the week of january 24-30, 2025
You’re reading Nothing for the Group, a newsletter where one dramaturg rounds up one week in theatre news, reviews, and takes. If you like this sort of thing:
The Friday weekly round-up is always free, but if you’d like to sustain this project (and get access to occasional bonus content), you can upgrade to a paid tier. (You can also support via Venmo @halvorsen or Paypal.)
If you want to say hi (or send me a press release), you can email me or follow Nothing for the Group on Instagram.
Graphic Design: Elizabeth Morton | Editorial Support: Ryan Adelsheim
world premieres
- Larissa FastHorse’s Fake It Until You Make It starts performances January 29th at Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles in association with DC’s Arena Stage. Michael John Garcés directs the “uproarious new comedy about a collision of friends and foes within the non-profit sector that sets the stage for a whirlwind of competition, chaos, and comedic revelation.”
- L M Feldman’s S P A C E runs January 30 - February 23 at Central Square Theater in Cambridge, MA. The “interrogation of the story of the Mercury 13 female pilots and their ancestors — Bessie Coleman, Hazel Ying Lee — and descendants — Mae Jemison, Sally Ride — over the course of a national Civil Rights Space Race that has spanned our past century” is directed by co-creator Larissa Lury.
- Arielle Julia Brown’s Fallawayinto: Corridors of Rememory is now playing through February 1st at FringeArts in Philadelphia. Nia Benjamin directs the “multi-media play that constructs a living sanctuary uniting audiences in collective celebration, mourning, and remembrance.”
productions
- Moisés Kaufman & Amanda Gronich’s Here There Are Blueberries runs January 24 -February 9 at McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ in a co-pro with La Jolla Playhouse. Kaufman also directs the Pulitzer finalist based on real events surrounding “a mysterious album featuring Nazi-era photographs that arrives at the desk of a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum archivist.”
- Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero starts performances January 24th at Shattered Globe in Chicago. The darkly comic drama about a graveyard shift apartment security guard and a pair of cops “confronting complex moral dilemmas” is directed by Nate Santana.
- Lucky Plush Productions’ presentation of Erin Kilmurray + Kara Brody’s Knockout runs January 24 - February 2 as part of Steppenwolf’s LookOut series in Chicago. The two-women duet is a “self-possessed, ever-morphing cinematic dance work contending with the nature of the liminal: a provocative study of the space between desire, intimacy, strength, and survival.”
- Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate starts performances January 25 at The Old Globe in San Diego. Steve H. Broadnax III directs the “searing and bitingly funny portrait of family, history, and legacy.”
- Will Arbery’s Evanston Salt Costs Climbing runs January 25 - February 17 at Rogue Machine Theatre in Los Angeles. The “deep, warm and hysterically funny play about climate and change” is directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos.
- Dakin Matthews’ adaptation of Henry IV starts performances January 26th at Theatre for a New Audience in Brooklyn, NY. The “gripping epic exploring timeless questions about legitimate authority and how the private lives of rulers conflict with their public lives” is directed by Eric Tucker.
- Max Wolf Friedlich’s Job runs January 28 – March 16 at Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA. Matthew Gardiner directs the “psychological thriller that skewers the insidiousness of the internet, the meaning of work and the menace behind the social media smile.”
- Michael Frayn’s Noises Off starts performances January 29th at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles in a co-pro with Steppenwolf. The “side-splitting British farce about a theater company desperately trying to get their act together” is directed by Anna D. Shapiro.
- Rajiv Joseph’s King James runs January 30 - March 2 at TheatreWorks Hartford. Rob Ruggiero directs the “wonderfully funny and remarkably moving new play exploring the place that sports occupy in our lives” produced in partnership with Round House Theatre and Barrington Stage.
- Pearl Cleage’s Blues for an Alabama Sky starts performances January 30th at Seattle Rep in partnership with The Hansberry Project. The 1930s Harlem-set drama detailing the “joy, sorrow, and resilience of a society on the brink of change” is directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton.
- Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love runs January 30 - March 16 at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago. Jeremy Herrin directs the “twisted, tequila-soaked love letter from one of the greatest American playwrights, indulging the need to get inside someone just to tear them apart.”
- Gracie Gardner’s Athena is now playing through February 9th at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Nancy Bell directs the kinetic comedy about two elite teenager fencers “practicing together, competing against each other, and spending their lives together. They wish they were friends.”
- Forrest Malloy’s Nina is now playing through February 9th at Theatrelab in NYC. Set at a prestigious conservatory, the “fast-paced, behind-the-scenes look at the always high-stakes, often ridiculous environment of actor training” is directed by Katie Birenboim.
workshops & readings
- Gloria Majule’s My Father Was Shot in the Back of the Head will have a reading on January 28th as part of The Relentless Award Reading Series at Theatre Row in NYC. The “coming-of-age story traversing continents and cultures, legacies and languages” is directed by Bianca LaVerne Jones and dramaturged by Ngozi Anyanwu.
- Drew Woodson’s Smoke will have a free reading on January 24th at Kansas City Rep. Set during the 2018 California wildfires, the new play is a “searing exploration of family, identity, and resilience in the face of inevitable change.”
- Megan Tabaque’s The Rink at the End of the World will have a developmental reading on January 28th at Road Theatre in North Hollywood, CA. Courtney Ulrich directs the “comic experiment in synchronization, surreality, and apocalypse” about a “motley crew of mall-rink figure skaters competing in the World Synchronized Figure Skating Championships after an entire country club of athletes get taken out by a rogue bout of COVID.”
festivals
- The 2025 Reading Room Festival runs January 30 - February 2 at The Folger Theatre in DC. The annual event features “new work and conversations inspired by or in response to the plays of William Shakespeare.” This year’s line-up includes staged readings of Barry Edelstein’s Henry VI;Source: View source
