Playwrights' Center-developed work on stage in March and April

There are at least 26 productions of Playwrights’ Center-developed work gracing stages during the 2013-14 theater season. See map of all productions »

In March and April, catch these Playwrights’ Center-developed works:

Reunion by Gregory S. Moss
South Coast Repertory, Costa Mesa, CA
March 9–30, 2014

World premiere. They revert to their childhood names—Maxie, Petie, Mitchie—these three buddies, who haven’t seen each other since their high school graduation party 25 years ago. It’s time to get wasted and relive the fun—the sunlit days of autumn leaves, moon pies and girls in lambs wool sweaters. But it’s risky, trying to get in touch with—maybe even understand—their past selves. Memories aren’t always reliable, hurt runs deep and apologies come hard in this scathingly funny look at high school reunions and the complex nature of male friendship.

Abe Lincoln and Uncle Tom in the White House by Carlyle Brown
Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN
March 21–April 6, 2014

Alone in the Executive Office, President Abraham Lincoln struggles with signing the Emancipation Proclamation when he is mysteriously visited by Uncle Tom, the fictional character in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin or Life among the Lowly. These iconic characters from life and literature attempt to understand each other across a chasm of race in the midst of the Civil War.

Brahman/i: A One-Hijra Stand Up Comedy Show by Aditi Brennan Kapil
About Face Theatre and Silk Road Rising, Chicago, IL
March 27–April 27, 2014

In this provocative play masquerading as a stand-up comedy routine, an Indian intersex person explores history, mythology, gender roles…and high school.Brahman/i – funny, cynical, inventive and intensely charismatic – takes on more than a dozen unforgettable characters in a fascinating life story that most of us can barely even begin to imagine.

The Way West by Mona Mansour
Steppenwolf, Chicago, IL
April 3–June 8, 2014

World premiere. In a modern-day California town that’s seen better days, Mom shares death-defying tales of pioneer crossings with her two squabbling adult daughters as she waits for her bankruptcy to come through. This hilarious and heartbreaking play about today’s American family explores the mixed blessing of our great frontier spirit, which has fueled both self-delusion and survival.

The House that will not Stand by Marcus Gardley
Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, CT
April 18–May 10, 2014

World premiere. Following the mysterious death of her white lover, Beartrice Albans, a free woman of color in New Orleans in 1836, imposes a six-month period of mourning on herself and her three daughters. But as the summer heat intensifies, a handsome bachelor comes calling, a family secret is revealed, and the foundation of her household is rocked to its core.

The Few by Samuel D. Hunter
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, New York, NY
April 23–June 8, 2014

Four years ago Bryan abandoned his labor of love, a newspaper for truckers. Now he’s returned—with no word of where he’s been—and things have changed. His former lover is filled with rage, his new coworker is filled with incessant adoration, and his paper is filled with personal ads. As he considers giving up for good, Bryan searches for what he couldn’t find on the road: a way to keep faith in humanity.

A View of the Mountains by Lee Blessing
New Jersey Repertory Company, Long Branch, NJ
April 24–May 25, 2014

World premiere. A former Cold War super-power arms negotiator, now retired, remarried and living an idyllic life, is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his estranged son. However, this meeting is not expected to be a joyful reunion, but rather one filled with animosity, threats, ultimatums, and long-buried family secrets that are bound to rise to the surface.

Behind the Eye by Carson Kreitzer
Park Square Theatre, St. Paul, MN
April 25–May 18, 2014

A gripping play about a remarkable life: Lee Miller was at the center of some of the most exciting times of the 20th century. From a photographer’s model in Vogue in the ‘20s to muse of the Paris Surrealists in the ‘30s, she became an acclaimed World War II photographer, covering the front lines as well as the London Blitz and the horror of Dachau. Behind the Eye chronicles Miller’s fascinating adventures, loves and personal struggle: what to do with yourself when you’ve done it all.