Special Events

BROADWAY BOUND THEATRE FESTIVAL is proud to announce its inaugural season in Connecticut in partnership with Town Players of New Canaan. Previously hosted in New York City since 2016, BBTF offers audiences curated new works by playwrights from across the country and right in our own backyard.

BBTF is the only curated theatre festival that focuses on working with new playwrights one-on-one through the dramaturgical process through production. Each play undergoes a collaborative rewrite process while playwrights learn about self-producing their work in a nurturing environment.

Please join us in welcoming these talented writers in their world premieres of these fascinating new works.

JOIN US FOR ALL SEVEN SHOWS... or INDIVIDUAL SHOWS OF YOUR CHOICE. Don't miss out on being in on what might be the next Broadway sensation!

CATEGORY: DRAMEDY

PLOT:
Grandma Emily has finally died. At her funeral, her family is forced to cope with her legacy–the dysfunctional relationships she’s left behind. Grief turns to relief and their pain is turned inside out as the pretense is stripped away. Will they be able to come to grips with truth and find hope or will Grandma end up having the last word?

CONTENT WARNINGS: Suggested for age 12+ (onstage fighting)

PLAYWRIGHT:
Lily Ayotte is a playwright and actor based in Boston, MA. After graduating from Suffolk University with a BA in theater and psychology, she began her professional career working at the largest non-profit theater in Boston; The Boch Center. She also began her acting and writing career. Her acting credits include Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth) and Hub Theatre Company of Boston (Into the Breeches!). Her writing credits include her one-act Put to Rest, as well as her full length script Family Vacation, and others in the works. https://www.lilyayotte.com/

CATEGORY: DRAMA

PLOT:
Chaos reigns near the end of the War in the Pacific so Gabriel sheds his wings to lead a band of Marines at Okinawa, thinking America to be the last, best hope for humanity. But when the platoon realizes the flag-raising at Iwo Jima was a publicity stunt designed to sell war bonds, they begin to question the righteousness of their cause. The women they’ve left behind cope with an uncertain future as their homeland teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. With their able-bodied men fighting overseas, the women’s lives and their dreams are in limbo.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Suggested for age 12+ (onstage war scene and death)

PLAYWRIGHT:
While pursuing his Masters in Writing for Performance at the University of Cambridge, Thomas Mullen saw several of his works produced. “Backroom,” a story of the Fenian invasion of Canada shortly after the Civil War, anchored the Festival of New Writing at Downing. While at Cambridge he was also a member of the legendary sketch comedy group, The Cambridge Footlights. In 2022 the Philipsburg Opera House hosted a run of his musical, “One L of a Town.” Mullen has been a proud theater geek for all of his 63 years, co-founding a community theater in the Black Hills of Wyoming and most recently, a playwright’s workshop in New Orleans, where he spends his winters. He summers in Union, Washington with his wife, Annie, and their Welsh Terrier, Harry. The epic “Flags” is his first, full-length production. www.togovern.com

CATEGORY: COMEDY

PLOT:
Radio funnyman and serial dater Neil Doyle longs for a life partner, but can’t seem to break his habit of manipulating would-be girlfriends into breaking up with him. When he finally meets the woman of his dreams, he finds himself forced with a decision: Grapple with his deep-seated fears of commitment from the past or live out the rest of his life alone.

PLAYWRIGHT:
Brian Mulhern's showbiz career began in his late teens as a freelance writer for Jay Leno's monologue jokes on "The Tonight Show." A working partnership and friendship with the late, great Phil Hartman followed over the last six years of his life. Mulhern has also written for "The MTV Movie Awards" and enjoyed a thirty-year broadcasting career on southern New England radio. His intensely personal first play, "The Butterfly Boys," dealt with his mom's complicated passing due to COVID at the height of the pandemic. He currently lives in Rhode Island with Carla Mulhern, his wife of ten years.

CATEGORY: SATIRE

PLOT:
Divorcees Judith and Telfer find themselves stuck in the unfortunate situation of being together again – in Hell, located deep in a labyrinth of tunnels in the substrata of Grand Central Station. Against her better judgment, Judith entertains a soul pact with Satan, who wants her to rekindle her relationship with her ex in order to unfold his ungodly plan here on earth. If she’s successful, there will be Hell to pay.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Suggested for age 16+ (discussion of sex, risqué costuming)

PLAYWRIGHT:
Alex McFarlane is a graduate of the School of the Arts, Columbia University. His career in the New York art world has spanned several decades. During this time, Alex has exhibited regularly and his shows have been reviewed in Arts magazine and in the Art Section of the New York Times. He has won a Tiffany Foundation grant and a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship. He is a Fellow of the Augustus St. Gaudins Memorial. More recently, he has turned to playwriting. His play, Birds Should Fly Free, in the New York International Fringe Festival was
described as a political satire by Laura Collins-Hughes in the Theater Section of the New York Times. Alex believes the Broadway Bound Theatre Festival is an exciting opportunity for the next plateau in his playwriting career. www.artistmcfarlane.com

CATEGORY: DRAMEDY

PLOT:
Shawn Thompson is on a journey, whether he knows it or not. The soon-to-be-21-year old seeks answers about his cultural and personal past in order to understand his present and ultimately his future. By his side, to challenge and guide him, are African Elders Abebi, Shomari, Xola and Anan. Their goal? To help him find the answer to his question: Who am I?

PLAYWRIGHT:
Karl O’Brian Williams is a creative writer, director, and actor. Some career highlights include: The Black That I Am - The National Theatre of Scotland, Edinburgh International Theatre Festival, Galloway Arts Festival, HERE Arts Centre’s Sublet Series. Not About Eve - Jamaican Actor Boy Award for Best New Jamaican Play, Three AUDELCO Award nominations for Playwright, Outstanding Ensemble & Dramatic Production, and The National Black Theatre Festival. Check out The Signs of Friendship published in "We Are Not Neutral-Reset Series 2020 Short Play Collection." Karl is excited to be part of the Broadway Bound Family!

CATEGORY: DRAMEDY

PLOT:
Lost in his post-pandemic grief, a recent widower is sent on a silent retreat after a near tragedy shocks his loved ones into action. In the unexpected space of a Trappist monastery, Sam is met by the important voices in his life, as well as a couple of quirky monks and a fellow traveler on her own journey of healing. Together, they encourage Sam to see that his new reality will require him to choose a new path forward without leaving old loves behind.

PLAYWRIGHT:
A lifelong Kentuckian, Garrett Bates has been collecting stories for decades that he now weaves together to evoke laughter, reflection, and hope. With a firm belief that we are all created to create (in whatever we do), Garrett’s escapades are taken (and/or embellished!) from the time he devoted to his family and prior career. The Abbey is his first-produced full-length work and was the byproduct of his own silent retreat at a Trappist monastery. He is thrilled to now be included in the impressive lineage of the BBTF! Garrett resides in Louisville, KY with his wife, Melanie, and their mini-goldendoodle, Baxter, the worst dog ever.

CATEGORY: DRAMA

PLOT:
Ex-spouses Marty and Kay meet for a final time after years of being apart. As they reminisce about their relationship and reconcile their sins of the past, the present looms heavily over both their heads, as Marty has a proposition for Kay that causes them both to reconsider the future.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Suggested for age 16+ (discussion of sex and suicide)

PLAYWRIGHT:
After a brief time as an educator, Alan Richards obtained a law degree from Marquette University. He spent most of his time as a lawyer in the courtroom. He is listed in The Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers in the United States. Richards left the profession to pursue other non-legal opportunities, including writing. Richards finds writing particularly gratifying because, unlike litigation, writing allows him to speak without being interrupted or contradicted. He has published one novel entitled The Second Cycle. He has written two plays. His first - The Crux of the Matter – concerns abortion. What’s Done Is Done is his second. He and his wife Meridee, longtime residents of Chicago, recently relocated to Colorado.