2026 NEXT Festival
NEXT Festival 2026
JUL 24 - AUG 10, 2026
NEW MUSICALS IN THE MAKING!
Become a part of Theater Latté Da’s commitment to the next generation of the Great American Musical! Theater Latté Da’s NEXT Festival of New Musicals showcases three works that stretch the boundaries of musical storytelling. The creators of each Festival show culminate two weeks of workshop time with two public presentations, providing audience members the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the creative process. Following each performance is an in-depth conversation with the playwrights, composers, and lyricists.
BLACK GIRL IN PARIS
Words by AriDy Nox
Music by Jacinth Greywoode
Directed by Zhailon Levingston
JUL 24 at 4:00PM
JUL 27 at 7:30PM
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 was awarded the prestigious Richard Rogers Award for Musical Theater in 2025, and is directed by Zhailon Levingston, Tony Award winner for Best Director of a Musical for Cats: The Jellicle Ball, now on Broadway following a multi-award-winning Off-Broadway run.
HEARTS IS BROKE
By Aaron Gabriel
Directed by H. Adam Harris
JUL 31 at 4:00PM
AUG 3 at 7:30PM
Hearts 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.
ALICE IN NEVERLAND
By Phil Kenny & Reston Williams
Directed by Catie Davis
AUG 7 at 4:00PM
AUG 10 at 7:30PM
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 production next winter at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, GA.