The 3rd Annual Boston New Works Festival — a new Boston tradition — is a weekend-long festival celebrating new original plays by local playwrights. The eight original plays selected for this year’s festival will be performed on six different stages at the Calderwood Pavilion and the Boston Center for the Arts.
Moonbox Production’s request for submissions garnered a broad assortment of musicals and plays from very talented playwrights in the Boston area. From the over 50 submissions, Moonbox’s diverse panel of judges chose eight original theatrical pieces for this year’s festival. This year’s festival includes four mainstage plays and four readings.
“In its third year, The Boston New Works Festival is fast becoming the all-community event we envisioned,” said Sharman Altshuler, Moonbox Producer and Artistic Director. “With scores of submissions coming in every year from local playwrights and composers; an ever-growing pool of astounding local talent, designers, and technicians; and an expanding team of supporters and sponsors, this Festival is blossoming into a real Boston highlight. In addition to brand new local theater productions, our guests can also enjoy street dancing on the promenade and visual arts exhibits throughout the BCA and Calderwood spaces. Come one, come all and be a part of this.”
Selected playwrights and plays for the 2024 Boston New Works Festival include:
John Minigan – Covenant
Directed by Allison Olivia Choat
The Plaza Theatre
Fri, June 21 at 8; Sat, June 22 at 6; Sun, June 23 at 2 & 7
How do we become entrenched in the beliefs we hold, and what – if anything – can get us to walk away when those beliefs lead to chaos and destruction? Jordan’s mission to infiltrate and report on an apocalyptic religious community has ended in disaster. Questions from an unseen interrogator trigger and inform Jordan’s memories of her time undercover, forcing her to confront the effects of the choices she’s made and decide whether the beliefs that guided her are any less destructive than the beliefs of those in the group.
Kira Rockwell – Holy Chicken Sandwich
Directed by Cassie Chapados
The Plaza Black Box Theatre
Thur, June 20 at 7:30; Sat June 22 at 3 & 8; Sun June 23 at 3
On the eve of a highly anticipated grand opening of a beloved yet politically controversial fast-food empire, one hundred fervent devotees gather in the parking lot for an overnight campout to earn a year of free large combos. As the night unfolds, it’s clear there’s a fox in the chicken coop. Jade, the newly appointed store manager, must find the source of anarchy before the flock devolves into utter chaos. HOLY CHICKEN SANDWICH is a comedic mystery of celestial proportions that explores themes of identity, consumerism, and division––a play that invites audiences to examine indoctrination and uncover what’s really in the secret sauce of devotion.
Rick Park – Knock Down, Drag Out
Directed by Thomas Martin
Roberts Studio Theatre
Thur, June 20 at 7:30; Sat June 22 at 3 & 8; Sun June 23 at 5
Developers want to tear down Antoine’s, Boston’s only drag bar, in order to build some high-rise condos. Zonna, who has been performing at the club for 2/3 of her life, has other ideas. After being visited by the ghost of her drag mother Crystal Crawford, Zonna bands together with her drag queen sisters Ivanka (the club’s 70 year old bartender and former chanteuse), Mx (a gender fluid college kid) and Sharia Law (a hardscrabble queen who has fought for everything she’s got) and stages a “drag in”, where they will live in the club to protest its demolition, while fending off their neighbor, Mrs. Chao (an 80 year old Chinese woman who is on a permanent neighborhood watch), as well as the gentrification of the neighborhood they all love.
Angele Maraj & Brianna Pierre – Once Upon a Carnival
Directed by Regine Vital
The Wimberly Theatre
Fri, June 21 at 8; Sat, June 22 at 6; Sun, June 23 at 2 & 7
Once Upon a Carnival is an original musical set in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad & Tobago. When 16-year-old Bhavan is forced to move from New York City to his mother’s home country of Trinidad after his father’s death, he is faced with the task of overcoming grief and accepting his identity through a magical quest in the mythological bush land. Set to a vibrant score infused with chutney, soca and calypso sounds, Bhavan’s adventure will test his and the audience’s notions of grief, identity and found family while exploring the magical world of Trinidad at Carnival time.
Readings
Jared Eberlein – Fall With Me
Directed by Greg Allen
Deane Hall
Thurs, June 20 at 8; Sat, June 22 at 4
Baltimore -1932. Bithiah and J.J. Johnston are quietly surviving the Great Depression, while doing what they can for their neighbors. Fifty miles south, in the nation’s capital, the world is about to explode. When J.J.’s fellow “doughboys” arrive, in search of someone to lead the fight against a government that’s left the veterans of The Great War and their families to perish, the smell of former glory intoxicates J.J and threatens to derail what little his family has. J.J. must decide what fight is truly his to win and what is worth the risk, should he lose.
Maggie Kearnan – How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos
Directed by Taylor Stark
Martin Hall
Thurs, June 20 at 8; Sat, June 22 at 4
A throne of red Solo cups, a pile of teeth, the ghost of Pete Seeger, and a little something for dinner. It’s 2030, and it’s illegal to be a billionaire. Jeffrey Bezos has agreed to give an interview in exchange for information on the federal case against him. But there’s something off about journalist Cherry Beaumont, a crowd is forming outside, and the onstage Fact Checker has a few important clarifications to make. In this near-future fairy tale, the fall of capitalism is about to get very messy.
Cassie Seinuk – Meet Me in the Bathroom
Directed by Dori Robinson
Deane Hall
Fri, June 21 at 7:30; Sun, June 23 at 4
When Freckles, a high school junior, innocently shows her friends a selfie of her and their sexy English teacher Mr. Murphy, she unwillingly sets herself into a social and social media tailspin. The dominoes begin to fall as mean girl with a grudge, Laser, steals Freckles’ phone and posts the photo online, the school’s beloved English teacher gets fired, and Freckles gets kicked off student government, her ticket to a stellar college application and popularity. Set entirely in the girls’ bathroom of a high school in an average town, six teenagers are faced with decision to stand with Freckles and fall into social suicide, or to save face and join the ranks of popular opinion, believe that Freckles is a slut and must be destroyed!
Tina Esper – State of Maine
Directed by Sheriden Thomas
Martin Hall
Fri, June 21 at 7:30; Sun, June 23 at 4
After escaping a dangerous past in Minnesota, Jane finds herself in a small seaside town where she meets Beckett and Moe. Moe owns the Inn where Jane finds a room to rent and where Beckett, her partner also lives. But Beckett is experiencing the early stages of dementia and she and Moe are about to discover the cost of keeping a secret, even when it’s done with the best intentions. Moe, Beckett and Jane are all about to face the same inevitable question: what is worth remembering when the past is too painful to hold on to? State of Maine wrestles with the truth, challenges and beauty of letting go and starting over.
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3rd Annual Boston New Works Festival
Moonbox Productions
June 20-23, 2024 on six different stages
Calderwood Pavilion and the Boston Center for the Arts
June 20-23, 2024; for shows and dates, visit Moonbox
for tickets ($25 per show), call 617.933.8600 or visit Boston Theatre Scene
pay what you can tickets available at the box office
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Moonbox Productions was founded in 2011 by Producer/Artistic Director Sharman Altshuler. Based in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Moonbox is dedicated to supporting local arts and local artists, and to connecting communities to the non-profit organizations that serve them. To fulfill their artistic mission, Moonbox taps the deep well of talent within their own communities to bring top quality theatrical experiences to stages throughout the Greater Boston area. To fulfill their social mission, they partner with a local non-profit organization for each show, giving them visibility on their website and in their promotional materials, as well as giving them access to their audiences in order to raise awareness of their cause, create connections within the community, and increase the reach and impact of their work. Moonbox has also established a youth mentorship program (“Shadowbox”) and is currently launching a new company initiative (“Turning the Tide”) to increase representation and opportunities in theater for Deaf and Disabled artists.
