Two World Premieres, Five U.S. Premieres & More Set for New Victory Theater 2023-24 Season

The New Victory Theater has announced their 2023-24 season, featuring two world premieres and five U.S. premieres among its 11 productions of theater, circus, dance, puppetry, and music from around the globe, including three exciting productions created specifically for very young audiences. Due to theater renovations, three New Victory shows this season (The Vanishing Elephant, Card Ninja, and White Gold) will take place at Stage 42 (422 W. 42nd Street).

 

Season tickets are on sale today and can be purchased at NewVictory.org.  

 

The full slate of programming for the 2023-24 season is as follows: 

 

The Vanishing Elephant from Cahoots NI (Northern Ireland) Ages 8+

October 14-29

The 2023-24 season begins on October 14 with The Vanishing Elephant, featuring a puppet pachyderm as it grows from tot to teen to towering adult in an unforgettable tale from the imagination of Belfast’s Cahoots NI (Nivelli’s War, 2017). Running until October 29, this jumbo journey follows Jenny the elephant as she is captured and taken from India to America, far from her family and her forever friend, Opu. Swept up in the circus, Jenny makes magic and history as The Vanishing Elephant alongside Harry Houdini himself, but she never stops thinking of home. 

 

Card Ninja from Javier Jarquin (New Zealand) Ages 6+

November 10-26

Stand-up comedy meets standout card tricks in Javier Jarquin’s cheeky one-man-many-cards production of Card Ninja, which runs from November 10 - 26. A sold-out hit at festivals around the world and viewed over a million times online, Card Ninja captivates audiences with wry wisecracks and dazzling displays of dexterity that will have viewers laughing and gasping in equal measure. Known for thinking fast and talking faster, Jarquin is a headlining act in the U.K. and Europe - and New Victory audiences won’t believe how far, how fast, and how flawlessly he flicks a playing card at its target. 

 

Night Light from Teater Refleksion and Andy Manley (Denmark and Scotland) Co-Produced by Imaginate and Red Bridge Arts Ages 3-5

December 1-10

New Victory favorite Andy Manley (White, 2011 & 2015) and Teater Refleksion (The Way Back Home, 2017) team up for the comfortingly cozy Night Light, a special production created specifically for very young audiences aged 3-5. First performed for the 2017 Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, Night Light’s whimsical world is set in a cityscape made of miniature furniture, delivering delightful discoveries to little ones from December 1-10. Night Light is performed in the intimate setting of New 42 Studios. 

 

White Gold from Phare Circus (Cambodia) Ages 5+

December 8-30

Phare Circus brings hypnotic dance, mesmerizing circus and dramatic live painting to the New Victory with White Gold, transporting the special gifts of Cambodian culture and performing arts in an exhilarating circus spectacle fit for the holiday season. All performers in the refugee-founded Phare Circus undergo eight years of training at Phare Performing Arts School, which provides kids from disadvantaged backgrounds with food, education and employment. From December 8 - 30, celebrate the holidays and savor Cambodia’s artistic heritage with juggling, tumbling, teeterboard, and other Cambodian circus arts featuring thrilling acts that date back twelve hundred years. 

 

Grand Soft Day from Branar Theatre and New International Encounter (Ireland and England) Ages 2-5

January 13-21

From the playful minds of Branar Theatre (The Way Back Home, 2017) and New International Encounter (Beauty and the Beast, 2019), the all-seasons adventure of Grand Soft Day is filled with live music and a sprinkling of words that will ready viewers for whatever weather wends their way. Created for very young audiences aged 2-5, this special production will be performed at New 42 Studios, an intimate setting where young viewers may even feel a touch of wind (from a fan) or rain (spritzed water) on their face. Grand Soft Day runs from January 13 - 21, 2024. 

 

360 ALLSTARS from Onyx Productions (Australia) Ages 6+

February 17-March 3

360 ALLSTARS spins circles around the competition while showcasing a dream team of sensational champs in a supercharged physical performance celebrating street culture running from February 17 - March 3. The international hit from Brisbane’s Onyx Productions is back at the New Victory to commemorate its 10th anniversary with world record-holding athletes and artists showing off their mad skills in freestyle basketball, BMX biking, breakdancing, acrobatics and more. Experience the thrill of extreme sports backed by a pulse-pumping, live soundtrack-looped soundtrack, and featuring feats that will have audiences rooting for overtime. 

 

Música from Sonia De Los Santos (United States) Ages 4-7

March 9-17

Latin Grammy nominee and sunny songstress Sonia De Los Santos (Fiesta, 2019) is back at the New Victory Theater to celebrate Women’s History Month with Música, an upbeat and uplifting bilingual concert. This inspiring performance cheers women who make music and those who inspired Sonia (and her all-female bandmates) to become a musician—or “una música” en español. Created especially for New Victory audiences, Música will have folks dancing in and out of their seats as this playful band charts a joyful journey of Latin American rhythms ranging from festejo to cumbia to traditional Mexican folk. Música runs from March 9 - 17.

 

Aanika’s Elephants from Feisty Elephant, Little Shadow Productions and Pam Arciero Productions (United States) Ages 6+

March 29-April 7

The 13-time Emmy Award-winning Sesame Street writer Annie Evans brings her signature mix of puppetry, music and gentle humor to Aanika’s Elephants, which entertains and educates audiences on the present-day plight of Africa’s elephants. With puppets designed by Martin P. Robinson, who is best known for playing the elephant-like character Mr. Snuffleupagus, Aanika’s Elephants tells the story of Aanika, a Kenyan girl who befriends a baby elephant she names Little. Their bond of sisterhood shows that a family can be anything—an animal orphanage, a widowed father and daughter, a herd of hunted elephants. Aanika’s Elephants runs from March 29 - April 7 and is recommended for ages 6+. 

 

I’mPossible from Omnium Circus (United States) Ages 5+

April 12-28

I’mPossible, Brooklyn’s very own big-top extravaganza which features an awe-inspiring, inclusive ensemble, is truly accessible to all! Every performance incorporates American Sign Language, audio description, sensory-friendly lighting and sound, and a relaxed environment where movement and vocalization are welcome. A Deaf ringmaster, an award-winning gymnast who uses a wheelchair and an aerialist born without legs all make up part of the Omnium Circus ensemble, which employs a multi-talented cast and artistic staff who are well-versed in ensuring that everyone is in on the action. I’mPossible runs from April 12 - 28.

 

I Wish from Unicorn Theatre in association with Le Gateau Chocolat (England) Ages 4-7

May 11-19

Coming next to the New Victory is I Wish from Unicorn Theatre, the largest children’s theater in the U.K., in association with acclaimed theater artist and contemporary opera singer Le Gateau Chocolat, who crescendos to centerstage as the mysteriously magic-less Wish Giver. On a musical quest to recover their powers, Le Gateau Chocolat (the stage name for six-and-a-half-foot-tall performer George Ikediashi) steps into the shoes of beloved storybook characters, managing mystical messes and learning that, while life’s not always fair(ytales), love and acceptance can be more than fantasy. I Wish runs from May 11 - 19.

 

Four Go Wild in Wellies from Indepen-dance (Scotland) Ages 2-5

May 31-June 16

The New Victory Theater’s 2023-24 season is rounded out by Four Go Wild in Wellies, which lands at the theater following a four-year intermission, after originally being planned for the 2019-20 season. Featuring an inclusive company of dancers who remind us that nothing is more natural than newfound friendship, this forest-themed production from Scotland’s Indepen-dance company is a perfect introduction for little ones to the “big theater”. Seating for this show will be on the New Victory Theater’s stage (wigglers welcome!). Four Go Wild in Wellies runs from May 31 - June 16. 

 

The New Victory Theater continues to hold unique pre- and post-show programming in the lower lobby, curated specifically for each show, providing memorable experiences for audiences of all ages during their visits. 

 

"The 2023-24 season will feature many adventurous stories, including themes of identity, home and belonging” said New 42 Artistic Director Mary Rose Lloyd. “For our 28th season, we are thrilled to present productions from seven different countries, with some shows created for kids as young as two years old. We hope families will visit the theater often and consider the New Victory home for them.” 

 

Full-price tickets range from $23 to $69 based on seating location and show. Theatergoers who buy tickets to three or more New Victory shows automatically save 40% on tickets all year long and qualify for Membership benefits, including free unlimited exchanges up to the day before the performance, early access to New Victory programming and savings on New Victory Family Workshops.

 

Tickets are available online (NewVictory.org) and by phone (646.223.3010). For box office window hours, please visit NewVictory.org/BoxOffice.

About New Victory Theater

 

The New Victory opens new worlds to young people and families through extraordinary performances, education and engagement programs. Bringing kids to the arts and the arts to kids since 1995, this nonprofit theater has become a standard-bearer of quality performing arts for young audiences in the United States. Reflecting and serving the multicultural city it calls home, The New Victory is committed to arts access for all communities of New York to experience and engage with the exemplary international shows on its stages. A global leader in arts education, youth development and audience engagement, the New Victory Theater has been honored by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities with the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, by Americans for the Arts with a national Arts Education Award, and by the Drama Desk for "providing enchanting, sophisticated children's theater that appeals to the child in all of us, and for nurturing a love of theater in young people."

 

About New 42

 

Under the leadership of President & CEO Russell Granet, New 42 is a cultural nonprofit whose mission is to make extraordinary performing arts a vital part of everyone’s life from the earliest years onward. Driven by a deep commitment to performing arts access, New 42 connects people to world-class performances, essential education and employment programs, and creative communities that push culture forward. Through New Victory and New 42 Studios, the nonprofit serves artists, educators and New Yorkers of all ages with invaluable arts engagement and resources in and beyond the performing arts. Together with our supporters, New 42 opens new perspectives, incubates new works and creates new opportunities to move us all.

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