PRIDE PLAYS Will Return To NYC In 2020

Festival Producers Doug Nevin and Michael Urie, and Festival Director Nick Mayo, in partnership with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, are proud to present Pride Plays 2020. Initially intended as a one-time celebration of Stonewall 50 and theatrical pride, the festival will return in 2020 due to rapturous community response and overwhelming demand. Pride Plays 2020 will run from June 25 - June 29, 2020 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in the West Village (224 Waverly Place).

"Last June, we thought we'd do a handful of play readings celebrating the history of the LGBTQ+ movement since Stonewall," said Festival Producer Michael Urie. "That handful turned into nearly 20 performances over 5 days, featuring over 200 artists. People showed up. We realized that history was only the beginning and the future had a story to tell, too. So we're coming back with another festival of play readings that tell the story of the LGBTQ+ experience past, present and future, and honor those who showed up then and are still showing up."

Pride Plays 2019 featured plays by Terrence McNally, Paula Vogel, The Five Lesbian Brothers, William Hoffman, Robert Patrick, Jane Chambers, Jonathan Tolins, Phillip Dawkins, and Chay Yew. New plays and world or New York premieres included plays by Daaimah Mubashshir, Ryan Spahn, Eri Nox, Caroline Prugh, Michael Benjamin Washington, Eduardo Machado, MJ Kaufman, and a presentation of new works from Trans Lab artists Ashley Lauren Rogers, Naomi Charlotte Thieves, Mariam Bazeed, Corinne Donly, and Eamon Boylan. Pride Plays also featured selections from the musicals Eighty Sixed with book, music, and lyrics by Sam Salmond, based on the book by David Feinberg and Interstate with music by Melissa Li and book and lyrics by Melissa Li & Kit Yan.

"One of the joys of last year's festival was the opportunity to look back at some of the moments that shaped the LGBTQ rights movement in our country, and how the past impacted the present," said Festival Producer Doug Nevin. "We are excited to take an even deeper dive this year into how the pain, activism and leadership of the past got us to where we are, and how they might point us to the future. It's a privilege to continue telling the story of pride through the language we understand: theater."

Joining the Pride Plays team is Literary Manager and Associate Producer George Strus. Playwrights looking to submit their plays for consideration in Pride Plays 2020 should email prideplayslit@gmail.com for more information. Submissions will close on January 20th, 2020.

More information about programming, artists, and ways to get involved with be announced at a later date.

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