New Victory Announces 2021-22 Season and 2021-22 New Victory LabWorks Artists

Today, New Victory announced their upcoming 2021-22 season, which will include holiday performances of Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, directed by Christopher Gattelli (NEWSIES). This season will see a return to in-person performances at the New Victory Theater, as well as the opportunity for guests to stream the season in their homes.

Along with the announcement of their new season, New Victory is also announcing Nehprii Amenii, Ty Defoe, Indygo Afi Ngozi and Marcus Yi as the theater's 2021-22 New Victory LabWorks Artists and Christopher Rudd as the inaugural participant of New Victory LabWorks Launch.

"In the season ahead, we maintain our commitment to making performing arts more accessible for New York kids and families in the safest ways possible to create a cultural destination, both in person and online, that is meaningful, magical and a beacon of how the performing arts help our communities thrive," said New 42 President & CEO Russell Granet.

The 2021-22 season will begin on November 5 with the onstage world premiere of Generation Rise, running through November 14. Generation Rise is presented by Ping Chong and Company in association with New 42/New Victory, developed in collaboration with Urban Word NYC, and inspired by the critically acclaimed Generation NYZ (New Victory 2018). Written and directed by Sara Zatz and Kirya Traber, Generation Rise is an interview-based production featuring Black, Latinx and Asian American teens from New York City telling their own stories and reflecting on their lives before, during and after 2020-a year of crisis and transformation.

New Victory will also celebrate the holiday season with the New York City premiere of Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, which will begin performances on December 6 and run until January 2, 2022. Based on the book by Russell and Lillian Hoban, the show follows Emmet Otter and his Ma as they enter a Christmas Eve talent contest hoping to win prize money to buy each other holiday gifts. Based on the 1977 HBO television feature, this stage adaptation by iTheatrics features a lovable mix of performers and puppet characters from The Jim Henson Company with book by Timothy Allen McDonald and Christopher Gattelli and a toe-tapping score by Academy Award winner Paul Williams. Directed and choreographed by Gattelli (Tony Award, NEWSIES), this show is sure to become a heartwarming holiday tradition.

Tickets for Generation Rise and Jim Henson's Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas go on sale on September 10 at NewVictory.org.

Following their respective sold-out runs at New Victory, Air Play and Step Afrika! will return for highly anticipated limited engagements in 2022. Additionally, Nambi E. Kelley's Jabari Dreams of Freedom and Manual Cinema's Leonardo and Sam: The Terrible Monster and the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World, Respectively, inspired by the work of Mo Willems, will make their New York Stage premieres at the New Victory.

"The new season is as joyful as it is impactful, embracing the values and beliefs we are engaged in as an organization with shows reflecting themes of inclusivity, belonging and how we can work through scary moments to help and heal each other," said Mary Rose Lloyd, Artistic Director at New 42.

Air Play, returning February 7 through March 6, is a circus-style adventure of two siblings on a journey through a surreal land of air, which transforms ordinary objects into uncommon beauty. Created by Acrobuffos circus performers Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone in collaboration with kinetic sculptor Daniel Wurtzel, Air Play was devised through years of experimentation with simple materials, movement and technology. Air Play creates beauty and inspires laughter across cultures and continents. No translation necessary, Air Play has played from the southernmost opera house in the world in Chile, to London's Royal Festival Hall, Melbourne's State Theatre, Shanghai's Grand Theatre and continues to tour.

Jabari Dreams of Freedom, running from March 21 through April 3, uses rap, freedom songs, hip-hop dance, history and humor to tell the story of a young Black boy from the South Side of Chicago who is afraid to leave the house. With his Forever President Barack Obama as a guide, Jabari escapes the violent reality of an encounter with the police through his colorful paintings where he meets children from the past who teach him how to be fearless. Written by New Victory LabWorks Artist Nambi E. Kelley (Toni Morrison's Jazz, Native Son at The Duke on 42nd Street) and produced by First Woman, this play explores through the lessons of the children of the Civil Rights Era what it means for Black boys, and Black children, to live freely.

Step Afrika! returns April 18 through May 8, with new works centered around Drumfolk, a high-energy exploration of the body as a drum and a versatile percussive instrument. One of the most celebrated African American dance companies in the world today, Step Afrika!'s work chronicles and celebrates the African experience in America. Grounded in extensive research and over two decades of percussive practice and investigation, excerpts from Drumfolk reveal hidden histories and events that transformed American life and demonstrate the unlimited artistic possibilities of the art form of stepping.

Leonardo and Sam: The Terrible Monster and the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World, Respectively, running from June 4 through June 26, tells the story of a monster who longs to be scary and the big decisions about identity and empathy that all monsters must make. Adapted from the beloved children's books by Mo Willems, the story of Leonardo and Sam is realized through mind-bending projection, DIY cinema, music and immersive sound by critically-acclaimed multimedia artists of Manual Cinema.

Tickets for the Spring 2022 productions of Air Play, Jabari Dreams of Freedom, Step Afrika! and Leonardo and Sam go on sale December 8 at NewVictory.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.