MAGNIFICENT BIRD / BOOK OF TRAVELERS
Who We Are
Playwrights Horizons is a writer’s theater committed to the advancement of bold and visionary contemporary playwrights, through the development and production of daring new work and the education of future theatermakers. Adam Greenfield has served as Artistic Director since 2020; Casey York became Managing Director in 2024. In a city rich with cultural offerings, Playwrights Horizons’ 53-year-old mission is unique among theaters of its size; the organization has distinguished itself by a steadfast commitment to centering the voice of the playwright. It’s a mission that is always timely, and one that’s necessary in the ongoing evolution of theater in this country. By expanding the U.S. theater canon with a wider range of voices, Playwrights Horizons aims to be a home for the exploration of playwriting and an anti-racist center of curiosity, dialogue, and artistic risk.
Playwrights Horizons offers a season of productions annually on their two stages. Each production is a world, U.S., or New York premiere. Additionally, writers are supported in every stage of their growth through the New Works Lab, a commissions program (supporting several of today’s most imaginative playwrights each year), and Almanac (a literary magazine about the theatrical art form). Much like Playwrights Horizons’ work, their audience is risk-taking and adventurous; and the organization is committed to strengthening their engagement and feeding their curiosity through all of its programming, onsite and online.
Ultimately, Playwrights Horizons believes that playwrights are the great storytellers of our time, offering essential contributions to civic discourse and illuminating life’s paradoxes. And they believe in the singularity of each writer’s voice, valuing the broad, eclectic spectrum and diversity of U.S. writers.
Playwrights Horizons Theater School
We are also an undergraduate theater program that offers an innovative four-year multidisciplinary training program that is consistently ranked as one of the best undergraduate training studios in the country. Recognizing the diverse needs and ambitions of the 21st-century theater artist, Playwrights Horizons Theater School is the only undergraduate studio training actors, directors, designers, choreographers, playwrights, and creators of devised work in a single setting at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Our collaborative program is dedicated to the principle that each student is a whole artist to be nurtured, challenged, and celebrated.
Our Commitment
Playwrights Horizons commits to anti-racism in building a more just future for everyone — particularly those from historically oppressed communities, including the Lenape nation, whose land is home to our work. We acknowledge that the U.S. theater is born of a country founded on white supremacy and anti-Blackness, and we are dedicated to uprooting these and all systems of oppression. This work is ongoing and benefits our programming, staff, audiences, faculty, students, board, donors, and partners. We invite you to engage in this with us. As we expand the U.S. theater canon, we aim to make Playwrights Horizons a theater that is an anti-racist center of ideas, dialogue, curiosity, and a liberated imagination. To learn further, please head to phnyc.org/anti-racism. Playwrights Horizons crafted its Land Acknowledgment in collaboration with The Lenape Center, and we continually strive to align our actions with these words. In order to activate and build upon this statement, we encourage artists and staff who work with us to engage with local Indigenous cultural activities around New York City. Click here to learn more about events happening soon.
From the Playwright: Gabriel Kahane
I was sitting at my kitchen table in October of 2016, reading another breathless essay that sought to explain the shifting dynamics of the electorate, when I decided to get out and see the country for myself. I was tired of being a passive observer, of relying on pundits to catalog and contextualize the fresh wounds and faint scars that covered the body politic. I wanted instead to develop my own understanding—however provisional and incomplete—of what had led to this unprecedented moment in American political life. I told my partner that I was going to board a train the morning after the election and travel the country. I booked a loping, circuitous route: New York to Chicago to Portland to Los Angeles back to Chicago to New Orleans, and finally home to New York. In undertaking this journey, I would travel 8,980 miles over thirteen days.
The experience—which would yield the songs that became the album Book of Travelers—was by turns bracing, joyous, mournful, unsettling, monotonous, hairraising, and transformative. Contrary to what we’re told on social media or cable news, people are complicated! They are full of contradictions! You don’t know what someone believes or why they behave the way they do unless you actually talk to them. I’ve often thought of my train trip as an attempt to transcend cultural and partisan division. But now, on the eve of the tandem presentation of these two musictheater pieces—each preoccupied in its way with the vexed relationship between human society and technology—it strikes me that the sheer lack of mediation on the train might have been as significant as the substance of the conversations I had with one hundred or so of my fellow passengers. I remember sitting in the observation car of the Southwest Chief, somewhere in the New Mexico desert, thinking to myself: some part of you is being healed and humbled by this experience, and you ought to cultivate more opportunities to exist, in this way, in the world.
Almost exactly three years later, I began a year-long hiatus from the internet, with the intention of doubling down on that commitment to engage with people, rather than devices, whenever possible. For a variety of reasons—the pandemic among them—the experiment didn’t go according to plan, and I spent the final eight months isolated with my wife and young daughter in an unfamiliar city. As much of the world became ever more reliant on the internet, I turned monkish. I considered abandoning the project, but persevered, whether out of foolishness or stubborn temperament.
While my digital detox grew from a desire to better understand the attention economy, surveillance capitalism, and the debts that accrue in our obsession with convenience and efficiency, Magnificent Bird—written mostly at the tail-end of my year offline—is not “about the internet.” In its formal and thematic restlessness, I’m not sure I could tell you what it is about. Formally speaking, it’s a weird hybrid that exists at the blurred edges of concert, confession, stand-up comedy, literary lecture, gonzo journalism, and theater. When I hunt for thematic unity, I perceive an undercurrent of loss running through the songs. Ours is a moment in which global communication has made us aware of more human suffering than one person can meaningfully hold. Many of us live in a constant state of emotional triage. Perhaps this is another reason we resort to tribalism: it simply hurts too much to be present and accountable to all of the pain that surrounds us. I suppose that, in writing these songs, I was asking myself this question: how can a person find grace, meaning, and purpose, in a world suffused with relentless cruelty?
In societies that operate within a gift economy, writes the poet Lewis Hyde, the circulation of a gift—as it is passed from person to person—articulates a community. If you receive the gift, it is an indication that you belong. I believe that all performance is a gift, and that the artist and audience collectively make up a community. When I sing a song, it’s nice if it’s beautiful, but perhaps its holier function is to serve as a social bond. Sound moves through a room, and, if we are alive to the moment, we all become connected.
Not only in the aftermath of pandemic lockdowns, but in an era of extreme social isolation, one in which, for all of the marvels of digital connectivity, Americans are lonelier, more atomized, and more politically and culturally divided than ever, I’ve come to see my job as a performer as a kind of secular ministry. Here, I am less an artist on a pedestal than a shepherd of, and participant in, communal experience. On the train, I sought to expand my conception of the word “we”: to work through discomfort and against assumptions and
biases in order to see myself in those who are very different from me, and vice versa. There’s something related at work in the plays I’m performing, in which songs, stories, confessions, and jokes, are instruments meant to awaken and expand a community, if only temporarily, within the walls of the theater.
Having lived in New York from 2003 til early 2020, it’s personally significant to be returning to the city to tell two stories, which are, in no small part, about leaving the city. But it’s also a layover on a longer artistic journey. I’ve been touring as a songwriter for fifteen years, and it’s only with these shows that I think I’ve found a form that’s specific to who I am: a vessel for my interests in music, storytelling, literature, journalism, cultural criticism, and history—but most of all, an arena in which to express and nurture my love of humanity, and my desire to see a society flourish in which we are unequivocal in the care we extend to all of our neighbors, in unyielding pursuit of the beloved community.
UP NEXT IN THE JUDY THEATER | STARTS OCT 10
An unlikely love story – and a startling new work of speculative fiction – about queer aging, chosen family, and the search for home in a volatile world.
Written by Sarah Mantell
Directed by Sivan Battat
Peter Jay Sharp Theater
Artistic Director
Adam Greenfield
General Manager Carol Fishman
Managing Director Casey York
MAGNIFICENT BIRD / BOOK OF TRAVELERS
Created and performed by
Gabriel Kahane
Scenography
AMP Scenography featuring Oscar Escobedo
Props Matt Carlim
Associate Artistic Director Natasha Sinha
Directed by
Costume Design Wendy Yang
Lighting Design Christopher Bowser
Production Stage Manager Elizabeth Emanuel Press Representative Blake Zidell & Associates
Sound Design Garth MacAleavey
MAGNIFICENT BIRD was co-commissioned by Georgia Tech Arts/Georgia Institute of Technology, Meany Center for the Performing Arts, and Stanford Live/Stanford University, with additional support provided by UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance. It debuted at Georgia Tech Arts in April 2022.
BOOK OF TRAVELERS was commissioned by BAM for the 2017 Next Wave Festival.
Grand piano provided by Yamaha.
Annie Tippe
About the Artists
GABRIEL KAHANE (Writer and performer) is a musician and storyteller. Playwrights Horizons debut. Highlights of this season include duo tours with fellow composer/ performer Caroline Shaw in the U.S. and Europe; the premiere of a clarinet concerto for Anthony McGill; a solo debut with the Orchestre National de Lyon; and his San Francisco conducting debut with Carla Kihlstedt’s Twenty-six Little Deaths. Heirloom, a piano concerto written for his father, Jeffrey Kahane, will be released in 2025 by Nonesuch Records. Gabriel has released five albums as a singer-songwriter, and has collaborated with artists including Phoebe Bridgers, Sufjan Stevens, Sylvan Esso, the Danish String Quartet, Anthony McGill, and Pekka Kuusisto, his bandmate in the duo ‘Council.’ Kahane’s writings on music, literature, and politics can be found at gabrielkahane.substack.com. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his family.
ANNIE TIPPE (Director) is a director and creator of new work, music theater, and film. Playwrights Horizons debut. She directed the world premieres and subsequent productions of Dave Malloy’s Octet, Three Houses, and Ghost Quartet. For Octet, she won the Lortel Award for Best Direction and was named an SDC Callaway Award Finalist. Other recent: Julia May Jonas’ Your Own Personal Exegesis (Lincoln Center), Molly Beach Murphy and Jeanna Phillip’s COWBOY BOB (Alley Theatre), Selina Fillinger’s POTUS (Berkeley Rep), Britta Johnson’s Life After (Goodman Theatre; Jeff Award Nominee), James and Jerome’s INK (co-directed with Rachel Chavkin), and The Conversationalists (Bushwick Starr). Her film “HELP ME MARY” won Best Narrative Short at the Lower East Side Film Festival. Former Ars Nova Director-in-Residence, Drama League Directing Fellow, Williamstown Directing Corps.
AMP (Scenography) is a Tony-nominated collective founded by BRETT J. BANAKIS & CHRISTINE JONES to amplify emerging and underrepresented designers by engaging in equitable collaborations. This production features a collaboration with Oscar Escobedo. Jones / Banakis
credits: The Outsiders (as AMP, Tony nom.), The Ambassador (with Gabriel Kahane), The Devil Wears Prada (Chicago), The Cher Show (Broadway), What’s It All About? (NYTW, London), Whorl Inside a Loop (2ST), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Tony & Olivier Awards). All three are NYU Tisch Alumni (MFA).
OSCAR ESCOBEDO (Scenography) is originally from San Diego and is now a New York City-based creative. Oscar is celebrating his Playwrights Horizons and Off-Broadway debut. Oscar collaborates on storytelling for theater, opera, dance, and immersive events always relying on his zeal for craft to tell stories. Filled with admiration and gratitude to create with Jones and Banakis by joining the AMP (Scenography) collective. Special projects include Bark of Millions (Taylor Mac), Used Records (Jack Cummings III), We are Proud to Present (Nigel Semaj), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Arin Arbus). MFA: NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
@Oscar_D_Escobedo
WENDY YANG (Costume Designer) is an Emmy-nominated costume designer for television, film, theater, commercials, and music videos. Playwrights Horizons debut. Recent credits include: Associate and CoCostume Designer with Amy Westcott of Amazon/Kilter Films’ series Fallout, based on the retro-futuristic, post-apocalyptic video game; Costume Designer of sci-fi mystery The Strange Dark, premiering this September at the Soho Film Festival; and Julia May Jonas’s new play A Woman Among Women, opening October at the Bushwick Starr.
CHRISTOPHER BOWSER (Lighting Designer). Playwrights Horizons debut. Recently: Three Houses (Signature), Cowboy Bob (Alley), Salty Brine’s Living Record Collection (Joe’s Pub, Soho Theater London, Edinburgh Festival), Constellations (Geva), Heather Christian’s Animal Wisdom (Woolly Mammoth), Octet (Signature, Berkeley Rep), and Ghost Quartet (Bushwick Starr, tour). Bowser is an alumnus of Playwrights Horizons Theater School at NYU.
GARTH MacALEAVEY (Sound Designer) specializes in spatial and immersive surround sound as well as high-fidelity theatrical sound design. In partnership with Meyer Sound, he is an expert in Constellation, Space Map, and speaker systems design. Playwrights Horizons debut. Recent Credits: the Tony winning Illinoise on Broadway by Sufjan Stevens/ Justin Peck/Jackie Sibblies Drury; Song of Songs by David Lang; Old Man and the Sea by Paola Prestini; the Grammy-nominated Soldier Songs and Black Lodge by David T. Little; the Pulitzer Prize-winning p r i s m by Ellen Reid; Nick Cave’s The Let Go and Peter Sellars/Regg Roc Grey’s FLEXN at Park Ave Armory; and Spatial...no problem by Lee Scratch Perry/Mouse on Mars. www.garthmacaleavey.com
MATT CARLIN (Props). Playwrights: Staff Meal, Teeth, Stereophonic, Wet Brain, Regretfully, So the Birds Are, The Trees, Catch as Catch Can, Downstate, Wish You Were Here. Select Off-Broadway credits include Buena Vista Social Club, A Simulacrum (Atlantic), The Comeuppance (Signature), american (tele)visions (NYTW) and Lessons in Survival: 1971 (Vineyard). Matt also works as a props artisan and his work has been seen on Broadway in Back to the Future: The Musical and The Thanksgiving Play. He received his B.F.A. from Pace University.
ELIZABETH EMANUEL (Production Stage Manager). Playwrights Horizons debut. Broadway: Death of a Salesman; Linda Vista. Selected Off-Broadway: Three Houses, The Comeuppance; Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992; Cambodian Rock Band; Octet; Boesman and Lena; and Thom Pain (Signature Theatre); All the Devils Are Here (Octopus Theatricals); Toni Stone (Roundabout); Notes from Now (Prospect Musicals); Everyone’s Fine with Virginia Woolf (Elevator Repair Service); Do You Feel Anger? (Vineyard Theatre). Development at Lincoln Center, New York Theatre Workshop, PAC NYC, and Ars Nova.
PLAYWRIGHTS HORIZONS is a writer’s theater committed to the advancement of bold and visionary contemporary playwrights, through the development and
production of daring new work and the education of future theatermakers. Adam Greenfield has served as Artistic Director since 2020; Casey York became Managing Director in 2024. In a city rich with cultural offerings, Playwrights Horizons’ 53-yearold mission is unique among theaters of its size; the organization has distinguished itself by a steadfast commitment to centering the voice of the playwright. It’s a mission that is always timely, and one that’s necessary in the ongoing evolution of theater in this country. By expanding the U.S. theater canon with a wider range of voices, Playwrights Horizons aims to be a home for the exploration of playwriting and an anti-racist center of curiosity, dialogue, and artistic risk.
Playwrights Horizons Staff
OPENING NIGHT: SEPTEMBER 29, 2024
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ....... ADAM GREENFIELD
MANAGING DIRECTOR .............. CASEY YORK
GENERAL MANAGER ........... CAROL FISHMAN
Associate General Manager .......................Noah Silva
Company Manager Noa Saunders
ARTISTIC STAFF
ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC
DIRECTOR ...................... NATASHA SINHA
Literary Director Lizzie Stern
Director of Artistic Development....Karl Baker Olson
Artistic Assistant ......................................Emily Zhou
Artistic Fellow Olivia O’Connor
Script Readers ....................Noah Ezell, Fiona Selmi, James La Bella, Philip Kenner, Alex Oleksy
CASTING DIRECTORS .... ALAINE ALLDAFFER, LISA DONADIO
Con Edison Casting Fellow..................Kirina Petkun
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT ......... BENJAMIN WEISMAN
Associate Director of Development.... Susan Ferziger
Individual Giving Manager......... Madeline Clouston
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING ........................ JORDAN BEST
Marketing Manager ................................... Libby Carr
Manager of Sales............................ Brittany Kressler
Assistant Box Office Manager .........Michelle Dastur
Box Office Associates Gabrielle Lavoie, Kyr Siegel
Marketing Fellow .................................. Kara Hadden
Digital Strategy Consultant ................... Alison Koch
Accessibility Coordinator Martha Bennett
GENERAL PRESS REPRESENTATIVE ............... BLAKE ZIDELL & ASSOCIATES
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE ............. YI-CHEN LAI
Senior Finance Manager Suzen Bria
Accounting Associate.................. Angelica Gallardo
DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES ............... LAUREN BURCHERI
Administrative and Office Coordinator ...................... Derresha Webb
DIRECTOR OF EQUITY & INCLUSION .................. HECTOR RIVERA
Community Engagement Assistant ...Sydney Kurland
Community Engagement Coordinator Ky Dates
PRODUCTION STAFF
PRODUCTION MANAGER ............JAY JANICKI
Technical Director Andrew Riedemann
Assistant Technical Director .............Justus Herrera
Costume Shop Manager .................. Michael Graller
Props Supervisor......................................Matt Carlin
Production Coordinator Carol Almonte
Building Manager ........................... Gustavo Naranjo
Stage Management Fellows ..................... Molly Pair, Mackenzie Seewagen
ARTISTIC ADVISORY COUNCIL
Daniel Aukin, Sivan Battat, Alana Raquel Bowers, Catherine Coray, Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas, Madeleine George, Christine Toy Johnson, Francis Jue, Jenny Koons, Todd London, David Mendizábal, Deepa Purohit, Heather Raffo, Amanda Spooner, Awoye Timpo, Jason Veasey
COMMISSIONED ARTISTS
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation/Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Commissions
David Adjmi, Dave Harris, Lucas Hnath, Deborah Stein
Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust Commissions
Kate Attwell, Christopher Chen, Heather Christian, Mia Chung
Kate and Seymour Weingarten Commissions
César Alvarez, Kate Cortesi, Emily Feldman, Dylan Guerra, Ianne Fields Stewart Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Program for Commissioning Women in the Performing Arts
Sheila Callaghan, Danai Gurira, Aleshea Harris, Sarah Mantell, Antoinette Nwandu Amal Commission
Mona Mansour
Jody Falco and Jeffrey Steinman Commissions for Emerging Playwrights
Brittany K. Allen; John J. Caswell, Jr.; Julia Izumi; Vera Starbard (Tlingit/Dena’ina)
M.E.W. Commissions
David Adjmi
Peter Shaffer Commission
Agnes Borinsky, Jordan E. Cooper, Phillip Howze, Mara Nelson-Greenberg
Pinnacle Commission, co-commissioned with South Coast Repertory Theatre
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
RESIDENT THEATER COMPANY
Clubbed Thumb
PLAYWRIGHTS DOWNTOWN ADMINISTRATIVE
DIRECTOR ................. EVA ROSA-FERRERA
PLAYWRIGHTS HORIZONS THEATER SCHOOL
DIRECTOR ............................ NICOLE WEE
Manager of Academic Affairs ................Kenny Wang
Manager of Student Productions ......Leslie N. Ivery
Production Coordinator .................. Ryan Courtney
FACULTY LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE
Area Head, Acting.......................... Jedadiah Schultz
Area Head, Playwrighting ..................... Max Reuben
Lead Seminar Teacher ....................... Emily Hartford
Marika Kent, Atticus Orsborn, Dina Vovsi
PLAYWRIGHTS REHEARSAL STUDIOS
Client Services Manager ..................James Wyrwicz
Lead Technical Supervisor .............. Liam D. O’Brien
Studio Operations Associate ................. Angel Rivas
Studio Associates Whitney Andrews, Anjali Cornish, Kevin Kong, Rebecca McCray, Lane Pigford, Choice Plasencia, Adante Power, Rebecca Samuelson, Destini Stewart
SPECIAL SERVICES
Legal Counsel ................................. Farber Law, LLC; Andrew Farber, Esq
Communications Consultant..... Ted Stephens III / The Numad Group, Brendan Whipple, Tony Cotte
Accountants .....................Lutz & Carr/Shari Ferrara
Insurance ........................... Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. of New York, Inc./AliceFay Prine
Architect Mitchell Kurtz Architect, PC
Telephone Services RingCentral
Computer Systems Lansend/Ashwin Pai
Website Design Made Media
CRM Software .............................. Tessitura Network
Closed Captioning ........................................ GalaPro
Digital Advertising .............. Allied Global Marketing Telemarketing .................................................SMART,
Strategic Marketing for the Arts
Custodial Services ...........Impressive Cleaning Inc.
Concessions ................................. Sweet Hospitality
Security Services .............. Elite Investigations, LLC
Accessibility Assistants.................... Ruby Locklear, Erin Rosenfeld
Relaxed Performance Consultant ......... Becca Yuré
Audio Describer and Touch Tour Consultant................ Andrea Miskow
ASL-Interpretation Consultant............... SignNexus
STAFF FOR MAGNIFICENT BIRD / BOOK OF TRAVELERS
Company Manager ............................. Noa Saunders
Production Stage Manager Elizabeth Emanuel
Stage Management Fellow Molly Pair
Associate Lighting Designer Matt Lazarus
Scenic Charge ........................ Alexandra Kowalczyk
Wardrobe............................................ Sydney Howell
Carpenters ................... Ryan LoPresti, Josh Morgan
Props Artisans ......................Sean Frank, Ali Mark
Production Electrician .......................James Deng
Assistant Production Electricians.... Peter Lopez, Caelyn Speicher
Electricians................ Will Keener, Quentin Kurtz, Jon Naranjo, Tony Thorn, Vincent Randazzo
Lighting Programmer Steven Johnson
Light Board Operator Jon Naranjo
Audio Head ........................................... Ross Monroe
Sound Board Operator ..................Olivia Cole-Berry
Audio Crew......................................... Colten Langfitt
Artwork Design ....................................... Jordan Best
House Managers ............ Ashley Burton, Ryan Juda, Jodie Liebowitz, Aingea Venuto
AUTHOR’S THANKS
Emma Tepfer, Joseph Lorge, Tony Berg, Blake Mills, Bob Hurwitz, David Bither, Daniel Fish, Seth Bockley, Henry Stram, Kristy Edmunds, Joe Melillo, Laura Evans, Aaron Shackelford, Elizabeth Duffell, Michelle Witt, John Zion, MASS MoCA, Vera & Agnes
SPECIAL THANKS
Abigail Holland, Jeanna Phillips, Keilly McQuail, Ryann Weir, Ben Izzo, Michael Barringer
CREDITS
The set was built in the Playwrights Horizons Scenery Shop.
SPECIAL FUNDING
Season productions are supported, in part, by the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Rea Charitable Trust, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
WARNING: The photographing or sound recording of any performance or the possession of any device for such photographing or sound recording inside this theater, without the written permission of the management, is prohibited by law. Violators may be punished by ejection and violations may render the offender liable for money damages. FIRE NOTICE: The exit indicated by a red light and sign nearest to the seat you occupy is the shortest route to the street. In the event of fire or other emergency please do not run – WALK TO THAT EXIT. Thoughtless persons annoy patrons and endanger the safety of others by lighting matches or smoking in prohibited areas during the performances and intermissions. This violates a city ordinance and is punishable by law. FIRE COMMISSIONER
The actors and stage managers employed in this production are members of actors’ equity association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. The Director is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 is the union representing scenic, costume, lighting, sound and projection designers in Live Performance.
Will Butler
Stereophonic
2024 Tony Award
“The most exciting place in the country for new playwriting.”
Deadline
PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS
Michael R. Jackson
A Strange Loop
2022 Tony Award
2020 Obie, Lortel, Drama Desk awards
Annie Baker
The Flick
2013 Obie Award
Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
Bruce Norris
Clybourne Park
2012 Tony Award
Doug Wright
I Am My Own Wife
2004 Tony Award
Stephen Sondheim
& James Lapine
Sunday in the Park with George
Wendy Wasserstein
The Heidi Chronicles
1989 Tony Award
Alfred Uhry
Driving Miss Daisy
NOTABLE PRODUCTIONS
David Adjmi
Stereophonic
2024 Tony Award
Milo Cramer
School Pictures
John J. Caswell, Jr. Wet Brain
Bruce Norris
Downstate
Drama Critics’ Circle Circle Award
2024 Obie Award
Mia Chung
Catch as Catch Can
Will Arbery
Corsicana
Heroes of the Fourth Turning
2020 Pulitzer Prize finalist
Sanaz Toossi
Wish You Were Here
Sylvia Khoury
Selling Kabul
2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist
Jaclyn Backhaus
Wives, Men On Boats
Tori Sampson
If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a Muhfucka
Larissa FastHorse
The Thanksgiving Play
Craig Lucas
I Was Most Alive with You
Dan LeFranc
Rancho Viejo, The Big Meal
Max Posner
The Treasurer
Adam Bock
A Life, A Small Fire
Lucas Hnath
The Thin Place,
The Christians
2015 Kesselring Prize
2016 Obie Award
Robert O’Hara
Bootycandy
2015 Obie Award
David Adjmi
Jordan Harrison
Log Cabin,
Marjorie Prime
Maple and Vine
2015 Pulitzer finalist
Taylor Mac Hir
Heidi Schreck Grand Concourse
Anne Washburn
Mr. Burns, a post-electric play
Madeleine George
The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence
2014 Pulitzer finalist
Richard Greenberg, Scott Frankel, & Michael Korie Far From Heaven
Amy Herzog
The Great God Pan, After the Revolution
Samuel D. Hunter
The Whale
2013 Lortel Award
Gina Gionfriddo
Rapture, Blister, Burn
2013 Pulitzer finalist
Lisa D’Amour
Detroit
2011 Pulitzer finalist
2013 Obie Award
Kirsten Greenidge
Milk Like Sugar
2012 Obie Award
Annie Baker
Circle Mirror Transformation
2010 Obie Award
Melissa James Gibson
This
Doug Wright, Scott Frankel, & Michael Korie
Grey Gardens
2006 OCC Award
Lynn Nottage
Fabulation
2005 Obie Award
David Greenspan
Go Back to Where You Are,
She Stoops to Comedy
2003 Obie Award
Richard Nelson & Shaun Davey
James Joyce’s The Dead
2000 Tony Award, Lortel Award, and Drama Critics’ Circle Award
Richard Nelson
Goodnight Children Everywhere
Kia Corthron Breath, Boom
Kenneth Lonergan Lobby Hero
Kirsten Childs
Bella: An American Tall Tale 2017 Audelco Award
The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin
2000 Obie Award
Christopher Durang
Miss Witherspoon
2006 Pulitzer finalist, Betty’s Summer Vacation
1999 Obie Award, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You
1982 Obie Award
A.R. Gurney
The Dining Room, Later Life
Jon Robin Baitz
The Substance of Fire
Jeanine Tesori & Brian Crawley
Violet
1997 Obie Award, Lortel Award, and Drama Critics’ Circle Award
Adam Guettel & Tina
Landau
Floyd Collins
1996 Obie Award and Lortel Award
Stephen Sondheim & John Weidman
Assassins
1991 Drama League Award
William Finn
March of the Falsettos Falsettoland
Clare Barron
Dance Nation
2017 Susan Smith
Blackburn Prize
2019 Pulitzer Prize finalist
Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine Sunday in the Park with George 1985 Pulitzer Prize
Michael R. Jackson
A Strange Loop
2020 Pulitzer Prize
2022 Tony Award
Bruce Norris
Clybourne Park
2011 Pulitzer Prize
2012 Tony Award
Photos of Dance Nation and A Strange Loop by Joan Marcus. Sunday in the Park… by Gerry Goodstein. Stereophonic by Chelcie Parry.
Playwrights Horizons Family of Donors
Board of Trustees
Sam Gonzalez Chairman Retired Corporate Executive
Playwrights Horizons is a writer’s theater dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. The theater offers careerlong advocacy and artistic and technical resources to artists. As an audience member, you are an important part of our mission and of our proud 53-year tradition. We would like to thank all of the individuals and institutions in both the public and private sectors whose donations help to sustain our annual programs and productions. For more information about making a donation, visit phnyc.org/give.
Mark Birkhead Treasurer Managing Director, JPMorgan Chase
André Bishop Artistic Director, Lincoln Center Theater
Evan Coles Director and Producer
Bryce L. Friedman Partner, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Ethan Geto Principal, Geto & de Milly, Inc.
Fell Gray Head of Brand and Creative, Arizent
Adam Greenfield Artistic Director, Playwrights Horizons
Kelly G. Griffin Head of Creative and Content Strategy, Warner Music Group Film and TV
Eric M. Gural
Co-Chief Executive Officer, GFP Real Estate
Robert W. Jones Co-Founder, Antares Technologies
Larissa FastHorse Vice Chairman Writer
Jill Crovitz Secretary Principal, Crovitz Consulting
Shveta Kakar Partner, Fox Rothschild
Katrina E. McCann Attorney, Proskauer Rose LLP
Juliet Moser
Literary and Theatrical Enthusiast
Robert Moss Founder, Playwrights Horizons
Mark Musico Partner, Susman Godfrey LLP
Mitra O’Neill Partner, Walden Macht & Haran LLP
Alan Poul
Executive Producer/Director, Boku Films
John Rose
Senior Advisor and Senior Partner Emeritus, Boston Consulting Group
Nick Russo Vice President of Sales Marketing, Raptive
Alex Levy Vice Chairman President, A.H. Levy & Co.
Judith O. Rubin Board Chair Emeritus
Tim Sanford Former Artistic Director, Playwrights Horizons
Dana M. Seshens Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Candice Cook Simmons Chief Strategy Officer, Candarah Media
Sean Walsh Media & Entertainment Executive
Steven Weinstock President & CEO, Truly Original
Rachel Wilder Freelance Writer
Casey York Managing Director, Playwrights Horizons
Jide Zeitlin
Institutional Support
Institutional supporters of Playwrights Horizons receive many benefits, such as complimentary tickets, discounts for their employees, and public recognition. For more information about how your company can support Playwrights Horizons, please contact Susan Ferziger, Associate Director of Institutional Giving, at sferziger@phnyc.org or 212 564 1235 ×3142.
$25,000+
Birnam Oak Advisors
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Bondi Foundation
Centerview Partners
Charina Foundation
Citi
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation
Howard Gilman Foundation
Goldman Sachs
Jerome L. Greene Foundation Fund in The New York Community Trust
The Heyday Foundation
The Marc Haas Foundation
Laurents/Hatcher Foundation
Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation
Richenthal Foundation
The Scherman Foundation
Sir Peter Shaffer Charitable Foundation
The Shubert Foundation
The SHS Foundation
The Spingold Foundation
Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust
Stereophonic Live on Broadway
Tiger Baron Foundation
Tishman Speyer
Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation
Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation
$10,000–$24,999
Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation
The Carter Fund
Con Edison
Frederic R. Coudert Foundation
LM Foundation
Marta Heflin Foundation
The Hyde and Watson Foundation
Carl Jacobs Foundation
Jerome Foundation
Ralph and Ricky Lauren Family Foundation
A.H. Levy & Co.
JP Morgan Chase Foundation
Terrence McNally Foundation
Morgan Stanley
Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater
Proskauer
The Rea Charitable Trust
S&P Global
Adolph and Ruth Schnurmacher Foundation
Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation
The Tobin Theatre Arts Fund
Travelers
Ruthmary S. Westfall Foundation
Wilke Family Foundation
$2,500–$9,999
ATG Entertainment
The Theodore H. Barth Foundation, Inc.
The Betsy and Alan Cohn Foundation, Inc.
Consigli Construction Co., Inc.
The Barbara Bell Cumming Charitable Trust
Nancy Friday Foundation
Green Curtain Productions
Bertha and Isaac Liberman Foundation
The Liman Foundation
Lucille Lortel Foundation
Marvel
The New York Community Trust
NYSCA/TDF TAP Plus PricewaterhouseCoopers
Government Support
National Endowment for the Arts
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Disability Forward Fund
New York City Council at the request of Speaker Adrienne Adams and Council Members Erik Bottcher and Carlina Rivera
New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor
Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature
Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
The Jerome Robbins Foundation
The Rosenthal Family Foundation/Nancy Stephens and Rick Rosenthal
Schlosstein-Hartley Family Foundation
Friedman Family Foundation
Taconic Capital Advisors L.P.
$500–$2,499
Actors’ Equity Foundation
Lutz & Carr CPAs LLP
Rodgers and Hammerstein Foundation
William Morris Endeavor
Playwrights Horizons is a recipient of support from The Leading National Theatres Program, a joint initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Artistic Director’s Circle
The Playwrights Horizons Artistic Director’s Circle includes our most dedicated individual donors who have committed to gifts of $10,000 or more each year for a three-year period. The Artistic Director’s Circle joins with the Playwrights Horizons Board of Trustees in supporting the vision of Artistic Director Adam Greenfield. Members of the Artistic Director’s Circle are considered loyal partners in developing and producing new plays by some of the most adventurous and talented artists working in theater today. For more information about the personalized benefits and access available for the Artistic Director’s Circle, please contact Benjamin Weisman, Development Director, at bweisman@phnyc.org or 212 564 1235 ×3145.
Anonymous
Mark & Lillian Banchik
Svante Bergström
Harris Family Foundation
Mark Gordon
Jarrett & Maritess Lilien
Chien Cho Liu
Dorinda J. Oliver
Individual Support
Barbara Raho
Nancy & Roger L. Strong, Jr. Seymour & Kathleen Weingarten
Cathy & Stephen Weinroth
Individual supporters of Playwrights Horizons receive exclusive benefits ranging from complimentary tickets to intimate dinners and cocktail parties with artists, staff, and Board members. For more information about how you can support Playwrights Horizons, please contact Benjamin Weisman, Development Director, at bweisman@phnyc.org or 212 564 1235 ×3145.
$25,000+
Anonymous (3)
Salman and Vienn Al-Rashid
Roger Altman & Jurate Kazickas
Angela M. Crossman & Bryce L. Friedman
Mark Birkhead
Jill & Chuck Crovitz
The Darnell-Moser Charitable Fund
Katherine Farley & Jerry I. Speyer
Mr. Mark T. Gallogly and Ms. Elizabeth B. Strickler
Eric & Nancy Gural
A.R. Gurney
Tom Healy & Fred P. Hochberg
Alex Levy
Richard & Ronay Menschel
Mark Musico
Mitra O’Neill
Vinnie & Loretta O’Toole
Alan Paul
Alan Poul
James & Gretchen Rubin
Judith O. & Robert E. Rubin
Dan Safin
Dana Seshens
Mr. & Mrs. George Spelvin
Nancy & Roger L. Strong, Jr.
Wendy Vanden Heuvel
Steven Weinstock
$10,000–$24,999
Seth Ard
David Caplan & Karen Wagner
Joan Cohen
Elizabeth Gigli
Laurie Goldberger & Leslie Kogod
Sam Gonzalez
Fell & Charles Gray
Laniece Gatlin
Glenn Dublin
Tara & Clifford Harris
Robert W. Jones
Lisa Kentgen
Judith & Douglas Krupp
Erin Laber
Gina Maria Leonetti
Berwin London
Stephen & Carolyn McCandless
Katrina McCann
Ann M. Stack
Sue & Edgar Wachenheim Foundation
Tali and Boaz Weinstein Philanthropic Fund
The Wilder Family
Bruce Nathan Wilpon
$5,000–$9,999
James Alefantis
Anonymous
Ruth & Robi Blumenstein
Matt Bosch
Angela and Jacob Buchdahl
Charles Cahn
Rob Cordell
Consigli Construction
Christopher & Michelle DeLong
David desJardins
Cheryl & Blair Effron
Jane M. & Howard D. Epstein
Larissa FastHorse
Richard Feiner & Annette Stover
Lori & Edward Forstein
Friedman Family Foundation
Michael Froman & Nancy Goodman
James Gleick & Cynthia Crossen
Jane Hartley & Ralph Schlosstein
Risa Heller
Maxine Isaacs
Rory Jones
David I. Karabell & Paula A. Moss
Lee Ann Laimbeer
Nina B. Matis
Kathleen O’Grady
John Orberg
Carole Pesner
Shawn Rabin
Nancy Roistacher & Wayne P. Merkelson
Billy Rosen
Dr. Robert A. Press
Lisa and Jonathan Pruzan
Matt Schneider & Priyanka Garg
Jennifer Scully & Rick Lerner
Marisa Sechrest
Joanne & Daniel C. Smith
Arun Subramanian
Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
$3,000–$4,999
Elaine S. Bernstein
John & Jill G. Bishop
Ann L. & Lawrence Buttenwieser
Catherine Carmody
Kim & Stan Corfman
Elaine Crowley & John Kuehn
Robert W. Davenport
Hazel & Russel Fershleiser
Tony & Jane Ford-Hutchinson
Christopher & Cathy Lawrence
Linda & Paul Lee
Vicki Gold Levi
Seth London
Jill Hunter Matichak
Scott C. McDonald
Neal Manne & Nancy McGregor
Niclas Nagler & David Alberto Alvarez
Karen & Charles Schader
Lois Smith
$1,800–$2,999
Anonymous
Andrew D. Austin & Michael R. Sonberg
Maurice Bensmihen
William & Lori Bernstein
Caryn & Jonathan Bilzin
André Bishop
Maggie & Don Buchwald
Helaine & Paul Cantor
Mike Castellon
Jonathan L. Cohen
Ruth Cohen and Robert Usdin
Lynn & John Collins
Suzan & Fred Ehrman
Matthew Gabbard
Robert Gender
James W. & Virginia M. Giddens
Sally Huxley
Philip M. Jelley, Jr.
Amy L. Katz & Irving Scher
Marian & Robert Klein
Michael Kramer & Christine Harper
Patty Laxton & Fred Kaufman
Shveta Kurtz
Douglas Lancet
James Lapine & Sarah Kernochan
Daniel R. Levites
Bruce Lovett
Gina MacArthur
Marlene Marko & Loren Skeist
Diane L. Max
Leni & Peter May
Victoria Meakin
James & Terri Muren
Robert O’Hara
Lisa Orberg
Jamie & Daniel Ordower
Edward P. Osborne
Ellen Ozur & Stuart Brown
Michael & Gabrielle Palitz
PRG
Jessica Resler
Elizabeth Rose
Dawn Rosso
Barbara Siegler
Natalie Scott
Eileen Silvers & Rick Bronstein
Laurie Smith
Craig & Rebecca Waldman
David Wertheimer & Alice Fricke
Jennifer & Benjamin Whitfield
Lynne Whitman & Dan Solender
$1,000–$1,799
Anonymous (4)
Unyi Agba
Julia Bator
Eric Bennett
Al Berr
Susan M. Borozan
Brian Carney
Linda & Arthur Carter
Betty Ann Cook
Candice Cook Simmons
Liz Fallon Culp
Connie & Yves de Balmann
Anthony Edwards
Mariana Elder
The Nora Ephron and Nicholas Pileggi Foundation
Laura Fant
Robert Fleischer
Patricia Gannon-Lovier & Lester Lovier
Jill A. Garland & Andy Loose
Ethan Geto & Michele de Milly
Dr. & Mrs. Rob & Audrey Greenfield
Adam Greenfield & Jordan Harrison
Bob Hall
David Harrison
Nancy Heller & Holly Gewandter
Jill Leslie Goldman
William H. Hill
Katherine Humpstone & Jeremy Koch
Kelly Fowler Hunter
Helaine Kaplan
Robert J. Katz
Linda R. Kidani
Bret Kobler
Amy B. McIntosh & Jeffrey Toobin
Lowell & Sandra Mintz
Herbert A. Morey
Rosemary Newman
Tom O’Connor
Carol Ostrow
Florence Quinn
Lori & Lee Parks
Susan & Richard Pasternak
Jim Provost
Leslie & Eileen Quick
Andrea Rattner
Dr. S. Abraham Ravid
Richard Ravitch & Kathleen Doyle
Meredith Schade
Joshua Schulteis
Gordon Shearer
Harry Simmons III
Ian Slater
Joe Tippett
Maria Vecchiotti
Hena Vora
Susan Wallace
Nancy Weinstock
Charles White
Ronald Whittier Family Foundation
Kevin W. Williams
$500-$999
Anonymous (3)
Rebecca Allan & Laura Kaminsky
Liz Armstrong
Adrian Bailey
Monica Bernheim
Aimée Brown Price
Susan Burden
Hector Camacho
Marc Chouchani & Lan Nguyen
Betsy Cohen
Michael Cyril Creighton
Jeff & Nancy Davis
Jody Falco & Jeffrey Steinman
Anton Faron
Peter Filiaci
Mary Beth Forshaw
Sandra Garner
Ross Gillman
R.K. Greene
Cathleen M. Healy
Cristy Hill & Richard Mizer
Lynn E. Hopkins
Kathy Inch & Bonnie Jansen
Jessica Jennison
Thomas Kessler
Courtney Lee-Mitchell
John A. & Betty Levin
Anne Lynch
Jane Macan
Robert S Macdonald
Joann & Matthew McGrath
Ann Miner
Evangeline Morphos
Saadiya Mutawakil
Lauren Newman
Beth Nathanson
Asha & DV Nayak
Joshua Safran & Calderón
Camacho Safran
Tim Shan
Andrew W. Siegel
Robert H. Sinclair
Cory Michael Smith
Joyce Victor
Alice Wang
Deborah & Kenneth Whitmore
Suzanne Wilcox and Nancy Seus
Carmen Rita Wong Ulrich
Kofi Yankey
Richard Zuckerman
Elisa Zuritsky
Generation PH
Generation PH is a community of theatergoers ages 45 and under who attend Playwrights Horizons productions; mingle with artists, artistic staff, and our Board of Trustees at exclusive parties and receptions; and see theater in a new way by talking to writers about the development of their plays. Plus, a portion of each membership is a tax-deductible contribution that directly supports these amazing artists and their new work. For more information, go to phnyc.org/genph
LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE
Katrina E. McCann, Co-Chair
Nick Russo, Co-Chair
BEST FRIEND ($700+)
Frank & Nicole Azzopardi
Anirudh Balan
Richard Berg
Eugene Brodach
Lauren DeGeorge
Emily Erstling
Max Evans
Betsy & Andrew Fippinger
Taena Kim
Sammy Lopez
Deborah McCandless
Katrina E. McCann
Courtney J. Mitchell
Marc Pickard
Nicholas P. Russo
Jonathan & Cochleen Sands
Carlo Steinman
Aleksandra Szczepanowska & Gordon Shearer
Carol & Robert Walport
Alexandra C. Wood
Jason Wu
DEVOTED FRIEND ($400–$699)
Louis Blachman
Matt Freeman & Adam Rosen
Naoki Sasamoto & Trevor Kokal
Eugene Brodach
Betsy Fippinger
Carlo Steinman
Aleksandra Szczepanowska
GOOD FRIEND ($200–$399)
Anonymous
Henri Benhaim
Madeline Cook
Allison Curran & Michael Hilkin
Brett East
Christopher Fox
Deborah Grant & Serge Tanjga
Mac Ingram
Cara Kantrowitz
Robert Laqui
Noa Naaman
Jessie Pitluk & Jacob Trussell
Andrew Rasmussen
Jenna Ready
David Stuckey
Martin Woodard
Danielle Zarbin & Kate Bussert
NEW FRIEND ($100–$199)
Anonymous
Andrew Alkon
Mary Angelo
Rudy Bamenga
Jonah Baum
Paige Blansfield
Qianna Brooks
Adam Chasen
Edward & Emily Delman
Tyler Forni
Joe Gery
Matching Gifts
Carol Walport
Robert Walport
Jason Wu
Elizabeth Wu
Daniel Hoppers
Samantha Kamelhar
Mitchell Krieger
Sylvie Kuyisenga
Anthony M. Laura
Jocelin Lee
Cara Lonergan
Matt Loomis
Kate Napalkova
Laura Napoli
Gina Napolitano
Eliana Oliva
Achiro Olwoch
John O’Malley
Amy Pan
Jacob Romanoski
Amy Rosenbaum
Noah Rosenblum
Richard Semegram
Leah Shapiro
Duvi Stahler
Gregory Stern
Regina Stuzin
Cynthia J. Tong
Yash Varma
John Vaszari
Ariel Woodiwiss
Matthew Wright
Kenneth Ross Yelsey
Laura Zlatos
Many companies have matching gift programs that enable our donors to double their donations. Playwrights Horizons thanks these companies for matching the gifts of their employees and supporting our theater. For more information about matching gifts, please contact Susan Ferziger, Associate Director of Institutional Giving, at sferziger@phnyc.org or 212 564 1235 ×3142.
Bank of America
Benevity Fund
Deutsche Bank
Goldman Sachs Gives
JP Morgan Chase Foundation
The New York Community Trust
United Way of Greater New Haven, Inc.
Legacy Circle
Playwrights Horizons gratefully acknowledges those who have chosen to become a member of our Legacy Circle by including a Charitable Bequest for Playwrights Horizons in their estate plans through wills, retirement accounts, life insurance ownerships, and real estate. Members of this group receive invitations to exclusive events and insider information on organizational goals and plans To learn more, or to join, please contact Benjamin Weisman, Director of Development, at bweisman@phnyc.org.
Caroline Aquino
Joan B. Cohen
Ruth Cohen
Liz Fallon Culp
Ann B. Dickinson
Howard Epstein
Jane Epstein
Susan Ferziger
Jill Garland
Sam Gonzalez
Barbara Kreisberg
Stu Kreisberg
Leslie Marcus
FreeWill
Joseph Andrew Moskal
Enid Nemy
Dmitri Nesterenko
William Louis Nist
Dorinda J. Oliver
Courtney Patterson
Monroe Robertson
Linda Rothstein
Wendi Royal
Judith O. Rubin
Robert E. Rubin
Mikael Salovaara
James Schied
Carole Schwartz
Mal Schwartz
Louise Schwarz
Georgina Spelvin
Briel Lauren Steinberg
The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation
Emily Tworek
Madeline Virbasius
Benjamin Weisman
Rachel Wilder
Amy Hoi Yan Yuan
Playwrights Horizons has partnered with FreeWill to offer a free, legal will service. In less than 20 minutes, you can write or update your legal will, for free. Secure your future and support the next generation of new voices in the American theater. Visit www.freewill.com/playwrightshorizons to learn more. Include a bequest to Playwrights Horizons and join the Legacy Circle today.
