BOWL EP OFFICIALLY OPENED LAST NIGHT SUNDAY, MAY 18 AND WILL RUN THROUGH SEASON 2!
- Deepak Sinha
- May 20
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 5
Essence Lotus, Felicia Curry and Oghenero Gbaje at the Opening Night of Bowl EP © Bronwen Sharpe
(New York, NY - May 19, 2025) – Vineyard Theatre (Artistic Directors Sarah Stern and Douglas Aibel and Managing Producer Moogie Brooks), National Black Theatre (Chief Executive Officer Sade Lythcott and Executive Artistic Director Jonathan McCrory), in association with The New Group (Artistic Director Scott Elliott and Executive Director Adam Bernstein), have shared photos from last night’s opening night performance of the world premiere of Bowl EP, written and directed by Nazareth Hassan.
In attendance were special guests Victoria Pedretti (Netflix’s “You”), Okieriete "Oak" Onaodowan (Hamilton), Ryan Jamaal Swain (FX’s “Pose”), Lileana Blain-Cruz (The Skin of Our Teeth), Ngozi Anyanwu (MTC’s Monsters), drag icon Julie J and more.
Bowl EP, which also features music by Free Fool, will run through June 8, 2025 at Vineyard Theatre (108 East 15th Street). Tickets are on sale at vineyardtheatre.org.
In Bowl EP, Kelly K Klarkson and Quentavius da Quitter need to find a name for their rap group. Through flirty interludes, cringy overshares, and practicing their ollies, they grow increasingly closer. Skating and Smoking. Skating and Drinking. Skating and exorcizing a demon. With live skating and original music, enter Bowl EP: a skateboard park, in the middle of a wasteland, at the edge of the galaxy.
Kelly K Klarkson is played by Essence Lotus (soft), Quentavius da Quitter is played by Oghenero Gbaje (Blood Conscious) and Lemon Pepper Wings is played by Felicia Curry (Into the Woods). Kalonjee Gallimore (A Beautiful Noise) serves as understudy.
Vineyard Theatre’s traditional stage and seating layout has been fully reimagined by scenic designers Adam Rigg & Anton Volovsek to create an elevated, in-the-round, 360-degree design. Each seat offers a unique and intimate view of the performance – which includes live skateboarding and original music – no matter the seat location.
The Bowl EP creative team also includes Costume Designer DeShon Elem, Lighting Designer Kate McGee, Sound Designer and Additional Compositions Ryan Gamblin, Video & Projection Designer Zavier Taylor, Fight Choreographer & Intimacy Director Teniece Divya Johnson, Props & Special Effects Supervisor Daniel Brothers, Rap Consultant Judah Girvan, and Skateboarding Consultant Faheem Allah. Casting is by Victor Vazquez, CSA of X Casting. The Production Stage Manager is Esti Bernstein.
Bowl EP is a co-production of Vineyard Theatre and National Black Theatre in association with The New Group, presented at The Vineyard.
Nazareth Hassan they/them (Playwright and Director) is an interdisciplinary artist working in performance, writing, music, video, and photography. Recent performance works include Untitled (1-5) at The Shed (text published by 3 Hole Press), VANTABLACK at Theatretreffen Stuckemarkt in Berlin, #2112 at Center for Performance Research, and Memory A at Museo Universitario del Arte Contemporaneo in Mexico City. Their first collection of poetry and photography, Slow Mania, will be published in 2025 by Futurepoem. They have released four singles, available on all platforms. They were the 2022 resident dramaturg at The Royal Court Theatre. They are a 2023-25 Jerome Hill artist fellow, and the 2024-2025 Tow Foundation Artist in Residence at Vineyard Theatre.
About Vineyard Theatre
Vineyard Theatre is dedicated to developing and producing new plays and musicals that push the boundaries of what theatre can be and do, and to nurturing a community of fearless theatremakers whose work expands the form, the field, and the larger culture. The Vineyard has transferred 11 shows to Broadway, seven directly after their acclaimed Vineyard premieres: Lucas Hnath’s Dana H. and Tina Satter’s Is This A Room; Paula Vogel’s Indecent; Nicky Silver’s The Lyons; Kander, Ebb and Thompson’s The Scottsboro Boys; Bell and Bowen’s [title of show]; and Avenue Q by Marx, Lopez and Whitty (Tony Award, Best Musical). Four additional shows launched at The Vineyard have been revived in their first Broadway productions: Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize- winning How I Learned to Drive; Lanie Robertson’s Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar and Grill; Becky Mode’s Fully Committed; and Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Three Tall Women.
From our home in NYC’s Union Square, The Vineyard develops and premieres new plays and musicals which go on to be seen around the country and the world. Recently, Jeremy O. Harris’ play “Daddy” received its London premiere at the Almeida; Ngozi Anyanwu’s Good Grief was recorded by Audible; David Cale’s Harry Clarke was recorded by Audible and played on the West End; Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Gloria, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and transferred to Chicago’s Goodman Theatre; Paula Vogel’s Tony Award-winning Indecent aired on PBS’s Great Performances and was one of the most-produced plays nationwide in 2019; Colman Domingo’s Dot is being adapted into an AMC series; and Is This a Room is now HBO’s Reality. Our recent world-premiere production of John J. Caswell’s Scene Partners , starring Dianne Wiest, was live-streamed around the world.
The Vineyard’s work has been recognized with the industry’s highest honors, including Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, a special Drama Desk, Obie, and Lucille Lortel Awards for artistic excellence and support of artists.
The Vineyard's 2024-2025 season includes the world-premiere of Sarah Gancher's The Wind and the Rain: A Story of Sunny's Bar, produced with En Garde Arts at the Waterfront Museum in Red Hook, Brooklyn; the U.S. premiere of Sam Kissajukian's 300 Paintings (2025 Lucille Lortel Award Nominee); the world-premiere of Jordan Harrison’s The Antiquities (2025 Lucille Lortel Award Nominee), directed by David Cromer and Caitlin Sullivan, a co-production with Playwrights Horizons and Goodman Theatre; and the upcoming world-premiere of Bowl EP, written and directed by Vineyard's Tow Playwright in Residence, Nazareth Hassan.
The Vineayrd’s leadership team includes Artistic Directors Sarah Stern and Douglas Aibel and Managing Producer Moogie Brooks.
About National Black Theatre
National Black Theatre (NBT) is a Tony Award winning and Emmy Award-nominated institution founded in 1968 by the late visionary artist Dr. Barbara Ann Teer. The nation’s first revenue-generating Black arts complex, NBT is the longest-running Black theatre in New York City, one of the oldest theatres founded and consistently operated by a woman of color in the nation, and has been included in the permanent collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
NBT’s core mission is to produce transformational theatre that helps to shift the inaccuracies around African Americans’ cultural identity by telling authentic stories of Black lives. As an alternative learning environment, NBT uses theatre arts as a means to educate, enrich, entertain, empower and inform the national conscience around current social issues impacting our communities. Under the leadership of Sade Lythcott, CEO, and Jonathan McCrory, Executive Artistic Director, NBT helps re-shape a more inclusive American theatre field by providing an artistically rigorous and culturally sensitive space for artists of color to experiment, develop and present new work. nationalblacktheatre.org.
About The New Group
Founded in 1995, The New Group is an award-winning, artist-driven company with a commitment to developing and producing powerful, contemporary theatre. While constantly evolving, we strive to maintain an ensemble approach to all our work and an articulated style of emotional immediacy in our acting and productions. In this way, we seek a theater that is adventurous, stimulating, and most importantly, “now” – a true forum for our present culture. The New Group has received over 150 awards and nominations for excellence, including the Tony Award for Best Musical for Avenue Q, 10 Lortel Awards, two special citation Obie Awards, and a Drama Desk Special Award “for presenting contemporary new voices, and for uncompromisingly raw and powerful productions.” The organization’s New Group/New Works play and musical development program champions original works by emerging and established authors. The New Group Off Stage celebrates work at the intersection of art, multimedia and social engagement by showcasing some of today’s most compelling storytellers through web series, films, audio plays and more. The New Group also operates a variety of theater education programs including a Summer Conservatory for teens, college access programs, and a college-level BFA Acting program in collaboration with LIU-Brooklyn. thenewgroup.org.
PRODUCTION INFORMATION |
World Premiere
Bowl EP
Written and directed by Nazareth Hassan
May 1-June 8, 2025
For the week of June 17-June 22, the new performance schedule is:
Tues, June 17 - 7pm
Wed, June 18 - 2pm & 7pm
Thu, June 19 - 7pm
Fri, June 20 - 7pm
Sat, June 21 - 7pm
Sun, June 22 - 2pm
Co-produced by Vineyard Theatre and National Black Theatre
In association with The New Group
Presented at Vineyard Theatre
108 East 15th Street, New York, NY
WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA
Website: www.vineyardtheatre.org
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