Adam Rapp, Tom Kitt and More Will Bring New Projects to the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center This Fall

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center has just announced its fall slate of developmental programming, furthering its commitment to expand its support of new work outside of its traditional summer season. These efforts include newly created programming like the National Playwrights Conference Writers Retreats, designed for early career writers; individualized Residencies, which offer more established artists the chance to deep dive into a work of their choosing; the O’Neill’s annual Jim Henson Foundation Puppetry Residency; and a recently formed partnership with Works & Process, among others.

“The O’Neill is well-known for buzzing with creative activity during the summer months, and I’m thrilled to carry that energy into the fall and winter seasons here in Waterford,” said Tiffani Gavin, the O’Neill’s Executive Director. “The one resource that the O’Neill truly has in abundance is space where artists can explore their craft away from the competing responsibilities of their everyday lives. Opening our doors to these artists not only furthers our mission to support new work, but our National Theater Institute students will also have the chance to view the developmental process up close as part of their studies”.

The fall season will culminate in the increasingly popular Winter Cabaret Series, now in its fourth year, under the direction of the Cabaret & Performance Conference’s Artistic Director, Grammy and Emmy Award Winner, John McDaniel.

The O'Neill will welcome Dominic Finocchiaro, with his play s(c)e(n)e[n], and Alexa Derman, with her play Beauty, as participants in this fall’s NPC Writers Retreats over the course of two weeks in October.

The NPC Writers Retreat offers selected playwrights from the previous year’s NPC Finalist List a focused residency on the O’Neill’s seaside campus. Over 3 to 5 days, writers receive dedicated time and space to create, round-trip travel, meals, dramaturgical support from the literary team, and meaningful conversations with NPC Artistic Director Melia Bensussen. Dominic Finocchiaro and Alexa Derman were chosen for their plays’ artistic excellence, originality of voice, and promise for future development.

Tony Award winner Tom Kitt will return to campus in early November with collaborator Daniel Goldfarb to work on their new musical, The Ghost Writer (book and lyrics by Goldfarb, music and lyrics by Kitt) adapted from the novel by Philip Roth, in collaboration with Red Yes Studio.

Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony Award winner Adam Rapp will present an excerpt of his new play The Night Fawn, directed by NPC Artistic Director Melia Bensussen, on October 26 at 7pm with Works & Process at Guggenheim New York. Bensussen will also moderate a conversation with Rapp about his career, the process of creating this play—which he wrote in its entirety as the 2025 NPC Artist-in-Residence—and what he hopes to accomplish during a developmental workshop at the O’Neill’s seaside campus in Connecticut the week following this NYC presentation. The workshop will culminate in a public presentation of the play at the O’Neill on October 30th at 7pm in the Rufus & Margo Rose Theater Barn. Tickets will be available for purchase by the general public by visiting theoneill.org.

In December, the O’Neill will host a two-week-long Jim Henson Foundation Puppetry Residency, featuring Parched, a puppet-based performance by Andy Manjuck and Dorothy James. This work honors the O’Neill’s long standing commitment to the advancement of puppetry and visual storytelling. Now entering its tenth year, the Jim Henson Foundation Puppetry Residency at the O’Neill supports artists in the development and completion of new works of puppet theater.

Typically spanning two weeks, this residency offers puppeteers a sanctuary at the O’Neill, including generous rehearsal space and full room and board for all participants. Each application undergoes a rigorous evaluation process and is reviewed by members of the Henson Foundation and O’Neill artistic staff. Intended to support the final phase of creative work on a piece of puppet theater, projects developed at the O’Neill have premiered at La MaMa, HERE Arts Center, 59E59, Japan Society, and more. For more information about the residency, please visit the Henson Foundation website at hensonfoundation.org.

This Winter Cabaret continues in its fourth season under the direction of CAB Artistic Director, Grammy and Emmy Award winner, John McDaniel. The series will take place in the O’Neill’s Rufus and Margo Rose Theater Barn from December 11-14, 2025, and feature four nights of uplifting holiday classics from O’Neill favorites and Broadway stars.