Primary Stages announces its 2017-2018 season

Primary Stages has now announced its 2017-2018 off-Broadway season at the Cherry Lane Theatre. The four new productions will be presented in the following season order:

From September to October 2017, Primary Stages will present the New York premiere of The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord, written by Scott Carter and directed by Kimberly Senior.

Synopsis: "This timely drama finds three of history's most famous men, all of whom wrote their own version of the gospels, debating everything from religion to literature to marriage in this new play. Thomas Jefferson (author of the Declaration of Independence), Charles Dickens (the man who brought us A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist) and Count Leo Tolstoy (the epic Russian novelist of War & Peace fame) are trapped in a limbo where each believes their path to salvation depends on convincing the other two that they are wrong in this profound and exciting battle of truly biblical proportions."

The next production for Fall 2017 will be the debut of Kate Hamill's new adaptation of Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice and will take place from November to December 2017. Ms. Hamill will also star in the production, which will be directed by Amanda Dehnert. This is a co-production with Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.

Synopsis: "The outspoken Elizabeth Bennet faces mounting pressure from her status-conscious mother to secure a suitable marriage. But is marriage suitable for a woman of Elizabeth's intelligence and independence? Especially when the irritating, aloof, self-involved... tall, vaguely handsome, mildly amusing, and impossibly aristocratic Mr. Darcy keeps popping up at every turn?! What? Why are you looking at us like that? Literature's greatest tale of latent love has never felt so theatrical, or so full of life than it does in this effervescent new adaptation."

From January to February 2018, Primary Stages will collaborate with The Sol Project on a New York premiere which will be announced at a later date. The Sol Project is "a New York City-based initiative catalyzing change via a national movement to provide productions by Latin playwrights, bringing the stories of their community to the fore of the American Theater."

Finally, the 2017-2018 season will conclude with the New York premiere of Feeding the Dragon, written by and starring Sharon Washington and directed by Maria Mileaf, which will run from March to April 2018.

Synopsis: "As both playwright and star of this autobiographical solo piece, Sharon Washington revisits her time growing up in an apartment on the top floor inside the St. Agnes Branch of the New York Public Library, where her father served as the building's custodian. Shrouded in family mystery, Sharon's story boldly examines how both the power of forgiveness and her lifelong love for the written word have helped her battle dragons of all forms."

Exact dates, casting and creative team information for each production will be announced in the coming months.