LATE: A NEW MUSICAL to Receive Developmental Production at Boston Center for the Arts

Moonbox Productions will present a developmental production of LATE: A NEW MUSICAL at the Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts from March 6–14, 2026. The production continues Moonbox’s focus on developing new musicals.

Written by Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright Kathleen Cahill, with music, vocal arrangements, and additional lyrics by Michael Wartofsky, LATE follows a year in the emotional lives of Wilhelmina “Billie” Jackson, her Best Friend Katie Williams, and their high school peers as they come of age in the era of school shootings. The musical centers on friendship, loss, and resilience as the characters grapple with how to reclaim their futures after violence disrupts their community.

“Like The Outsiders, LATE tells its story from the perspective of the adolescents who experienced it,” said Kathleen Cahill.

“LATE pulsates with life, focusing on the transformative power of friendship and community,” said Michael Wartofsky. “We're inspired by the survivors of Parkland who stood in the open with their truth, often at great personal cost.”

The production marks a collaboration between Moonbox Productions and the New Opera and Musical Theatre Initiative (NOMTI). The work was developed through NOMTI’s Advanced Writers Lab and Moonbox’s 2022 Boston New Works Festival at BCA, becoming the first festival project to receive a full co-production from Moonbox.

The production is directed by Ilana Ransom Toeplitz, whose credits include work with the Broadway creative teams of The Prom and Violet, as well as directing the 10th Anniversary of Reefer Madness and the U.S. premiere of Drew Gasparini’s We Aren’t Kids Anymore. David Freeman Coleman serves as Music Director.

“Late gives the floor to honest, unsupervised adolescent characters, with generations of storytellers and artists standing behind them—because while this story belongs to the young, the call for change belongs to all of us,” said Toeplitz.

Cast

The cast includes Cortlandt Barrett as Billie, Jayla Shedeed as Katie, Kennedy Chang as Makala, Cole Stanley as Vernell, Azul Girola as Charlotte, Max Cavanaugh as Ryan, Jackson Gentry as Beau, and Jeffrey Michael Sewell as Cole. Catie Jamieson, Emery Cunningham, and Alex Kennedy will serve as swings.

Creative Team

The production team includes Joy Clark (Choreographer), Avery Piazza (Assistant Director), Juliet Simon (Assistant Choreographer), Danielle Ibrahim (Production Manager), Elliott Cunningham (Associate Producer and General Manager), Luke Ferrante (Company Manager), Mac Medeiros (Production Stage Manager), and Jenna Thomas and Alyssa Schlaifer (Assistant Stage Managers). The creative team features David Goldstein (Scenic and Props Design), Amaya Gonzalez-Møllmann (Costume Design), Elijah Goldberg (Lighting Design), and Miller (Sound Design).

Preview performances will take place March 6 and 7, with an official opening on March 12 and additional performances March 13 and 14 at the Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont Street in Boston.