59E59 Theaters Unveils Additional Productions For The 2024 Winter Season

59E59 Theaters has revealed additional productions for their Winter 2024 Season.

2024 marks 59E59 Theaters' 20th Anniversary. Founded by Elysabeth Kleinhans and operating under the Elysabeth Kleinhans Theatrical Foundation since 2004, 59E59 Theaters has been honored to serve as an artistic home for over 400 non-profit theater companies presenting more than 600 shows in their three spaces to over 1.4 million audience members. The Foundation provides a uniquely supportive model that makes producing more affordable to independent theater groups and allows new work to be generated and produced through special programs such as Space Lab, Makers Program, and Residencies.

“As 59E59 Theaters rolls into its 20th Anniversary year, we are excited to continue on our mission of presenting diverse, exciting new plays on our three stages,” says Managing Director Brian Beirne. “Founding Artistic Director Elysabeth Kleinhans' vision and mission to present the best of New York premiere productions continues to keep audiences both challenged and entertained.”

“This Winter Season kickstarts 59E59 Theaters' 20th Anniversary with a curated collection of stellar theater companies who will transport audiences with entertaining stories, vibrant characters, and unforgettable performances,” shared Artistic Director Val Day. “Audiences will enjoy the opportunity to sample an abundance of varied theatrical delicacies. There are transformative and dramatic stories with live music and songs weaving their magic into the narrative, a pinch of celebrity autobiography, and many shows that are guaranteed to tickle the funny bone with outrageous or darkly witty humor.”

The upcoming year will be a mix of celebrating the theater makers 59E59 hosted in the last 20 years and eagerly looking forward to welcoming new companies and the opportunity to champion their work in 2025 and beyond.

The 59E59 Theaters Winter 2024 Season will begin with the previously announced Beverly Johnson: IN VOGUE, presented by ACT II Playhouse, in association with Bud Martin; followed by The Sweet Spot, presented by American Bard Theater Company; and The Greatest Hits Down Route 66, presented by New Light Theater Project in association with Calliope Stage.

The season will continue with The Christine Jorgensen Show, presented by wild project productions and ADH Theatricals LLC; and IBSEN'S GHOST: An Irresponsible Biographical Fantasy, presented by Primary Stages in association with George Street Playhouse.

The season will conclude with The Slow Dance, presented by Apt. 10C Productions; KING, presented by Fishamble: The New Play Company; Not Now, presented by 19th Street Productions, and LAB: STRIPPED: Two-week runs of staged works in progress (The Complicated and lolita lolita) presented by LAByrinth Theater Company.

Full casting and creative teams for the productions will be announced at a later date. More information about the shows can be found below. For details regarding tickets and performance schedules, visit 59E59.org.

The 59E59 Theaters Winter 2024 Season will include:

wild project productions and ADH Theatricals LLC present

The Christine Jorgensen Show

By Donald Steven Olson

Directed by Michael Barakiva and Zoë Adams

Theater C

Previews begin February 8

Opening Night is February 14

Limited run through March 3

In the buttoned-up 1950s an ex-GI returned from Denmark as Christine Jorgensen, America's first transgender celebrity.

The Christine Jorgensen Show is a musical re-telling of Jorgensen's remarkable story along with that of Myles Bell, the forgotten song-and-dance man who helped her craft a nightclub act that transformed her from headline into headliner.

With an irresistible book and original songs by Donald Steven Olson, The Christine Jorgensen Show is a hilarious and heartfelt story about show business and living life on your own terms.

Primary Stages,

in association with

George Street Playhouse,

presents

IBSEN'S GHOST

An Irresponsible Biographical Fantasy

Written By and Starring Charles Busch

Directed by Carl Andress

Theater A

Previews begin March 2

Opening Night is March 14

Limited run through April 14

The play Ibsen never wrote - but with more laughs and a happy ending!

Shortly after the death of celebrated playwright Henrik Ibsen, his widow Susannah receives word that her husband's former protégée is in town peddling a libelous diary exposing the playwright's misdeeds. Enlisting help from her sharp-witted stepmother, Ibsen's long-lost illegitimate son, a servant girl with a wayward pelvis, and an enigmatic rodent exterminator known as the Rat Wife, Susannah sets out to preserve her husband's legacy by any means necessary.

Written by and starring the legendary Charles Busch, Ibsen's Ghost tells a tall (and hilarious) tale of the toll a great man's ghost takes on the women at the soul of his work.

Primary Stages is the Resident Off Broadway Theater Company at 59E59 Theaters.

Apt. 10C Productions presents

The Slow Dance

By Lisi DeHaas

Directed by Lily Kanter Riopelle

Theater C

Previews begin March 8

Opening Night is March 13

Limited run through March 23

A mother and son are at a crossroads. She's finally ready to leave the family home. He's pushing fifty and just got engaged. When his fiancée hires a professional organizer to facilitate her future mother-in-law's move, more gets dismantled than just the furniture.

When change feels like the death of everything you've ever known, and the thing you know best is fear of change, is letting go even possible?

The Slow Dance is a thoughtful and funny look at family, identity, and the ties that can either bind or smother. A reminder that while life's big changes can throw us off our rhythm, we can learn the steps to a new dance at any age.

Fishamble: The New Play Company presents

KING

Written and Performed by Pat Kinevane

Directed by Jim Culleton

Theater B

Previews begin March 26

Opening Night is March 30

Limited run through April 14

Living alone in Cork, Ireland, Luther is troubled but mischievous, lonely but hopeful. While he prepares for a big night out as an Elvis impersonator he reflects on his past and dares to dream of the future…maybe even of romance.

Like Ireland itself he's been stepped on many times but keeps on dancing. Keeps his humor. Keeps seeking light in the darkness. Soon Luther's evening unfurls into a mad tango between memory and wonder. 

A veteran of the stage in Ireland, Pat Kinevane's collaborations with Fishamble have been described by The Guardian as “dazzling” for their use of color, movement, and expression to create a singular emotional experience. Named a “Pick of the Fringe” at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, KING explores how our personal and collective history shape us into strange new forms, demanding courage at every turn.

Part of Origin's 1st Irish.

19th Street Productions presents

Not Now

By David Ireland

Directed by Max Elton

With Matthew Blaney and Stephen Kennedy

Theater C

Previews begin April 3

Opening Night is April 7

Limited run through April 21

“You're an Irish Daniel Radcliffe.”

“I'm British!”

“You're a British Daniel Radcliffe. From Ireland.”

The morning after his father's funeral, a still-shaken young Irishman named Matthew prepares to fly to London to audition for a prestigious drama school.

When his painter-decorator Uncle Ray interrupts his private rendition of Richard III to offer some dubious direction and career advice, Matthew starts to doubt whether he should really be leaving Belfast in the first place. Or is Belfast where he truly belongs?

From the multi award-winning author of Cyprus Avenue, Not Now is a sharply written, heartfelt comedy about the past, identity, moving on, and whether Shakespeare was really all that great.

Part of Origin's 1st Irish.

LAByrinth Theater Company presents

LAB: STRIPPED

Two-week runs of staged works in progress

New for LAByrinth's 31st season, the company presents LAB: Stripped, two-week runs of staged works in progress. More than a reading, but not quite a production, STRIPPED keeps the focus on the script with minimal technical elements. 

LAByrinth Theater Company is a Co-Op Resident Company at 59E59 Theaters.

The Complicated

By Cusi Cram

Directed by Dina Janis

Theater B

Performances begin February 20

Limited run through March 3

The Complicated is a dark comedy about an eccentric, cultural-melting-pot of a family struggling to survive New York in the 1980's. It is a wild ode to folks from mixed backgrounds who were raised by wolves, single mothers, teachers, god brothers, and their own killer instincts.

lolita lolita

By Elizabeth Narciso

Directed by Alfredo Narciso

Theater B

Performances begin March 12

Limited run through March 24

lolita lolita is a time-traveling joyride through the history of the patriarchy! Helen of Troy, Salome, and Lolita employ all the powers at their disposal: poetry, pop culture, and cherry cake to set the record straight.

Previously announced productions for the Winter 2024 Season include:

ACT II Playhouse, in association with Bud Martin, presents

Beverly Johnson: IN VOGUE

Written by Beverly Johnson and Josh Ravetch

Directed by Josh Ravetch

Theater B

Previews begin January 9

Opening Night is January 14

Limited run through January 28

Exactly fifty years ago, Beverly Johnson made history as the first Black woman to appear on the cover of American Vogue. The iconic supermodel has graced more than 500 magazine covers and worked in theater and TV while mingling with some of the biggest stars of the last fifty years from Elizabeth Taylor to the great Ella Fitzgerald.

IN VOGUE takes us on a journey through her super-modeling career, her unimaginable tumultuous relationships, the truth about Bill Cosby, and her involvement in the #MeToo movement. Like

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