New York City’s Soho Rep has unveiled an ambitious new theatrical initiative, “The Hunger Cycle,” a series of three world premiere productions spanning the next three seasons. The cycle is built around a central question: “What are we hungry for?” Each play, although distinct in style and form, will explore the multifaceted nature of hunger – material, emotional, and moral – in contemporary life. The productions include a new musical by César Alvarez, a play by Madeline Easley, and a devised operate from the collective Radical Evolution.
Soho Rep’s artistic leadership expressed excitement about the scope and ambition of the project. Director Eric Ting stated, “Soho Rep has long been driven by the ambitions of its artists… The artists represented by the Hunger Cycle—César, Maddie, Radical Evolution—are quintessential models of this, each unwilling to compromise their interrogation of our times.” The productions represent some of the most large-scale works in the company’s 50-year history, signaling a significant investment in new and challenging theatrical voices.
The initiative has garnered support from the Civis Foundation and the Miranda Family Fund, with additional funding for specific projects coming from the Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation and the Playwrights’ Center. This financial backing underscores the importance of supporting innovative and ambitious artistic endeavors, particularly in a challenging funding landscape for the arts.
The Potluck: A Musical Rooted in Tragedy
The Hunger Cycle will launch in the summer with the world premiere of The Potluck, a new musical by César Alvarez, directed by Sarah Benson, and co-produced with INTAR Theatre. The musical centers on the 1979 Greensboro Massacre, a tragic event in which five labor organizers were murdered at a protest in North Carolina by members of the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party. Alvarez, who is a member of the survivor community and shares a name with two of the victims, aims to explore “the softer side of the revolution” while confronting the harrowing reality of state-sanctioned violence. The production will feature a 12-person intergenerational cast. Alvarez explained, “It’s extremely complex to produce a new musical, and even harder to produce one about healing from state-sanctioned murder… This production is the culmination of years of creative labor.”
Feast for the Dead: A Speculative Exploration of Grief and Resilience
In its 2026-27 season, Soho Rep will present Feast for the Dead, the Off-Broadway debut of Madeline Easley. This nine-person play weaves a speculative narrative set against the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse, examining themes of responsibility to the deceased, resilience in the face of destruction, and the cyclical nature of life and death. Easley, a New York-based Wyandotte writer from Kansas City, draws inspiration from her tribal history and the Wyandotte tradition of the Feast of the Dead, a practice of connecting with ancestors and experiencing grief within a community. The play is described as possessing “a keen sense of pop culture, a vibrant flair for the theatrical, and a full beating heart.”
Easley hopes her play will prompt audiences to reflect on the pervasive cycle of violence in American society. “I hope that Feast for the Dead invites audiences to examine the cycle we currently find ourselves in: the cycle of violence, which touches every part of our life in this country,” she said. “My play responds to the fact that this cycle feeds upon itself. I dream that this production will provide a way of organizing ourselves to meet an uncertain future.”
Hunger: A Devised Exploration of Connection and Healing
Concluding the cycle in the 2027-28 season will be Hunger, a devised work created by the collective Radical Evolution. This production promises an immersive fable designed to challenge audiences to contemplate the various forms of hunger – physical, spiritual, and communal – and how these feelings can serve as a catalyst for reconnection with each other and the natural world. The creators – Anooj Bhandari, Jei Lawrence, Meropi Peponides, and Joya Powell – envision a piece that blends sound, movement, and storytelling to explore the search for satisfaction and healing.
“With this project, we dive deep into the meaning of hunger in all its forms,” the creators stated jointly. “With a combination of experiments in sound and movement, and a deep appreciation for the stories nature tells us, we’re excited to bring this piece to life. Soho Rep has met our idiosyncratic, collective creation process with visionary support and care.”
The Hunger Cycle represents a bold and ambitious undertaking for Soho Rep, promising a series of thought-provoking and emotionally resonant theatrical experiences. As the company prepares for the premiere of The Potluck, audiences can anticipate a challenging and rewarding exploration of what it means to be human in a world grappling with complex questions of sustenance, loss, and connection.
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