News
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ROZ AND RAY New York Premiere!
New York Premiere at Primary Stages - On Pause

In Karen Hartman’s profound drama, Roz and Ray, it’s a new dawn for single father Ray Leon and his hemophiliac sons when Dr. Roz Kagan’s medical miracle offers them a chance at a normal life. But miracles aren’t always what they appear to be, and working on the cutting edge of biomedicine means moral ambiguity and impossible choices. During a devastating chapter of medical and queer history, Roz and Ray exposes the line between personal and professional as Dr. Roz wrestles with whether to follow her intuition and fight for what is right.  ​
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Rattlesnake Kate announced at Denver Center!
Music and Lyrics by Neyla Pekarek | Book by Karen Hartman
based on Neyla Pekarek's concept album Rattlesnake
World Premiere  - On Pause

Karen joins forces with singer-songwriter Neyla Pekarek (formerly of the Lumineers) to unearth the legend of Kate Slaughterback, Colorado native, rattlesnake slayer, and fast fashion queen of 1927. Western lore meets a modern eye, as Karen and Neyla raise the spirit of a woman who played by no one's rules. Commissioned by the Denver Center, supported by the Hedgebrook Women Playwrights Festival.
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ALICE BLISS wins 2019 Weston-Ghostlight New Musical Award

Karen (book), Jenny Giering (music), and Adam Gwon (lyrics) won the 13th Annual Weston-Ghostlight New Musical Award for ALICE BLISS,  commissioned by Playwrights Horizons, based on Laura Harrington's acclaimed novel.  Set in upstate New York during the Iraq War, Alice Bliss is an intimate mother daughter story about women trying to hold onto normal, when life is anything but.  "Not only is ALICE BLISS a stunning and heart wrenching new musical, it is also a detailed and compassionate exploration of an oft overlooked story of contemporary life" - Executive Artistic Director Susanna Gellert

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