Plays by Lynn Nottage, Rajiv Joseph & Arthur Kopit on Tap at Second Stage

Second Stage Theatre will produce new plays by Lynn Nottage and Rajiv Joseph and a revival of Arthur Kopit’s Wings as part of its 2010-2011 season, with a fourth show to be announced at a later date. All productions will be staged at the company’s off-Broadway theater; no casting has been announced.

The season will begin in early October with a revival of Wings, directed by Tony winner John Doyle. This 1979 Tony-nominated play is a journey through the eye of Emily Stilson, a 1920s wingwalker who discovers her life’s journey is a series of courageous adventures, proving that even when her mental self fails her, her daredevil spirit proves unflappable. Constance Cummings won at Best Actress Tony for her performance as Emily.

The New York premiere of Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph (Animals Out of Paper, All This Intimacy) will be directed by five-time Tony nominee Scott Ellis, with previews beginning in early January 2011. Described as a dark romantic saga, Gruesome Playground Injuries explores the cost of wounded friendships. Over the course of 30 years, the lives of Kayleen and Doug intersect at the most bizarre intervals, leading the two childhood friends to compare scars and the physical calamities that keep drawing them together.

The world premiere of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark by Lynn Nottage (Pulitzer Prize winner for Ruined; Intimate Apparel) will begin previews in early April 2011. The new comedy presents a 70-year journey into the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong African-American maid and budding actress, and her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately grasping to hold on to her career. When circumstances collide and both women land roles in the same Southern epic, the story behind the cameras leaves Vera with a controversial legacy scholars will debate for years to come. No director has been announced.