Alley All New Festival Developments Head To Off-Broadway

Tony Award-winning Alley Theatre has announced that Torera by Monet Hurst-Mendoza and Thornton Wilder's The Emporium, completed by Kirk Lynn, will both receive Off-Broadway productions in the 2025–26 season. These groundbreaking works were first introduced to audiences as part of the 2022 Alley All New Festival, then world premieres fully produced at the Alley, and are now headed to New York stages.

Directed by Tatiana Pandiani, Torera will begin performances on September 20, 2025, at WP Theater. The Emporium will be produced by the Classic Theatre Company beginning May 2026, directed by Alley Artistic Director Rob Melrose.

As Torera and Thornton Wilder's The Emporium prepare for their Off-Broadway runs, another Alley-world premiere, Born with Teeth by Liz Duffy Adams will make its West End debut this summer.

“I'm so proud of how Alley Theatre is launching new plays out into the world,” shares Melrose. “Having two plays we premiered going Off-Broadway next season and one going to the West End shows the Alley's commitment to developing and producing great new plays. In fact, The Emporium and Torera were workshopped in the same Alley All New Festival before they each received their premiere production at the Alley. Having Born with Teeth getting its London premiere in the same season only underlines this point. 

“On a personal note,” Melrose continues. “I'm especially excited to be directing the New York premiere of The Emporium at Classic Stage Company. I've been an ardent fan of CSC's since I was in college, and I'm so grateful to Classic Stage Company and Artistic Director Jill Rafson for believing in the piece.”

Torera, directed by Pandiani, had its world premiere at Alley Theatre on May 12, 2023 and ran through June 4, 2023. It was developed as a workshop in the Alley All New Festival in 2022.

Thornton Wilder's The Emporium, directed by Melrose, had its world premiere at Alley Theatre on May 10, 2024. It featured members of Alley Theatre's Resident Acting Company and ran through June 2, 2024. It was developed as a workshop in the Alley All New Festival in 2022.  

Born with Teeth, directed by Alley Theatre Artistic Director Rob Melrose, had its world premiere at Alley Theatre on May 11, 2022. It featured Dylan Godwin as Will and Matthew Amendt as Kit and ran through June 5, 2022. It was developed as a reading in the Alley All New Reading Series in 2019.

The Alley All New Festival will run October 24-26, 2025. Learn more about the Alley All New initiative at alleytheatre.org/allnew.