‘The Last Yiddish Speaker’ Opens Theatre Lab’s MainStage Series
Wednesday, Sep 25, 2024
Theatre Lab, the professional resident company of Florida Atlantic University, is pleased to announce the start of the 2024-25 MainStage Season, a collection of world premieres, and the inaugural year of the “Owl” New Play Festival, presented in partnership with the FAU Department of Theatre & Dance. All events will take place in the Heckscher Stage theater space in Parliament Hall, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. Tickets and season subscriptions are available at fauevents.com or by calling 561-297-6124.
“Continuing our proud tradition of producing the work we help to develop, all of the productions in our 2024-25 MainStage Season enjoyed their first public reading at our 2022 New Play Festival,” said Matt Stabile, producing artistic director.
The MainStage season begins on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024 with the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of “The Last Yiddish Speaker”
by Deborah Zoe Laufer. Set in a dystopian future, this harrowing tale takes place in a Christian Nationalist surveillance state in which a Jewish family, living in hiding, must confront their faith, heritage and identity when an ancient Yiddish-speaking woman arrives on their doorstep. As part of the National New Play Network (NNPN) Rolling World Premiere program, the play will enjoy three separate and unique productions at member theaters across the country in 2024, all sharing the World Premiere status.
“This is our third time collaborating on an NNPN Rolling World Premiere and we’re thrilled to be the second stop on this play’s journey after its critically-acclaimed production at Interact Theatre in Philadelphia this past spring,” Stabile continued.
Laufer will direct the Theatre Lab production herself. This is the fourth production of Laufer’s work at Theatre Lab, including “The Three Sisters of Weehawken” (2016), “Be Here Now” (2018), and last season’s “Rooted,” which was recently honored with Carbonell Finalist nods for all three actors in the production.
“As a playwright-centric company, Theatre Lab has been happy to make it possible for Laufer to, once again, direct her own work at The Lab - a process she believes helps her to better understand her own play prior to publication,” added Louis Tyrrell, founding director of Theatre Lab.
The second production in the MainStage Series is the world premiere of “two of us on the run” by Steve McMahon, a Scottish actor and writer who now makes his home Jupiter, FL.
“This funny, moving, and fast-paced script by a now-local-to-us playwright follows two 16-year old girls on a modern day ‘Thelma & Louise’-style adventure,” said Stabile. “Audiences at our New Play Festival had an overwhelmingly positive response to the way the script toys with time, space and reality while speaking to the difficulties and dangers of being a young woman in America today. We’re thrilled to share this world premiere with even more members of our local community.”
The production will be directed by Margaret M. Ledford, artistic director of City Theatre Miami, who has worked with Theatre Lab several times, including directing the reading of the play at the 2022 New Play Festival.
“Margaret is one of the most talented theater directors in South Florida and is especially gifted when it comes to the work involved in bringing new plays to the stage for the first time,” added Stabile. “We couldn’t be more excited or grateful to have her join us for another world premiere and to bring this powerful new play to its first life!”
The final production of the MainStage season is another world premiere: “The Impossible Task of Today,” by Jeff Bower. An alum of the FAU MFA Theatre program, Bower now lives in California and has primarily been working in the world of writing for film and television for the past decade.
“I was bowled over by this script at its first reading - and that’s saying something after nearly four decades in the new play business!” added Tyrrell. “Jeff’s writing is both poetic and immediately relatable. He uses humor and hope to explore issues of gun violence, mental health, and the dangers of social media - all the while reminding us that the only way to move through difficult times is together,” added Tyrrell.
Stabile will direct the production as part of the inaugural “Owl” New Play Festival presented in partnership with FAU’s Department of Theatre & Dance.
“After 10 successful festivals over our first nine years, Theatre Lab is partnering with the Department of Theatre & Dance and taking the annual New Play Festival to the next level,” said Stabile. Past festivals at Theatre Lab have showcased developmental readings of up to six new plays over a single weekend. The newly named "Owl" New Play Festival will span April 11-20 and feature two full productions of new plays running concurrently. On Saturday, April 5, 2025, Theatre Lab will open their world premiere production of “The Impossible Task of Today ” by Jeff Bower. The following week the Department of Theatre & Dance will present a fully-realized workshop production of “The Frankenstein Project” by E.M. Lewis. Theatre Lab welcomed E.M. Lewis to the 2018 Playwright’s Forum & MasterClass series and produced the world premiere of her play “Dorothy’s Dictionary ” as part of the 2022-2023 season.
“The Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to provide a first home for this exciting new script, connecting stories of the past with those we’re living in today,” said Thomas Shorrock, chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance.
“Over ten days in April, theatre-lovers and new play enthusiasts are invited to join us to experience these two fully-produced new plays, readings of more new plays, lectures/discussions on the themes found in the work, and a few more surprises we’ll be announcing later this year,” said Stabile. “With our 10th Anniversary season, we wanted to make a splash and this was the natural next step in our growth as a new play center. Folks can come to Boca for a weekend in April and be fully immersed in the world of new plays. The goal is to continue to expand this annual event, establishing Theatre Lab and FAU as a premier national destination for new play development and production.”
More information including full schedule and package pricing for the “Owl” New Play Festival will be announced later this year.
Tickets for Theatre Lab’s MainStage Season are on sale now. Mainstage Season subscriptions are $120 for all three plays. Opening Night Celebration tickets, including a pre- and post-show reception with the playwright, cast and artistic team are available for $60. Individual tickets range from $35 to $45 depending on date and seat selection. Tickets available at www.fauevents.com or by calling 561-297-6124.
2024-25 Mainstage Series
Individual tickets: $35-$45, Opening Night Celebrations: $60, MainStage subscription: $120
Performances: Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m., Additional 3pm Saturday matinees during second and third week of each run.
The Last Yiddish Speaker
by Deborah Zoe Laufer
A National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere |
Directed by Deborah Zoe Laufer
Executive Producers: Mandell Weiss Charitable Trust, Linda and Joe Satz-Trustees
Previews: Wednesday, October 23 and Friday, October 25, 2024
Run: Saturday, October 26 – Sunday, November 10, 2024
In a dystopian future where a Christian Nationalist regime has come to power following a successful insurrection against the US Government, Paul and his teenage daughter, Sarah, live under the radar in a small town upstate as Christian-passing, despite being Jews who fled New York City. When an ancient Yiddish-speaking woman arrives on their doorstep, Paul and Sarah are forced to decide between fleeing again or fighting for their faith, their heritage and their identity.
two of us on the run
by Steve McMahon
A World Premiere | Directed by Margaret M. Ledford
Executive Producer: Richard Carpenito
Previews: Wednesday, January 29 and Friday, January 31, 2025
Run: Saturday, February 1 – Sunday, February 16, 2025
J and C are bored small town American teenage girls who go on the run to find the ‘real’ America and themselves. They procrastinate and fantasize about the best way to run away from home, debate the fundamentals of feminism and what to do once they’ve left home and hit the road. On the open road, reality and fantasy blur. They rob banks, make bombs and discuss sexual, class and gender politics. They meet Brian, an enigmatic bartender, leading to a conclusion where they might fall in love, might commit acts of terror, might kill people, or might just breathe in the night air and decide to go home.
The Impossible Task of Today
by Jeff Bower
A World Premiere | Directed by Matt Stabile
Executive Producers: Diane & John Dalsimer & The David Kimmel Foundation
Previews: Wednesday, April 2 and Friday, April 4, 2025
Run: Saturday, April 5 – Sunday, April 20, 2025
Five years removed from tragedy, Jack, an agoraphobic online teacher has perfected his video game playing skills but severely neglected his hygiene, mental health, and dwindling number of personal relationships. When the grocery delivery guy is one of your best friends, something's got to give, and with the arrival of a home gym, everything will change. Jack truly believes it...even if no one else does. Also part of the OWL New Play Festival 2024.
OWL New Play Festival 2025
The Frankenstein Project By E.M. Lewis
Run: Friday, April 11 - Sunday, April 20, 2025
Marleen Forkas Studio One Theatre
A fully-realized workshop production of a new play. In 1816, Mary Shelley grieves her lost child and conjures a creature that looks a lot like her beloved husband. In the present, Mary Lattimore tries to write a paper about Mary Shelley’s book for her high school English class but gets distracted by the new friendship she begins with an AI robot her father has created and brought home. The Frankenstein Project is about the monsters we battle, the monsters we create, and the monsters we (sometimes) are.
