NHP Alum Crystal Skillman’s award-winning play OPEN receives its off-Broadway production this summer.

A woman called The Magician appears to perform tricks, but there’s no illusion—she’s attempting the impossible: saving her partner, Jenny. OPEN is a powerful, funny, and deeply moving play about love’s ability to defy hate in magical ways. Just featured in The New Yorker's Summer Culture Preview, Megan Hill returns to the role she orginated, starring as The Magician, under the direction of Jessi D. Hill. The show’s 2019 sold-out run at The Tank earned a New York Times Critics’ Pick, with Elisabeth Vincentelli writing: “Kristen [The Magician] executes magic tricks because she is the one who needs to believe. The miracle this lovely show pulls out is that by the end, she does — and so do we.”

​Sometimes, the most powerful magic is hope. 

2023 NHP Alum Shavonne Coleman’s All Hail will receive a world premiere production at the Detroit Institute of the Arts.

Set in a modern-day Detroit high school, this reimagining of Julius Caesar follows Brutus as he crosses between surreal realities where he and his friends wrestle with loyalty, ambition, and the struggle for power. Once admired, Caesar’s growing arrogance drives his peers to conspire against him. Brutus, caught between right and wrong and the complexities of justice, faces choices that test his values and identity. Through its vibrant characters and dreamlike setting, this production explores the benefits and consequences of ambition in a way that feels fresh and thought-provoking. Featuring original music and Black Greek step, the show brings dynamic movement and rhythm to the timeless tale.

2023 NHP Alum ML Roberts’ MFA thesis production Silence/The Village, will be produced as part of the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University Carlotta Series.

It’s January 6, 2021, and an insurrection is mounting at the nation’s Capital. Meanwhile, a young Black man surprises his surrogate parents—a liberal, middle-aged white couple—as they host a retreat on their estate. Will their remote New England island be his shelter or his prison?

We’re excited for NHP alum (1998 and 2008) Regina Taylor’s world premiere of Exhibit at Curious Theatre in Denver, Colorado.

Exhibit, written and performed by Taylor, follows the riveting journey of Iris, an African-American woman looking back on her pivotal childhood experience integrating a school in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Through Iris's vivid recollections, the play unveils a sharply divided America in the midst of transformative change during the civil rights movement. Her journey, sparked by haunting memories of personal sacrifice, reveals how the echoes of past struggles for justice still resonate today, shedding light on the ongoing fight for equality.

NHP alum (2012 and 2015) George Brant’s Rust: A Story of Steel and Grit will have its world premiere production at Dobama Theatre, directed by Laura Kepley.

This is the true story of one woman’s experience in the steel industry, her struggle to find peace, and the courage she summoned to rebuild her life. What she uncovers in the belly of a Cleveland steel mill is much more than molten metal and grueling working conditions. Under the steelyard’s orange flame, she finds hope. Adapted from the memoir by Eliese Colette Goldbach.

2021 NHP Alum Iraisa Ann Reilly’s January 6: A Celebration. A Bodega Princess Remembers Tradition, Not Insurrection invites audiences to reimagine January 6th as a day of celebration, not division. Written and performed by Reilly, this interactive one-woman show, presented by Simpatico Theater, takes center stage in a workshop presentation at The Louis Bluver Theatre at The Drake from April 8 through April 27, 2025.

In the basement cafeteria of St. Nicholas School in Egg Harbor City, NJ, the Latiné community held a huge celebration every January 6th to celebrate the Feast of Los Reyes Magos. In the moments before the fiesta in 1998, eight-year-old Iraisa Ann Reilly prepares for her first ever solo.

Granddaughter of the neighborhood-famous Pepe, a cultural and social cornerstone of the community, Reilly leads us through years of Reyes Magos celebrations, sharing her family and her hometown where she grew up divided between language and culture. Will her performance that night change the course of her life forever?

NHP alum (2022, 2018, 2015, 2011, 2006, 2001) Dan O’Brien’s new play, an adaptation of The Other Jack by British author Charles Boyle, is receiving a free digital reading through the Lucille Lortel Theatre - and it’s free and accessible anywhere in the country!

A play about books, mostly . . . and bonfires, clichés, dystopias, failure, happiness, jokes, justice, privilege, publishing, rejection, self-loathing, shoplifting, and umbrellas. An older, established English writer and a young, aspiring American writer meet in London cafés to talk about books—that’s the plot. There are flirtations, arguments, spilt coffee, deaths both in life and in fiction, generational and gender and cultural conflict, rain and laughter.

2023 NHP alum Christina Pumariega comes off of an exciting workshop at the Ojai Playwrights Conference for this world premiere production of her new play, ¡VOS!

Annie returns to her estranged birthplace of Buenos Aires to undergo IVF treatments from the famed Dr. Cossi. But her motherhood journey brings to light the lives of two women lost to the Dirty War decades ago. Past and present intertwine as four women hunt down their destiny. A World Premiere debut by a powerful new voice, ¡VOS! is an exhilarating quest for justice, family, and home.

Congrats to 2021 NHP Alum Keiko Green on the world premiere of her play You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World during South Coast Rep’s Pacific Playwrights Festival.

Take your seat for a comic, irreverent celebration of life! Since Greg’s terminal diagnosis, he’s felt a deep connection to the Earth—and to save himself, he’ll need to save the planet. Viv desperately wants to savor every last minute with her husband. Meanwhile M, our emcee, searches desperately to find meaning in the chaos of their final year with Dad. A heartfelt family story and joyful theatrical event, as magical as the world itself.

NHP alum and Board Member José Cruz González’s play Under a Baseball Sky was developed at the New Harmony Project in 2018, and will have its second production at the Beck Center for the Arts in Cleveland.

From José Cruz González, author of American Mariachi, comes a new play about baseball’s deep roots in the Mexican American community. When troublemaker Teo is put to work cleaning up a vacant lot belonging to his elderly neighbor, this unlikely pair forms a bond forged in history and America’s favorite pastime. Inspired by a neighborhood in California, this new piece of vibrant theatre celebrates communities and individuals comingtogether to find hope, healing, love, and the occasional home run.

NHP Alum (2021) Jonathan Spector’s new play, Birthright, will receive a world premiere production at Miami New Drama.

It’s summer, 2006, a group of six young American Jews, fresh out of college, meet on a Birthright Israel trip and become fast friends. They have all returned from the trip with a new commitment to their Jewish identity, to Israel, and to each other. As such, they briefly occupy a totally shared sense of reality; at the last moment of the 21st century, this was still possible. In 2007, Facebook comes online, the iPhone gets released and the ability of these friends—or anyone—to exist in a shared reality begins to fray. Over the next 18 years, through to Oct 7th and beyond, we watch as this group of friends comes together and breaks apart, wrestling each in their own way with this central question: Am I living the life I am supposed to be living as a Jew in America?

Cause Play by Shavonne Coleman (2023 NHP alum) has a world premiere production at Eastern Michigan University in April.

A world premiere production authored by EMU Alumna Shavonne Coleman, Cause Play was commissioned in partnership with Ann Arbor’s Spinning Dot Theatre, as part of the TYA BIPOC Superhero Project. 

Journey back to 1996, when students Zuvi, Zipper and Aaron meet at an after-school Cosplay Club at Southwest Academy Magnet Middle School in Detroit. Encouraged by their teacher, the trio reluctantly comes together to create costumes & identities for an upcoming Comic Con. As their friendship grows they discover new things about each other, including some very surprising powers. The young heroes learn to work as a team to tackle a variety of problems, including catching crazy stray cats, defeating monsters, and facing fears.

“Lyrical! Laced with humor!” - The New York Times

It is 2016, and it has been 936 days and counting since Flint, Michigan, has had clean water. Third-generation General Motors employee Marion finds herself on the cusp of a promotion, until her sister begins participating in protests accusing the company of poisoning the water. Forced to confront their past and weigh their limited options for the future, the family finds their tight-knit unit threatened by more than just the toxicity of the water.

Congrats to NHP alum (1994, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2011 and 2019) alum Robert Schenkkan on the world premiere of Bob & Jean: A Love Story, premiering at Arizona Theatre Company

Lightning strikes and sparks fly when Bob and Jean meet in New York City, 1941. But their instant attraction is cut short as World War II drives the pair thousands of miles apart. While Bob is off to the Pacific as a bomb disposal officer, Jean is headed to boost troop morale as a USO actress. Is their connection strong enough to withstand the winds of war? Travel through their passionate, funny, sometimes desperate correspondence as they navigate battle, Broadway, and the complexities of the human heart. A new play written by Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning and Emmy-nominated playwright Robert Schenkkan, Bob & Jean: A Love Story is a stirring and romantic world premiere that tells the remarkable story of an exhilarating courtship.

Flint Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of Jordan Ramirez-Puckett’s (2024 and 2021 NHP alum) play A Driving Beat.

Mateo, a 14-year-old boy with brown skin, and Diane, his white adoptive mother, take a road trip from their home in Ohio to his birthplace in San Diego. Throughout the journey, they are forced to reconcile their differing identities and what it means to be a family. Developed in Flint Rep’s 2023 New Works Festival.

A National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere

In The Berlin Diaries by Andrea Stolowitz (2011 and 2016 NHP alum), two actors scintillate between characters and locations at the border of reality and memory in this contemporary drama about the search for home, fragmented heritage and Jewish diaspora. Co-directed by Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre Artistic Director Constance Macy and Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation Rabbi Brett Krichiver

Starring Rob Johansen as Max and Jen Johansen as Andrea

Featuring Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation Rabbi Brett Krichiver as Max on March 15 & 16

In Senegal on the eve of Y2K, an idealistic Peace Corps volunteer survives a mysterious car accident. An imposing State Department operative immediately takes command of the situation and his safety. Though they couldn’t be more different, they form an unlikely relationship. But when it becomes clear that they both have secrets, the volunteer is roped into a darker side of public service – one he can’t come back from. Unpredictable at every turn, this world-premiere thriller was commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club.

Written by Rajiv Joseph (2019 NHP alum and Pulitzer Prize finalist for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo; King James at MTC) and directed by May Adrales (Vietgone and Poor Yella Rednecks at MTC).

The Old Globe presents the world premiere of Empty Ride by Keiko Green (2021 NHP alum)

A major new American play that first launched in the 2024 Powers New Voices Festival. Kisa, a painter in Paris, returns to her small Japanese hometown after the 2011 tsunami to help her ailing father by driving his taxi cab. But as she navigates the winding streets and transports her eccentric passengers, she is haunted by the supernatural remnants of what the floodwaters left behind. This Globe-commissioned world premiere from Keiko Green (Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play) is a funny and poignant story that explores the uncanny ways that love can transcend loss.

Berkeley Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of The Thing About Jellyfish, adapted by Keith Bunin (2009 NHP alum), from the novel by Ali Benjamin.

The Thing About Jellyfish is a visually stunning and deeply emotional coming-of-age story about friendship, loss, and the profound expansiveness of the human spirit. When Suzy Swanson’s world shatters with the sudden loss of her best friend, her summer transforms into a deeply moving journey of discovery, change, and resilience. Through vivid imagination, breathtaking design, and poignant storytelling, The Thing About Jellyfish invites audiences on an emotional odyssey — one that explores the mysteries of life, the courage it takes to embrace change, and the enduring power of friendship.

NHP alum (2009 and 2016) Ken Weitzman’s great play gets its Michigan premiere this year!

Retired NFL player Don Devers experiences both jocular and violent outbursts as a result of his struggles with traumatic brain injury. While relying on Post-it notes to get him through the day, Ed Ryan, a desperate longtime fan, shows up on his doorstep. Thus begins a new-found game with Don’s pregnant daughter Stephanie, and Ed’s pregnant wife Sarah, plotting from the sidelines. The hero, the fan, and the expectant mothers discover new ways to help each other and create a new family of sorts. An emotional rollercoaster, the play is as moody, funny and unpredictable as its football star. Halftime with Don was an audience favorite during TPT’s In The Works reading series and will be directed by Bill Simmons.

2019 NHP Alum Rajiv Joseph’s hit play King James is coming to the INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE running JANUARY 14 through FEBRUARY 9, 2025!

brotherhood and basketball

During LeBron James’ rookie season in Cleveland, two young men—one Black, one white—meet and bond over their love for the Cavaliers. Over the next twelve years, their passion for basketball never wavers, even as their lives keep moving in different directions. A warm, surprising, touching comedy about friendship, loyalty, loss, and the game.

Isaac Gómez (2021 NHP writer) was commissioned by the Alley Theatre to write The Night Shift Before Christmas, and the play receives its world premiere production this winter!

In this adult holiday comedy, audiences are invited to join Margot on her Christmas Eve shift, braving grumpy drive-thru customers until her late best friend’s ghost warns her of imminent spirits. Margot confronts her inner Scrooge in this holiday show packed with humor and heart.

Jonathan Spector (2021 NHP alum)’s play Eureka Day is heading to Broadway!

Wildly relevant and bitingly funny, Jonathan Spector’s play comes to MTC in an all-new production following an acclaimed London run. Eureka Day is a private California elementary school with a Board of Directors that values inclusion above all else—that is, until an outbreak of the mumps forces everyone in the community to reconsider the school’s liberal vaccine policy. As cases rise, the board realizes with horror that they’ve got to do what they swore they never would: make a choice that won’t please absolutely everybody.

Hulu has dropped the official trailer for INTERIOR CHINATOWN, a series based on the novel of the same name, written by Charles Yu. NHP alum Keiko Green wrote episode 6 of the series, which streams on Hulu beginning on Nov. 19.

The series follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural trying to find his way into the larger story--and along the way discovering secrets about the strange world he inhabits and his family's buried history.