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New song-filled shows by a Pulitzer Prize winner, an indie rocker and more
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Broadway isn't the only destination for exciting new musicals this fall. In fact, there are almost twice as many opening Off Broadway this autumn than on! Catch a brand-new musical written by and starring a Pulitzer Prize winner, a lauded London import, a queer rocker's musical memoir and a Hoagy Carmichael revue. Bonus: There are also three must-see musical revivals, and we're not even talking about Merrily We Roll Along with Daniel Radcliffe at New York Theatre Workshop, which sold out in minutes. (Hey, maybe you'll get lucky and win the ticket lottery).
In terms of COVID-19 safety protocols, rules vary by venue. While we are trying to keep this article up to date, be sure to double-check the protocols before purchasing tickets so you arrive prepared.
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New Ohio Theatre, 154 Christopher Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets in the West Village
Begins October 21. Closes November 5. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Proof of vaccination and masks are required.
A diverse group of singer-storytellers puts a fiercely feminist spin on female monsters from Greek mythology in this inventive new musical. Featuring an original bluegrass and country score, Monstress is about reinventing misogynistic legends as empowering, female-forward stories.
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Ars Nova at Greenwich House, 27 Barrow Street near Seventh Avenue South in the West Village
Already in previews. Opens October 24. Closes November 5.
Proof of full vaccination and masks are required at Wednesday evening and Saturday matinee performances only. Read more about Ars Nova's health and safety policies.
Described as a "cross-cultural jam-session-meets-play," Hound Dog is a genre-defying world premiere from playwright Melis Aker, with numbers by the songwriting brothers known as The Lazours. After living and working abroad, a young musician returns to her hometown of Ankara, Turkey to tend to her widowed dad. There she grapples with the past she left behind, full of emotional, music-filled memories. Coproduced by Ars Nova and PlayCo, it's not a traditional musical—but few shows from Ars Nova are traditional in any way. Bonus: Because of Ars Nova's new name-your-price initiative, tickets start at just $5!
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St Ann's Warehouse, 45 Water Street near New Dock Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn
Already open. Closes November 6.
Proof of full vaccination and masks are required.
St. Ann's Warehouse presents Wise Children's critically acclaimed, rock 'n' roll take on Wuthering Heights. Directed by visionary theatre-maker Emma Rice (Brief Encounter), this stage adaptation of Emily Brontë's epic tragedy about romance gone wrong on the Yorkshire moors features a live on-stage band, raucous dancing and heartbreaking performances. A smash in London, this is the musical's New York debut.
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The Wild Project, 195 East 3rd Street between Avenues A and B in the East Village
Already open. Closes November 19.
Masks are required.
A musical memoir from the pop star who wrote "I Kissed a Girl"—no, not Katy Perry! Back in 1995, Jill Sobule, a queer and delightfully quirky singer-songwriter, charted with "Supermodel," which was on the Clueless soundtrack. But after a brief flirtation with fame and the original "I Kissed a Girl" single, she returned to her eccentric, indie, undersung roots. F*CK7THGRADE traces the evolution of her songwriting and sexuality with humor and heart, as Sobule, playing herself, realizes that in some ways, she'll forever be haunted by her awkward middle school years. Since fellow queer rocker Melissa Etheridge's autobiographical musical is completely sold out, Sobule's tuner is a charming alternative.
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MTC Stage I at City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West
Already in previews. Opens November 2. Closes November 27. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Masks are required.
More of a song-filled play than a traditional musical, Where the Mountain Meets the Sea connects an estranged father and son across time, culture and country. Written by the prolific Jeff Augustin (Little Children Dream of God , The New Englanders), the show interweaves two life-changing road trips: the first by a Haitian immigrant (Billy Eugene Jones from Fat Ham) traveling from Miami to California, the other taken in reverse by his American-born son (Chris Myers) decades later. Along their separate paths, they find common ground as evocative songs penned and performed by The Bengsons (Hundred Days) underscore their journeys.
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Joe's Pub at The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in the East Village
Previews begin November 4. Opens November 16. Closes November 27.
Masks are optional but encouraged.
When theatres shut down in March 2020, Suzan-Lori Parks went to work. The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright penned a playlet and/or song every day and the result is Plays for the Plague Year, a three-hour, music-filled fantasia channeling the hope, fear and resilience of our collective lockdown experience. Directed by Niegel Smith (Hir) and performed at The Public Theater's intimate Joe's Pub, the show stars for colored girls... Tony nominee Kenita Miller, Broadway vets Pearl Sun, Greg Keller, Orville Mendoza and Lauren Molina, and a newbie making her stage debut: Suzan-Lori Parks. We can't wait to see her rock the guitar and the house!
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The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, 511 West 52nd Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in Midtown West
Already in previews. Opens November 7. Closes November 27.
Masks are required.
Three-time Tony winner Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton, Bandstand, In the Heights) cowrote, directs and choreographs this dance-theatre piece about a princess, a queen and a clockmaker's wife who buck convention in 1920s Paris. British pop star/actress Kate Nash (GLOW) wrote the songs and serves as narrator of this movement-based musical featuring a cast of two dozen, including Broadway favorite Terrence Mann.
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Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West
Already open. Closes November 27.
Masks required for ages 2 and older.
Preschoolers aren't the only ones who want to know how to get to Sesame Street: The Musical. That's because this hour-long kids' show has some insanely talented grown-ups behind it. The show is conceived by puppet master Jonathan Rockefeller, who previously mounted stage adaptations of Winnie the Pooh and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. And, in addition to classic Sesame Street songs, the score features new tunes by Broadway's Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) and Helen Park (KPOP). So join Elmo, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby, Grover, Bert, Ernie, Oscar the Grouch and the rest of the furry gang as they share gentle lessons about living in a multicultural Muppet society.
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The York Theatre Company at Theatre at St. Jean's, 150 East 76th Street near Lexington Avenue on the Upper East Side
Previews begin November 22. Opens December 1. Closes December 31.
Masks are required.
The brainchild of director Susan H. Schulman and choreographer Michael Lichtefeld, who oversaw the Broadway productions of Little Women, The Sound of Music and The Secret Garden, this new musical isn't simply a revue of Hoagy Carmichael tunes. It follows six friends over four decades as the music of the American Songbook master underscores their lives. From ragtime, to jazz and blues, to standards, this show celebrates Carmichael's wide-ranging catalog.
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The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, 304 West 47th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Begins December 1. Closes December 18.
Marks are required.
Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater is behind this musical epic depicting the first mass migration of Puerto Ricans to Hawaii in 1900-01. Inspired by Manuel Ramos Otero's short story Vivir del cuento, this history-inspired show fuses traditional bomba y plena and urban reggaetón as young Puerto Rican sugarcane workers and their families embark on a one-way transoceanic trip for the promise of a better future. Originally seen in 2007 (so, not quite a new musical), this show is performed in English with Spanish supertitles.
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Playhouse 46 at St. Luke's, 308 West 46th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Already running. Closes May 7, 2023. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Masks are required.
Picture it: Hawkins, Indiana, 1983, a time when life was easier, hair was bigger and unsupervised children were going on deadly, interdimensional adventures. Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical is an over-the-top send-up of Netflix's Stranger Things filled with pop-culture references, pubescent angst, heavy synth, poor parenting, convoluted love triangles, cheap effects, scenery chewing and singing monsters. It's song-filled, sci-fi silliness.
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Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues in the East Village
Already in previews. Opens October 30. Closes December 18.
Masks are required.
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory, The Boys in the Band), A.J. Shively (Paradise Square) and Mare Winningham (Girl From the North Country) headline Classic Stage Company's revival of A Man of No Importance. With songs by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Once on This Island) and a book by legendary playwright Terrence McNally’(Master Class, Love! Valour! Compassion!), the musical is set in 1960s Dublin, where unassuming bus conductor Alfie (Parsons) leads an amateur theatre group. When he decides to mount a production of Oscar Wilde's controversial Salome, the pushback from the church and homophobic community members forces Alfie to reconsider who he really is. Tony winner John Doyle (Sweeney Todd, The Color Purple) directs.
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New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West
Begins November 1. Closes November 6.
Masks are required.
Jason Robert Brown (Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County) wasn't even 30 when Hal Prince asked him to collaborate on a musical with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Alfred Uhry (Driving Miss Daisy) about the real-life 1913 trial, conviction, appeal and eventual lynching of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank in Marietta, Georgia. It was dark material to be sure, and while the Broadway production closed after just two months in 1999, both Brown and Uhry won Tony Awards for their work, and the show's reputation has deservedly grown over the decades. Now Encores! is bringing it back for seven performances starring Dear Evan Hansen Tony winner Ben Platt as Leo and The Cher Show's Micaela Diamond as his wife. Tony nominee Michael Arden directs and Brown will conduct the orchestra himself.
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New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Begins November 13. Closes January 1, 2023.
Masks are optional but encouraged.
The critically acclaimed production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish returns for a limited engagement over the holidays. Directed by Tony winner Joel Grey (yup, of Cabaret fame) and featuring Steven Skybell reprising his Lucille Lortel Award-winning turn as pious milkman and loving patriarch Tevye, this is the most moving Fiddler I've ever seen. Don't worry if you don't understand Yiddish: there are English supertitles and, if you're familiar with the show, you may find you don't even need them. It would be a shanda to miss this!
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Top image: Wise Children's Wuthering Heights, which is running at Brooklyn's St. Ann's Warehouse through November 6. Photo by Steve Tanner.
Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.
TDF MEMBERS: Log in to your account to browse all our theatre and dance offers.
Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her on Facebook at @Raven.Snook. Follow TDF on Facebook at @TDFNYC.
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