Bernarda's Daughters, a new play by Diane Exavier, officially opens at Off-Broadway's The Pershing Square Signature Center May 23 after beginning previews May 2. The limited run is scheduled to run through June 4.
The co-production between The New Group and National Black Theatre is directed by Dominique Rider, and features Tony nominee Pascale Armand, Alana Raquel Bowers (What to Send Up When It Goes Down), Kristin Dodson (Flatbush Misdemeanors), Malika Samuel (Our Dear Dead Drug Lord), Taji Senior, and Obie winner Tamara Tunie.
Inspired by Federico García Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba, Exavier's Bernarda's Daughters takes on gentrification and social strife in Flatbush when the five Abellard sisters return to their family home following the death of their father, where they clash over the legacy of their Haitian parents in a city that no longer feels like theirs.
The creative team includes scenic designer Carlos J. Soto, costume designer Rodrigo Muñoz, lighting designer Marika Kent, sound designer Kathy Ruvuna, dramaturg Nissy Aya, dialect coach Cherie Rice, movement coordinator Ashley Chavonne, casting director Destiny Lilly of The Telsey Office, production stage manager Rachel Denise April, and assistant stage manager Sydneii Colter.
Bernarda’s Daughters debuted as an audio play within The New Group Off Stage from Audible Originals in March 2022.
Said Sade Lythcott and Jonathan McCrory of National Black Theatre in a previous statement, "it is an honor to create space to celebrate lead artists Diane Exavier and Dominique Rider, providing the creative space and team to share this beautiful story centering a powerful, familiar and complex bond housed in sisterhood. Through Bernarda’s Daughters, there is an opportunity for NBT and our producing partners at The New Group to welcome members of the Haitian community and many of our Caribbean kinfolk to the theatre to feel seen, celebrated, and uplifted."
For more information, visit TheNewGroup.org.