Agency Puts City Stories on Stage

Many a newcomer to New York has dreams of Broadway stardom. The new New York office of the Chicago-based Leo Burnett advertising agency has made it, at least for now, as far as a theater in the East Village.

The 9th Space Theater at P.S. 122, at 150 First Avenue, will soon be home to a play called “8 Million Protagonists,” to be presented by Leo Burnett New York in a joint venture with The Village Voice. The play is based on an online initiative called New York Writes Itself that helped introduce the office when it was opened last year by Burnett, part of the Publicis Groupe.

If the play's title - evocative of the line “There are eight million stories in the naked city” from the 1948 movie “The Naked City” and its TV spinoff - is not sufficient to tip off potential ticket buyers to the subject matter, the subtitle might: “An Off Broadway Play Written by the Streets of N.Y.” The play is composed of material from the New York Writes Itself Web sit e, submitted by New Yorkers, about their everyday lives in the city.

“When we originally came to New York, we thought this city was filled with amazing stories,” said Jay Benjamin, chief creative officer at Leo Burnett New York, “and we wanted to make something of those.”

Plans call for nine performances of “8 Million Protagonists,” from Nov. 1 through Nov. 10; tickets are $20 each. Proceeds from ticket sales are meant to offset the production costs of the play, estimated at under $100,000.

The play is being presented in association with a production company named, coincidentally, LB Entertainment; it is unrelated to Leo Burnett New York, which is the play's executive producer.

“Everyone” in the office “has touched the play in some capacity,” Mr. Benjamin said, giving as an example a co-producer, Shaina Stigler, who works in the creative department.

Also, Michael Canning and Kieran Antill - the executive creative directors at the office who developed New York Writes Itself with Mr. Benjamin - share a credit, “original concept by.”

The play is another spinoff from New York Writes Itself, which also includes a YouTube channel and a letterpress art exhibit in collaboration with the Art Directors Club. After its run, “8 Million Protagonists” could become “an ongoing play,” Mr. Benjamin said, adding, “The script could change based on what happens in the city.”