BROADWAY BOUND THEATRE FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2019 LINEUP

After many months of soliciting submissions, reading hundreds of plays, conducting interviews, and planning a big move to one of the most recognizable Off-Broadway venues in New York City’s Theatre District, Theatre Row on 42nd Street, Broadway Bound Theatre Festival (BBTF) has announced the much anticipated lineup for the 2019 summer season.

This is the third season for the festival, having launched its highly successful inaugural season at the Theater at The 14th Street Y with much fanfare in 2017. The special attention paid to this combined playwriting and producing experience was immediately evident from the launch with their slogan “Putting the playwright center stage.” In a crowded market filled with more than its share of established theatre festivals, BBTF's refreshing approach was born out of Executive Director Lenore Skomal’s own experiences producing theatre as a participant in the festival circuit. From the very start, the festival has been a unique home for playwrights to hone their playwriting and producing skills and move to the next level. As for the plays in consideration, that varies each year.

“Reading hundreds of plays during each submission period gives some insight into trends. For example, our first year, which was right on the heels of the presidential election that ushered in Donald Trump. We had a flurry of political plays and satires about his presidency and what was to come. Our second year, that dropped dramatically. This year, there was only one, and that was a resubmission from the first year,” says Ms. Skomal.

What is it they are looking for? “At first blush,” says Skomal, “it's the simple stuff that reflects a playwright's dedication to professionalism and respect for their work. Correct formatting, clean edits, perfect spelling, clear stage directions--in short, their attention to details. Of course, what separates the finalists from those who didn't make the cut is the execution. How well did the writer tell the story utilizing all the components of conventional playwriting, reflecting their knowledge of the craft? Almost all of our submissions this year had the bones of a solid play. Where they fell short was in the execution. And that's what makes the difference between an acceptance and a rejection.”

With this new season comes a new venue and new challenges and expectations, as well as highest number of submissions thus far.

“This year we're happy that we have several comedies and satires--a rarity in our past seasons. Our lineup includes some very strong dystopian plays, dramas and some theatre of the absurd. There is some great theatre happening on stage at the Lion Theatre this August. And we're thrilled to make this happen with our playwrights" she said.

Below is the 2019 list of plays, playwrights, and log lines for this year’s summer lineup.

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Basic Glitch

by Stephanie Salazar-Amaro

In a world similar to ours, a young woman seeks customer service assistance in resolving an issue of vital importance: her defunct reproductive system.

Dear Ms. Kitt

by Chantel McDonald

After learning of her mother's death, a young woman returns home to discover that she's inherited more than she expected.

Florida Man

by Michael Presley Bobbitt

Racked with guilt, a young Florida man digs up his dead father to give him the proper Viking funeral he always wanted.

Ghosts and Gaslighting

by Erin Moughon

When a dead uncle leaves an odd stipulation in his will, two strangers are forced to spend a weekend at his haunted house, but an unexpected squatter and crazy happenings add cartoonish complications to their stay.

Goldensbridge

by Albi Gorn

Forced by aging to leave their Utopian community, a socialist couple struggles to find a way to bring their ideals with them, just as their son relives his own coming of age, trying to recover the ideals he lost.

Heloise

by Michael Shenefelt

In this tragic and true love story, Heloise and her lover, the philosopher Abelard, hope to advance the power of reason, but they must confront a brutal medieval world and suffer terrible consequences.

Just Outside the Door

by Esteban Alvarez

A desperate grandson kidnaps his dying grandmother in order to save her, but must learn to cope with depression, grief and self-acceptance before it is too late.

Last Thought Standing

by Joseph Vuotto

Navigating society today can be maddening, confusing and ludicrous, as seen through the lens of six adventures that explore the theme: If society doesn't do you in, it can come pretty close.

Mona Lisa and the Cross

by KK Gordon

A world-renowned photographer becomes obsessed with the feral charms of a beautiful young heroin addict.

Picked Up

by Dan Manjovi

A chance meeting between two men in a New York City bar turns into a strange, seductive game of cat and mouse, which may uncover truths from their past.

Roommates

by Darcy Cagen

Two elderly women are forced to share a room in a nursing home but their past lives and present outlooks are as different as night and day.

Round Went the Wheel

by Frank Ceruzzi

After technology brings humanity to the brink of disaster, children take control of the world and try to forge a new way forward.

Sea Level Rise: A Dystopian Comedy

by Henry Feldman

Welcome to South Florida of the future! Have a drink and pull up a beach chair. Oh, and never mind that silly little two feet of sea level rise ... you're in Paradise, after all!

Simius

by Stephen Bracco

When a feisty therapy puppet takes over the identity of his unsuspecting patient, lives are upended, faith is challenged and chaos ensues.

The Argentinian Prostitute Play

by Reuven Glezer

​Far from the threat of anti-Semitism in Europe, the Jewish community in 1920's Buenos Aires flourishes, as arrivals new and old are ensnared in a brutal reality that offers them anything but freedom.

The Court of Khan

by Edward Precht

​One of history's most complex relationships - that between explorer Marco Polo and emperor Kublai Khan - is reimagined in this quasi-modernized, quasi-adaptation of Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities.

The Pointe

by Craig Donnelly

​Four young dancers are forever changed when a legendary ballerina visits their summer program to teach them more than just ballet.

The Savage Queen

by Edgar Chisholm

​Long, long ago in an ancient land, an African princess challenged the living god of the greatest civilization in the world.

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Broadway Bound Theatre Festival will play at The Lion Theatre at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, from July 30 until Aug. 25, 2019.

Tickets will be available online beginning Memorial Day weekend at Telecharge.

You can visit their site at https://www.broadwayboundfestival.com/