Casts Set for New York Stage & Film's 2026 Summer Season

New York Stage & Film has revealed initial casting for its 2026 Summer Season at Marist University and The Bardavon, kicking off with a Benefit Reading of The Maltese Falcon on Friday July 10 at The Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, NY.

For over 40 years, S&F has developed over 1,000 stories that have won every major award including the Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, Academy Award, Emmy Award, Grammy Award and Obie Award. S&F’s Summer Season audiences experience stories in their earliest stages before they go to Broadway, Off-Broadway, resident theaters and international theaters, movies theaters or TV.

Initial casting for the Summer Season includes Barzin Akhavan, Aaron Alcaraz, Jahmaul Abiodun Bakare, Nicholas Byers, Eddie Cahill, Chris Chalk, Ka-Ling Cheung, Kelley Curran, Jasmine Aiyana Garvin, Lawrence Gilliard Jr.,Marcus Gladney Jr., Douglas Goodhart, Alex Humphreys, Josh Hoon Lee, Jose Llana, Tony Macht, Amanda Morrow, Liam Oh, Dael Orlandersmith, Diane Phelan, Sam Poon, Geena Quintos, Reg Rogers, Roslyn Ruff, James Saito, Daniel Saunders, David Ryan Smith, Fina Strazza, Alyssa Sunew, John Douglas Thompson, Chris Thorn,Jesús I. Valles, and Michelle Wilson, with more names to be announced. 

In addition to the creative teams with public-facing projects, the 2026 Summer Season will host a range of artists-in-residence including individual artists and groups such as the Indigenous Voices of the Northeast and The Drama League. This season will also celebrate the Filmmakers’ Workshop and recipients of the Founders’ Award, Pfaelzer Award, and the Dasha Epstein Award; all to be announced at a later date.

New York Stage & Film is thrilled to welcome a new partnership with Bardavon Presents to deepen S&F’s relationship with the City of Poughkeepsie, and showcase larger scale workshops in development in their newly renovated historic theater. In an ongoing collaboration with Marist University, S&F allows artists to create and develop new stories in an academic environment which fosters freedom of expression and natural exchanges of ideas. Together, New York Stage & Film, Marist University, and Bardavon Presents will continue to make Poughkeepsie a destination for new works in development, welcoming national audiences to the Hudson Valley.

Performances will be held in Symphonic Hall at Marist University (Murray Student Center, 3399 North Road) or at The Bardavon (35 Market Street) in downtown Poughkeepsie.  Additional casting and creative teams for all projects will be announced shortly.

The New York Stage & Film 2026 Summer Season is as follows:

THE MALTESE FALCON

ONE-NIGHT-ONLY BENEFIT READING
Written by Betty Shamieh
Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett
Directed by Ian Belknap, S&F’s Artistic Director
Benefit Reading Presentation: Friday July 10, 8PM | Bardavon

The Maltese Falcon is a stage adaptation by Betty Shamieh, based on the classic noir novel by Dashiell Hammett, that illuminates a gritty tale of murder, deception, and greed set in San Francisco at the height of the Great Depression. Detective Sam Spade’s ambiguous moral code threatens to bring disaster to the women ensnared in a web of international criminals hunting for an elusive and priceless artifact.

The cast of The Maltese Falcon will include Tony Award nominee and Obie Award winner Reg Rogers (Merrily We Roll Along) and "The Gilded Age" star Kelley Curran, with Barzin Akhavan (Coriolanus), Eddie Cahill (“CSI:NY”), Tony Macht (Oh, Mary!), David Ryan Smith (Malvolio), and more to be announced. 

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Written by and Featuring Jesús I. Valles
Directed by Adil Mansoor
Presentation: Saturday July 11, 5PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall
Join celebrated writer, solo performer, and winner of the Yale Drama Series Jesús I. Valles as they carry us through the classrooms, night clubs, and hometowns of their past, and ask the question–what would the future look like if it was impossible to kill?

LAGNIAPPE

Written by C.A. Johnson
Directed by Eric Ting
Presentation: Saturday July 11, 8PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall
Once home to sharecroppers, the Bunche Village subdivision outside of New Orleans is now made up of their suburban descendants who find community at the local corner store. Both harrowing and hilarious, Lagniappe follows their day-to-day lives in this story about loving and longing.
The cast of Lagniappe will include Nicholas Byers (The Witnesses), Chris Chalk (HBO’s “Welcome to Derry”), Marcus Gladney Jr. (Choir Boy), James Saito (Durango), Tony Award nominee Fina Strazza (John Proctor is the Villain), and Tony Award nominee Michelle Wilson (Sweat).

Lagniappe is presented with permission from and commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club.

UNMOORED

Written by Betty Shamieh
Directed by Ian Belknap, S&F’s Artistic Director
Presentation: Sunday July 12, 1PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall

Full of murder, sexual intrigue, and betrayal, Unmoored is a prequel to Othello, The Moor of Venice. The teenage Othello, born into a royal household in his native country of Morocco, must learn to navigate a court full of ruthless power players, including his mother. This cheeky origin story explores the connection between jealousy, violence towards women, and war through the lens of one of Shakespeare’s most controversial tragic heroes.

The cast of Unmoored will include Daniel Saunders (Step Dad), Lawrence Gilliard Jr. (“The Deuce”), Obie Award winner Roslyn Ruff (Fences), David Ryan Smith (Malvolio), Jasmine Aiyana Garvin (“Poker Face”), Chris Thorn (House of McQueen), and Amanda Morrow (“Scrubs”).

Unmoored was developed at the Classical Theatre of Harlem with support from the Mellon Foundation Playwright-in-Residence program.

PAPER MENAGERIE

Based on the Short Story "The Paper Menagerie" by Ken Liu
Book by Lloyd Suh
Music by Thao Nguyen
Lyrics by Thao Nguyen & Lloyd Suh
Directed by Chay Yew
Musical Supervision by Chris Fenwick
Dramaturgy by Christine Mok
Presentation: Sunday July 19, 1PM | Bardavon

In Paper Menagerie, based on the short story “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu, a biracial son struggles to understand an enduring rift with his Chinese immigrant mother. Through ancestral magic and an array of paper animals his mother breathes to life on stage, this new musical explores the magic that is possible when what was left unsaid is finally heard.

The cast of Paper Menagerie will include Aaron Alcaraz (Here Lies Love), Douglas Goodhart (That Bachelorette Show), Alex Humphreys (Dear Evan Hansen), Josh Hoon Lee (FOX’s “Best Medicine”), Jose Llana (The King and I), Liam Oh (Netflix's “Boots”), Diane Phelan (Into the Woods), Sam Poon (Sing Street), Geena Quintos (Here Lies Love), and Alyssa Sunew (South Pacific).

DAYLIGHT

Written by Kate Cortesi
Based on the life and extraordinary mind of Joe Garcia
Directed by Josiah Davis
Presentation: Friday July 24, 7PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall

Daylight is a new play based on the real-life story of Joe Garcia, a man who served 21 years in prison for murder. Framed by the pop music that sustained him during that dark time and developed in collaboration with Garcia over two years (and counting!), Daylight explores accountability, true love, and the soul-saving power of pop.
Daylight was commissioned by Playwrights Horizons.

MENAFEE

Written and Directed by Quiara Alegría Hudes
Based on the life story of Corey Menafee
Presentations: Saturday July 25, 7PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall

During an impromptu conversation on reunion weekend, a dining hall employee learns about the contested artifact he’s been unknowingly working beneath. Suddenly, the students he loves and the college he’s dedicated his work life to take a backseat to questions about justice and integrity. Based on a true story, Menafee examines the shocking act that changed an institution’s history.

TRIP AROUND THE SUN

Written by Jake Brasch
Directed by Shelley Butler
Presentation: Sunday July 26, 1PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall

Life is good for Phil and Suze in their Florida retirement community. They fill their days with virgin margaritas and Jimmy Buffet karaoke. But the night before Suze’s big birthday cruise, Phil decides to shake things up one last time.

Trip Around the Sun was developed at the South Carolina New Play Festival and originally workshopped and developed in the 2025 Pacific Playwrights Festival as part of The Lab@South Coast Repertory.

The Death Chronicles (portraits)

Written by & Featuring Dael Orlandersmith

Directed by Neel Keller
Presentation: Saturday August 1, 5PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall
 

The   Death  Chronicles (portraits).. deals  with  people  in the process  of  dying literally/ spiritually / it deals w/ our lack of  acceptance  of death /acceptance of  death and  celebration  of  the people  who  were here/ and  transitioned  and touched us

The cast of The   Death  Chronicles (portraits) will include Tony Award nominee and 3-time Obie Award winner John Douglas Thompson (Endgame), Obie Award winner & Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith (Spiritus/Virgil's Dance), Jahmaul Abiodun Bakare (Ain’t Too Proud), Ka-Ling Cheung (“Harlan Coben’s Shelter”), and more to be announced.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’S WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by Jim Steinman
With book by Patricia Knop, Gale Edwards & Andrew Lloyd Webber
Orchestrations by David Cullen & Andrew Lloyd Webber
Directed by Bill Rauch

Presentation: Friday July 31, 7PM; Saturday August 1, 8PM; Sunday August 2, 1PM | Bardavon

Tony Award-winning Deaf West Theatre and Tony Award-winning director Bill Rauch's (CATS: The Jellicle Ball) reimagining stays true to the original musical as set in America’s Deep South in the late fifties, while further exploring the world as seen through the eyes of children, both deaf and hearing. This evocative musical fuses epic storytelling with compelling characters to create an unforgettable theatrical experience, now with a deepened perspective through Deaf West’s powerful, visually driven storytelling. 

Whistle Down the Wind revolves around the time and place where the word teenager was invented. Swallow, struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother, discovers a mysterious stranger whom she believes is Jesus. In a town where a miracle is long overdue, the children fight to protect him from an adult world determined to find an escaped convict hiding in their midst. As fantasy and reality collide, Swallow is torn between the two and begins to discover who she is and where she is going.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s emotive score combines hauntingly beautiful love songs and explosive rock music with lyrics by acclaimed rock’n‘roll songwriter Jim Steinman. This exciting integration of Sign Language and deaf culture adds yet another layer to this poignant story of belonging, understanding, and faith.

Developed under New York Stage & Film’s Stories That Move: Developing Dance Narratives, with significant support from the Jerome Robbins Foundation and Judith Manocherian. Additional support from Amy Aquino & Drew McCoy, Rick Elice, Tony & Carol Friscia, Donald Holder & Evan Yionoulis and Steve Martin.

The New York Stage & Film Summer Season is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, through funding from Dutchess Partners in the Arts administered by Arts Mid-Hudson, and with leadership support from the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Shubert Foundation, and the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation.

Leadership support for Stories That Move: Developing Dance Narratives, inspired by Jerome Robbins, is provided by the Jerome Robbins Foundation with additional support provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Frederick Loewe Foundation and the Mertz Gilmore Foundation.

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