In an exclusive “sneak peek” at what’s next for the American theater, six new plays authored by a handful of the hottest contemporary playwrights appear in the 2022 New Stages Festival—Goodman Theatre’s 18th annual celebration of innovative new work, offered entirely free of charge. Curated by Director of New Works Jonathan L. Green, the Festival line-up features two fully staged developmental productions: This Happened Once at the Romance Depot off the I-87 in Westchester by Gina Femia, directed by Kimberly Senior and Rust by Nancy García Loza, directed by Laura Alcalá Baker. Four script-in-hand staged readings round out the festival, including White Monkey by Charlie Oh, directed by Eric Ting; Fever Dreams (of Animals on the Verge of Extinction) by Jeffrey Lieber (co-creator of TV’s Lost), with Susan V. Booth directing her first play as Goodman Theatre Artistic Director; Modern Women by Omer Abbas Salem, directed by Lavina Jadhwani; and What Will Happen to All That Beauty? by Donja R. Love, directed by Malika Oyetimein. The New Stages Festival appears December 1–18 in the 350-seat Owen Theatre; free tickets (reservations required) are available starting Friday, November 4 at GoodmanTheatre.org/NewStages or by phone at 312.443.3800 (12noon – 5pm, daily).
More than 100 plays have appeared in the New Stages Festival since its inception in 2004, the majority of which have gone on to premiere at the Goodman and its peer theaters across the country. Each year, the Festival’s final weekend draws national theater industry professionals to Chicago for the opportunity to view all of the plays.
The New Stages Festival is made possible by The Joyce Foundation, which provides Major Support for Diverse Artistic and Professional Development, and BMO is the Next Generation Artists Sponsor. The Goodman is grateful for the generosity of its New Work sponsors, including: Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation and the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Major Support of New Work; Ruth D. and Ken M. Davee New Works Fund, Major Support of New Play Development; The Glasser and Rosenthal Family, Mayer Brown LLP, and Shaw Family Supporting Organization, Support of New Work.
The 2022 New Play Festival Line-Up
This Happened Once at the Romance Depot off the I-87 in Westchester
By Gina Femia | Directed by Kimberly Senior
A Developmental Production; appears in repertory December 1–18
Kevin’s days are full of monotony, selling bondage gear and sex toys to ordinary customers. But when schoolteacher Beth blows into Kevin's store in desperate search of a vibrator, it sparks an unlikely relationship that forces them both to confront what they think they know about love, romance and sex. Revealing that nothing, and no one, are what they seem, Gina Femia’s hilarious and intimate new play asks us to re-examine ourselves, our fears and our dreams.
Rust
By Nancy García Loza |Directed by Laura Alcalá Baker
A Developmental Production; appears in repertory December 4 – 17
Güera, a young pocha, is trying very hard to be a perfect Mexican daughter and contain her glaring imperfections. The hot Chicago summer has her climbing trees, fighting with her brothers, and melting like a paleta under her parents’ searing gaze. Suddenly, when Abuelo moves in, Güera begins to wonder if she really has to be perfect at all. Why be perfect when you can be free?
White Monkey
By Charlie Oh | Directed by Eric Ting
A Staged Reading; Saturday, December 17 at 10:30am
Li runs a "rent-a-foreigner" agency, loaning out white actors to Chinese businesses looking to boost their international prestige. She finally meets an assignment worthy of her creativity and ambition: populate an entire ghost city with white people in order to convince skeptical Chinese buyers to move in. It’s Li’s chance at the Chinese Dream — but what will this exorbitant lie cost her? A sweeping epic that takes us from the factories of Shenzen to the penthouses of the political elite, Charlie Oh's new play is an absurd, high-stakes tale of global hi-jinks with grave consequences.
Fever Dreams (of Animals on the Verge of Extinction)
By Jeffrey Lieber | Directed by Susan V. Booth
A Staged Reading: Saturday, December 17 at 2pm
For decades, Adele and Zachary have rendezvoused in a remote cabin in the woods to celebrate their passion and be together. This year, though, something has changed: the place is falling apart, a sense of loss pervades the air, they’re both keeping secrets, and Adele has brought a gun...her long-time husband Miller's gun. This new thriller from Jeffrey Lieber (co-creator of TV’s LOST) is equal parts romance, mystery and emotional reckoning.
Modern Women
By Omer Abbas Salem | Directed by Lavina Jadhwani
A Staged Reading: Sunday, December 18 at 10:30am
Would you like mehndi, threading or a blowout? In Dhruvy's beauty salon, nestled in a quiet Skokie strip mall, multiple generations of Arab and Indian friends find comfort and routine. When Dhruvy hires a new esthetician on a whim, they must all negotiate the changing world outside together. Omer Abbas Salem’s new play is a re-imagined American classic, spoken by immigrants and recolored by their love and supremely big feelings.
What Will Happen to All That Beauty?
By Donja R. Love | Directed by Malika Oyetimein
A Staged Reading: Sunday, December 18 at 1:30pm
It’s 1986. Max and her husband J.R. are living in Brooklyn, preparing for their first child. But as an epidemic rages, the couple's future is tested. Max spends her time fighting for her husband's life; before she realizes it, so much time has passed, and she now finds herself fighting for her son. Written as an offering to the community of Black people living with HIV/AIDS, Donja R. Love’s new epic explores questions of legacy, family and healing against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis of the 80s and its imprints today.
ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. The theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earner two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Jeff Awards, among other accolades. The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fifth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.
Using the tools of the theatrical profession, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand the cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered free of charge for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.
As a cultural and community organization invested in quality, diversity and community, Goodman Theatre is committed to using the art of theater for a better Chicago. Goodman Theatre’s Action Plan for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Anti-Racism and Access (IDEAA) was born out of the belief that progress means action, which includes building on the decades-long commitment to using art, assets and resources to contribute to a more just, equitable and anti-racist society
Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation on the new Goodman center in 2000.
Today, Goodman Theatre is led by Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director/CEO Roche Schulfer. Jeff Hesse is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Fran Del Boca is Women’s Board President and Craig McCaw is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.