Damon Daunno, Lauren Patten, and More Announced for Little Island's Summer Lineup

Little Island announced programming details for its annual summer season, including multiple world premieres, in its open-air performance spaces—the Amph (tickets priced at $25) and the Glade (tickets are free to the public).

Little Island will present 110 live performances by and featuring more than 300 artists, in an 18-week season running May 29-September 28.

The season includes the world premiere of The Counterfeit Opera: A Beggar’s Opera for a Grifter’s City, a new adaptation of John Gay’s watershed comic opera, The Beggar’s Opera, running May 29-June 15 in the Amph. Director Dustin Wills (Wolf Play) and composer/arranger Dan Schlosberg, the team behind last season’s The Marriage of Figaro, are joined by writer Kate Tarker. The cast includes Christopher Bannow, Tony nominee Damon Daunno (Oklahoma!), Sola Fadiran, Ann Harada (Schmigadoon!), Rob Kellogg, Dorcas Leung, Daniel Liu, Katerina McCrimmon, Leonardo Khan, Tony winner Lauren Patten (Jagged Little Pill), Emma Ramos, Henry Stram (Titanic), and Zenzi Williams (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding). The creative team also includes choreographer Rosie Herrera, scenic designers Lisa Laratta and Dustin Wills, costume designer Rodrigo Muñoz, lighting designer Barbara Samuels, and sound designer Sun Hee Kil.

Tony winner Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown) will stage Sarah Gancher’s bluegrass adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s classic opera Eugene Onegin (July 30-31 in the Glade), based on the novel by Pushkin. The cast will be announced at a later date.

Tony nominee Whitney White (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding) will premiere The Case of the Stranger, a Shakespeare-inspired song cycle exploring contemporary themes of immigration written by White and co-directed by White and Maxim Pozdorovkin, on June 26 in the Glade. The cast includes White, Florencia Cuenca, and Rotana Tarabzouni.

Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award–winner Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog) will debut an evening of new work featuring her band SLP & The Joyful Noise and directed by Niegel Smith (Hir), running July 30-August 3 in the Amph. In addition to Parks, the cast includes Rona Figueroa, Leland Fowler, Danyel Fulton, Lance Coadie Williams, and special guests to be announced. The creative team includes scenic designer Jian Jung, costume designer Diane von Furstenberg, lighting designer Ania Washington, and sound designr Shannon Slaton.

Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo will star in Charles Ludlam’s Galas as Maria Magdalena Galas (rhymes with Callas), a role previously played by Ludlam. Directed by Eric Ting (The Comeuppance), it will run September 6-28 in the Amph. The creative team includes scenic designer Mimi Lien, lighting designer Jiyoun Chang, and sound designer Tei Blow. The rest of the cast will be announced at a later date.

Click here to see the full summer lineup.