Vassar College’s mighty Powerhouse Theater, the buzzing incubator of some of the most successful Broadway productions of the last decade, has an electrifying 2024 summer season in store. The series kicks off on June 21 and runs through July 28, bringing with it a schedule packed with new musical and play workshops, free readings, and a celebrated training program for next-generation artists.
This year’s workshops for new musicals include the sexy lesbian spy thriller “Absolute Zero” (July 12-14), with a book and lyrics by Dorie Clark, music by Marie Incontera, direction by Ellie Heyman, and choreography by Bo Park. The moving “Shanghai Sonata” (July 26-28), about European refugees and Shanghai residents finding the common language of music during World War II, was conceptualized by composer Sean Gao and features a book by Alan Goodson, lyrics by Joyce Hill Stoner, and direction by Chrongren Fan.
Powerhouse’s play workshops this summer include the groundbreaking “A Simpler Herstory” (July 5-7), a Telly Award-winning and Webby-honored multiplatform audio fiction exploration of the 100-plus women who have run for President of the United States. Created by Jocelyn Kuritsky, the drama was written by Jonathan A. Goldberg and Jenny Turner Hall and is directed by Meghan Finn. In “Messy White Gays” (July 19-21), it’s “Sunday morning. Hell’s Kitchen. Brecken and Caden have just murdered their throuple-mate and stuffed him into a Jonathan Adler credenza. Unfortunately, they’ve invited friends over for brunch.” Written by Drew Droege, the irreverent comedy is directed by Mike Donahue and was developed and produced by the Fabulous Invalid.
Powerhouse’s roster of readings for 2024 is strong as well. “This Place is Definitely Haunted” (June 21), “Extinction” (June 23), “Holes in the Shape of My Father” (June 27), “Possessed (or ‘The Crazy African Girl Play’)” (June 28), “Ping Pong Play” (June 29), and “3 Graces” (June 30). At the nearby Preserve venue, the Powerhouse Theater Training Company for emerging young artists will stage Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” (July 12-14) and “The Taming of the Shrew” (July 19-21). “We Are Gathered Together” (July 4, 11, 18, 25) runs at the campus’s Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, while “Marathon” (July 21-22) and the organization’s annual New Works Play Festival (July 27) are at the Susan Stein Shiva Theater. The collaborative, site-specific “Performing Art” (July 14) will take place at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center.
Founded in 1973 in a former station, Powerhouse Theater is the original presentation site of the 2016 Tony Award winning plays “Hamilton” and “The Humans” and the 2016 Tony Award nominate “Bright Star.”
Powerhouse Theater’s 2024 season will be presented at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie from June 21 through July 28. For ticket purchases, a full schedule of showtimes, and further information about this year’s season, visit the Powerhouse Theater website.
This article appears in June 2024.
