PREMIERES
|
Mission PREMIERES’ mission is to support the development and promotion of new music theater works in New York City by exceptional playwrights, lyricists and composers whose creative visions move the art form forward and enrich the lexicon of the American Musical Theater. We present staged readings of works in development as well as create new partnerships through commissions, development and full productions in our ‘Inner Voices’ initiative. History PREMIERES’ inaugural season took place at the Clark Studio Theater at Lincoln Center in May and June of 2001 with presentations of Richard Cory, Heartland, and Song of the Turtledove. Initially, our goal was to present a season of new works each year in the Clark Studio Theater, but as it did for so many organizations both established and new, the events of September 11 affected our fund raising efforts exponentially for some time after. From 2002 to 2004, PREMIERES presented staged readings of several Richard Rodgers Award winners, including The Tutor, To Paint the Earth, and Unlock’d. In 2006, we presented a workshop production of .22 Caliber Mouth at the Ohio Theatre in Soho. Inspired by Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads, artistic director Paulette Haupt initiated a new and innovative form of music theater entitled Inner Voices, and forged new collaborations of three teams of writers and composers. PREMIERES commissioned and developed Tres Ninas, Alice Unwrapped, and A Thousand Words Come to Mind. These works were produced at the Zipper Factory Theatre in May of 2008, featuring Victoria Clark, Jennifer Damiano and Barbara Walsh. Based on audience and press response to the performances and the form, we commissioned two new teams of creators, and produced Mosaic and Whida Peru: Resurrection Tangle at 59 East 59th Street Theaters in April of 2010, again to audience and critical acclaim, featuring Heidi Blickenstaff and Judy Blazer. Currently, three new teams of collaborators have been commissioned to create the next Inner Voices, to be produced in the fall of 2011. PREMIERES will also present staged readings of another Richard Rodgers Award winning musical which will be announced shortly. Future presentations If you would like to be the first to know of our next scheduled staged reading series and Inner Voices series, please join our mailing list. |