LAST UPDATED: 6/25/2024
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.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) (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)
The Infinite Wrench by The New York Neo-Futurists (April 12 — June 29, 154 / formerly the New Ohio)
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.
The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century by Olga Ravn (June 13 — 30, TheaterLab)*
It’s the 22nd century and the human and humanoid crew on board the Six-Thousand ship are on a mission in search of a new home. When the ship takes on a number of strange objects from the planet New Discovery, the crew becomes strangely and deeply attached to them, even as tensions boil toward mutiny.
The Fires by Raja Feather Kelly (May 8 — June 30, Soho Rep)* [EXTENDED]
In 1971, 1998, and 2021, three different men in a South Brooklyn railroad apartment write, read, fuck, flirt, eat, and fight at the same time. The Fires is a surreal new play about being a somebody in a world of other somebodies–while trying on love.
Invasive Species by Maia Novi (May 7 — June 30, The Vineyard)**2
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.
DARK NOON by Tue Biering (June 7 — July 7, St Ann’s Warehouse)**
The Hollywood story of a High Noon Western through an outsider’s lens: Native Americans, cowboys, missionaries, enslaved Africans, Chinese workers, European settlers, prostitutes, and Confederates. Dark Noon is a Wild Wild West circus where an innocent encounter can explode in an instant.
horsefacts.gov/ by Sleth (July 3 — 13, The Brick)
NY Gov. Kathy Hochul has tasked Sleth, a horse fancier and maniac, with creating a lecture immortalizing Horses for a far-off future where Horses no longer exist. She has also made him promise to never die. In some distant future, Sleth delivers this lecture, which gradually falls apart into misinformation, misremembering, lies and hysteria.
Ulysses adapted by Elevator Repair Service (June 20 — July 14, SummerScape)3
Seven performers sit down for a sober reading but soon find themselves guzzling pints, getting in brawls, and committing debaucheries as they careen on a fast-forward tour through Joyce’s funhouse of styles. With madcap antics and a densely layered sound design, ERS presents an eclectic sampling from Joyce’s life-affirming masterpiece.
Synching Ink by NSangou Njikam (May 21 — July 21, The Apollo)
Gordon’s epic coming-of-age journey to embrace the power of his words ... for himself, his family, and the fate of Hip Hop itself. Written by NSangou Njikam, and directed by Awoye Timpo, this daringly original celebration of authentic Hip Hop theater asks one of the most famous and fundamental questions: “Can he kick it?”
CRINGE by The Three Sardines (July 20 — 27, 59E59 Theaters)
CRINGE follows the creation of fanfiction as we know it–an unauthorized celebration of intergenerational fandom, liberative queer space, and collaborative fantasy, with a dose of camp and an even larger dose of… well. Cringe.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Williams Shakespeare (Directed by Carl Cofield) (July 6 — 28, The Classical Theater of Harlem) [FREE!]
This production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream transports audiences to the height of the Harlem Renaissance, where four young lovers, a troupe of rude mechanicals, and mischievous fairies find themselves entangled in a web of romantic chaos within a mystical forest.
It’s Not What It Looks Like by John Collins (July 24 — Aug 10, Soho Playhouse)
A two-person testimony spanning several months with an assembly of characters tries to answer that. It’s a funny, suspenseful and thrilling story of grief that will make you wonder if it really isn’t what it looks like.
Six Characters by Phillip Howze (July 13 — Aug 25, LCT)
When some trifling citizens storm a renowned cultural center where they’re not meant to be, all hell breaks loose. Wigs go flying. Wounds get opened. An archive explodes. Will the audience make it out alive?
ANTIGONE IN THE AMAZON by Milo Rau (Sept 27 — 28, Skirball)*
In this captivating rendition of Antigone, witness the stirring performance by Amazon indigenous activist Kay Sara in the titular role, accompanied by a Greek chorus comprised of survivors from Brazil’s historic Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) massacre in 1996. The production examines the Greek classic as an allegory for political struggle and fierce resistance against the implacable greed of a modern, devastating world.
Sex Variants of 1941: A Study of Homosexual Patterns by The Civilians (Nov 14 — 24, Skirball)*
The Civilians examine the intimate lives of Depression-era queers in this kaleidoscopic, musical fantasia adapted from the 1941 text Sex Variants, a “medical study” of LGBT+ sexuality.
festivals & series
Clubbed Thumb Summerworks 2024 (May 16 — June 29, The Wild Project)**4
Three great shows, all developed by Clubbed Thumb. — including T. Adamson’s USUS, Bailey Williams’ Coach Coach & Crystal Finn’s Find Me Here.
ANT Fest 2024 (June 10 — 27, Ars Nova)
Every summer, Ars Nova throws open our doors to the next wave of pioneering theater, comedy, music and hybrid theater-makers who fill our stage with their most dynamic ideas.
theater over $50 & probably worth it
The Welkin by Lucy Kirkwood (May 16 — July 7, Atlantic Theater Company)** [EXTENDED]
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.
Pre-Existing Condition by Marin Ireland (June 7 — Aug 3, Connelly Theater)** [EXTENDED]
Pre-Existing Condition explores the challenges, shared community and everyday indignities of learning to move forward after a life-altering, harmful relationship.
King Lear by William Shakespeare (Oct 26 — Dec 15, The Shed)5
Kenneth Branagh plays the title role in a new production of William Shakespeare’s King Lear, set in the barbarous landscape of Ancient Britain.
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 VT25 FOR 25% OFF SELECT TICKETS THROUGH JUNE 30.
FYI! This is upstate at Fisher Center at Bard College!
Highly recommend the Summerworks Festival Pass, where you can see all 3 shows for just $80!
Extremely cool that you can get front row seats for this production for $25 if you’re under 30 [years old]. Extremely UNCOOL that you if you do so, you still can’t bring anyone over 30. THAT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL!