Second Stage Theatre

SECOND STAGE CREATES AND CHAMPIONS PLAYS AND MUSICALS BY LIVING AMERICAN WRITERS, AND GIVES NEW LIFE TO CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN PLAYS.

SECOND STAGE PRESENTED FIVE SHOWS DURING OUR 2022-23 SEASON. THE SEASON OPENED WITH "CAMP SIGFRIED" BY BESS WOHL, WHICH RAN FROM NOV. 2 - DEC. 11, 2022 AT THE TONY KISER THEATER. SET AT A SUMMER CAMP FOR GERMAN AMERICAN YOUTH IN THE YEARS JUST BEFORE WWII, THIS ELECTRIFYING NEW PLAY EXPLORED THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF YOUNG PEOPLE TO EXTREMISM. "CAMP SIEGFRIED" REACHED AN AUDIENCE OF 10,594. OUR FIRST BROADWAY PRODUCTION WAS "BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY" BY STEPHEN ADLY GUIRGIS, DIRECTED BY AUSTIN PENDLETON. THE RETURN OF THIS PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING PLAY RAN FROM NOV. 29, 2022 - FEB. 19, 2023 AT HAYES THEATER TO AN AUDIENCE OF 42,744. WE WERE ALSO ABLE TO STREAM THE FINAL TWO WEEKS OF PERFORMANCES, MAKING THE PRODUCTION ACCESSIBLE TO AUDIENCES WHO WERE UNABLE TO TRAVEL TO NEW YORK CITY OR ATTEND THE THEATER IN PERSON. STREAMED PERFORMANCES REACHED 2,794 HOUSEHOLDS AROUND THE COUNTRY. OUR SPRING SHOW AT THE KISER THEATER WAS THE WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL "WHITE GIRL IN DANGER" BY MICHAEL R. JACKSON, DIRECTED BY LILEANA BLAIN-CRUZ AND WITH CHOREOGRAPHY BY RAJA FEATHER KELLY. THIS CO-PRODUCTION WITH THE VINEYARD THEATER RAN FROM MARCH 14 - MAY 21, 2021 TO AN AUDIENCE OF 12,870. THE SHOW WAS A RACE-CONSCIOUS SEND-UP OF SOAP OPERAS, LIFETIME MOVIES, AND CLASSIC MELODRAMA. IN THE SPRING OF 2023 WE PRESENTED "THE THANKSGIVING PLAY" BY LARISSA FASTHORSE, DIRECTED BY RACHEL CHAVKIN, AT THE HAYES THEATER. THIS LANDMARK PRODUCTION WAS THE FIRST PLAY ON BROADWAY BY A NATIVE AMERICAN FEMALE PLAYWRIGHT. THE SHOW WAS SEEN BY 39,454 PEOPLE DURING ITS RUN FROM MARCH 29 - JUNE 21, 2023. THE SEASON CONCLUDED WITH "TOROS" BY DANNY TEJERA, WHICH RAN FROM JULY 18 - AUG 13, 2023 AT THE MCGINN/CAZALE THEATER. "TOROS" IS ABOUT THREE MULTICULTURAL LATE-20-YEAR-OLDS WHO ARE STUCK IN A RUT AND UNSURE OF THEIR NEXT STEPS IN LIFE. THE PLAY WAS SEEN BY AN AUDIENCE OF 2,350. THE SEASON ALSO INCLUDED THE NEW VOICES READING SERIES, WHICH FEATURED FOUR READINGS AT THE TONY KISER THEATER IN THE SPRING OF 2023. THE READINGS WERE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND REACHED 1,200 PEOPLE. READINGS INCLUDED "THE APIARY" BY KATE DOUGLAS, DIRECTED BY KATE WHORISKEY ON APRIL 24; "THE WOODS" BY JAHNA FERRON-SMITH, DIRECTED BY RAZ GOLDEN ON MAY 1; "BRITTON AND THE STING" BY BRITTON SMITH, DIRECTED BY LILLETH ON MAY 15; AND "CHINESE REPUBLICANS" BY ALEX LIN, DIRECTED BY CHAY YEW ON MAY 22. WE ALSO SUPPORTED ARTISTS THROUGHOUT THE SEASON WITH ADDITIONAL PLAY DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES INCLUDING 13 READINGS AND WORKSHOPS, AND ONGOING COLLABORATION WITH OUR 22 COMMISSIONED WRITERS. EACH PRODUCTION WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES, INCLUDING POST-SHOW AUDIENCE DISCUSSIONS AND TALKBACKS WITH CASTS AND CREATIVE TEAMS. IN TOTAL, OUR WORK WAS SEEN BY 112,000 AUDIENCE MEMBERS. WE MADE OUR SHOWS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL WITH THE AFFORDABLE TICKET INITIATIVE; A TOTAL OF 28,000 TICKETS WERE DISTRIBUTED FOR FREE OR AT DEEPLY DISCOUNTED RATES. WE ALSO BROUGHT BACK OUR FREE STUDENT MATINEES. WE HOSTED 500 STUDENTS AT OUR TWO BROADWAY PRODUCTIONS; STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN A TALK-BACK WITH THE CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM AFTER THE SHOW.