Summer Play Fest teams with Public

Duo to sponsor annual showcase of new work

By GORDON COX

The annual Summer Play Fest has struck up a partnership with Off Broadway’s Public Theater, with the annual showcase of new legit work playing its fifth season next summer at the Public.

Spearheaded by producer Arielle Tepper Madover, SPF provides unusually thorough financial and production support for a slate of about 15 new plays selected through a submission process. Next installment hits the Public July 1-July 27.

Up-and-coming scribes who have participated in past fests include Noah Haidle (“Mr. Marmalade”), Beau Willimon (“Farragut North”), Jordan Harrison (“Doris to Darlene, a Cautionary Valentine”) and composer John Bucchino (“A Catered Affair”).

Lineup of the 2008 SPF, for which all tickets are $10, will be announced in the spring.