SoHo Playhouse's Lighthouse New Play Series Returns Today

SoHo Playhouse, will present the return of its annual Lighthouse New Play Series. Performances begin Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Tickets to all performances are $25.

The Lighthouse Series is a collective celebration of the best 15 short plays, monologues, or one-act shows around the town over the course of two weeks this spring, with the selected winner to be offered a full Off-Broadway run produced by the SoHo Playhouse (last year's competition winner, JOB by Max Friedlich, will be making its Off-Broadway premiere this fall).

Each selected play is given three nights to perform. Each night, three plays will perform in rep. In the end, the audience will vote. After the two weeks are up: We will have five winners, one from each group of productions. These winners will be invited back for a full week run at SoHo Playhouse. The final winner will have an opportunity to expand and evolve their piece and will be offered a full Off-Broadway run at a time to be mutually agreed upon by the artists and the theatre.

This year's plays are:

GROUP 1: TUES, APRIL 18, 7PM / FRI, APRIL 21, 7PM / SAT, APRIL 22, 9PM

Can I Just Say Something? By Maddy Stillman

A short series of comedic monologues that cut back and forth from one another- each exploring what you should and shouldn't say out loud, what it means to be a good person, what feelings are and aren't valid, and more. The piece examines and pushes the limit of what can-or should-be said under the assumption you will receive a judgement free response.

Coming Out to Dead People by Ricky Sim

The coming-of-age solo show follows Ricky who had to decide whether to come out of the closet to his Malaysian mother after her cancer diagnosis. Combining stand-up and storytelling, the show weaves through topics of cleft-palate, gaysian, and Asian-American immigrant family dynamics, while finding the humor in acceptance & grief.

Red Handed by Priya Ele Rinkus

Red Handed is a dramatic piece that follows a young ex child star, Brandy, in an audition room after two years spent off the grid. In an audition for Lavinia in "Titus Andronicus," she exercises power over the situation through her fame, having been a lead in the most popular fantasy series in the world years before. She alludes to sexual violence that happened on set, referring mainly to her final scene in the show, and then declares that she would like to cut her hands off on stage, as Lavinia, in the show's final performance.

GROUP 2: WEDS, APRIL 19, 7PM / THURS, APRIL 20, 7PM / FRI, APRIL 21, 9PM

Bonefruit by Leah Plante-Wiener

In a chapel in the middle of the desert, two girls meet for the first time in years. Together, they must grapple with their beliefs, an act of forgiveness, and the thought of an existence beyond the violence that has forged them.

Magma by Naomi Asa

In Act One of "MAGMA", we enter into the world of two estranged sisters, Nourah and Saida. Nourah lives in Clearwater, Florida and has devoted her life to Scientology, while Saida moved to London simply to escape the humiliation of living in Southern California as a woman from the Middle East.

Sit For Me by Ariel Carmel

Ten years after the abrupt end of their relationship, an ailing billionaire makes an unusual request of the escort he's never forgotten.

GROUP 3: SAT, APRIL 29, 9PM / WEDS, APRIL 26, 7PM / FRI, APRIL 28, 7PM

The Fall Book, Music and Lyrics by Allison St. Rock

The Fall is based on the personal backstory created by the playwright as she prepared to step into the shoes of the iconic musical theatre character, The Emcee (Cabaret). A story of passion, unfulfilled desires, political unrest, and heartbreak, The Fall ends where Cabaret begins.

Starstruck Music and Lyrics by RJ Christian, Book by Cameron Reese

In the far future, a Seinfeld obsessed Alien named *snap* decides he wants to meet Jerry himself. Meanwhile, a space crew are trying to hunt down alien life for their company. When they cross paths, the crew discovers that maybe they all they were missing was a few laughs. And also that *snap* might be evil?

Waiting for Wicked by Michael Busani

Two friends, Bruce and Ella, attempt to win lottery tickets for Wicked on Broadway. As they struggle to occupy the time while waiting, friendly banter quickly turns into passive aggression, revealing past insecurities that have the potential to permanently alter their friendship.

GROUP 4: SAT, APRIL 22, 7PM / TUES, APRIL 25, 7PM / THURS, APRIL 27, 9PM

After Eden by Jeff Athey

As the last human is on the brink of death, God and Lucifer meet after a millenium long divorce to argue over their children's lives.

Furious by Emily Fury Daly

Zany, fast-paced, poignant, and funny, Furious is a wildly honest and hilarious roller coaster ride of a solo show. Emily Fury Daly expertly weaves together her experiences as a Special Ed. student, a Planned Parenthood Volunteer, and a young woman in early recovery from alcohol addiction. It's a strong marriage of stand-up and storytelling that explores her own generational female rage.

The Great Divide by Amy Grossman

Amy is fine. No really, she is fine! She is really, really fine, and everything is - wait, do you think he is gonna kiss her tonight at midnight? Do you think he loves her back? Do you think he - no, no, no one's got a drinking problem, and the panic attacks are just, no, they're - it's fine, everything's fine!! Right? Right! A comedic exploration of what it means to love, be left behind and choose life in the face of suicide loss, The Great Divide follows a young woman's discovery of what it means to survive and stand on her own two feet.

GROUP 5: THURS, APRIL 27, 7PM / FRI, APRIL 28, 9PM / SAT, APRIL 29, 7PM

Cigarettes Are My Personality by Jimmy Berry

IT'S HALLOWEEN. A NIGHT WHERE PEOPLE GET TO BE WHO THEY'RE NOT. BUT EVERYONE THINKS IAN IS JUST...BEING HIMSELF. LITTLE DO THEY KNOW HE'S IN A ~VERY ICONIC~ COSTUME; PORTRAYING A ~VERY ICONIC~ CHARACTER FROM A ~VERY ICONIC~ HIT TV SHOW. BUT THE COSTUME ISN'T THE ONLY WAY THAT IAN PRETENDS. AS HE WAXES POETIC TO THE AUDIENCE WHILE HE WADES HIS TIME OUTSIDE THE APARTMENT BUILDING WHERE THE A HALLOWEEN PARTY TAKES PLACE, IT BECOMES CLEAR THAT IAN MIGHT BE WEARING MORE OF A COSTUME IN HIS EVERYDAY LIFE THAN HE EVER REALIZED.

It's Not What It Looks Like by John Collins & Chesney Mitchel

We begin at the end. Two people, M and W, are alone on stage with a piano, threat of a storm, and are covered in blood. It's not what it looks like. At least, that's what they want us to think. To prove their innocence, they take us back to the beginning with their own version of how things ended up the way they did. As tensions between the two of them rise and their narrative begins to crumble, the truth and their past come out.

The Ultimate Manic Pixie Dream Girl Speed Dating Competition by Miranda Renée and Maya Shoham

Two whimsically quirky and wonderfully mysterious girls; Felicity Meadows and Remy Rivers, have been magically teleported into a stale white waiting room. Where are they? Why are they here? Their questions are soon answered as they are thrown into a life-changing competition, created by the one they least expected.

For more information and to buy tickets, please visit https://www.sohoplayhouse.com/the-lighthouse-series-2023.

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