A world premiere psychological thriller.
THE NATIONAL PASTIME
WRITTEN BY ROGELIO MARTINEZ
DIRECTED BY JOHANNA MCKEON
June 11 - 29, 2025
Alejandro Hernández, Joe Cassidy, Erick González, and Cherrye J. Davis in “The National Pastime.”
LEARN ABOUT OUR EXCITING UPCOMING SEASON
May 13 - June 21, 2026
THE NATIONAL PASTIME
June 11 - 29, 2025
Written by Rogelio Martinez
Directed by Johanna McKeon
Cuba, 2016. A mysterious illness rips through the American embassy in Havana. America, 2017. The Houston Astros are stealing signs, on their way to a World Series win. With tensions heightened from the lead-up and aftermath of an election year, the two nations play a dangerous game in the shadows, with their shared national pastimes – baseball and espionage – as their weapons of choice.
Announcing the Julie Lutz New Play Festival, presented in conjunction with The National Pastime, June 11 – 29.
Featuring a work-in-progress reading and talkbacks, allowing audiences to peek behind the curtain of the playwrighting process.
A Julie Lutz New Play Festival
“Write Here” Reading
Milk
By Zizi Majid
Directed by Melissa Crespo
Presented in the Storch Theatre
About the play:
Sofia, a Syrian woman who whilst on a makeshift iron vessel on the Mediterranean Sea, meets Sarah, a woman from South Sudan who’s similarly seeking a better life. Sofia confides her deepest wishes as she considers returning to her home in Syria and a future life with a partner of her own choosing. Milk is a play written as an empathetic response to the global migration crisis.
Saturday, June 14, 5:30 PM
May 13 – June 21, 2026
TICKETS ON SALE THIS SUMMER
Announcing the 25/26 Subscription Season at Syracuse Stage. A thrilling Broadway hit, fresh revivals of award-winning classics, an inspiring new American musical, and a knockout world premiere play. It's all happening at Syracuse Stage and we want you to be a part of it!
Syracuse (ON)Stage Podcast Episode 32: “The National Pastime” with playwright Rogelio Martinez
Syracuse Stage’s Resident Playwright Kyle Bass talks with playwright Rogelio Martinez about his upcoming world premiere production with Rogelio Martinez’s The National Pastime, part of the Julie Lutz New Play Festival.
GUESTS
Rogelio Martinez
Kyle Bass
Syracuse (ON)Stage Podcast Episode 33: The Julie Lutz New Play Festival with Zizi Majid & Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel
Playwrights Zizi Majid & Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel talk with Associate Artistic Director Melissa Crespo about the new plays they are developing during the Julie Lutz New Play Festival.
GUESTS
Zizi Majid
Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel