LAST UPDATED: 12/19/2024
Friends always ask me how I see so manyy 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. (But good news if you’re under 30, 35 or even 40: Quite a few theaters have great ticket discount programs.)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. I’ll annotate when it feels right: a star* means I have a ticket, two stars** means I liked it (or, honestly, a trusted friend-of-the-newsletter did) This letter will appear in your inbox when there’s enough worthy of an update. Otherwise, please check back regularly! If you’re looking to see something on stage (and off-Broadway) TODAY, check out Stage Spotlight NYC.
SEEN ANYTHING GOOD LATELY? REPLY TO THIS EMAIL & TELL ME! PLEASE!
currently running (and about to run)
circuit play by Elizabeth Irwin (Dec 6 —15, Power Moves)
In an exercise studio in Brooklyn, the cleaning crew wipes down dumbbells and folds towels and the workout warriors squat jump and bicep curl. Everyone knows a circuit has an end but how do you know when to get off?
300 Paintings by Sam Kissajukian (Nov 12 — Dec 15, Vineyard Theater)*2
Is art a joke? In 2021, over the course of five intense and unpredictable months, Sydney comedian Sam Kissajukian created 300 large-scale paintings, unknowingly documenting his mental states through an extended manic bipolar episode.
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, adapted by Igor Golyak (Dec 3 — 22, Classic Stage Company)
In this contemporary, spirited production of The Merchant of Venice, Golyak explodes Shakespeare’s complex play in his signature, inventive style. In a nightclub environment akin to a late-night comedy show, this Merchant brings Shakespeare’s “festival” setting for the play into our modern world.
Give Me Carmelita Tropicana! by Alina Troyano and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Oct 23 — Dec 22, Soho Rep)**
Part love letter to an iconic performance artist, part intergenerational debate about the legacy of “downtown” New York, part theatrical interrogation of the uses/abuses of nostalgia, real estate, representation, and the avant-garde, 100% fantastical journey in which Branden Jacobs-Jenkins attempts to buy Carmelita Tropicana from her creator…but at what cost?
Babe by Jessica Goldberg (Oct 29 – Dec 22, The New Group)
From grunge to femme punk hits, Abby and Gus have produced it all. Their work marriage is legendary and Gus has the platinum records to prove it. But when Katherine, a fresh A&R hire, calls Abby out on the compromises she’s made in her work, Abby must face the music and fight to survive.
RACECAR RACECAR RACECAR by Kallan Dana (Dec 6 — 22, The Heart @ A.R.T./New York Theatres)*
A daughter and father embark on a shapeshifting road trip across the country, into the past, through the gelatinous terrain of their shared nightmares. So exciting, it’s not safe, such a fun trip!
Suppose Beautiful Madeline Harvey by Object Collection (Dec 13 — Dec 22, La MaMa)
Beautiful Madeline Harvey has a problem: she is not certain whether she does or does not, in fact, exist. Handsome Roger Vincent waits for her at a boulevard café, where their eyes meet like an electric shock. A paper-thin love story within a paper-thin world, speeding towards inevitable catastrophe…or perhaps, a very serious twist.
the beautiful land i seek (la linda tierra que busco yo) by Matthew Barbot (Dec 4 — 29, THE PUERTO RICAN TRAVELING THEATER)
It’s 1950. Oscar and Gris hurtle towards Washington, DC on a mission: strike in the name of Puerto Rican independence. When their trip goes off the rails, the two men confront familiar faces from the past, new questions about the future, and a tough decision to stay the course or get off the train.
A Guide for the Homesick by Ken Urban (Dec 6 — Jan 12, 2025, DR2 Theatre)
Two strangers meet in a shabby Amsterdam hotel room. Over the course of 80 intense minutes, Teddy and Jeremy explore the complex nuances of guilt and fear, love and desire.
Seagull Fucker by Eli Rarey (Jan 17 — 19, 2025, LaMaMa)
Moscow, 2022. Colliding with the outbreak of the Ukrainian war, a theater director’s staging of The Seagull is irrevocably compromised… but that’s just the beginning.
Symphony of Rats by Richard Foreman (Jan 7 — 25, The Performing Garage)
In Symphony of Rats, a President of the United States is receiving messages by means other than the known senses, and he doesn't know whether to trust them or not.
The Antiquities by Jordan Harrison (Jan 11 — Feb 23, Vineyard Theatre)
At the Museum of Late Human Antiquities, the curators are fiercely committed to bringing a lost civilization to life again: What were humans really like? What did they wear, what did they eat, how did they die out?
Grangeville by Samuel D. Hunter (Feb 4 — March 16, 2025, Signature Theatre)
Across a void of thousands of miles and oceans of hurt, two half-brothers tentatively reconnect over the care of their ailing mother. Grangeville is a new play about the fallibility of memory, the stories we tell to make sense of our suffering, and the complexity of forgiveness.
readings
Various @ First Light Festival (Oct 24 — Dec 12, Ensemble Studio Theatre)
festivals & series
Under the Radar Festival: January 4 — 19, 2025, Various**
New York City’s premier annual festival of experimental theater, featuring cutting-edge performances from around the world and across the U.S.
Shows of interest: Blind Runner (Jan 4 — 25, 2025 @ St Ann’s), Cuckoo by Jaha Koo (Jan 16 — 18, 2025), Runway by Christiana Kosiari (Jan 10 — 14, 2025), Rich With History and other stuff you say at a haunted house by Mabou Mines (Jan 8 —16).
BAM Next Wave Festival: Sep 17 —Jan 19, 2025, Various**
Next Wave is where well-known visionaries and trailblazing rebels unleash their groundbreaking creativity onto the world.
Shows of interest: Gaviota by Guillermo Cacace (Nov 13 — 23).
PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL: January 9 — 19, 2025, Various
The visionary festival is the only one of its kind in New York City and is a model now emulated around the country – producing and presenting a wide spectrum of works, from intimate black-box experiences to larger chamber opera productions, valuing artistic, curatorial, and producorial risk-taking.
Shows of interest: EAT THE DOCUMENT by Dana Spiotta (Jan 9 — 12, 2025), BLACK LODGE by David Little & Anne Waldman (Jan 11 — 12, 2025).
The Exponential Festival: January 2025, Various
The participants in this multi-artist, multi-venue festival are committed to ecstatic creativity in the face of commercialism. Exponential is driven by inclusiveness and a diversity of artists, forms, and ideas coupled with utopian resource-sharing, mentoring and the championing of risky, rigorous work in eclectic fields.
theater over $50 & probably worth it
True Love Forever by Third Rail Projects (December 13 — 15, ART X NYC)
Inspired by his solo debut album Love Kills and featuring seven new pieces, TRUE LOVE FOREVER combines the passionate depth of Coyle Girelli's music with Jennine Willett's immersive storytelling style, inviting audiences into an intimate performance that speaks of the heart and to the heart.
King Lear by William Shakespeare (Oct 26 — Dec 15, The Shed)
Kenneth Branagh plays the title role in a new production of William Shakespeare’s King Lear, set in the barbarous landscape of Ancient Britain.
Hold On To Me Darling by Kenneth Lonergan (Sept 24 — Dec 22, Louise Lortell)
On learning of his mother’s death, country music icon Strings McCrane finds himself in an existential tailspin. The only way out, he decides, is to abandon superstardom in favor of the simple life, so he moves back to his hometown in Tennessee.
The Blood Quilt by Katori Hall (Oct 30 — Dec 29, Lincoln Center Theater)*
Four sisters gather at their childhood island home off the coast of Georgia for their annual reunion. They are creating a family quilt to honor their recently deceased mother. But when their reunion turns into a reading of their mother’s will, everyone must grapple with a troubling inheritance.
The Dead, 1904 based on the novella by James Joyce; adapted by Paul Muldoon & Jean Hanff Korelitz (Dec 3 — Jan 5, Irish Rep)
The Dead, 1904 is an adaptation of James Joyce’s novella. 57 audience members act as guests in attendance at the Morkans’ holiday party; as they move from room to room, they observe character interactions, enjoy music and dance, and are served a meal inspired by the menu in the novella. The production takes place in an authentic Victorian mansion, perfectly evoking the atmosphere of the story.
Deep Blue Sound by Abe Koogler (Feb 25 — Mar 29, 2025, The Public)**
On an island in the Pacific Northwest, the community gathers to address the disappearance of the local orca pod. Friendships fray, tumors grow, new love blooms, wood is chopped, poems are written. The seasons change. Will the whales ever return?
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (Feb 28 — Apr 6, 2025, BAM)*
In the sweltering heat of New Orleans summer, a woman's grip on the world begins to slip. When Blanche arrives at her sister Stella's doorstep, desperate and out of options, her complicated past ignites a smoldering tension within the walls of the stifling apartment.
All Nighter by Natalie Margolin (Feb 24 — May 17, MCC Theatre Space)
It’s finals week at a small liberal arts college in rural Pennsylvania. A tight-knit group of roommates pull one last all-nighter to complete their final assignments. Holed up in an old ballroom, the hours pass, the pressure mounts, the Adderall flows, and the truths that have always bound this group together are put to the test. What will be left when the sun rises?
Quite a few theaters have “Under 30”, “Under 35” or “Under 40”! programs OR student discounts. Check for them when you’re buying tickets — for example, Manhattan Theatre Club’s 30 Under 35, HIPTIX at Roundabout (if you’re under 40!), Lincoln Center Theater’s LincTix for Under 35s, Second Stage Theatre’s $30 Under 30, Irish Rep’s GreenSeats for Under 35s, Playwrights Horizons’ 30 & Under Membership, Vineyard Theater’s 40 Under 40 (where for $40 (once) you can get any ticket to any show for $20), and New York City Center’s “Access Club” just extended their age limit from 35 to 40(!) — according to this TikToker. Other ways to get cheaper tickets: sign up for the theater’s newsletter (they’ll often send out codes for discounts) or check TodayTix.
Get 25% off tickets* with code THTR20. Valid for all performances through November 30.