Preview by David Roberts
Theatre Reviews Limited
In a celebratory move uptown to the theater district, the Broadway Bound Theatre Festival, celebrating its third year in Manhattan, has announced its 2019 season lineup at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street. In just three short years BBTF has evolved into an elevated and sophisticated theatre festival, upping the ante and the exposure for its participating playwrights, but still maintaining its reputation and classification as a boutique festival, featuring 18 curated new works on its main stage and three staged readings in its Incubator Reading Series. https://www.broadwayboundfestival.com
BBTF has earned the reputation for being very selective because each play is highly evaluated and critiqued and playwrights are expected to continue developing their plays as they learn how to self-produce, which is part of the festival’s mission. The move to Theatre Row was made with those playwrights in mind.
“Quite simply, we wanted to give our playwrights a taste of putting up a production of their own work in a professional, respected Off-Broadway venue. Theatre Row is top-notch,” said Lenore Skomal, BBTF Director. “And it’s an incredible opportunity to have a show open there. We have a lot of seasoned vets this year compared to our first year,” said Skomal. “By taking the step to enter our festival and learn about self-producing in a nurturing and supportive environment, they are essentially taking their careers into their own hands, which we encourage because we are all about empowering artists.”
All BBTF shows all run for approximately 60-90 minutes, with no intermission. The box office opens 30 minutes before showtime.
Week 1 is July 30 – August 4, Week 2 runs August 6 -11, Week 3 is August 13-18 and Week 4 runs August 20-25.
The complete list of offerings at the 2019 Broadway Bound Theatre Festival include:
“Basic Glitch” by Stephanie Salazar-Amaro
In a world similar to ours, a young woman seeks customer service assistance in resolving an issue of vital importance: her defunct reproductive system.
Tuesday, August 6 at 5 PM
Wednesday, August 7 at 8 PM
Friday, August 9 at 2 PM
Wednesday, August 21 at 8 PM
“Dear Mrs. Kitt” by Chantel McDonald
After learning of her mother’s death, a young woman returns home to discover that she’s inherited more than she expected.
Thursday, August 15 at 5 PM
Friday, August 16 at 8 PM
Sunday, August 18 at 2 PM
“Florida Man” by Michael Presley Bobbitt
Racked with guilt, a Florida man digs up his dead father to give him the proper Viking funeral he always wanted.
Wednesday, July 31 at 2 PM
Thursday, August 1 at 5 PM
Saturday, August 3 at 8 PM
“Ghosts and Gaslighting” by Erin Moughon
When a dead uncle leaves an odd stipulation in his will, two strangers are forced to spend the weekend at his haunted house, but an unexpected squatter and crazy happenings add cartoonish complications to their stay.
Thursday, August 8 at 5 PM
Tuesday, August 13 at 8 PM
Friday, August 16 at 5 PM
“Goldensbridge” by Albi Gorn
Forced by aging to leave their utopian community, a socialist couple struggles to find a way to bring their ideals with them, just as their son relives his own coming of age, trying to recover the ideals he lost.
Saturday, August 3 at 5 PM
Sunday, August 4 at 2 PM
Tuesday, August 6 at 8 PM
“Heloise” by Michael Shenefelt
In this tragic and true love story, Heloise and her lover, the philosopher Abelard, hope to advance the power of reason, but they must confront a brutal medieval world and suffer terrible consequences.
Wednesday, August 7 at 5 PM
Friday, August 9 at 8 PM
Saturday, August 10 at 2 PM
“Just Outside the Door” by Esteban Alvarez
A desperate grandson kidnaps his dying grandmother in order to save her, but must learn to cope with depression, grief, and self-acceptance before it is too late.
Friday, July 31 at 5 PM
Thursday, August 1 at 8 PM
Friday, August 2 at 2 PM
“Last Thought Standing” by Joseph Vuotto
Navigating society today can be maddening, confusing and ludicrous, as seen through the lens of six adventures that explore the theme: If society doesn’t do you in, it can come pretty close.
Friday, August 16 at 2 PM
Friday, August 23 at 5 PM
Saturday, August 24 at 8 PM
“Mona Lisa and the Cross” by KK Gordon
A world-renowned photographer becomes obsessed with the feral charms of a beautiful young heroin addict.
Thursday, August 22 at 5 PM
Friday, August 23 at 8 PM
Sunday, August 25 at 2 PM
“Picked Up” by Dan Manjovi
A chance meeting between two men in a New York City bar turns into a strange, seductive game of cat and mouse, which may uncover truths from their past.
Wednesday, August 14 at 2 PM
Saturday, August 17 at 8 PM
Sunday, August 18 at 5 PM
Tuesday, August 20 at 5 PM
“Roommates” by Darcy Cagan
Two elderly women are forced to share a room in a nursing home, but their past lives and present outlooks are as different as night and day.
Friday, August 2 at 8 PM
Wednesday, August 7 at 2 PM
Saturday, August 10 at 8 PM
“Round Went the Wheel” by Frank Ceruzzi
After technology brings humanity to the brink of disaster, children take control of the world and try to forge a new way forward.
Tuesday, August 13 at 5 PM
Wednesday, August 14 at 8 PM
Saturday, August 17 at 5 PM
“Sea Level Rise: A Dystopian Comedy” by Henry Feldman
Welcome to South Florida of the future! Have a drink and pull up a beach chair. Oh, and never mind that silly little two feet of sea level rise … you’re in Paradise, after all!
Wednesday, July 31 at 8 PM
Friday, August 2 at 5 PM
Saturday, August 3 at 2 PM
“Simius” by Stephen Bracco
When a feisty therapy puppet takes over the identity of his unsuspecting patient, lives are upended, faith is challenged and chaos ensues.
Tuesday, July 30 at 8 PM
Sunday, August 4 at 5 PM
Saturday, August 10 at 5 PM
“The Argentinian Prostitute Play” by Reuven Glezer
Far from the threat of anti-Semitism in Europe, the Jewish community in 1920’s Buenos Aires flourishes, as arrivals new and old are ensnared in a brutal reality that offers them anything but freedom.
Tuesday, August 20 at 8 PM
Wednesday, August 21 at 5 PM
Saturday, August 24 at 2 PM
“The Court of Khan” by Edward Precht
One of history’s most complex relationships – that between explorer Marco Polo and emperor Kublai Khan – is reimagined in this quasi-modernized quasi-adaptation of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities.
Wednesday, August 21 at 2 PM
Thursday, August 22 at 8 PM
Saturday, August 24 at 5 PM
“The Pointe” by Craig Donnelly
Four young dancers are forever changed when a legendary ballerina visits their summer program to teach them more than just ballet.
Wednesday, August 14 at 5 PM
Thursday, August 15 at 8 PM
Saturday, August 17 at 2 PM
“The Savage Queen” by Edgar Chisholm
Long, long ago in an ancient land, an African princess challenged the living god of the greatest civilization in the world.
Thursday, August 8 at 8 PM
Friday, August 9 at 5 PM
Sunday, August 11 at 2 PM