Lucille Lortel Theatre Reveals Artistic Programming Including 121 Project, 11 New Commissions, and More

The Lucille Lortel Theatre has announced new artistic programming that deepens the historic theater's impact on the Off-Broadway community and the field nationally. These initiatives include a world premiere production produced with Ensemble Studio Theatre and Latinx Playwrights Circle, a new episode from the New York Emmy Award-winning Dangerous Acts, a fourth round of commissions of new plays; a digital play reading; a new season of online interviews with playwrights and theatre-makers; and more.

Beginning November 17, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Lucille Lortel Theatre, and Latinx Playwrights Circle will present the world premiere of A Bodega Princess Remembers La Fiesta de los Reyes Magos, 1998, written and performed by Iraisa Ann Reilly and directed by EST's Co-Artistic Director Estefanía Fadul. Bodega Princess marks Reilly's Off-Broadway playwriting debut and runs at Ensemble Studio Theatre (545 W 52nd St, Manhattan) through December 14, 2025. Featuring music, storytelling, and good old 90s nostalgia, Reilly introduces audiences to her family, her hometown, and her epiphany that changed her life forever. Bodega Princess was commissioned by the Lucille Lortel Theatre.

Dangerous Acts: Spelman College, the latest episode of the New York Emmy Award-winning series premieres on All Arts on October 17 at 8pm. In Dangerous Acts: Spelman College, the Lucille Lortel Theatre illuminates groundbreaking Black women writers from the early-20th century, connecting their legacy to the next generation of actors studying at Spelman College and Morehouse College. Chair of the Department of Theatre and Performance at Spelman College Aku Kadogo directs students in readings of Blue Blood by Georgia Douglas Johnson and Her by Eulalie Spence.

Submissions for the third round of the 121 Project are currently open. Under the stewardship of Michael Heitzman, Artistic Director of New Musical Development, this signature program of the Music Theatre Lab at the Lortel, provides composers with up to $10,000 of tailored support for the specific needs of a project. Submissions will be closed once 121 applications have been received or on October 10, 2025, whichever comes first. Submission guidelines can be found at https://lortel.org/121-project/.

Several programmatic initiatives are part of The Alcove at the Lortel, the Lortel's new play development program for early and mid-career playwrights, led and curated by Caridad Svich, Artistic Director of New Play Development. 

A free digital reading of Out the Mud by Lortel-commissioned playwright Kristen Adele Calhoun will stream online October 16-30, 2025. Inspired by the Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, Out the Mud weaves humor and heart into a powerful story about love, legacy, and the pull of freedom. Directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene, the reading stars Keith Arthur Bolden and Crystal Dickinson with stage direction by Eunice Woods. Registration is required and can be made at www.lortel.org/out-the-mud.

Since 2023, The Alcove at the Lortel has awarded over 30 commissions to early and mid-career playwrights. The fourth round of commissioned playwrights are Elaine Ávila, Kate Cortesi, Mona Kasra and Adam Kassim, Zizi Majid, Regan Moro, Peter Pasco, Phanesia Pharel, Brian James Polak, Aurora Real de Asua, and Zarina Shea. These commissions can also be followed by further development with dramaturgs, directors, or designers. 

Complimenting these playwrights are Alcove Circle, a cohort of dramaturgs/directors focused on sustainability and accessibility including Alison Kopit, Callan McCarthy, Oscar Toeman, Rory Willats, and Sammy Zeisel.

Under the auspices of Leap of Faith Sessions, additional support will be given to playwrights or projects that are in the research and development stage including Nelson Diaz-Marcano, Erin Gruodis Gimbel, and Eka Savajol.

The Alcove at the Lortel is also pleased to welcome Shahid Iqbal Khan as its third artist-in-residence. He will develop Under The Kitchen Sink, an intimate drama set in an unspecified future that asks questions about love and belonging.

This fall also welcomes the fourth season of Conversations from the Alcove, a web series hosted on the Lortel's YouTube channel featuring conversations with playwrights on arts, ideas, craft and the world. In addition to the recently released chats with Hassan Abdulrazzak and Kate Cortesi, future episodes will include Regan Moro on October 13, Iraisa Ann Reilly on October 20, Rajiv Joseph on November 3, Zac Kline on November 10, Zizi Majid on November 17, Brian James Polak on November 24, Elaine Ávila on December 8, and Allyson Dwyer on December 15.