Spring isn’t only awards season, it’s also announcement season. One of the first major not-for-profit theaters, Roundabout, has announced its 2023/24 programming, promising new plays and familiar stars.
“Getting all the pieces into place and announcing a new season is one of the most rewarding moments every year for everyone at Roundabout. All our departments collaborate to bring remarkable voices, old and new, to our city. This season will be an incredible adventure for audiences in our theatres on and Off Broadway, including four world premieres—one of which was first seen as part of the Roundabout Underground Reading Series—and the revival of Samm-Art Williams’s Home, which was featured in Roundabout’s first Refocus Project line-up in 2021,” notes Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO. “I am also thrilled to partner for the first time with New York Theatre Workshop and its new artistic director, Patricia McGregor, for the world premiere of Nathan Alan Davis’s The Refuge Plays.”
I NEED THAT by Theresa Rebeck
October 2023 | American Airlines Theatre on Broadway
Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel
World Premiere
Danny DeVito returns to Roundabout Theatre Company in I Need That, starring alongside his daughter, Lucy DeVito, and Ray Anthony Thomas in a deeply human new comedy from Theresa Rebeck (Bernhardt/Hamlet).
Sam (Danny DeVito) doesn’t get out much. Actually, he doesn’t get out at all, opting instead for the safety of his house in the company of his things—his many, many things. But when a notice from the government arrives alerting Sam that he must clean up his property or face eviction, he’s forced to reckon with what’s trash, what’s treasure, and whether we can ever know the difference between the two.
HOME by Samm-Art Williams
Spring 2024 | American Airlines Theatre on Broadway
Directed by Kenny Leon
In this Tony Award®-nominated play, Cephus Miles has the whole world in his callused hands—until his sweetheart Pattie Mae goes off to college and marries another man. Originally staged by the Negro Ensemble Company in 1979 and featured in the first year of Roundabout’s Refocus Project, Samm-Art Williams’ Home is a muscular and melodic coming-of-age story that gives voice to the unbreakable spirit of all Americans who have been searching for a place to belong. Kenny Leon (A Soldier’s Play) directs.
THE REFUGE PLAYS by Nathan Alan Davis
September 2023 | Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre
Directed by Patricia McGregor
World Premiere / In association with New York Theatre Workshop
Late at night, deep in the woods of southern Illinois, a ghost tells Gail she will die within the next 24 hours. So begins The Refuge Plays, an intergenerational saga that follows a single Black family over 70 years. Written by Nathan Alan Davis, this world-premiere production boldly reimagines what an American “family play” can be. Patricia McGregor directs.
COVENANT by York Walker
October 2023 | Black Box Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre
Directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene
Roundabout Underground World Premiere
When a struggling guitarist returns to his small Georgia town a blues star, rumors begin swirling that he may have made a deal with the devil to attain his musical genius. Before long, however, it becomes clear he’s not the only one with a secret. A mythic and suspenseful new play that delivers one devilish twist after another, York Walker’s Covenant explores the power of belief and the thin line between rumor and truth. Covenant was first seen as part of Roundabout’s Underground Reading Series in 2022. Tiffany Nichole Greene directs.
JONAH by Rachel Bonds
Spring 2024 | Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre
Directed by Danya Taymor
World Premiere
What’s your fantasy? Ana knows that everybody has one—her especially, and she’d do anything to make it come true. And when she meets Jonah, a sweet and caring student at her boarding school, everything she’s ever wanted is finally falling into place. Except Jonah, like everything else in this moving world-premiere play from Rachel Bonds, is not all that he seems. A singularly haunting and heart-racing coming-of-age tale that will keep you guessing until its final twisting moments, Jonah is about the true cost of survival, and the lengths some will travel to feel just a little less alone in the world. Danya Taymor directs.
Further information including dates, casting, creative team, and single ticket on-sale dates for all the productions will also be announced soon.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for Roundabout’s 2023-2024 Season are currently available as part of the Roundabout subscription series by calling 212.719.1300, online at roundabouttheatre.org/subscribe or in person at a Roundabout box office. Individual tickets will go on sale at a later date.
