Whether Fact Or Fiction, Play Readings At Bay Street Theater Explore Pressing Issues In Modern Times

Each spring, the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor hosts a New Works Festival, a weekend filled with readings of up-and-coming plays that may one day find their way to full production at Bay Street or elsewhere.

Take Wade Dooley’s comedy “The Prompter,” for example. Featured as a reading at the 2018 New Works Festival, the play will have its world premiere on the Bay Street stage on May 28 when it opens the theater’s Mainstage summer season.

“It was a big hit at the festival and that’s what prompted us to do it,” explained Scott Schwartz, Bay Street Theater’s artistic director, who will direct the production. “That’s why we do this. We use the festival as a way to evaluate works and see things we may want to consider doing as a full production in the future.

“But that’s not the only reason we pick things. We also select plays we find interesting or the audience might find interesting, and we want to encourage that,” he added. “I think there’s some of both in this festival. I’ll let the audience tell me what we should be doing going forward.”

“Title Wave @ Bay Street,” which runs Friday, May 3, to Sunday, May 5, is the sixth annual New Works Festival, and four plays, including a musical, will be read at the theater over the course of those three days. While two of the scripts are based on historic events, the other two are works of fanciful fiction. Yet at their core, all four plays speak to the social, cultural and environmental truths of the world today, and each is incredibly topical—dealing with everything from race relations and global warming to pop culture and female empowerment.

“There wasn’t any intentional theme,” said Mr. Schwartz, who curates the festival each year with Will Pomerantz, Bay Street’s associate artistic director. “What I try to prioritize in New Works is finding strong, fresh voices for the theater and also giving the audience and community as broad a range of experiences as possible. That’s where we start.”

On the factual side of the New Works ledger is Deborah Brevoort’s “My Lord, What A Night,” which explores the struggles faced by two 20th century icons as they deal with the injustices of Jim Crow and the rise of anti-Semitism. The play documents the true story of the night in 1937 when legendary African-American singer Marian Anderson performed in Princeton, New Jersey. Afterward, she was refused a room at a nearby hotel because of her race, so Albert Einstein, then a professor at Princeton University, invited Anderson to stay at his home instead. Though his invitation created controversy, it also marked the beginning of a friendship between Anderson and Einstein that continued until his death in 1955.

Also true is the story behind Jack Canfora’s “Delmonico,” which takes place in August 1964. The play tells of the night the Beatles, who had recently been introduced to American audiences, met folk singer Bob Dylan and how these two musical forces influenced one another, and helped chart the course of the 1960s and beyond. Bay Street audiences might remember that last summer Mr. Canfora had another world premiere play open Bay Street’s summer season. His “Fellow Travelers” was based on the real-life (and often contentious) friendship of playwright Arthur Miller, director Elia Kazan and the woman they both loved, actress Marilyn Monroe.

When asked if mid-century pop cultural events are Mr. Canfora’s bailiwick, Mr. Schwartz responded by saying: “They are. He does write other stuff, but it happens that the two works we’ve done with him involve famous figures from mid-century.

“Bay Street strives to be a home for artists,” he added. “Artists we believe in and audiences respond to can come back time and time again with different works.”

On the New Works Festival’s fictional flip side will be Amy Berryman’s sci-fi drama “Walden,” which offers a dystopian view of the not-so-distant future after climate change has led humans to colonize other planets. When Cassie, a NASA botanist, returns to earth after a long space deployment, she is shocked to find her twin sister, Stella, a former NASA architect, engaged to an Earth Advocate. As the sisters deal with the interpersonal issues of rivalry and love, there’s a bigger elephant in the room—humanity, which hangs in the balance.

Finally, the play reading weekend will conclude with “Bliss,” which Mr. Schwartz describes as “a fractured fairy-tale” for a new generation. Tyler Beattie and Emma Lively’s new original musical has an energetic rock score and a story line that follows four princesses. Unapologetically unconventional, the young women break free from the castle in order to conquer the world. But of course, it’s all much more complicated than they imagined.

“This is the largest play we’ve ever done in festival,” Mr. Schwartz said. “It’s a cast of 16 and a full-size musical.”

He explained that while plays in the festival normally rehearse for a day, the musicals get a full week of rehearsal.

“You need time to learn the music and work it out, though the actors will still have scripts in hand,” said Mr. Schwartz, who noted that while there will not be a full orchestra, the music will be performed live, with the piano as the primary instrument, which is typically the way musicals are presented in their early stages.

Though the setting and the characters of the four plays that will be read during “Title Wave at Bay Street” couldn’t be more different, the way in which they address issues that are making headlines today can’t be overlooked.

“When you look at it, that’s what were attracted to,” Mr. Schwartz said. “Work that attacks issues head on, like now. The Einstein play not only touches on the issue of nuclear power and weighs the dangers and benefits of what was then an emerging technology, it also explores the issue of racism on a very deep level.

“Conversely, ‘Walden’ deals with climate change,” he added. “While a play like ‘Bliss’ is great for the whole family—and it also deals with issues of women’s power in society.”

“Title Wave @ Bay Street: The 6th Annual New Works Festival” takes place Friday, May 3, to Sunday, May 5, at Bay Street Theater on Long Wharf in Sag Harbor. Plays will be read by professional actors with minimal staging. Readings will be followed by a talk-back with the playwrights. All readings are free, but tickets are required and available at baystreet.org or 631-725-9500.

The schedule:

Friday, May 3, at 7 p.m. – “My Lord, What A Night,” by Deborah Brevoort; directed by Kel Haney

Saturday, May 4, at 2 p.m. – “Walden,” by Amy Berryman; directed by Mia Walker

Saturday, May 4, at 8 p.m. – “Delmonico,” by Jack Canfora; directed by Will Pomerantz

Sunday, May 5, at 3 p.m. – “Bliss,” book, music and lyrics by Emma Lively and Tyler Beattie; directed by Sheryl Kaller; choreographer Josh Prince.