Skylight Theatre Company Has Announced its 2020 Season

Skylight Theatre Company, recognized for their unwavering commitment to developing new works, has confirmed a 2020 lineup of three plays, and a fourth TBA. All plays are new to Los Angeles.

"We support cutting edge, contemporary playwrights and offer them a home here," says Gary Grossman, Producing Artistic Director. "As theatre artists, we shed light on our current culture and the state of our communities, both locally and nationally. We are committed to raising important questions and creating the necessary conversations that will help to make a kinder world by ending bigotry, racism, and gender inequality.

Kicking off the new season is the World Premiere of WEST ADAMS written by Penelope Lowder and directed by Michael A. Sheppard. A dark comedy about race and class. Front yard inflatables. A hostile takeover of a neighborhood block party. Altruistic dreams of gentrification. Perhaps reshaping a newly adopted neighborhood in your own image isn't as lofty as one might think. The cast includes Allison Blaze, Clayton Farris, Johnathan Medina, and Jenny Soo. Previews1/25, 1/26, 1/31. Opening at 8:30pm on Saturday, February 1st and running through March 8, 2020. Performances are Thursdays 8:00pm, Fridays, Saturdays 8:30, Sundays 3pm. Tickets start at $20. Reservations and information: (213) 761-7061 and http://SkylightTix.com.

Next up, LAVENDER MEN, AN EMANCIPATION PLAY written by Roger Q. Mason and directed by Lovell Holder. Enter the historical fantasia of Taffeta, a self-proclaimed "fabulous queer creation of color," as she invades the private world of Abraham Lincoln to confront issues of LGBTQ+ inclusion and visibility that still challenge us today. Previews: 4/17, 4/18, 4/19, 4/23, 4/24. Opening at 8:30pm on Saturday, April 25 and running through May 31, 2020. Performances are Thursdays 8:00pm, Fridays, Saturdays 8:30pm, Sundays 3pm. Tickets start at $20. Reservations and information: (213) 761-7061 and http://SkylightTix.com.

Coming into fall, EMMYLU written by Boni B. Alvarez and directod by Alana Dietze. Where sound bites are news and facts are negotiable. Gun Control. Immigration. Racism. Fake News. A Filipino immigrant family divided, polarized, politicized and thrown into a spotlight. Emylu is a timely look at the conversations and issues tearing at the fabric of our country. Opening in the fall, 2020

There will be a fourth play produced before the end of 2020, TBA.

Gary Grossman (Producing Artistic Director) is the recipient of Stage Raw's 2016 "Career Achievement Award." He started his career in New York owning two theaters and a theatrical lighting company by the age of 23. Gary worked at The Public Theatre, Café La Mama, and Sheraton Square Playhouse before traveling west to join up with the emerging theatre moment in Los Angeles. He has produced over 300 stage plays, including more than 50 world premieres. Among his celebrated productions is the multi-award winning Rotterdam, which moved to Center Theatre Group's 2019 Block Party at the Kirk Douglas Theatre and won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award in 2018 for Best Production. Additional LADCC awards for Rotterdam include Writing and Lead Actress. It also received top honors at the 2018 Stage Raw Awards, winning Production of the Year and Leading Actress awards. Additional credits include the World Premieres of Church & State (deputing Off-Broadway on March 3rd), Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea (Steinberg/National Theatre Critics Citation), El Grande CIRCUS de Coca-Cola , Wrong Man (3 Ovation Awards), Pray To Ball (1 Ovation Award), Years to the Day, Hermetically Sealed, Bullrusher, Sexsting, Mad Women (LA Weekly Award), Romeo and Juliet directed by Milton Katselas (3 LADCC Awards), Dylan (3 LADCC Awards), Influence, Open House, Dream Man, Lone Star, Balm in Gilead, Visions and Lovers, Rabbit Hole, Beautified and La Ronde de Lunch.

Skylight Theatre Company develops and produces new and exhilarating works while nurturing the voices that create them. A recipient of the prestigious Steinberg National Theatre Critics Citation (Dontrell, Who Kissed The Sea - Nathan Alan Davis), Skylight's resident PlayLAb writers have been recognized with productions nationwide, a national 2014 USA Ford Fellowship in Theater and Performance (Sigrid Gilmer), and locally as a winner in the 2015 Humanitas/CTG Playwriting Prize (Louisa Hill). Their multi-award winning production of Rotterdam moved to Center Theatre Group's 2019 Block Party at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. The production won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award in 2018 for Best Production. Additional LADCC awards for Rotterdam include Writing and Lead Actress. It also received top honors at the 2018 Stage Raw Awards, winning Production of the Year and Leading Actress awards. Recognized as a "powerhouse of new play development" by Dramatist Magazine, this year Skylight presented their first full-length original musical, Bronco Billy - The Musical, garnering nine Stage Raw Award nominations. Many of Skylight's World Premieres have gone on to be performed nationally and internationally. They won 4 Ovation Awards in 2014 (the most of any intimate theatre in LA) for The Wrong Man (sold out run at NYC's MCC Theater in 2019) and Pray To Ball. For more information, script submission policy and production history go to http://skylighttheatrecompany.com

Skylight Theatre is located at 1816 1/2 N. Vermont Ave, LA, 90027. Reservations and information: 213-761-7061 or online at http://SkylightTix.com