Initiative
Closing: December 07, 2025Initiative - 2025 Off-Broadway History , Info & More
Joseph Papp Public Theater
425 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10003
A bittersweet reflection on adolescence at the dawn of the new millennium, INITIATIVE charts the intertwined lives of seven teens from 2000-2004, as they become friends and more than friends, wrestle with their potential, face incalculable loss, and struggle to find their way in (and get out of) “Coastal Podunk, California.” Emma Rosa Went directs this epic world premiere by Else Went guaranteed to make you remember the most difficult and beautiful things about growing up.
Initiative - 2025 - Off-Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Initiative
Initiative
8 / 10
Initiative isn’t flawless. The roles of Tony and Ty are underwritten, and a climactic tragedy seems contrived. And yes, the marathon running time—a rarity amid the current vogue for short, intermissionless works—can feel indulgent and overwhelming. But in a way, that's appropriate: Growing up can feel that way, too. It's a pleasure to get to know Initiative’s appealing characters so fully, and to wonder what might happen to them after the end of the play. Two of them, at least, seem to have made good: They went on to create this ambitious, empathetic, singular theatrical experience.
'Initiative' Off-Broadway review — love, angst, and Dungeons & Dragons
9 / 10
A five-hour play is certainly a tall order for most theatregoers. But for those willing to challenge their own attention spans, Initiative makes for a soft, pensive, introspective day at the theatre. Much like bingeing a miniseries in one afternoon, Else and Emma Rosa Went offer audiences the chance to watch four years of high school unfold on a stage, gloriously messy and precarious and rewarding.
Category
by A.A. Cristi - November 20, 2025
Go inside the lives of a group of California teens in the Public Theater world premiere of INITIATIVE, an epic new play by Emerging Writers Group alumnus Else Went and directed by The Public Theater’s inaugural Directing Fellow Emma Rosa Went. Read the reviews!
by Jennifer Broski - November 20, 2025
The Public Theater recently celebrated opening night of the world premiere of INITIATIVE, an epic new play by Emerging Writers Group alumnus Else Went and directed by The Public Theater’s inaugural Directing Fellow Emma Rosa Went. Check out photos from the red carpet!
by A.A. Cristi - November 12, 2025
The Public Theater has released new production photos for Else Went’s world premiere INITIATIVE, now in previews and newly extended through December 7.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - October 28, 2025
The Public Theater has begun previews for the world premiere of INITIATIVE, an epic new play by Emerging Writers Group alumnus Else Went and directed by The Public Theater’s inaugural Directing Fellow Emma Rosa Went. Learn more!
by Chloe Rabinowitz - October 15, 2025
You can now get a first look at rehearsal photos for The Public Theater’s world premiere play INITIATIVE, written by Emerging Writers Group alumnus Else Went and directed by Emma Rosa Went.
Initiative History
Other Productions of Initiative
| 2025 | Off-Broadway |
Public Theater World Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
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