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New York Stage & Film has unveiled its 2026 Summer Season at Marist University and Bardavon Presents, kicking off with a Benefit Reading of The Maltese Falcon on Friday July 10 at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, NY.
In addition to the creative teams with public-facing projects, the 2026 Summer Season will host a range of artists-in-residence including individual artists and groups such as the Indigenous Voices of the Northeast and The Drama League. This season will also celebrate the Filmmakers’ Workshop and recipients of the Founders’ Award, Pfaelzer Award, and the Dasha Epstein Award; all to be announced at a later date.
New York Stage & Film is welcoming a new partnership with Bardavon Presents to deepen S&F’s relationship with the City of Poughkeepsie, and showcase larger scale workshops in development in their newly renovated historic theater. In an ongoing collaboration with Marist University, S&F allows artists to create and develop new stories in an academic environment which fosters freedom of expression and natural exchanges of ideas. Together, New York Stage & Film, Marist University, and Bardavon Presents will continue to make Poughkeepsie a destination for new works in development, welcoming national audiences to the Hudson Valley.
Performances will be held in Symphonic Hall at Marist University (Murray Student Center, 3399 North Road) or at The Bardavon (35 Market Street) in downtown Poughkeepsie. Season Passes and Benefit Reading tickets are now available at newyorkstageandfilm.org; All-Access 25% off Early Bird pricing ends Sunday April 19. All Ticket Passes are limited and based on availability. Individual Tickets will go on sale in early May.
In addition to the below works, S&F will be announcing a third musical project this May, which will have public presentations on Friday July 17 at 7PM and Saturday July 18 at 2PM & 8PM at the Bardavon. Additional programming, complete casting and full creative teams for all projects will be announced shortly.
The New York Stage & Film 2026 Summer Season is as follows:
THE MALTESE FALCON
Written by Betty Shamieh
Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett
Directed by Ian Belknap, S&F’s Artistic Director
Benefit Reading Presentation: Friday July 10, 8PM | Bardavon
The Maltese Falcon is a stage adaptation by Betty Shamieh, based on the classic noir novel by Dashiell Hammett, that illuminates a gritty tale of murder, deception, and greed set in San Francisco at the height of the Great Depression. Detective Sam Spade’s ambiguous moral code threatens to bring disaster to the women ensnared in a web of international criminals hunting for an elusive and priceless artifact.
bala.fruta./bullet.fruit.
Written by Jesús I. Valles
Directed by Adil Mansoor
Presentation: Saturday July 11, 5PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall
“My first bullet flew swiftly through the head of a would-be Mexican president, cut through a street block, a dance club, a Walmart, cut back through to a past never-ending, cut past and rattled in my brain until it bloomed into these words, into my living.” bala.fruta./bullet.fruit. is the second solo show by Jesús I. Valles. In the end, bala.fruta./bullet.fruit. asks, “What might be the opposite of a bullet? Where might we find it?”
LAGNIAPPE
Written by C.A. Johnson
Directed by Eric Ting
Presentation: Saturday July 11, 8PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall
Once home to sharecroppers, the Bunche Village subdivision outside of New Orleans is now made up of their suburban descendants who find community at the local corner store. Both harrowing and hilarious, Lagniappe follows their day-to-day lives in this story about loving and longing.
Lagniappe is presented with permission from and commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club.
UNMOORED
Written by Betty Shamieh
Directed by Ian Belknap, S&F’s Artistic Director
Presentation: Sunday July 12, 1PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall
Full of murder, sexual intrigue, and betrayal, Unmoored is a prequel to Othello, The Moor of Venice. The teenage Othello, born into a royal household in his native country of Morocco, must learn to navigate a court full of ruthless power players, including his mother. This cheeky origin story explores the connection between jealousy, violence towards women, and war through the lens of one of Shakespeare’s most controversial tragic heroes.
Unmoored was developed at the Classical Theatre of Harlem with support from the Mellon Foundation Playwright-in-Residence program.
PAPER MENAGERIE
Based on the Short Story “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu
Book by Lloyd Suh
Music by Thao Nguyen
Lyrics by Thao Nguyen & Lloyd Suh
Directed by Chay Yew
Musical Supervision by Chris Fenwick
Dramaturgy by Christine Mok
Presentation: Sunday July 19, 1PM | Bardavon
In Paper Menagerie, based on the short story “The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu, a biracial son struggles to understand an enduring rift with his Chinese immigrant mother. Through ancestral magic and an array of paper animals his mother breathes to life on stage, this new musical explores the magic that is possible when what was left unsaid is finally heard.
DAYLIGHT
Written by Kate Cortesi
Presentation: Friday July 24, 7PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall
Daylight is a new play based on the real-life story of Joe Garcia, a man who served 21 years in prison for murder. Framed by the pop music that sustained him during that dark time and developed in collaboration with Garcia over two years (and counting!), Daylight explores accountability, true love, and the soul-saving power of pop.
Daylight was commissioned by Playwrights Horizons.
MENAFEE
Written and Directed by Quiara Alegría Hudes
Based on the life story of Corey Menafee
Presentations: Saturday July 25, 7PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall
During an impromptu conversation on reunion weekend, a dining hall employee learns about the contested artifact he’s been unknowingly working beneath. Suddenly, the students he loves and the college he’s dedicated his work life to take a backseat to questions about justice and integrity. Based on a true story, Menafee examines the shocking act that changed an institution’s history.
TRIP AROUND THE SUN
Written by Jake Brasch
Directed by Shelley Butler
Presentation: Sunday July 26, 1PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall
Life is good for Phil and Suze in their Florida retirement community. They fill their days with virgin margaritas and Jimmy Buffet karaoke. But the night before Suze’s big birthday cruise, Phil decides to shake things up one last time.
Trip Around the Sun is produced with permission and was commissioned by Two River Theatre.
THE DEATH CHRONICLES (portraits)
Written by & Featuring Dael Orlandersmith
Directed by Neel Keller
Presentation: Saturday August 1, 5PM | Marist University, Symphonic Hall
The Death Chronicles (portraits).. deals with people in the process of dying literally/ spiritually / it deals w/ our lack of acceptance of death / acceptance of death and celebration of the people who were here/ and transitioned and touched us.
THE DEATH CHRONICLES (portraits) was commissioned by The Goodman Theatre.
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by Jim Steinman
With book by Patricia Knop, Gale Edwards & Andrew Lloyd Webber
Orchestrations by David Cullen & Andrew Lloyd Webber
Directed by Bill Rauch
In collaboration with LW Entertainment Ltd., Deaf West Theatre, Perelman Performing Arts Center, & New York Stage & Film
Presentation: Friday July 31, 7PM; Saturday August 1, 8PM; Sunday August 2, 1PM | Bardavon
Tony Award-winning Deaf West Theatre and director Bill Rauch’s (CATS: The Jellicle Ball) reimagining stays true to the original musical as set in America’s Deep South in the late fifties, while further exploring the world as seen through the eyes of children, both deaf and hearing. This evocative musical fuses epic storytelling with compelling characters to create an unforgettable theatrical experience, now with a deepened perspective through Deaf West’s powerful, visually driven storytelling.
Whistle Down the Wind revolves around the time and place where the word teenager was invented. Swallow, struggling to come to terms with the death of her mother, discovers a mysterious stranger whom she believes is Jesus. In a town where a miracle is long overdue, the children fight to protect him from an adult world determined to find an escaped convict hiding in their midst. As fantasy and reality collide, Swallow is torn between the two and begins to discover who she is and where she is going.
