Theater Latté Da Announces Casting for Three New Works in Development As Part of the 2026 NEXT Festival of New Musicals

Theater Latté Da (Justin Lucero, Artistic Director; Elisa Spencer-Kaplan, Managing Director) announces casting for this summer’s 2026 NEXT FESTIVAL. Three dynamic new works, Black Girl in Paris by AriDy Nox and Jacinth Greywoode; Hearts Is Broke by Aaron Gabriel; and Alice in Neverland by Phil Kenny and Reston Williams, will each receive a two-week developmental workshop and two public presentations. Presentations begin July 13 and continue through August 10 at Latté Da’s home venue, the historic Ritz Theater, 345 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413. Three-show NEXT Festival passes and single tickets are now on sale at latteda.org or 612-339-3003.

“The enthusiasm and insight our audiences bring to the NEXT Festival has a profound impact on the development of new musicals,” says Elissa Adams, NEXT Festival producer and Director of New Work at Theater Latté Da. “I’m excited to share this year’s projects with the Twin Cities.”

The 2026 NEXT Festival will begin with Black Girl in Paris, book by AriDy Nox, music and lyrics by Jacinth Greywoode, directed by Zhailon Levingston. The cast will include Sasha Andreev (Falsettos, Ragtime, All is Calm), China Brickey (Hello, Dolly!), Phinehas Bynum (All Is Calm, Candide, Christmas At The Local, Passion), Deidre Cochran (Jelly’s Last Jam, Journey On, Scotland, PA), Rajane Katurah, Nubia Monks (The Color Purple), Audrey Parker, Richard Rigmaiden (My Fair Lady), Anna Schloerb and JoeNathan Thomas (The Color Purple).

A musical within a folktale within a ritual, Black Girl in Paris centers on Sally Hemings, a fourteen-year-old enslaved black woman from Virginia, who, by a twist of fate, suddenly finds herself in Paris, France. With the French Revolution fast approaching and her slave master looming in the background, Sally must figure out just how much she is willing to give up for a chance at freedom. Luckily, she is not alone: An ensemble of Ancestors surrounds her, acting as both community members and advisors, applauding and chiding her in equal measure. Full of defiant joy, this show explores one of the most pressing questions of our age: What does it truly mean to be free?

Black Girl in Paris is directed by Zhailon Levingston, who joins this project after directing Cats: The Jellicle Ball (for which he recently won a Tony Award®), currently playing on Broadway following a multi-award-winning Off-Broadway run.

Black Girl in Paris was awarded the prestigious Richard Rogers Award for Musical Theater in 2025. Public presentations are Friday, July 24 at 4:00 pm and Monday, July 27 at 7:30 pm.

Following Black Girl in Paris will be Hearts Is Broke, by Aaron Gabriel and directed by H. Adam Harris. The cast will include Joy Dolo (Christmas At The Local), Bradley Greenwald (My Ántonia, Passion, Twelve Angry Men: A New Musical), Monty Hays (Fun Home), Max Kile, Kinaundrae Lee, Myrtle Lemon-Todd, Kymani Queen, Em Adam Rosenberg (My Ántonia), Skyler Seiler and Dottie Rose Tremmel.

Hears Is Broke is a new musical trauma-dy exploring the laughter, longing and love of people on the periphery.  When Ollie Luya enters The Sidebar searching for a venue to “get married to myself,” they are instantly absorbed into a close-knit community of queer outsiders processing the tragic loss of one of their own.

Aaron Gabriel is a Minneapolis-based writer/composer with a long history of working with marginalized communities to help celebrate their stories. He created this piece so that every role can be played by any actor, regardless of gender, age, race or ethnicity.

Public presentations for Hears Is Broke will be Friday, July 31 at 4:00 pm and Monday, August 3 at 7:30 pm.

The final presentation of the 2026 festival will be Alice in Neverland, by Phil Kenny and Reston Williams, directed by Catie Davis. The cast includes Jay Albright (Johnny Skeeky, 6 Degrees of Separation, Once), Tara Borman (My Ántonia, Scotland, PA), Jane Bruce, Erin Capello (Next to Normal, Journey On, Passion, Johnny Skeeky), Will Dusek (My Ántonia, Scotland, PA), Noah Hynick (Gutenberg! The Musical!), Suzie Juul (2019 NEXT Festival), Grasan Kingsberry (Once on This Island and The Color Purple on Broadway), Kim Kivens (Journey On, Bernarda Alba, Merrily We Roll Along), Audrey Mojica (Next to Normal), Eric Morris (Passion, Scotland, PA, Falsettos), Adam Qualls (Stones in His Pockets, Peter and the Starcatcher) and Eve Scharback (Fun Home, My Ántonia).

Alice in Neverland takes place between the events of “Alice in Wonderland” and “Peter Pan.” It follows a grown-up Alice, who, bored and disillusioned with adulthood, escapes to Neverland to try to recapture her childlike vivacity. “This musical was brought to my attention by Broadway producer Hal Luftig, with whom we worked on Scotland, PA,” said Associate Artistic Director and Director of New Work Elissa Adams. “The workshop will be directed by Catie Davis, the associate director of Beetlejuice on Broadway.” It is scheduled for a world premiere co-production next winter, opening at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, GA and continuing on to the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, WA.

Public presentations for Alice in Neverland will be Friday, August 7 at 4:00 pm and Monday, August 10 at 7:30 pm.

ABOUT THE NEXT FESTIVAL

The NEXT Festival is a key component of Theater Latté Da’s robust commitment to the development of new musicals, which also includes year-round workshops and residencies, commissions and world premiere productions. Past NEXT Festivals have offered audiences a first look at numerous new musicals that have gone on to full productions at Theater Latté Da, including current sold-out hit My Ántonia,  C. (2015), Lullaby (2016), Five Points (2018), Underneath The Lintel (2018), To Let Go And Fall (2019), Christmas At The Local (2022), Twelve Angry Men, A New Musical (2022), Johnny Skeeky; or, The Remedy For Everything (2024) and Scotland, PA (2024). Latte Da’s upcoming 2026/27 season will feature the world premiere of 2024 NEXT Festival project She’s Come Undone. 2017 NEXT Festival project Goddess enjoyed its Off-Broadway debut at the Public Theater in 2025. Gun & Powder, featured in the 2018 festival, will open on Broadway in October 2026 under the new title Wanted, marking the first Latté Da-developed work to debut on Broadway.

The 2026 NEXT Festival is made possible through the generous support of the Nara Fund, The National Endowment for the Arts, RBC, and The Ruth Easton Fund. Additional support is provided by NEXT Festival Sponsor Gary Reetz, with Festival Partners Jean & Jim Hartman, Walter Tambor & Barry Berg, Linda Svitak & David Feroe, Nancy Albrecht, and John Sullivan.

TICKETS AND PACKAGES

VENUE

The Ritz Theater
345 13th Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413

TICKETS

●        $45 Three-show Festival passes are now on sale

●       Single tickets priced at $17 will go on sale April 8, 2026 at Noon

BOX OFFICE

Box office hours for phone and in-person sales are 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm Tuesday to Friday and Saturday 12:00 - 5:00 pm when in performance.

●        By phone: 612.339.3003

●        Online: latteda.org

ABOUT THEATER LATTÉ DA

Theater Latté Da creates new and impactful connections between story, music, artist and audience—exploring and expanding the art of music theater. Now in its 28th season of presenting new and reimagined music theater, Theater Latté Da is the leading nonprofit professional theater in Minnesota that exclusively produces music theater. Some 40,000 people engage with Latté Da each season through four to five full productions, the NEXT Festival of New Musicals, special events and concerts, and a broad range of opportunities for music theater composers, lyricists and librettists to advance the creation of their new works. Since 2016, Theater Latté Da has made its permanent home in Northeast Minneapolis’s historic Ritz Theater, enabling uniquely intimate arts experiences for audience members.

The company has presented over 100 mainstage productions, including 18 world premieres and 18 area premieres. Each has garnered critical acclaim and earned its artists and the organization a host of awards and honors, including: seven IVEY Awards for overall excellence, multiple grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Gabriel Award for Broadcast Excellence, the American Theater Wing National Theater Company Award, and the 2019 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience for our Off-Broadway production of All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914. Learn more at www.latteda.org.

2026 NEXT FESTIVAL LINEUP

Black Girl in Paris

Book by AriDy Nox
Music by Jacinth Greywoode
Directed by Zhailon Levingston

Presentations:
Friday, July 24, 4:00 pm
Monday, July 27, 7:30 pm

Cast (in alphabetical order):
Sasha Andreev*
China Brickey*
Phinehas Bynum*
Deidre Cochran
Rajane Katurah*
Nubia Monks*
Audrey Parker
Richard Rigmaiden*
Anna Schloerb
JoeNathan Thomas*

*Member Actors Equity Association

Hearts Is Broke

By Aaron Gabriel
Directed by H. Adam Harris

Presentations:
Friday, July 31, 4:00 pm
Monday, August 3, 7:30 pm

Cast (in alphabetical order):
Joy Dolo*
Bradley Greenwald*
Monty Hays
Max Kile
Kinaundrae Lee
Myrtle Lemon-Todd
Kymani Queen
Em Adam Rosenberg
Skyler Seiler
Dottie Rose Tremmel

*Member Actors Equity Association

Alice in Neverland

By Phil Kenny and Reston Williams
Directed by Catie Davis

Presentations:
Friday, August 7, 4:00 pm
Monday, August 10, 7:30 pm

Cast (in alphabetical order):
Jay Albright*
Tara Borman
Jane Bruce*
Erin Capello
Will Dusek
Noah Hynick
Suzie Juul*
Grasan Kingsberry*
Kim Kivens*
Audrey Mojica
Eric Morris*
Adam Qualls*
Eve Scharback

*Member Actors Equity Association

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