ROUNDABOUT UNDERGROUND PLAYREADING SERIES

I'm pleased to announce the line-up for the fourth annual Roundabout Underground Reading Series. I'm thrilled to welcome these five exceptional writers - none of whom have yet had a professional New York production - to the Black Box Theatre in May. They are joined by a fantastic team of directors, including Gaye Taylor Upchurch (director of our 2014 Gala) and Daniella Topol (a frequent collaborator on readings and workshops).

The Roundabout Underground program has proven to be an invaluable addition to our season, and the Reading Series has been the first step for many of our previous Underground playwrights.

A limited number of FREE tickets to the reading series will be available to general public. Tickets can be reserved by emailing undergroundreadings@roundabouttheatre.org.

Monday 5/4 @ 7pm

THE SAINTS

By Nathan Dame
Directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt

Siblings Madison and Donald never had it easy in the foster care system, and the adult world isn't much better. Donald is in over his head with a drug dealer, while Madison has finally hit bottom with her own habit and abusive boyfriend. She is close to giving up on life altogether when she finds hope in the form of two young Mormon missionaries. And while their way of life may not be what Madison thinks she wants, she is surprised to find they might be exactly what she needs to survive.

Tuesday 5/5 @ 7pm

MECHANICS OF LOVE

By Dipika Guha
Directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch

In a mythical European city pressed up against a communist state, it is natural that the business of beginning a new world involves forgetting the old one. But when you forget your wife to marry a ballerina with an artificial spine...and the ballerina forgets you to marry your fashionable wife...and then they both fall in love with the mechanic...suddenly, the ordinary rules of love are impossible to follow. This heightened and heartbreaking new comedy questions the laws that govern love, the physics of choosing a spouse, and the miracle of what endures.

Wednesday 5/6 @ 7pm

KINGDOM COME

By Jenny Rachel Weiner
Directed by Kip Fagan

Samantha is lonely and confined to her bed. Layne is shy and too afraid of the world to journey into it. When both women decide that online dating might be the outlet they need, they venture into the wilds of the Internet and find deep connection in each other. The only problem: they're each pretending to be someone else. What happens when the feelings are real but the people are not?

Thursday 5/7 @ 7pm

THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF SEAN & LUCY

By Amy E. Witting
Directed by Daniella Topol

Most one-night stands end with a walk of shame. This one ends with a lockdown. Last night, Boston-dwellers Sean and Lucy drank their sorrows away together after the bombing of the marathon put the city on edge. They never expected to see each other again, let alone get stuck in Sean's kitchen making small talk while police search for the suspects outside. A couple of strangers and a very strange circumstance make for a surreal morning that the pair will never forget.

Friday 5/8 @ 7pm

ZERO FEET AWAY

By Brian Otaño
Directed by Stephen Brackett

Max and Peter are models of 21st century urban coupledom: independent, successful, and not completely sold on monogamy. Their friends Clark and Glenn have been in an open relationship for years, but Max and Peter are only now coming around to the idea that the best combination of sex, intimacy, and love may come from more than one partner. Enter Fever, an uber-critical, eerily prescient mobile dating app that changes their relationship in a matter of phone taps. When Max and Clark are offered a major career opportunity in Texas, the two couples must decide whether their professional and romantic relationships can withstand the trials of distance. A contemporary love story about fidelity, maturity, and the masochism of online dating, Zero Feet Away explores whether the direction of progress is best guided by endless choice or singular commitment.

A limited number of tickets to the reading series will be available to general public. These tickets can be reserved by emailing undergroundreadings@roundabouttheatre.org.