THEATRE ASPEN ANNOUNCES SIX NEW WORKS SELECTED FOR THE SEVENTH ANNUAL “SOLO FLIGHTS” FESTIVAL – SEPTEMBER 8-13
Press Contacts:
Rick Miramontez / Ellie Detweiler
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212 695 7400
Theatre Aspen Contacts:
Britt Marden / Eliza Boyanton
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970 925 9313
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
SELECTIONS ANNOUNCED FOR
THEATRE ASPEN’S
SEVENTH ANNUAL
“SOLO FLIGHTS” FESTIVAL
SETPEMBER 8-13, 2026
INCLUDING SIX NEW WORKS FEATURING
PLAYWRIGHT LIZA POWEL O’BRIEN
“SHRINKING” AND “COBRA KAI” WRITER BILL POSLEY
EMMY AWARD-NOMINATED WRITER AND PRODUCER JASON ODELL WILLIAMS
AND
TONY AWARD® WINNER SANTINO FONTANA
TICKETS ON-SALE NOW!
Aspen, CO (August 6, 2026) – Today, Theatre Aspen announced the six new works selected for the seventh annual Solo Flights Festival, the yearly developmental festival of one-person shows bringing lauded creatives to the Aspen area, to be held from September 8-13, 2026 at Theatre Aspen’s Hurst Theatre. The six new works include Ruthless by Liza Powel O’Brien, Crusades by Jason Gray Platt and starring Tony Award® winner Santino Fontana, This is Not an Immigrant Story by Reza Salazar, The Day I Accidentally Went to War by Bill Posley, Nash by Hannah Benitez & Kevin Cloud, and Destroying David by Jason Odell Williams.
This year’s Solo Flights Festival will feature six new works, all receiving early developmental support from Theatre Aspen including:
RUTHLESS
Thursday, September 10 at 7PM & Sunday, September 13 at 4PM
Written by Liza Powel O’Brien
Directed by Mimi O’Donnell
Ruth is trapped—in her closet, in her marriage, and in her mind. Her husband has confessed to $65 billion worth of fraud and now she faces a difficult choice—protect her freedom by disavowing her love or face an eternity of scorn. Ruthless interrogates the immutability of identity and asks what happens to love when its object proves rotten.
CRUSADES
Wednesday, September 9 at 7PM & Saturday, September 12 at 4PM
Written by Jason Gray Platt
Directed by Nikki DiLoreto
Starring Santino Fontana
Stephen and his family recently moved to a small-town paradise in Colorado. But when one of his children mysteriously falls ill, his desperation for answers begins to shatter his marriage, his faith in reason, and ultimately his understanding of just how far he is willing to go to get justice.
THIS IS NOT AN IMMIGRANT STORY
Tuesday, September 8 at 7PM & Friday, September 11 at 4PM
Written by and starring Reza Salazar
Directed by Kate Whorisky
When Reza Salazar was just four, his young mother painted a circle on his nose, then her own. In a moment of desperate creativity, they reinvented themselves as clowns, turning survival into performance.
This Is Not An Immigrant Story is a solo theatrical piece tracing a son’s journey to understand and love his mother, shaped by their nomadic early years as clowns traveling throughout South America. In this coming-of-age story, Reza explores trauma, resilience, and love through humor, compassion, and arresting physicality.
THE DAY I ACCIDENTALLY WENT TO WAR
Wednesday, September 9 at 4PM & Saturday, September 12 at 7PM
Written by and starring Bill Posley
Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel
In The Day I Accidentally Went to War, writer, comedian, and veteran Bill Posley (writer of “Shrinking” and “Cobra Kai”) shares the remarkable true story of how his college dreams were shattered when his mother gambles away their house. Bill, a resourceful 17-year-old, enlists in the National Guard for a second chance; however, the day of his boot camp graduation, a plane strikes the World Trade Center, sending him unexpectedly to war in Iraq. Bill’scharismatic humor, heartfelt storytelling, and first-hand insight explore friendship, service, resilience, and what it means to be an American.
NASH
Tuesday, September 8 at 4PM & Friday, September 11 at 7PM
Written by Hannah Benitez & Kevin Cloud
Directed by Hannah Ryan
Starring Katie Boeck
Nash is “Fleabag” meets Waitress, with a charmingly unreliable narrator who takes us on an 80-minute musical journey of redemption, as she returns to her small hometown in Missouri after Nashville’s music scene chews her up and spits her out. Affronted by the life she left behind, she must choose to risk it all for a last shot at her dream, or the safety of settling.
DESTROYING DAVID
Thursday, September 10 at 4PM & Sunday, September 13 at 7PM
Written by Jason Odell Williams
Directed by Charlotte Cohen
Starring Lois Robbins
An unnamed tour guide leads the audience on a private tour through the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze. But as the guide shares the fascinating history and precarious physical condition of Michelangelo’s famous statue, the story becomes more personal as the guide reveals they have recently suffered a profound loss and believe the only way to heal is to destroy the world’s most beautiful work of art: Michelangelo’s David. Funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting, Destroying David is an ode to the beauty, resilience, and power of art to help us through our darkest hours.
Single tickets and Frequent Flyer Passes for Solo Flights are on sale now. Matinee performances are priced at $35 for premium seating and $50 for standard seating. Evening performances are offered on a ‘Pay What You Will’ basis, starting at $15, with can be purchased exclusively at the box office. Audience members can also save with Frequent Flyer Passes, available as a 6-pack for $185 or a 12-pack for $235.
The schedule for Solo Flights is subject to change, please visit TheatreAspen.org for the most up-to-date information. Purchase at TheatreAspen.org, or call (970) 300-4474 or visit the box office, open Monday through Friday from 10AM-4PM at the Hurst Theatre.
In addition to the performances, Solo Flights features signature events including talkbacks, creative discussions, and special receptions.
The official judges and additional casting and creative announcements will be made shortly.
Solo Flights is an annual weeklong developmental festival of one-person shows presented in the beginning stages of their making. Launched in 2019, the festival has brought a variety of diverse works and celebrated actors and directors to Theatre Aspen. Artists have included Anthony Rapp, Justin Tranter, Sammi Cannold, Guy Davis, Marsha Mason, Judith Ivey, Phylicia Rashad, Regina Taylor, Bryce Pinkham, Kate Baldwin, Taylor Trensch, Beau Bridges, Jeff Hiller, Lorin Latarro, Kaye Winks, Sarah Stiles, Christine Quintana, Emma Ramos, Richard Greenberg, Lameece Issaq, Michael Gaston, James Naughton, James Whiteside and more.
In 2022, Theatre Aspen created the Solo Flights Project Advancement Fund which provides $10,000 grants to two chosen festival works to support future development. This year once again, a selection panel of distinguished theatre makers, to be announced, will choose two works to receive the 2026 grants. The 2025 grant recipients were The Goldsmith by Sharone Sayegh and The Vampire by Alec Silberblatt.
ABOUT THEATRE ASPEN
As Theatre Aspen concludes its 43rd season in 2026, it continues to rekindle a sense of discovery in audiences who live in and visit the Roaring Fork Valley by producing big theatre in a small space with intimate storytelling. Each season, Theatre Aspen promises to bring world-class theatre dramatically closer, with innovative and imaginative productions of both plays and musicals. These productions are complemented by an assortment of community events, including cabarets, educational programs and performances, collaborations with other Aspen arts organizations, and new works presentations. Theatre Aspen also boasts an impressive Apprentice Program, one of the largest in the country, devoted to training the next generation of theatrical artists and administrators. For more information on Theatre Aspen, visit TheatreAspen.org or call (970) 925-9313.
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