Benjamin Benne’s Wave After Wave receives its world premiere production at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

In this expansive journey through two intertwined lives, Sean and Nathanael, cousins born just weeks apart, reconnect on the same beach each year as they grow from building sandcastles to navigating the tides of adulthood. They swim in the ocean, eat carne asada, and witness their paths, their bodies, and the natural world changing while time rolls forward. Spanning a century in the ten-billion-year lifespan of the planet with breathtakingly poetic theatrical imagination, Wave After Wave is both an exploration of human and ecological transformation and the story of a tender, complicated bond between men.

2007 NHP Alum Anna Ziegler’s play Antigone (This Play I Read in High School) will receive its world premiere production at The Public Theater in New York City.

A riveting take on Sophocles’ classic, ANTIGONE (THIS PLAY I READ IN HIGH SCHOOL) reimagines the story of Oedipus’ daughter Antigone through a bold new lens. Written by award-winning playwright Anna Ziegler, this lyrical epic follows a fiercely independent young woman determined to control her own body in a kingdom ruled by archaic laws that regulate women’s autonomy. Incisively witty and breathtakingly intelligent, ANTIGONE (THIS PLAY I READ IN HIGH SCHOOL) paints a world that is both modern and ancient; a world of lost leaders, hapless cops, and one very righteous daughter on an all-night bender. Drama Desk Award nominee Tyne Rafaeli directs this daring new work about the timeless quest to find your voice. 

Keiko Green’s Young Dragon: A Bruce Lee Story receives its world premiere production at Seattle Children’s Theatre.

Before he was a legend, Bruce Lee was just a young man trying to figure it all out— in Seattle. This action-packed, soul-searching story follows the Young Dragon as he navigates a new country and finds his voice. Through movement, magic, and heart, we meet the human behind the icon—flawed, fierce, and full of possibility. Watch as Lee learns to clear his brain by mimicking the white noise of water and begins fusing martial arts with philosophy. From street fights in Hong Kong to teaching self-defense and chasing big dreams, Bruce’s journey reminds us that finding your way means first figuring out who you are. See how Seattle shaped him into a flexible, fluid, and flowing master—and how he reshaped the world.

In 2024, The New Harmony Project and Indianapolis Shakespeare Company partnered to offer a workshop and reading of Lavina Jadhwani’s new play Ado at the Residency in New Harmony. In 2026, Indy Shakes will present the world premiere of the play!

In Ado, Hero is falsely accused of infidelity by her fiance, publicly shamed by her father, and left at the altar on her wedding day. And just when she thinks it can't get worse, her trusted friend Margaret reveals her own role in the events. Will Hero forgive Margaret, and can she even consider forgiving the men who wronged her? And what is this contract of marriage all about, anyway? Inspired by Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, this new comedy offers a fresh take on an old tale.

NHP’s Resident Dramaturg Phaedra Michelle Scott is also an accomplished playwright. Her play Plantation Black premieres at InterAct Theatre Company this winter.

Two centuries after a murky agreement binds a Civil War era plantation family to the enslaved people working the land, the white and Black Prioleau descendants must finally determine who is the rightful heir.

A cast of six actors play both the Civil War and present-day characters, and each night the play begins at a different point in the timeline when a cast member spins a drum bearing the names of all the scenes in the play.

Plantation Black’s innovative structure evokes the way history repeats itself, and the (sometimes) random ways we learn about our national and personal history.

The play has six potential starting points. About 20 minutes before each performance, they will pull a ball from the raffle drum to see where the story will start. Audiences can return for the chance to see the play start in a different place (no guarantees!) by purchasing discounted tickets for multiple performances.

Alex Lin’s Chinese Republicans receives its world premiere production at Roundabout Theatre.

Three high-powered businesswomen meet for lunch every month to discuss their latest career triumphs. But the group is jolted when Katie, a bright-eyed 24-year-old new to the workforce, joins to navigate the world of corporate finance. As each of the women attempts to steer Katie towards what they’re certain is best, they’re forced to grapple with how much they already have and are willing to sacrifice to climb the corporate ladder.  

Shifting between sharp-tongued humor and the harsh realities of modern capitalism, this world premiere production explores themes of assimilation, intergenerational conflict, and gender politics in the workplace—all with unflinching wit and empathy. Chinese Republicans is a new play from a thrilling new American voice, and tells a truly American story.

Developed in partnership between NHP and Thrown Stone Productions, Phanésia Pharel’s new play The Waterfall receives its world premiere production in a co-prodcution between Thrown Stone and WP Theater.

I REALLY DO LOVE YOU.
I JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND YOU
Returning home to assist her mother after a hospitalization, Haitian-American Bean soon finds her confidence shaken by her mother’s idea of what her life should be. Stuck at home, with nowhere to run from her mother’s ideas of marriage, motherhood, and malady, Bean must ask, “Do you know who you want to be? And are you brave enough to own it?” The Waterfall is an intimate and aching two-hander about the generational divides around family, womanhood, and the idea of the American Dream.

NHP alum Jessica Huang’s play Mother of Exiles receives its world premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre this fall.

In 1898, on Angel Island, a pregnant Eddie Loi faces deportation amid America’s tightening immigration laws. A century later, her great-grandson Braulio, through his role in the Miami border patrol, inadvertently conjures her spirit — unleashing a witty, opinionated ancestor. By 2063, their descendants, beset by climate catastrophe, embark on a perilous oceanic journey seeking sanctuary. From detention to diaspora, Mother of Exiles follows a single family’s century-and-a-half odyssey — tracing their flight, fight, and the futures they dare imagine. Jessica Huang’s multigenerational triptych blends historical drama with supernatural encounters, weaving moments of surprising humor into a powerful portrait of belonging and resilience.

2021 and 2024 NHP alum Jordan Ramirez Puckett’s play A Driving Beat will receive the second production of its rolling world premiere at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.

A mother with a history. An adopted son who wants one. Set to the teen’s hip-hop beat, their cross-country road trip is a voyage of discovery, identity, understanding, and the depths of love. Can a white mom and a brown son find common ground in their uncommon pasts? Sometimes it’s the journey, not the destination.

NHP alum Theresa Rebeck is writing the book for Working Girl, featuring an original score by Cyndi Lauper.

Tess McGill is a Staten Island secretary with big dreams and even bigger ideas, but when her scheming boss Katharine Parker steals one, Tess decides to take matters into her own hands. With Katharine unexpectedly out of town, Tess seizes the chance to prove herself, making a bold business move that could change her life forever. With some help from her savvy friends and a charming businessman, she’s got one shot to pull it off – before the boss returns!

This sharp and hilarious adaptation of the iconic 1988 film features an exhilarating original score by the legendary Cyndi Lauper, a smart, fresh book from award-winning playwright Theresa Rebeck, and direction by Tony Award-winning Christopher Ashley.

Working Girl is the ultimate corporate Cinderella story that’s just as much about the power of friendship as it is about chasing ambition and success.

2025 NHP alum Nehemiah Luckett is writing new songs and arrangements for the Yale Rep production of Zora Neale Hurston’s Spunk, which is an unproduced adaptation of Hurston’s short story of the same name.

Written amidst the Harlem Renaissance while she was studying anthropology at Barnard, Hurston set Spunk in a small Florida town resembling her own hometown of Eatonville, one of America’s first incorporated Black townships. In Spunk, a tall, handsome stranger strolls into town looking for work. With undeniable charisma and divine musicianship, Spunk sets tongues to wagging with admiration and envy. The laws of man, the power of hoodoo, and the divinity of love all collide when he locks eyes with Evalina, already married to the local conjurer’s son.

Spunk runs Oct. 3-25.

2021 alum and Tony Award-winner Jonathan Spector’s play This Much I Know will be presented at 59E59, in a production by Theatre J.

A psychology professor's search for his missing wife launches us on a time-hopping fugue, weaving together the stories of Stalin's daughter defecting to America, the son of a white supremacist growing to doubt the beliefs he was raised with, and the secret despair of becoming an accidental killer. 

Inspired by the book Thinking, Fast and Slow by Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman about the science of decision-making, Jonathan Spector (Tony Award-winning Eureka Day) takes us on an explosively theatrical interrogation of how we make decisions, how we change our minds, and how much responsibility we bear for the things we do not control.

2025 NHP Alum Monet Hurst-Mendoza’s Torera will receive its world premiere production in a four theatre co-pro between WP Theater, The Sol Project, Long Wharf Theatre, and Latinx Playwrights Circle

Elena Maria Ramirez was born to be a torera, but it’s a rare feat for a woman in Mexico’s bullfighting scene. In order to enter the ring, she must defy society, her family, and legendary torero Don Rafael Cárdenas. Torera is a dynamic, epic family drama that swirls with the action, stakes, and intrigue of the bullfighting ring.

It’s giving…camp.

NHP alum Preston Choi’s Limp Wrist on the Lever receives a world premiere production at San Francisco’s Crowded Fire Theater.

This raucous dark comedy puts teens at the helm of a revolution. A queer trio’s escape plan from a conversion camp takes a left turn as they face off against a straight-laced counselor with an unusual sadistic streak. limp wrist on the lever questions the necessity of violence and the paradox of tolerance, with the ever-present doubt: how can you ever be sure you’ve really changed someone’s mind?

2025 NHP Alum Vaibu Mohan’s new musical, Sati: Goddess Incarnate, written with composer Zachary Catron, gets a workshop and public reading on August 16 and 17. Loosely inspired by the last recorded case of sati—widow burning—in India, Sati: Goddess Incarnate investigates how devotion can devolve to violence, how love triumphs over hardship, and how the stories we tell affect our reality.

The musical began development at the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program and was named a 2024 Eugene O'Neill National Musical Theatre Conference Semi-finalist. The show won the inaugural Songbyrd Demo Fund award, and has had two residencies with our workshop producer, Silambam Phoenix. To learn more about the show, hear demos, watch the "Garba" music video, and learn more about the team, please visit the link here.

RSVP for the reading here.

NHP Board member and Alumni writer Vichet Chum’s new play All the Little Boxes will receive a workshop at Chautauqua Theater Company from August 1-3!

That was a terrible interview…but somehow Chan landed the job. A rookie in the professional home organizing business, Chan finds an unexpected way to care for the strangers around him as they seek to flip the script on their lives. He organizes their closets and unpacks their skeletons, but all the decluttering in the world won’t relieve Chan of his own baggage. Playwright and novelist Vichet Chum unpacks identity, loneliness, and the stories of our belongings in this moving and surprisingly hilarious new play for the Marie Kondo inside us all.