Take a look back! Founded in 2002, Ars Nova fosters a creative environment that welcomes emerging artists from diverse backgrounds and disciplines and serves as a creative home and laboratory — a place to meet collaborators, test ideas, develop new work, earn industry recognition and launch their unique voices and careers.
Dubbed by The New York Times as one of New York’s “most adventurous Off-Broadway companies,” Ars Nova was honored with a 2015 OBIE Award and a 2015 Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics’ Circle for our sustained quality and commitment to the development and production of new work.
Notable past productions include: The New York Times’ “Best of 2018” Rags Parkland Sings The Songs of The Future created by Andrew R. Butler, directed by Jordan Fein; the extended, sold-out The Lucky Ones, created by The Bengsons and Sarah Gancher, directed by Anne Kauffman; “Outstanding Musical” Lortel Award-winner KPOP, created by Jason Kim, Max Vernon, Helen Park and Woodshed Collective, directed by Teddy Bergman; “Best New American Theatre Work” OBIE Award-winner, The New York Times’ “Best of 2016” and “one of the best 25 plays of the last 25 years” Underground Railroad Game by Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard with Lightning Rod Special, directed by Taibi Magar (now on international tour: Edinburgh Fringe First, “Best of 2018” Washington Post); “Outstanding Musical” Lortel Award-winner FUTURITY, by César Alvarez with The Lisps, directed by Sarah Benson; The New York Times’ and New York Post’s “Best of 2015,” Small Mouth Sounds by Bess Wohl, directed by Rachel Chavkin; Time Out New York’s “Best of 2014,” J@CUZZ1 by The Debate Society, directed by Oliver Butler; the Tony Award-winning smash-hit Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy, directed by Rachel Chavkin; Jollyship the Whiz-Bang by Nick Jones and Raja Azar, directed by Sam Gold; the world premiere of the 2009 season’s most-produced play boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, directed by Alex Timbers; the show that put Bridget Everett on the map, At Least It’s Pink by Everett, Michael Patrick King, and Kenny Mellman, directed by King; and Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail’s first New York production, Freestyle Love Supreme by Anthony Veneziale and Miranda, directed by Thomas Kail.
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We joyously welcome you to nicHi douglas’ (pray)! Channeling the energy and vitality of a Sunday Baptist Church service, this kinetic and vibrant choreopoem celebrates and confronts the complexity of spiritual inheritance. Join this multigenerational congregation of Black womxn and femmes for an evening of song, dance, fellowship and the opportunity to reflect on your own beliefs.
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In this sweeping world premiere, composer Heather Christian infuses the classical oratorio with blues, gospel, jazz and soul. Oratorio for Living Things unfolds the complex layers of what it means to be alive and our relationship to time. Staged by Obie Award-winning director Lee Sunday Evans and featuring eighteen virtuosic singers and instrumentalists, the experience surrounds and uplifts, celebrating our curiosity, our wonder, and what we’re capable of becoming when in communion with each other. The resulting music-theater event heralds Christian as an undeniable artistic force.
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In Melis Aker’s world premiere play HOUND DOG, a young musician returns from abroad to her hometown of Ankara, Turkey to look after her widowed father. Forced to reckon with the family and community she left behind, an investigation into her grieving parent’s strange pilgrimage to Graceland unravels into a sonic mirage of memory packed with humor, nostalgia and the love we cultivate across generations. Directed by Machel Ross with music by Aker and the Lazours, this cross-cultural jam-session-meets-play explores the winding path towards forgiveness and belonging.
A co-production with PlayCo
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From a year in letters to a moment in time, experience the in-person culmination of P.S. Since November 2020, P.S. has delivered intimate storytelling directly into the hands of audiences, as they’ve received letters between two characters corresponding in real-time as the world changed all around us. Now, Ona and Bea’s story concludes in a unique multimedia theatrical event that begins in your home and ends on our stage.
Directed by Lee Sunday Evans
Please note that Ars Nova’s 2019/20 season, including Oratorio for Living Things, was cancelled as of March 23, 2020.
Click here to read our full statement.
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In this sweeping world premiere, composer Heather Christian imbues the classical oratorio with blues, gospel, jazz and soul. The result is an in-the-round fusion of music and theater, staged by Obie Award-winning director Lee Sunday Evans and featuring eighteen virtuosic singers and instrumentalists. Both otherworldly and achingly intimate, Oratorio for Living Things heralds Christian as an undeniable artistic force — and inspires us to reflect on the mystery of human experience, set against the vast scope of cosmic time.
Created by THE MAD ONES
AND PHILLIP JAMES BRANNON, BRAD HEBERLEE,
CARMEN M. HERLIHY & JANUARY LAVOY
Directed by LILA NEUGEBAUER
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The creators of a 1970s children’s television program have commissioned a focus group to probe the parents of the show’s target audience. Over stale coffee and donuts, a group of strangers navigates the murky waters of American belief and perception.
Written by LIZA BIRKENMEIER
Directed by KATIE BROOK
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It’s 1983, the evening before Dr. Sally Ride’s historic space flight. Hundreds of miles from the launch, three women with passionate opinions and no opportunities sit on a sweltering St. Louis rooftop watching life pass them by. Their uncharted desires bump up against American norms of sex and power in this intimate snapshot of queer anti-heroines.
Book by THE BENGSONS & SARAH GANCHER
Music & Lyrics by THE BENGSONS
Choreographed by SONYA TAYEH
Directed by ANNE KAUFFMAN
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Indie-music duo The Bengsons spin a memory-tale of teenaged passion, ideals lived to the limits, family shattered and faith lost — all in hope of finding a way home again. Through soulful electro-folk songs, this driving, semi-autobiographical story grabs joy and grief with the same hand and holds them tightly, in a radical affirmation of being alive.
Created by ANDREW R. BUTLER
Directed by JORDAN FEIN
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You might not remember the last time Beaux Weathers and her band played, but Rags Parkland does. Back for an intimate, one-night-only gig, Rags will play the revolutionary songbook that carried us to where we are today. Meet the music that powered the change. Join The Future.
A nighttime play with songs by RACHEL BONDS
Music & Lyrics by THE BENGSONS
Additional Lyrics by RACHEL BONDS
Directed by ANNE KAUFFMAN
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While navigating the unsettling waters of young adulthood, twin sisters return home to find their father in a moment of crisis. Under the cover of late-night, small-town shadows, sleep is elusive, connections are frayed, and the southern summer heat presses in. An ethereal, honest, funny-sad play about seeing old faces with new eyes, and the liminal space between loss and letting go.
Conceived by WOODSHED COLLECTIVE + JASON KIM
Book by JASON KIM
Music & Lyrics by HELEN PARK + MAX VERNON
Immersive Design by WOODSHED COLLECTIVE
Choreographed by JENNIFER WEBER
Directed by TEDDY BERGMAN
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KPOP is here and America will never be the same. Claim your exclusive, all-access pass and immerse yourself in the Korean Pop music factory where stars are made… or broken.
Text by Kyle Jarrow & Lauren Worsham
Songs by Kyle Jarrow
Choreographed by Chase Brock
Directed by Sam Buntrock
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Indie-pop band Sky-Pony’s lush sound and cheeky style will surround and seduce you into a world of prophecies and forbidden temptations. Release your inner dragon on a raucous ride exploring faith, doubt and the wild space in between.
Created & Performed by
JENNIFER KIDWELL & SCOTT SHEPPARD
Directed by TAIBI MAGAR
Underground Railroad Game is currently available for touring.
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Good morning, America! Welcome to Hanover Middle School, where a pair of teachers are getting down and dirty with today’s lesson. The nimble duo goes round after round on the mat of our nation’s history, tackling race, sex and power in this R-rated, kaleidoscopic and fearless comedy.
by BESS WOHL
Directed by RACHEL CHAVKIN
TO LEARN MORE CLICK HERE.
ARS NOVA WORLD PREMIERE: 2015
OFF-BROADWAY TRANSFER: 2016
NATIONAL TOUR: 2017-18
In the overwhelming quiet of the woods, six runaways from city life embark on a silent retreat. As these strangers confront internal demons both profound and absurd, their vows of silence collide with the achingly human need to connect. Filled with awkward and insightful humor, this unique and compassionate new play asks how we address life’s biggest questions when words fail us.
Music by CÉSAR ALVAREZ
with THE LISPS
Book and Lyrics by CÉSAR ALVAREZ
Choreographed by DAVID NEUMANN
Directed by SARAH BENSON
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Two people try to imagine their way out of impossible circumstances in FUTURITY – an avant-Americana musical by indie band The Lisps. Julian is a Civil War soldier dreaming of a technological utopia. Ada is a mathematical genius thousands of miles away. Together, they’re going to invent a machine to end one of the darkest periods in our history. An electrifying concert-story featuring an army of musicians.
Written by VINNY DePONTO & JOSH KOENIGSBERG
Directed by ANDREW NEISLER
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Professional liar Vinny DePonto explores the many faces of deception – the imposters, the frauds and fakes – in this night of mind-bending entertainment. Fall into a world of lies and misdirection in the capable hands of this indelibly charming conman. Don’t worry, he’ll only fool you as much as you want to be fooled.
Directed & Developed by OLIVER BUTLER
Written by HANNAH BOS & PAUL THUREEN
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In the Marshall family’s peacefully remote Colorado ski chalet, Erik and Helene are making themselves very much at home. So at home, they just might stay for good. At the edge of civilization, the lifestyles of the rich collide with the lifestyles of the aimless in the bubbling waters of a hot tub.
by SHARYN ROTHSTEIN
Directed by HAL BROOKS
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Hurricane Sandy has just ravaged the lifelong home of Marty and Mary Murphy. But the storm has ripped apart more than just the walls: with their neighbors too devastated to stay, the couple’s beloved Staten Island community is in danger of disappearing forever. Determined to rebuild, Marty wages a campaign to save his neighborhood and his home, but when the Murphys’ sons arrive to help their parents dig out, past betrayals come rushing to the surface.
by STEVEN LEVENSON
Directed by CAROLYN CANTOR
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With the world around him changing at a dizzying pace, the owner of a small travel agency clings to the values he holds most dear: teamwork, loyalty and the incalculable importance of a good trust fall. It takes a weekend staff retreat for him to realize his team-building exercises won’t put off the realities of a rapidly evolving marketplace.
Written by MATTHEW-LEE ERLBACH
Created by MATTHEW-LEE ERLBACH,
WES GRANTOM, PORTIA KRIEGER
& TANSY
Directed by WES GRANTOM & PORTIA KRIEGER
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Welcome to the legendary Tim Tam Room, where the music sizzles, champagne flows and dancing beauties tempt and tease. When Tansy, the club’s crown jewel, announces her imminent departure, the club’s MC is left holding his heart in his hands. Exuberant hijinks and salacious striptease collide as this night of classic burlesque unspools into a sequin-drenched, raucous farce.
Book, Music & Lyrics by DAVE MALLOY
Directed by RACHEL CHAVKIN
TO LEARN MORE CLICK HERE.
ARS NOVA WORLD PREMIERE: 2012
KAZINO OFF-BROADWAY TRANSFERS: 2013-14
AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATER PRE-BROADWAY: 2015-16
BROADWAY PRODUCTION: 2016-17
Lovers are betrayed, society is scandalized and glasses are raised in Dave Malloy’s electro-pop opera ripped from a slice of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Young and impulsive, Natasha Rostova arrives in Moscow to await the return of her fiancé from the front lines. When she falls under the spell of the city’s most charming rogue, it is up to the disillusioned Pierre, a family friend, to pick up the pieces of her shattered reputation. Dumplings, vodka, spectators and performers collide in this unmissable theatrical event!