately Trish feels something is not right. The more Trish learns about how Liz and her son Nathan have been living, the more certain she becomes that a threat to all of their safety is quickly closing in around them.

“THE LIGHTS ARE ON was born out of a sense of anxiety I think a lot of people have been experiencing," said playwright Owen Panettieri. "We're trying to hold on to our connection to our family members and our neighbors in what feels like an increasingly chaotic world. The characters find themselves having to determine if everything around them is as it seems, or if nothing is as it seems. I'm excited for audiences to go on that journey with them and to reach their own conclusions as to who and what on stage can be trusted."

Directed by Sarah Norris, the thrilling production features casting by Gama Valle (él/him), scenic design by Brian Dudkiewicz (he/him), lighting design by Kelley Shih (she/her), costume design by Kara Branch (she/her), sound design by Janet Bentley (they/them), Krista Grevas (she/her) as wardrobe supervisor, and Danielle Pecchioli (she/her) as property master and scenic assistant.  Josh Blye (he/him) will serve as production stage manager, with Hugo Wehe as assistant stage manager, and Kleo Mitrokostas (she/her) as producing associate.

Playwright Owen Panettieri is a three-time Finalist and invited Guest Writer for the National Playwrights Conference for his plays I'm Looking Forward to Tomorrow (2022), This Girl Is Magic (2019) and Whatever the Weather (2017). He is a resident playwright with New Light Theater Project, which has produced his plays Meaningful Conversation (2018), A Burial Place (2016) in NYC and released the audio play of his original short Calendar Girl (2021). Additional plays include Who’s There? (The Fresh Fruit Festival’s 2018 Outwright Developmental Play Reading Selection), Vestments of the Gods (Overall Excellence in Ensemble, 2014 FringeNYC) and The Timing of a Day (Outstanding New Play 2010, Talkin' Broadway, Summer Theatre Festival Citations). OwenlyFans.com.

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