Taylor Harvey, Angelina Fiordellisi and Michael O’Keefe in Charles Mee’s First Love

Judith Ivey and Estelle Parsons in Israel Horovitz's Out of the Mouths of Babes

Keren Lugo and Ben Rappaport in Matt Williams’ Actually, We’re F*cked

PERFORMANCE SERIES

FOUNDER’S PROJECT

The Founder’s Series celebrates established theatre-makers whose work has shaped the American stage—and who still have vital stories to tell.

At a time when opportunities for seasoned artists are increasingly limited, CLA is committed to creating space for their voices, honoring their contributions while supporting their continued creative work.

The inaugural Founder’s Project launched in 2016 with Out of the Mouths of Babes by Israel Horovitz, featuring Judith Ivey and Estelle Parsons. It continued in 2017 with a co-production of Horton Foote’s The Traveling Lady with La Femme Theatre Productions, followed by Charles Mee’s First Love in 2018, starring Michael O’Keefe and Angelina Fiordellisi. The most recent production was, Actually, We’re F**cked by Matt Williams.

DISCOVERY SERIES

Our Discovery Series gives new plays, first seen in one of our development programs, an Off-Broadway premiere.

Discovery Series productions have included Lisa Ramirez’s To The Bone (2014 Time Out NY Critic’s Pick), Katori Hall’s Hoodoo Love (2007 Audelco Awards), Rajiv Joseph’s Huck and Holden, Daisy Foote’s Bhutan (2006 Outer Critics Circle Award), Anton Dudley’s Slag Heap (2005 John Golden Playwriting Prize), and Irene O’Garden’s Women On Fire (2003 Lortel Award nomination).

Next up, CLA is proud to produce Nathan Yungerberg’s Esai’s Table, developed through the Mentor Project and making its full production debut as part of the Discovery Series.

HERITAGE SERIES

While in residence at our longtime home and birthplace Cherry Lane Theatre, CLA created the Heritage Series to honor the artists and works from this theater’s legendary history which had served as the inspiration for our own mission. Brought back to life on Cherry Lane Theatre’s historic mainstage, the Heritage Series reminded audiences why these plays endure. 

The Heritage Series presented Mainstage revivals celebrating the writers and works we believed deserved to be seen again. Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, which received its World Premiere in 1961, was revived in 2002 in a production directed by Joseph Chaikin, filmed by Lincoln Center Library and lauded by critics and audiences alike. In 2007, we presented Dutchman, Amiri Baraka’s Obie Award-winning play, which first premiered in 1964. In 2008, we revived Edward Albee’s The American Dream and The Sandbox, originally produced in 1961 and 1962 respectively as part of Albarwild, a collaboration between Albee and producers Richard Barr and Clinton Wilder — with the double-bill revival directed by Mr. Albee himself. In 2010, we presented the 25th Anniversary production of Dan Goggin’s beloved musical Nunsense (Off Broadway Alliance Award nomination: Best Musical Revival), a work that has since received roughly 8,000 productions worldwide.

Though this chapter has closed, the spirit that drove it — a commitment to honoring the past while building the future — remains at the heart of everything Cherry Lane Alternative does.

Tongues Reading Series

The Tongues Reading Series allows writers to hear their new plays read aloud by professional actors, under the management of a director, in a theatrical setting.

In 1998, the Cherry Lane Alternative launched its reading series of new American plays and has since hosted more than 300 readings of new works by emerging, mid-career and award-winning writers from our community. 

It is our belief that the playwright learns the most about their work by bringing it before an audience, and Tongues seeks to offer artist and audience a public forum to experience and discuss a wide array of exciting new works interpreted by a number of New York’s finest actors, from F. Murray Abraham to Mercedes Ruehl to Jesse Eisenberg.



The reading series was named Tongues in honor of two late artists from Cherry Lane Alternative’s history, director Joseph Chaikin and playwright Sam Shepard, who collaborated as writers to pen a new play by this name. Their memories continue to inspire Tongues and Cherry Lane Alternative additional programs dedicated to providing writers with opportunities to develop new work.