Cutting-Edge Theater at Bay Street
Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor will present its second New Works Festival with free readings of plays in development, beginning tomorrow at 7 p.m. with “A Delicate Ship” by Anna Ziegler. “The Green Heart” by Charles Busch and Rusty Magee will be presented on Saturday at 3 p.m., and Julia Brownell’s “Plane Play” will happen Sunday afternoon at 2.
A panel discussion moderated by Ken Davenport, a Tony Award-winning producer, will feature the creators of “The Green Heart,” who will discuss the process of developing new musicals and reshaping older ones. That program will take place Saturday at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a cocktail reception to meet the writers and the other artists. Tickets are $10.
Scott Schwartz, the theater’s artistic director, conceived the festival last spring as a way to bring cutting-edge theater to the East End while giving playwrights a chance to hear their works in progress in front of an audience. This year’s festival will focus on the theme of “rediscovery,” as it includes two works that have had initial productions but are still being developed and revised.
Mr. Schwartz and Will Pomerantz, the associate artistic director, selected the plays, which came to them in various ways. “We notified the major literary agents and agencies in New York that we were soliciting submissions for this festival,” said Mr. Schwartz, “and, in fact, one of the plays, ‘Plane Play,’ came through a literary agent.”
The two read scripts throughout the year, both for the New Works Festival and for Bay Street to develop and possibly produce in the future. “ ‘A Delicate Ship’ came from an actor who knew about the project and knew the playwright was continuing to work on it. ‘The Green Heart’ was recommended by a director, Carl Andres, whom we’ve worked with at Bay Street on a number of productions.”
“I’m very pleased with the program,” Mr. Schwartz said. “All three plays have very strong, distinctive voices, and each is funny in its own way. They’re quirky, and they have serious drama at their core, but they are all comedic, which, after the long winter, is kind of nice.”
“A Delicate Ship” premiered in March 2014 at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. At its heart is a love triangle involving Sarah and Sam, who are new lovers discovering each other, and Nate, Sarah’s best friend since childhood, who arrives on her doorstep unexpectedly.
Ms. Ziegler’s plays have been produced at theaters around the country and abroad, and she has received commissions from the Manhattan Theatre Club, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and the Ensemble Studio Theatre, among others. Her awards include the STAGE Award, the Weissberger Award, the Edgerton New Play Prize, and the Douglas T. Ward Playwriting Prize.
A dark, comic musical, “The Green Heart” is based on a short story by Jack Ritchie and was originally presented in the late 1990s. The current version features a revised libretto by Mr. Busch and previously unheard music and lyrics by the late Mr. Magee.
The musical revolves around an egotistical millionaire who, having discovered that he has squandered his inheritance, plots with his mistress to marry an older, wealthy woman who will unwittingly support them both. Once hitched, however, he discovers he is falling in love with his wife. Scheming and double-crossing figure prominently in the ingenious plot.
Mr. Busch is an actor, playwright, and female impersonator whose plays include “Vampire Lesbians of Sodom” and “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife.” In 2003 he received a Drama Desk lifetime achievement award as both performer and playwright.
A composer-lyricist, actor, and comedian, Mr. Magee won a New York Outer Critics’ Circle award for his music and lyrics for Moliere’s “Scapin” and wrote the music and lyrics for the American Repertory Theatre’s “Ubu Rock.” His life was cut short by colon cancer at the age of 47.
“Plane Play” will have its first public reading as part of the New Works Festival. When his wife runs off with her yoga instructor, Josh finds himself a single father with a newborn and a 17-year-old stepson. His narcissistic, alcoholic mother flies into town determined to repair her damaged relationship with her son with a blast of her riotous sense of humor and unending cheer.
Ms. Brownell’s plays have been performed Off Broadway at the Duke and at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. The Public Theater, Minneapolis Playwrights’ Center, and the Actors Theatre of Louisville have hosted readings and workshops of her work. She has also written for television.