Primary Stages

Primary Stages was founded in 1984 by Casey Childs as a New York State non-profit theater company with the mission of producing new plays and fostering the artistic development of emerging and established playwrights. In 2004, Primary Stages moved from its 99-seat home of 17 years on West 45th Street to the 199-seat theater at 59E59 Theaters. In 2014, The Duke on 42nd Street became the home for all Primary Stages productions.

For over 30 years, Primary Stages has given life to more than 100 new plays, many of them world premieres, by writers such as Horton Foote, A.R. Gurney, Willy Holtzman, Julia Jordan, Romulus Linney, Donald Margulies, Christopher Durang, Terrence McNally, John Henry Redwood, John Patrick Shanley, Mac Wellman, Lee Blessing, and David Ives.

Primary Stages' 9th season included the world premiere of All in the Timing by David Ives, the most produced play in the United States during the 1995/96 season.

In 2008, Primary Stages was honored with the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, which encompasses much more than the plays produced for the stage. Primary Stages supports playwrights and develops new works through commissions, workshops, readings and two flagship programs: The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, and The Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA). Through these programs, Primary Stages advocates for artists, helping them make important – and often transformative – connections within the theater community.

Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group

Primary Stages is host to the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, which brings together six to eight emerging playwrights each season to create new plays for the American theater. These playwrights attend weekly meetings in the fall and spring, where they bring new pages to each session and receive feedback on their works in progress. At the end of the season, Primary Stages presents the first public reading of these plays in The Dorothy Strelsin Fresh Ink Readings Series.

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