July 12 - Aug 9, 2022
Ritz Theater

The NEXT Festival is Theater Latté Da’s New Work Festival showcasing three works that stretch the boundaries of musical storytelling. Each show in the Festival receives public presentations providing audience members the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the creative process. Following each performance is an in-depth conversation with the playwrights, composers, and lyricists. Be a part of Theater Latté Da’s commitment to the next generation of the Great American Musical.

Theater Latté Da is grateful for the generosity of our Production Sponsors, Kent Allen and Tom Knabel.

SCOTLAND, PA

Presented in association with Hal Luftig
Book by Michael Mitnick
Music and lyrics by Adam Gwon
Based on the film by Billy Morrissette
Inspired by The Tragedy of Macbeth by Bill Shakespeare

Originally produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company in October 2019.

In a sleepy Pennsylvania town, a burger-joint manager and his wife cook up a plan to super-size their lives. As their ambitions grow and the bodies fall, the couple finds out just how far they'll go for a taste of the tempting American dream. Based on the 1990’s cult film of the same name and that Scottish play by William Shakespeare.

Runtime: 2 hours with intermission

Presentations:
Tuesday, July 12, 2022 at 7:30pm
Monday, July 18, 2022 at 7:30pm

THE LAST BABUSHKA

Book and Lyrics by Amy Wheeler
Music and Lyrics by Natalie Nowytski
Based on the documentary The Babushkas of Chernobyl by Holly Morris

A young woman at loose ends finds herself drawn deep into the world of the Babushkas, elder women living illegally in villages inside Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone, a radioactive territory that is also a thriving green world. Inspired by Holly Morris' award-winning story and documentary film, The Babushkas of Chernobyl.

Presentations:
Saturday, July 30, 2022 at 7:30pm
Monday, August 1, 2022 at 7:30pm

JOHNNY SCHICCHI

Music by Giacomo Puccini
Words by Bradley Greenwald and Steven Epp

Twin Cities’ artistic treasures, Bradley Greenwald and Steven Epp’s English language adaptation of Giacomo Puccini’s one act comic opera, Gianni Schicchi. A farce where greed and hypocrisy face off against first love and old friendship set on the deck of a tricked-out yacht anchored off the coast of Miami.

Presentation:
Tuesday, August 9, 2022 at 7:30pm