LAST UPDATED: 4/15/2024
Friends always ask me how I see so many plays that they’ve never even heard of. The long answer is, “I get recommendations, pay attention to playwrights whose work I’ve liked in the past and most crucially, I also subscribe to (and skim) many, many individual theater’s newsletters.” The short answer is, “It’s weirdly hard and annoying!” And EXPENSIVE.1
This is a free newsletter, but it’s also an ever-updating landing page and a list of what I’m seeing, as well as what I’d like to see in-theater. But I am not a theater critic! Just a fan. And I’ll annotate when it feels right: a star* means I bought a ticket, two stars** means I liked it (or, honestly, a trusted friend-of-the-newsletter did) (If something disappears from this list, wellllllll, it wasn’t that good? )This letter will appear in your inbox when there’s enough worthy of an update. Otherwise, please check back regularly!
currently running (and about to run)
Travels by James Harrison Monaco (March 20 — April 20, Ars Nova)*
A symphony of stories finds its rhythm in Travels, a vivid travelogue set to music by James Harrison Monaco. Weaving global movement, desire and heartbreak into an electro thrill ride, Travels reimagines oral traditions for the 21st century, unpacking how far you can go when you really listen.
Fish by Kia Corthron (March 20 — April 20, Theater Four in Theatre Row)
Between acting as guardian to her little brother and losing her best friend to the charter school on the upper floor, Tree is just trying her best to get through senior year at her underfunded public school. Ms. Harris, the new English teacher, has grown embittered over budget cuts and standardized testing – keeping every student afloat is proving easier said than done.
The Poisoner by M.M. Haney (April 6 — 21, La MaMa)
An unraveling of the deception, abuse of power, and utter negligence of early 2000s Michigan water politics. In a neo-noir thriller driven by a determined journalist who returns to his hometown and uncovers more than he bargained for, THE POISONER invites you to question, are we ever safe?
BATHHOUSE.PPTX by Jesús I. Valles (March 19 — April 22, The Flea)*
An epic new play that follows Presenter, a queer Latiné student, whose powerpoint presentation on the history of cleanliness and bathing quickly starts to burst at the seams with appearances from the ghosts of a bathhouse at the end of the world, A Conquistador! Wearing One of Those Hats!, A Very Real Twink, and even Laura Linney.
Zoomers by Matthew Gasda (April 6 —26, The Brooklyn Center for Theater Research)
As Matthew Gasda’s DIMES SQUARE captured the essence of the Lower East Side reactionary art scene, ZOOMERS is the definitive theatrical take on the video-game-addicted, anxious, troubled Generation Z.
Grief Hotel by Liza Birkenmeier (March 20 — April 27, The Public Theater / Clubbed Thumb)** [EXTENDED]2
Loss is fast, but grief is slow. Aunt Bobbi’s going to try to make everyone feel better, even though her parties are cursed.
Stargazers by Majkin Holmquist (April 8 — May 10, Page 73 @ Connelly Theater)*
A grieving mother contemplates selling her Kansas farm—guided, she says, by the ghost of her daughter. While her ex-husband and neighbors fight to keep the land, an East Coast developer hopes to build a progressive utopia that would alter the landscape forever.
Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors by Gillian Slovo (April 13 – May 12, St Ann’s Warehouse)
When West London’s Grenfell Tower went up in flames in 2017, there was no shock, only horror. In the end, 72 lives would be lost. This riveting call-to-action offers a compelling investigation into the catastrophe, driven by the survivors’ stories, their heroic acts, and their impassioned struggle for justice.
Scarlett Dreams by S. Asher Gelman (April 12 — May 26, Greenwich House Theater
Siblings Milo (Borris Anthony York) and Liza (Brittany Bellizeare) are on the brink of launching RealFit, a revolutionary fitness and wellness application tailored for the the latest VR headset.
SYMPHONY OF RATS by Richard Foreman (March 27 — May 4, Wooster Group)
A President of the United States experiences strange encounters of the phantasmagorical kind.
PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME! by Brian Friel (March 16 — May 5, Irish Rep)
Gar O’Donnell’s heartache from losing his girlfriend to a successful businessman propels him to accept an invitation to go and live with an aunt in Philadelphia.
Las Borinqueñas by Nelson Diaz-Marcano (April 3 — May 12, Signature Theatre)
It’s the 1950's in Puerto Rico and María, Fernanda, Yolanda, Rosa, and Chavela are fighting to live full lives in a changing country with crushing societal rules for women. In the U.S., Dr. Gregory Pincus is on the verge of perfecting a miracle that could give them freedom - if only he could find test subjects to participate in preliminary trials.
Orlando by Sarah Ruhl (April 2 — May 12, Signature Theatre)*
Starring Taylor Mac as Orlando(!), an adaptation of the “longest and most charming love letter in literature,” written by Virginia Woolf for her lover, Vita Sackville-West, Orlando is a theatrical, wild, fantastical trip through space, time, and gender.
Staff Meal by Abe Koogler (April 12 — May 19, The Public Theater)*
A funny, startling new play about a mysterious restaurant, where the food is delicious, the service is warm, and some strange power keeps the darkness at bay. You are safe here – at least until closing time.
The Infinite Wrench by The New York Neo-Futurists (April 12 — June 29, 154 / formerly the New Ohio)
The Infinite Wrench is a mechanism that unleashes a barrage of two-minute plays for a live audience. With new plays every week, The Infinite Wrench is the Neo-Futurists’ ongoing and ever-changing attempt to shift the conventions of live performance and speak to audiences including those unreached or unmoved by traditional theater.
Three House by Dave Malloy (April 30 — June 9, Signature Theatre)*
Susan has fled to Latvia. Sadie hides in New Mexico. Beckett longs for Ireland. All three are alone; all three are haunted by their grandparents; all three hear the Big Bad Wolf scratching at the door. A post-pandemic open mic night parable about magic, madness, and the end of the world.
Invasive Species by Maia Novi (May 7 — June 30, The Vinyard)**
Following the journey of an Argentinean actor as she tests the limits of her American dream, Invasive Species is an outrageous dark comedy about how immigrating to the US may be the role of a lifetime.
festivals & series
The 2024 Pipeline Festival (April 4 — May 4, WP Theater)
Five Weeks. Five Plays. One Lab. Featuring work by Amara Janae Brady, Christin Eve Cato, Queen Esther, Amina Henry, Else Went, Jordana De La Cruz, Onyekachi Iwu, Julia Sirna-Frest, Dina Vovsi, Ran Xia, Alverneq Lindsay, Emma Orme, Barbara Samuels, Praycious Wilson-Gay
?!: NEW WORKS 2024 (April 9 — 27, The Brick)
40 Artists Over 17 Nights. Featuring work by James La Bella, Sleth, Mary Ann Odete, Rivers Duggan, Elijah Guo, Leah Plante-Wiener & Eulàlia Comas, Dalit Ahava, Mary Ann Odete, Jasmine Sharma and more.
Clubbed Thumb Summerworks 2024 (May 16 — June 29, The Wild Project)3
Three great shows, all developed by Clubbed Thumb. — including T. Adamson’s USUS, Bailey Williams’ Coach Coach & Crystal Finn’s Find Me Here.
theater over $50 & probably worth it
Ibsen's Ghost: An Irresponsible Biographical Fantasy by Charles Busch (March 2 — April 14, Primary Stages)
Written by and starring the legendary Charles Busch, Ibsen's Ghost tells a tall (and hilarious) tale of the toll a great man’s ghost takes on the women at the soul of his work.
SALLY & TOM by Suzan-Lori Parks (March 28 — May 5, The Public Theater)*
The off-off-off-Broadway theater troupe Good Company is putting on a play about Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. Writer Luce is cast as Sally; her romantic partner, and the play’s director, Mike, is cast as Tom—really, people, what could possibly go wrong?
Oh, Mary! by Cole Escola (Jan 26 — May 12, Lucille Lortel Theatre)** [EXTENDED]
Oh, Mary! is a dark comedy starring Cole Escola as a miserable, suffocated Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.
Here There Are Blueberries by Moisés Kaufman & Amanda Gronich (April 17 — June 2, NYTW)4
In 2007, a mysterious album featuring Nazi-era photographs arrived at the desk of a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum archivist. As curators unraveled the shocking truth behind the images, the album soon made headlines and ignited a debate that reverberated far beyond the museum walls.
The Welkin by Lucy Kirkwood (May 16 — June 30, Atlantic Theater Company)
Rural England, 1759. As the country awaits the return of Halley’s comet, a young woman is sentenced to death. When she tries to escape the noose by claiming she is pregnant, twelve ordinary women are gathered to decide whether she is telling the truth. A dark, fierce, funny play about democracy and housework.
Quite a few theater companies have “Under 35” OR student discounts. I won’t be noting them here, but you should check for them when you’re buying tickets and you happen to be blessed with the gift of youth. (Or you have an active student ID.) Other ways to get cheaper tickets: sign up for the theater’s newsletter (they’ll often send out codes for discounts) or check TodayTix.
Use code NGFAN24 for $45 tickets (w/ no fees!); offer good for 2 tickets per purchase.
Highly recommend the Summerworks Festival Pass, where you can see all 3 shows for just $80!
$25 tickets on April 17th & 18th!