NYCPlaywrights May 2, 2026
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NYCPlaywrights
May 2, 2026, 5:07:07 PM (6 days ago) May 2
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Greetings NYCPlaywrights
*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***
BACH TO THE STREETS: A Breathtaking Afternoon of Ballet & Live Youth Orchestra Under the Sky!
Experience an inspiring ballet performance by CBT-2, the young company of Covenant Ballet Theatre, set to the timeless music of Johann Sebastian Bach—performed live by the Brooklyn Youth Music Project Orchestra.
Celebrate the joy of dance and music with us! Families will have the opportunity to learn simple ballet steps.
Enjoy a joyful afternoon of dance, live music, and community under the open sky.
Sat, May 30 2026 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Sheepshead Bay Library
2636 E. 14th St. at Ave. Z
Brooklyn, NY 11235
***
How many of us actually know Fiorello!?
Sure, diehard musical theatre fans are aware of the show, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1960 and has a score by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. They might recall the plot – about the early political and romantic life of Fiorello LaGuardia, who eventually became the beloved mayor of New York City from 1934-1945 – and they might know some of the songs. Beyond that, though, even the biggest theatre geeks may be in the dark.
That’s because Fiorello! is so rarely produced, for reasons that are hard to discern. Bock and Harnick classics like She Loves Me and Fiddler on the Roof are revived all the time, so why do we ignore this buoyant tale of an optimistic striver who conquers the world with his charm and decency? Why do we keep timeless songs like “When Did I fall In Love?” and (this author’s favorite) “Little Tin Box” off the stage?
Bob Moss has been asking those questions, too. “I asked Sheldon [Harnick] why he thinks it’s never done,” he says. “His guess is that people outside of New York think it’s going to be New York-centric and therefore won’t be of interest. But that is not true.”
More...
https://www.tdf.org/on-stage/tdf-stages/musical-theatre-alert-you-can-finally-see-fiorello-on-stage/
***
Mayor Lindsay was a passionate supporter of the Broadway Theatre and was instrumental in the creation of the original TKTS booth with the Theatre Development Fund in 1973, making Duffy Square ever since a destination point for those in search of reduced-price theater tickets. Also in attendance at today's unveiling were State Assembly Member Richard Gottfried; Broadway producer Hal Prince, who is Chair of the Theatre Industry Committee to Honor John Lindsay; as well as leaders of the Times Square Alliance, Theatre Development Fund, Broadway League, Broadway Association, and members of Mayor Lindsay's family.
"Mayor Lindsay was a long-time supporter of Broadway and a friend to generations of New York City theater-goers," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "He spearheaded programs to preserve old theaters and build new ones, and he was instrumental in the creation of the world-renowned TKTS booth. Broadway is one of the reasons Duffy Square and the entire Times Square area are teeming like never before with New Yorkers and visitors from around world, and its success today is due in no small measure to the bold efforts of Mayor Lindsay."
"The TKTS booth in Duffy Square provides cut-rate access to first-rate theatre offerings in a world-famous setting," said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "Few advocated the theatre with as much passion as Mayor John Lindsay and we are thrilled to honor his efforts and contributions here in the heart of Broadway."
More...
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/John-Lindsay-Receives-Plaque-for-Broadway-Theatre-Contributions-20101110
***
MAYOR - Based on the memoirs of New York City Mayor Ed Koch, this musical with a book by Warren Leight and music and lyrics by Charles Strouse presents a brisk, satirical portrait of a single day in office. Blending humor with civic commentary, the show captures Koch’s unmistakable voice, outsized personality, and the constant push-and-pull between public service and political survival in 1980s New York. It began its live Off Broadway in 1985 and transferred to Broadway’s Latin Quarter later that year. There’s even a cast recording!
More...
https://www.broadwaysbestshows.com/post/broadway-loves-a-politician-new-york-leaders-in-the-spotlight/
***
“Rudia” is his drag name.
With a penchant for platinum blonde wigs, dainty white opera gloves, and frilly pink gowns cut low to show off her ample bosom, this drag queen with the falsetto singing voice was a well-known figure in N.Y.C nightlife at the end of the last century.
You may know him better as America’s Mayor. Or Donald Trump’s failed flunky.
I knew him as the Queen of New York.
During the years I lived in that city it was hard to forget having a tough-as-nails former prosecutor mayor who repeatedly dressed in drag.
It was not without its irony.
No one was more aggressive in cracking down hard in closing clubs and cabarets. Rudy brought back a Prohibition-era cabaret law that banned dancing in bars without a license for it. By the 1960s, it was only used against gay bars, and that era ended after the June 27, 1969 raid on the Stonewall Inn. But Giuliani resurrected it. Ordering club raids, his obsessive scrutiny of clubs, frantically looking for reasons to fine them or shut them down changed the nightlife of N.Y.
More...
https://envisioningtheamericandream.com/2023/03/09/sometimes-being-rudy-is-a-drag/
***
Mayor de Blasio cited the success of having over 6.3 million vaccinations in New York City to date as the basis for the plan: "What's amazing is every single day, we're beating back COVID more and more, hospitalizations down. You know, we're just seeing a better situation every day. We're ready to take that pathway to a full reopening."
While the plan will see many businesses open fully on July 1, the mayor singled out how the plan could affect theaters: "Broadway takes time because they have to mount a whole production," he said. "They've been aiming for September, most of the shows. Some of the smaller shows might be able to come in earlier. But one thing for sure, we've been vaccinating the Broadway community. We have a vaccination center right in the middle of Times Square. The whole Broadway community, whether you're on stage or behind stage, everyone's been coming there getting vaccinated. It's actually been run by folks who work on Broadway and are doing this for their fellow cultural workers to help them come back. So, I'd say you should expect Broadway full strength in September, but I'd love to see some of the smaller shows up in July and August."
More...
https://www.broadway.com/buzz/200708/mayor-bill-de-blasio-announces-plan-to-fully-reopen-new-york-city-on-july-1/
***
Long before he became an unlikely political force, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was just another 20-something trying to squeeze a laugh out of his Saturday improv class in Manhattan.
“I went to Magnet Theater for Improv Level One,” Mamdani said of that winter in 2017, when his eight-week course at the Chelsea theater ended in a student showcase. “I think I had dreams of going to the Upright Citizens Brigade.”
When he is sworn in on Jan. 1 as the city’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor and, at 34, one of its youngest, Mamdani will also be the rare city leader whose cultural upbringing was both cosmopolitan, as the son of the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mira Nair and the scholar Mahmood Mamdani, and local, imbued with a distinctly streets-of-New York energy.
In interviews, the mayor-elect, his mother and others recently spoke about the influences that shaped him, like Indian ragas and classic musicals, New York’s most august institutions and its dank basement performance spaces. He will almost certainly be the only mayor, for example, who attended — and name-checked — a show called “Asssscat 3000.”
More...
https://archive.ph/a756P
*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***
BACH TO THE STREETS: A Breathtaking Afternoon of Ballet & Live Youth Orchestra Under the Sky!
Experience an inspiring ballet performance by CBT-2, the young company of Covenant Ballet Theatre, set to the timeless music of Johann Sebastian Bach—performed live by the Brooklyn Youth Music Project Orchestra.
Celebrate the joy of dance and music with us! Families will have the opportunity to learn simple ballet steps.
Enjoy a joyful afternoon of dance, live music, and community under the open sky.
Sat, May 30 2026 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Sheepshead Bay Library
2636 E. 14th St. at Ave. Z
Brooklyn, NY 11235
https://www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/bach-streets-breathtaking-sheepshead-bay-library-20260530-0100pm
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
Dear US.: One-Acts to Bridge the Divide
Dear US is a compilation of solicited plays, performed as staged readings near Tampa, FL, followed by a facilitated conversation with audience, actors, and any playwrights that may be present.
***
Gather by Ghostlight seeks plays for Stage Fright 2026
Genre - Horror ONLY. These can be super scary or can be horror comedies or any other horror subgenre. Just make sure that it has horror elements. We also love it when spooky sound FX are incorporated. We have a foley guy for this live show. Make us use him.
***
BREAK A LEG PRODUCTIONS annual One-Act Slam
Plays should run 15-20 minutes. The Slam will be on September 26th.
The audience votes on their favorite short play, and the winner receives $100.
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** THE MAYOR & THE THEATER ***
A tribute today to one of New York’s most colorful and beloved Mayors, James John “Jimmy” Walker (1881-1946) ...Jimmy had initially set out to be a Tin Pan Alley songwriter, but finally caved in to his father’s wishes and followed in his footsteps, in rapid order graduating from law school, then serving in the New York State Assembly and Senate, and then finally, as Mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932.
Walker was closely allied with New York State Governor Al Smith, and they supported many of the same causes. Walker was instrumental in the legalization of professional boxing (the industry continues to honor him for that); he was a prominent “Wet” (i.e., anti-Prohibition); opposed Blue Laws; was for social welfare legislation; and publicly condemned the Ku Klux Klan. Walker was much beloved by the public. He was a diamond stick pin kind of guy, a man about town, whose nickname was “Beau James”. Dressed in flashy, expensive clothes, he was known to be a frequent patron of illegal speakeasies, and was often seen at the theatre. He left his wife for Broadway performer Betty Compton.
More...
https://travsd.wordpress.com/2018/06/19/on-jazz-age-jimmy-walker/
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
Dear US.: One-Acts to Bridge the Divide
Dear US is a compilation of solicited plays, performed as staged readings near Tampa, FL, followed by a facilitated conversation with audience, actors, and any playwrights that may be present.
***
Gather by Ghostlight seeks plays for Stage Fright 2026
Genre - Horror ONLY. These can be super scary or can be horror comedies or any other horror subgenre. Just make sure that it has horror elements. We also love it when spooky sound FX are incorporated. We have a foley guy for this live show. Make us use him.
***
BREAK A LEG PRODUCTIONS annual One-Act Slam
Plays should run 15-20 minutes. The Slam will be on September 26th.
The audience votes on their favorite short play, and the winner receives $100.
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** THE MAYOR & THE THEATER ***
A tribute today to one of New York’s most colorful and beloved Mayors, James John “Jimmy” Walker (1881-1946) ...Jimmy had initially set out to be a Tin Pan Alley songwriter, but finally caved in to his father’s wishes and followed in his footsteps, in rapid order graduating from law school, then serving in the New York State Assembly and Senate, and then finally, as Mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932.
Walker was closely allied with New York State Governor Al Smith, and they supported many of the same causes. Walker was instrumental in the legalization of professional boxing (the industry continues to honor him for that); he was a prominent “Wet” (i.e., anti-Prohibition); opposed Blue Laws; was for social welfare legislation; and publicly condemned the Ku Klux Klan. Walker was much beloved by the public. He was a diamond stick pin kind of guy, a man about town, whose nickname was “Beau James”. Dressed in flashy, expensive clothes, he was known to be a frequent patron of illegal speakeasies, and was often seen at the theatre. He left his wife for Broadway performer Betty Compton.
More...
https://travsd.wordpress.com/2018/06/19/on-jazz-age-jimmy-walker/
***
How many of us actually know Fiorello!?
Sure, diehard musical theatre fans are aware of the show, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1960 and has a score by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. They might recall the plot – about the early political and romantic life of Fiorello LaGuardia, who eventually became the beloved mayor of New York City from 1934-1945 – and they might know some of the songs. Beyond that, though, even the biggest theatre geeks may be in the dark.
That’s because Fiorello! is so rarely produced, for reasons that are hard to discern. Bock and Harnick classics like She Loves Me and Fiddler on the Roof are revived all the time, so why do we ignore this buoyant tale of an optimistic striver who conquers the world with his charm and decency? Why do we keep timeless songs like “When Did I fall In Love?” and (this author’s favorite) “Little Tin Box” off the stage?
Bob Moss has been asking those questions, too. “I asked Sheldon [Harnick] why he thinks it’s never done,” he says. “His guess is that people outside of New York think it’s going to be New York-centric and therefore won’t be of interest. But that is not true.”
More...
https://www.tdf.org/on-stage/tdf-stages/musical-theatre-alert-you-can-finally-see-fiorello-on-stage/
***
Mayor Lindsay was a passionate supporter of the Broadway Theatre and was instrumental in the creation of the original TKTS booth with the Theatre Development Fund in 1973, making Duffy Square ever since a destination point for those in search of reduced-price theater tickets. Also in attendance at today's unveiling were State Assembly Member Richard Gottfried; Broadway producer Hal Prince, who is Chair of the Theatre Industry Committee to Honor John Lindsay; as well as leaders of the Times Square Alliance, Theatre Development Fund, Broadway League, Broadway Association, and members of Mayor Lindsay's family.
"Mayor Lindsay was a long-time supporter of Broadway and a friend to generations of New York City theater-goers," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "He spearheaded programs to preserve old theaters and build new ones, and he was instrumental in the creation of the world-renowned TKTS booth. Broadway is one of the reasons Duffy Square and the entire Times Square area are teeming like never before with New Yorkers and visitors from around world, and its success today is due in no small measure to the bold efforts of Mayor Lindsay."
"The TKTS booth in Duffy Square provides cut-rate access to first-rate theatre offerings in a world-famous setting," said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "Few advocated the theatre with as much passion as Mayor John Lindsay and we are thrilled to honor his efforts and contributions here in the heart of Broadway."
More...
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/John-Lindsay-Receives-Plaque-for-Broadway-Theatre-Contributions-20101110
***
MAYOR - Based on the memoirs of New York City Mayor Ed Koch, this musical with a book by Warren Leight and music and lyrics by Charles Strouse presents a brisk, satirical portrait of a single day in office. Blending humor with civic commentary, the show captures Koch’s unmistakable voice, outsized personality, and the constant push-and-pull between public service and political survival in 1980s New York. It began its live Off Broadway in 1985 and transferred to Broadway’s Latin Quarter later that year. There’s even a cast recording!
More...
https://www.broadwaysbestshows.com/post/broadway-loves-a-politician-new-york-leaders-in-the-spotlight/
***
“Rudia” is his drag name.
With a penchant for platinum blonde wigs, dainty white opera gloves, and frilly pink gowns cut low to show off her ample bosom, this drag queen with the falsetto singing voice was a well-known figure in N.Y.C nightlife at the end of the last century.
You may know him better as America’s Mayor. Or Donald Trump’s failed flunky.
I knew him as the Queen of New York.
During the years I lived in that city it was hard to forget having a tough-as-nails former prosecutor mayor who repeatedly dressed in drag.
It was not without its irony.
No one was more aggressive in cracking down hard in closing clubs and cabarets. Rudy brought back a Prohibition-era cabaret law that banned dancing in bars without a license for it. By the 1960s, it was only used against gay bars, and that era ended after the June 27, 1969 raid on the Stonewall Inn. But Giuliani resurrected it. Ordering club raids, his obsessive scrutiny of clubs, frantically looking for reasons to fine them or shut them down changed the nightlife of N.Y.
More...
https://envisioningtheamericandream.com/2023/03/09/sometimes-being-rudy-is-a-drag/
***
Mayor de Blasio cited the success of having over 6.3 million vaccinations in New York City to date as the basis for the plan: "What's amazing is every single day, we're beating back COVID more and more, hospitalizations down. You know, we're just seeing a better situation every day. We're ready to take that pathway to a full reopening."
While the plan will see many businesses open fully on July 1, the mayor singled out how the plan could affect theaters: "Broadway takes time because they have to mount a whole production," he said. "They've been aiming for September, most of the shows. Some of the smaller shows might be able to come in earlier. But one thing for sure, we've been vaccinating the Broadway community. We have a vaccination center right in the middle of Times Square. The whole Broadway community, whether you're on stage or behind stage, everyone's been coming there getting vaccinated. It's actually been run by folks who work on Broadway and are doing this for their fellow cultural workers to help them come back. So, I'd say you should expect Broadway full strength in September, but I'd love to see some of the smaller shows up in July and August."
More...
https://www.broadway.com/buzz/200708/mayor-bill-de-blasio-announces-plan-to-fully-reopen-new-york-city-on-july-1/
***
Long before he became an unlikely political force, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was just another 20-something trying to squeeze a laugh out of his Saturday improv class in Manhattan.
“I went to Magnet Theater for Improv Level One,” Mamdani said of that winter in 2017, when his eight-week course at the Chelsea theater ended in a student showcase. “I think I had dreams of going to the Upright Citizens Brigade.”
When he is sworn in on Jan. 1 as the city’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor and, at 34, one of its youngest, Mamdani will also be the rare city leader whose cultural upbringing was both cosmopolitan, as the son of the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mira Nair and the scholar Mahmood Mamdani, and local, imbued with a distinctly streets-of-New York energy.
In interviews, the mayor-elect, his mother and others recently spoke about the influences that shaped him, like Indian ragas and classic musicals, New York’s most august institutions and its dank basement performance spaces. He will almost certainly be the only mayor, for example, who attended — and name-checked — a show called “Asssscat 3000.”
More...
https://archive.ph/a756P
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