World Premiere Play Harry Clarke, Directed by Leigh Silverman, to Begin Vineyard Theatre's 2017-2018 Season

David Cale's world premiere play Harry Clarke has been announced to kick off the 2017-2018 season at off-Broadway's Vineyard Theatre. The Vineyard will also present a lab production of Tori Sampson's The Land Was Made, completing the nonprofit's 35th anniversary season.

Tony nominee Leigh Silverman will direct Cale's Harry Clarke, the story of a shy midwestern man leading an outrageous double life as the cocky Londoner Harry Clarke. Moving to New York City and presenting himself as an Englishman, he charms his way into a wealthy family’s life as the seductive and precocious Harry, whose increasingly risky and dangerous behavior threatens to undo more than his persona. The play will begin performances on October 26 and open on November 12. 

The developmental lab of Sampson's The Land Was Made will appear at the Vineyard in July 2018. The Land Was Made is set in Oakland in 1967 and explores a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement, when the city was a powder keg of social activism ready to boil over into radical action. The patrons of Miss Trish's bar argue politics day and night, but it's all just talking points, until the full and explosive force of the revolution walks through the door.

Cast and full creative teams for both shows will be announced at a later date.

The Vineyard Theatre season also comprises the previously announced productions of Jordan Harrison's The Amateurs, directed by Oliver Butler, set to start performances on February 8. The final production of the season is the new musical The Beast in the Jungle, featuring a book by David Thompson, a score by John Kander and direction and choreography by Susan Stroman. Performances will start on May 3.