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Neil Patrick Harris, one of the many stars performing Off Broadway in October. Photo by Nino Muñoz.
Catch Neil Patrick Harris, Kenneth Branagh, Marisa Tomei, Joshua Henry and other big stars beyond Broadway
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Two new musicals and a buzzy revival of Ragtime. New plays by Dominique Morisseau, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Katori Hall. Star turns by Neil Patrick Harris, Kenneth Branagh and Marisa Tomei. These are just some of the promising productions opening Off Broadway in October. 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, most of our picks for September are still running!
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The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street at Astor Place in the East Village
Previews begin October 5. Opens October 10. Closes November 10.
David Finnigan's searing and celebrated solo show was originally titled You're Safe Til 2024: Deep History, which gives you an idea of its urgency. The son of a climate scientist, Finnigan chronicles the six turning points that have transformed and trashed our planet over the ages, while also sharing the terrifying tale of the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires, which scorched 59 million acres, killed 1 billion animals and put his hometown of Canberra in peril. It's a profoundly personal perspective on an pressing political issue.
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Greenwich House Theater, 27 Barrow Street near Seventh Avenue South in the West Village
Previews begin October 7. Opens October 20. Closes November 9.
A bestiary is a medieval allegorical work inspired by animals. But we're not quite sure to expect from The Beastiary, a world premiere from On The Rocks Theatre Co. described as "a twisted comedic puppet pageant of the apocalypse." We do know Ars Nova incubates innovative, genre-defying artists—it's where Lin-Manual Miranda and the musical The Great Comet started—so we are intrigued, especially since tickets are pay-what-you-wish starting at $15.
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The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street between Dyer and Tenth Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 8. Opens October 28. Closes December 1.
Two-time Tony nominee Dominique Morisseau, known for penning The Detroit Project cycle and the book for Ain't Too Proud, completes her multiyear Signature Theatre residency with the world premiere of Bad Kreyòl. Two cousins, one first generation Haitian American, the other born and raised in Haiti, reconnect in the wake of their grandmother's death in the troubled Caribbean country. But even though they share blood and culture, their world views are in conflict. Tiffany Nichole Greene directs this exploration of identity and immigration, coproduced by Manhattan Theatre Club.
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New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street between Bowery and Second Avenue in the East Village
Previews begin October 9. Opens October 27. Closes November 24.
Brothers Daniel and Patrick Lazour (Hound Dog) have spent more than a decade working on We Live in Cairo, their heartfelt and deeply personal portrait of six young Egyptian students participating in the Arab Spring uprisings of the early 2010s. The musical received its world premiere at Massachusetts' American Repertory Theatre in 2019. Taibi Magar directs this brand-new production at New York Theatre Workshop featuring an all-MENA (Middle Eastern and North African) cast, including recent Tommy star Ali Louis Bourzgui.
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Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West
Begins October 10. Opens October 29. Closes November 17.
Playwrights Horizons presents the world premiere of Sarah Mantell's play about the challenges of a hostile world and the comfort of chosen family. Set in the not-too-distant future, the story follows a nomadic group of queer friends working nights at different warehouses, trying to make ends meet as they flee the creeping coastline. But the arrival of a stranger sparks the possibility of romance. Winner of the 2023 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, In the Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot features an all-female-presenting and nonbinary cast.
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The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space, 511 West 52nd Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 10. Opens October 28. Closes December 1.
Neil Patrick Harris, Jane Krakowski, Debra Messing, Constance Wu—Robert O'Hara's outrageous dark comedy is the starriest show in New York this fall! Inspired by the 2016 Italian movie Perfect Strangers, it unfolds in real time as a group of friends play a very dangerous game by sharing all their texts, emails and voicemails aloud. O'Hara directs this satire about secrets, skeletons and the scourge of cell phones. Tickets are pricey and almost sold out!
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Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 15. Opens November 3. Closes November 23.
Master George Bernard Shaw interpreter David Staller directs a revival of The Devil's Disciple, which has been reimagined for this political moment with an all-women cast. In this interpretation, one woman stands up for Democracy during Revolutionary-era America. A rare chance to see this infrequently staged play.
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The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street between Dyer and Tenth Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 15. Opens October 29. Closes January 4, 2025.
Formerly known as When Harry Met Rehab, Harry Teinowitz's autobiographical dark comedy makes its New York debut under the irreverent title Another Shot. Frasier's Dan Butler stars as Teinowitz, a Chicago sports radio personality whose alcoholism sends his life and career into a tailspin. His raucous road to recovery has as many laughs as lows. Jackson Gay directs this heartfelt play, which is cowritten by former ESPN personality Spike Manton.
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AMT Theater, 354 West 45th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 16. Opens October 18. Closes November 3.
Tony nominee Kathryn Erbe (The Father, Law & Order: Criminal Intent) stars in another play about addiction, though in Martha Pichey's drama it's seen through a mother's eyes. When Molly's husband died unexpectedly, their son found solace in drugs. Now he's fresh out of rehab and poised to audition for a competitive drama school, but Molly's struggling with how much to support him and the guilt she feels pursuing her own happiness. Alice Jankell directs.
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Second Stage's Tony Kiser Theater, 305 West 43rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 16. Opens November 7. Closes November 24.
Second Stage presents the New York premiere of Walden, Amy Berryman's acclaimed chamber play about three disparate people grappling with their relationships to each other and the world. In the not-too-distant future at a remote cabin in the woods, Stella (Emmy Rossum) and her partner Bryan (Motell Foster) welcome her estranged twin sister Cassie (Zoë Winters), an astronaut like their father before them. They talk about the world's intensifying climate and class crises and debate whether they would be better off staying on Earth or seeking sanctuary in space. Tony nominee Whitney White (Jaja's African Hair Braiding) directs the show, the final production at Second Stage's 43rd Street theatre.
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Irish Arts Center, 726 Eleventh Avenue between 51st and 52nd Streets in Midtown West
Begins October 23. Closes November 17.
Ireland's Malaprop theatre company makes its US debut with Carys D. Coburn's HOTHOUSE, a black comedy set on an Arctic cruise ship where vacationers say goodbye to the melting ice caps while indulging in outrageous family dysfunction. The Irish Arts Center imports this Dublin Fringe Festival hit about sailing head-on into disaster, both personal and global.
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Soho Rep, 46 Walker Street between Broadway and Church Street in Soho
Previews begin October 23. Opens November 10. Closes December 1.
Alina Troyano, better known as veteran downtown performance artist Carmelita Tropicana, and iconoclastic playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Appropriate, An Octoroon) team up for this entertaining theatrical fantasia about the commercialization and commodification of identity, nostalgia and the avant-garde. Even Carmelita isn't immune—is her persona for sale? Eric Ting directs this comedy, the final production Soho Rep is presenting in its downtown space before moving to Midtown. If you want to see this on the cheap, try the 99-Cent Sunday performances on November 17 and 24—tickets are sold in person, first come, first served.
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The Shed, 545 West 30th Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in Hudson Yards
Previews begin October 26. Opens November 14. Closes December 15.
Kenneth Branagh stars in and directs Shakespeare's devastating tragedy about a royal brought down by hubris and false flattery. A cast of young actors from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art join the Oscar winner in this highly anticipated production. Expect to pay big bucks to see Branagh do the Bard!
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West End Theatre at St. Paul & St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 263 West 86th Street between Broadway and West End Avenue on the Upper West Side
Begins October 27. Closes December 1.
Bedlam is known for its daring reinventions of classics, both literary (Sense and Sensibility) and theatrical (The Crucible, Pygmalion). So Music City, the company's first new musical, is quite the departure. Set in Nashville in the early 21st century, it follows a group of aspiring country stars trying to make it big as they navigate a city ravaged by America's drug crisis. Celebrated songwriter J.T. Harding supplies new numbers alongside hits he wrote for Darius Rucker, Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Uncle Kracker and other country crooners. Bedlam's artistic director, Eric Tucker, helms the production.
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The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street between Dyer and Tenth Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 29. Opens November 20. Closes December 22.
Marisa Tomei headlines Jessica Goldberg's play about two women of different generations fighting sexism—and each other—in the music industry. Tomei is Abby, the longtime number two to producer Gus (Arliss Howard). For decades, she's helped him make hits while he takes the credit. But new hire Katherine (Gracie McGraw) demands Abby rethink her strategy. Scott Elliott directs this production featuring songs by the all-women band BETTY.
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Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, 150 West 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue in Lincoln Square
Previews begin October 30. Opens November 21. Closes December 29.
Lincoln Center Theater presents the New York debut of The Blood Quilt by Pulitzer Prize winner Katori Hall (The Hot Wing King, The Mountaintop). Four sisters reunite at their childhood island home off the coast of Georgia in the wake of their mother's death. As they create a quilt to celebrate their late matriarch, they share stories and secrets, and ultimately grapple with an unexpected inheritance. Tony nominee Lileana Blain-Cruz (The Skin of Our Teeth) directs.
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New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West
Begins October 30. Closes November 10.
Three-time Tony winner Joshua Henry stars as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in this highly anticipated revival of Ragtime, a portrait of three disparate families at the turn of the 20th century, all pursuing the American Dream. Based on E.L. Doctorow's novel and featuring glorious songs by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, this mounting boasts an incredible cast, including Tony winner Joaquina Kalukango as Sarah, Caissie Levy as Mother, Tony winner Brandon Uranowitz as Tateh and Tony winner Shaina Taub taking a break from Suffs to play activist Emma Goldman. Lear deBessonet, recently named the next artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater, helms the production.
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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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