BLACK GIRL IN PARIS

Words by AriDy Nox
Music by Jacinth Greywoode
Directed by Zhailon Levingston

JUL 24 at 4:00PM
JUL 27 at 7:30PM

A musical within a folktale within a ritual, Black Girl in Paris centers on Sally Hemings, a fourteen-year-old enslaved black woman from Virginia, who, by a twist of fate, suddenly finds herself in Paris, France. With the French Revolution fast approaching and her slave master looming in the background, Sally must figure out just how much she is willing to give up for a chance at freedom. Luckily, she is not alone: An ensemble of Ancestors surrounds her, acting as both community members and advisors, applauding and chiding her in equal measure. Full of defiant joy, this show explores one of the most pressing questions of our age: What does it truly mean to be free?

The cast will include Sasha Andreev (All is Calm, Falsettos, Ragtime), China Brickey (Hello, Dolly!), Phinehas Bynum (All Is Calm, Candide, Christmas At The Local, Passion), Deidre Cochran (Jelly’s Last Jam, Journey On, Scotland, PA), Lillian Hochman (My Antonia), Rajane Katurah, Nubia Monks (The Color Purple), Audrey Parker, Richard Rigmaiden (My Fair Lady) and JoeNathan Thomas (The Color Purple).

Black Girl in Paris was awarded the prestigious Richard Rogers Award for Musical Theater in 2025, and is directed by Zhailon Levingston, Tony Award® winner for Best Director of a Musical for Cats: The Jellicle Ball, now on Broadway following a multi-award-winning Off-Broadway run.

With gratitude to our Festival Partners Jean & Jim Hartman, Walter Tambor & Barry Berg, Linda Svitak & David Feroe.

HEARTS IS BROKE

By Aaron Gabriel
Directed by H. Adam Harris

JUL 31 at 4:00PM
AUG 3 at 7:30PM

Hearts Is Broke is a new musical trauma-dy exploring the laughter, longing and love of people on the periphery.  When Ollie Luya enters The Sidebar searching for a venue to “get married to myself”, they are instantly absorbed into a close-knit community of queer outsiders processing the tragic loss of one of their own.

The cast will include Joy Dolo (Christmas At The Local), Bradley Greenwald (My Ántonia, Passion, Twelve Angry Men: A New Musical), Monty Hays (Fun Home), Max Kile, Kinaundrae Lee, Myrtle Lemon-Todd, Kymani Queen, Em Adam Rosenberg (My Ántonia), Skyler Seiler and Dottie Rose Tremmel.

Aaron Gabriel is a Minneapolis-based writer/composer with a long history of working with marginalized communities to help celebrate their stories. They created this piece so that every role can be played by any actor, regardless of gender, age, race or ethnicity.

With gratitude to our Festival Partner John Sullivan

ALICE IN NEVERLAND

By Phil Kenny & Reston Williams
Directed by Catie Davis

AUG 7 at 4:00PM
AUG 10 at 7:30PM

Alice in Neverland takes place between the events of Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. It follows a grown-up Alice, who, bored and disillusioned with adulthood, escapes to Neverland to try to recapture her childlike vivacity. It is scheduled for a world premiere co-production next winter, opening at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, GA and continuing on to the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, WA.

The cast includes Jay Albright (Johnny Skeeky, 6 Degrees of Separation, Once), Tara Borman (My Ántonia, Scotland, PA), Jane Bruce, Erin Capello (Next to Normal, Journey On, Passion, Johnny Skeeky), Will Dusek (My Ántonia, Scotland, PA), Noah Hynick (Gutenberg! The Musical!), Suzie Juul (2019 NEXT Festival), Grasan Kingsberry, Kim Kivens (Journey On, Bernarda Alba, Merrily We Roll Along), Audrey Mojica (Next to Normal), Eric Morris (Passion, Scotland, PA, Falsettos), Adam Qualls (Stones in His Pockets, Peter and the Starcatcher) and Eve Scharback (Fun Home, My Ántonia).

With gratitude to our Festival Partner Nancy Albrecht