Dear friend,
Welcome to the world premiere of Nathan Alan Davis’s The Refuge Plays in the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre. This epic and evocative trilogy is making its debut after years of development, and we are so grateful to give this story its debut—and to do it in association with our remarkable colleagues at New York Theatre Workshop. It’s especially gratifying to be producing this as one of three world premieres on Roundabout stages, on Broadway and Off, this fall. This is the last Roundabout season curated by Roundabout’s longtime leader and my dear friend, the late Todd Haimes, and the first I’m presenting to you as Interim Artistic Director.
The Refuge Plays is an expansive, ambitious story about the cycle of life: birth, death, and those who come back to visit from beyond. Spanning 70 years and several generations, this play teaches us how to find and nurture a safe haven for those we love, trusting that the earth will provide for our families in its own time and that our legacies will grow and bear fruit. Resilience grows roots and connects the family matriarch and her loved ones to the land they have fought to call home.
This is Nathan’s Roundabout debut, and we are thrilled to welcome back director Patricia McGregor, who has recently taken the helm of NYTW and was last seen at Roundabout directing Ugly Lies the Bone in the Underground. We are also excited to welcome this spectacular cast, many of whom are making their Roundabout debuts.
Thank you for joining us at The Refuge Plays. I ask you to share your thoughts on this production and our whole season by emailing me at ArtisticOffice@roundabouttheatre.org.
Sincerely,
Scott Ellis
Interim Artistic Director