Atlantic Theater Company has postponed its upcoming world premiere of Nsangou Njikam's A Freeky Introduction. The production was to begin at the Off-Broadway company's Linda Gross Theater in October and will now perform in spring 2025, with exact dates to be confirmed.

In a statement, the company is citing budgetary question marks as the reason for the shift. "We are not yet able to finalize our annual budget because of significant unknown production revenues and expenses that have the potential to impact our future shows," reads the statement. "We fully expect to complete the negotiations affecting the budgeting process in the coming few months and are hopeful that the full season will proceed in its entirety."

While the theatre is not sharing specifics about the budgetary issues nor the nature of current negotiations, the news follows the unionization of its backstage crew earlier this year, part of a larger trend sweeping the formerly non-union Off-Broadway backstage scene. The push will provide workers with higher pay and various protections, but is also likely to force a change in the Off-Broadway business model, or at least higher ticket prices.

A Freeky Introduction was to be the company's inaugural offering of the 2024-2025 season. Njikam is set to star as Freeky Dee, who is there to lead audiences towards freedom with a mix of poetry, ministry, and magic. Njikam will be joined by DJ Monday Blue, with Dennis A. Allen II directing.

The postponement looks to keep the Atlantic season dark until 2025, when Eliya Smith's Grief Camp is currently scheduled to make its world premiere in January and February. The season is also scheduled to include Mona Pirnot's I'm Assuming You Know David Greenspan in the company's Atlantic Stage 2 space in early 2025, Ethan Coen's Let's Love! in the Linda Gross Theater in March and April, and Abby Rosebrock's Lowcountry also in the Gross in May and June. Whether those announced schedules will have to shift in order to accommodate A Freeky Introduction's postponement remains unclear.

Visit AtlanticTheater.org for more.