Translate Page
Catch new plays from Pulitzer finalists, Broadway stars in new and old musicals and more
---
Kelli O'Hara and Brian d'Arcy James in a world-premiere musical; new plays from Pulitzer finalists Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Rajiv Joseph; and a rare revival of a beloved Tony-nominated tuner starring Raúl Esparza. These are just some of the promising new Off-Broadway productions beginning in May. We couldn't include everything, so be sure to browse the listings in TDF's Show Finder to see what else is playing. And remember, many of our Off-Broadway picks for April are still running!
In terms of COVID-19 safety protocols, rules vary by venue. While we are trying to keep this article up to date, please double-check the protocols before purchasing tickets so you arrive prepared.
If you're a TDF member, log in to your account daily to see what we're selling as ticket inventory changes frequently.
---
The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street between Dyer and Tenth Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin May 2. Opens May 23. Closes June 4.
Masks are required at the Saturday matinee performances on May 6 and June 3, and the Thursday evening performance on May 11 only.
Federico García Lorca's 87-year-old classic The House of Bernarda Alba has inspired many 21st-century artists. Within the past few years, dramatist Marcus Gardley won an Obie Award for his retro riff on the play, and choreographer Carlos Pons Guerra transformed the tale into a dance for Ballet Hispánico. Now Diane Exavier resets the tale of a widow in mourning (Tamara Tunie) and her five daughters in modern-day Flatbush, where the family grapples with gentrification, civil unrest and the legacy of their Haitian heritage during one sweltering city summer. The New Group and National Black Theatre co-produce this in-person premiere, which previously debuted as an audio play during the shutdown.
---
New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin May 2. Opens May 16. Closes June 18. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Masks are required at Tuesday evening and Sunday matinee performances only.
After well-reviewed runs at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum, King James arrives in New York courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club. Written by Pulitzer finalist Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), this comedy chronicles the budding bromance between two disparate dudes who bond over their love of basketball great LeBron James. Tony winner Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun, A Soldier's Play) directs this fast and funny two-hander, which stars Glenn Davis (Downstate) and Chris Perfetti from ABC's Abbott Elementary.
---
Various locations throughout the five boroughs including The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in the East Village
Begins May 2. Closes June 11. FREE
Masks are required at Tuesday evening and Saturday and Sunday matinee performances at The Public Theater only.
Joel Perez (Fun Home) and Gían Pérez (Sing Street) pull double duty in director Rebecca Martínez's Latine adaptation of Shakespeare's rollicking comedy about two sets of identical twins who were unwittingly separated at birth. Mistaken identity, mayhem and mirth ensue. The script has been streamlined to one song-and-slapstick-filled act for this bilingual Mobile Unit production, which will perform in plazas and community spaces throughout the five boroughs from May 2 to 11, then settle in for an engagement at The Public Theater from May 25 to June 11. All performances are FREE. Currently, you can snag tickets for the touring performances online. Tickets for The Public performances will be distributed via mobile lottery on the TodayTix app starting May 4.
---
New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West
Begins May 3. Closes May 14.
Masks are optional.
It's hard to believe that Lionel Bart's beloved musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist hasn't been seen in NYC in almost four decades! Lear deBessonet, who directed the recent hit revival of Into the Woods, helms this production, which stars Raúl Esparza as Fagin, Lilli Cooper as Nancy, Tam Mutu as Bill Sikes, Julian Lerner as The Artful Dodger and Benjamin Pajak as the title character alongside some terrifically talented tykes.
---
A.R.T./New York Theatres, 502 West 53rd Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin May 3. Opens May 7. Closes May 27.
Masks are optional. Proof of vaccination and booster is required at the Wednesday evening performance on May 17 only.
New Georges and The Movement Theatre Company are behind this play with music, which invites audiences to witness a Black debutante ball in a large American city in real time. Subtitled "The Harriet Holland Social Club Presents the 84th Annual Star-Burst Cotillion in the Grand Ballroom of The Renaissance Hotel," this world premiere was created by and stars all Black artists, who interrogate the challenges of this singular scene through the stories of six high-achieving young ladies making their society debuts.
---
Laura Pels Theatre, 111 West 46th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin May 4. Opens May 25. Closes July 2.
Masks are optional.
Seems like performer-turned-playwright Eboni Booth penned Primary Trust with an old Off-Broadway costar of hers in mind: William Jackson Harper. He plays Kenneth, a bookstore staffer pushing 40 who hangs at the local Tiki bar until all hours. When he loses his job, his tenuous grasp on stability slips away and he's forced to face a world he's long shunned. Knud Adams directs this new coming-of-middle-age comedy, which costars stage stalwarts Jay O. Sanders and April Matthis.
---
The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, 511 West 52nd Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin May 4. Opens May 22. Closes June 11.
Masks are optional.
Inspired by "Como Abeja Al Panal," a 1990 song by Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra, Bees & Honey is a Washington Heights love story about Manuel and Johaira, a young couple trying to navigate the challenges of life, marriage and ambition. Written by Guadalís Del Carmen and directed by Melissa Crespo, this new play is produced by MCC Theater in collaboration with The Sol Project, which is dedicated to showcasing Latine voices.
---
Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Chelsea
Previews begin May 5. Opening date June 5. Closes July 16.
Masks are optional.
The Atlantic Theater Company has an impressive history of premiering musicals that end up on Broadway—see Tony winners Spring Awakening and The Band's Visit, as well as the recently opened Kimberly Akimbo. We suspect Days of Wine and Roses, a musical adaptation of the 1962 movie of the same name, may have the same journey. With songs by The Light in the Piazza Tony winner Adam Guettel and a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Craig Lucas, it's the story of a '50s married couple (Tony winner Kelli O'Hara and Tony nominee Brian d'Arcy James) and their harrowing descent into alcoholism. Michael Greif directs.
---
St Ann's Warehouse, 45 Water Street near New Dock Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn
Previews begin May 6. Opens May 22. Closes June 25.
Masks are optional.
Based on the popular 2001 movie of the same name, this new musical explores the drama surrounding an arranged marriage in Dehli. When the two families meet to plan the lavish wedding, everything goes awry. But beyond the bride and groom, love is in the air. Conceived and directed by Mira Nair, who helmed the film, Monsoon Wedding features a book by Arpita Mukherjee and Sabrina Dhawan, music by Vishal Bhardwaj and lyrics by Masi Asare and Susan Birkenhead.
---
Lynn F. Angelson Theater, 136 East 13th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues in the East Village
Previews begin May 9. Opens May 14. Closes June 3.
Masks are optional.
You've never heard Romeo and Juliet like this. Hansol Jung (Wolf Play, Wild Goose Dreams) translates Shakespeare's romantic tragedy into a modern-day love story told in 21st-century vernacular by an all Asian-American cast. Presented by NAATCO in partnership with New Jersey's Two River Theater, this reinvention of a classic was developed as part of the Play On! Festival, which aims to make the Bard more accessible to general audiences. Jung and Dustin Wills co-direct this world premiere.
---
The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street between Dyer and Tenth Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin May 16. Opens June 5. Closes July 9.
Masks are optional.
Signature Theatre presents a world premiere by prolific and impossible-to-pin-down Pulitzer finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. In The Comeuppance, a self-declared "Multi-Ethnic Reject Group" reunites to prep for their 20th high school reunion. As they reminiscence and get reacquainted, dark truths are revealed. Don't dismiss this as your usual skeletons in the closet story. If you've seen any of Jacobs-Jenkins' plays—Appropriate, Gloria, Everybody, An Octoroon—you know he always goes to unexpected and eye-opening places. Eric Ting directs.
Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin May 17. Opens June 6. Closes July 2.
Masks are required at the June 10 matinee performance only.
Playwrights love dysfunctional families, but the clan at the center of Wet Brain is particularly messed up. Addiction has turned them into snark-slinging cynics, even as their patriarch slides into an alcoholic twilight. But are his issues caused, at least in part, by frequent alien abductions? John J. Caswell, Jr. (Man Cave) penned this humorous and horrifying world premiere, co-produced by Playwrights Horizons and MCC Theater. Recommended for ages 18 and older!
---
Vineyard Theatre, 108 East 15th Street between Irving Place and Union Square East in Union Square
Previews begin May 18. Opens June 4. Closes June 25.
Masks are optional.
1967 Oakland—the city is a political powder keg about to blow. But the folks at Miss Trish's bar are all talk and no action... until a true radical walks into their lives. Playwright Tori Sampson (If Pretty Hurts, Ugly Must Be A Muhfucka) takes a look at our not-too-distant past to illuminate our current moment in this world premiere directed by Taylor Reynolds.
---
Soho Rep, 46 Walker Street between Broadway and Church Street in Soho
Previews begin May 24. Opens June 6. Closes July 2.
Masks are optional.
She will always love her. Soho Rep presents the world premiere of Jillian Walker's new play, a parsing of her relationship to Whitney Houston's life and legacy. Walker stars alongside downtown stalwarts Ben Jalosa Williams, Stephanie Weeks and Portia. Want to catch the show on the cheap? There are 99-Cent Sunday performances on June 11, 18 and 25—tickets are sold in person, first come, first served.
---
Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Chelsea
Previews begin May 25. Opens June 14. Closes July 9.
Masks are required.
As a playwright, Lucas Hnath often has tricks up his sleeve—just look at the real-life lip-synced drama Dana H. or his audacious sequel to Ibsen A Doll's House, Part 2. But with A Simulacrum, he tries something entirely new: a collaboration with sleight of hand artist and illusion designer Steve Cuiffo. Hnath asked Cuiffo to show him some tricks and this show is the result. What will ensue? Magic we hope.
---
New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin May 26. Opens June 6. Closes July 6.
Masks are optional.
Scientist and Harvard lecturer David J. Glass has more than 150 scientific manuscripts to his name. But he also moonlights as a playwright and is making his Off-Broadway debut with Love + Science. Set in early '80s NYC, the show centers on two gay medical students who connect while working in a retrovirology lab. When HIV erupts, their relationship is upended as they take different approaches to the epidemic as gay men and scientists.
---
Top image: Raúl Esparza, who's starring as Fagin in Encores! production of Oliver!
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.
Tickets
