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Catch two new plays by Pulitzer Prize winners, three new musicals and four Tony-winning actors
There may be 20 shows bowing on Broadway this fall but Off Broadway there are dozens of productions opening just this month. We've whittled down the list to the most promising productions, including new works from Pulitzer Prize winners Bruce Norris and Quiara Alegría Hudes, three brand-new musicals and one revival starring Jim Parsons, and plays featuring Tony winners Ralph Fiennes, Linda Lavin, Reed Birney and Deirdre O'Connell. For a comprehensive overview of theatre in New York City, browse the listings in TDF's Show Finder. And remember, many of our picks for September 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, be sure to double-check the protocols before purchasing tickets so you arrive prepared.
If you're a TDF member, be sure to log in to your account to see what we're selling as ticket inventory changes frequently.
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Irondale Center, 85 South Oxford Street between Lafayette Avenue and Fulton Street in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Previews begin October 6. Opens October 17. Closes November 20. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets to The Winter's Tale and Hedda Gabler.
Proof of full vaccination and masks are required.
Reinventing classics is Bedlam's specialty. The company's innovative, stripped-down stagings of The Crucible, Pygmalion and Saint Joan won the theatre many fans and critical accolades. The lauded troupe kicks off its 10th anniversary season with a pair of staples in rep: Shakespeare's uncomfortable romantic comedy The Winter's Tale and Ibsen's masterwork Hedda Gabler adapted by Jon Robin Baitz. Bedlam's artistic director, Eric Tucker, helms and performs in both shows alongside a hard-working, double-cast company.
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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 7. Opens November 7. Closes November 27.
Masks are required.
Three-time Tony winner Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton, Bandstand) cowrote, directs and choreographs this theatrical dance musical about an eventful trip to Paris as a princess, a queen and a clockmaker's wife buck convention. British pop star/actress Kate Nash (GLOW) wrote the songs and leads the cast of two dozen alongside Broadway favorite Terrence Mann.
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Ars Nova at Greenwich House, 27 Barrow Street near Seventh Avenue South in the West Village
Previews begin October 10. 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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Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues in the East Village
Previews begin October 11. 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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MTC Stage I at City Center, 131 West 55th Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 11. Opens November 2. Closes November 27. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Masks are required.
A music-filled play by Jeff Augustin (Little Children Dream of God, The New Englanders), Where the Mountain Meets the Sea connects an estranged father and son across time, culture and country. A Haitian immigrant (Billy Eugene Jones from Fat Ham) takes a life-changing road trip from Miami to California. Decades later, his American-born son (Chris Myers) travels the same path in reverse. Along the way, they find common ground as evocative songs by The Bengsons (Hundred Days) underscore their journey. Joshua Kahan Brody directs.
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Irish Repertory Theatre, 132 West 22nd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues in Chelsea
Previews begin October 12. Opens October 19. Closes November 20. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Masks are required.
Tony winner Reed Birney (The Humans, House of Cards) and his real-life son Ephraim Birney star in this new drama by Emmy winner Joseph Dougherty (Thirtysomething) about denial and redemption. In 1944 Brooklyn, a young man is catastrophically injured on the job but refuses to face his new reality. A middle-aged doctor with his own troubles is assigned to the case. Can these two lost souls help each other heal? This is the third time the actors have performed this two-hander after well-received runs at West Virginia's Contemporary American Theater Festival in 2019 and Massachusetts' Barrington Stage Company in 2021. Ron Lagomarsino (Driving Miss Daisy) directs.
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St Ann's Warehouse, 45 Water Street near New Dock Street in Dumbo, Brooklyn
Previews begin October 14. Opens October 18. Closes November 6. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
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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Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 14. Opens November 9. Closes November 20. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Masks are required.
Previously seen in 2018 Off-Off Broadway, Mia Chung's acclaimed Catch as Catch Can starts off as a family comedy before transforming into a horror story as two intertwined New England clans drop the masks and see each other for who they really are. Transformation is key for this play, as three actors, Cindy Cheung, Jon Norman Schneider and Rob Yang, portray parts that match their age and sex as well as those characters' parents of the opposite gender. Daniel Aukin directs this tour de force about the perils of blind love.
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Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 14. Opens November 6. Closes December 11.
Masks are required.
The indispensable Linda Lavin (Alice, Broadway Bound, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife) returns to the New York stage in Noah Diaz's world premiere You Will Get Sick at Roundabout Theatre Company. After a young man unexpectedly receives a life-altering diagnosis, he hires an older woman (Lavin) to break the news to his loved ones. Little do they know that none of them will ever be the same. Considering we're all grappling with the collective trauma wrought by COVID-19, this play is sure to push a lot of buttons.
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The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street between Dyer and Tenth Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 18. Opens November 6. Closes November 27.
Masks are required.
Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegría Hudes (In the Heights, Water by the Spoonful) adapts and directs this theatricalization of her memoir My Broken Language, about growing up in a Puerto Rican family in Philadelphia in the 1980s and '90s. Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent) leads an all-Latine cast as the actors embody Hudes' vivid memories about loss, love and the culture that sustains and inspires her.
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The Shed, 545 West 30th Street between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in Hudson Yards
Previews begin October 18. Opens October 26. Closes December 18.
Masks are required.
Tony winner Ralph Fiennes as Robert Moses in a new drama by David Hare—I suspect many of you are already buying tickets. Lauded in London earlier this year, the play focuses on two pivotal events in the controversial urban planner's career: his successful pitch of two expressways connecting NYC to Long Island beaches, and his failed attempt to bulldoze through Washington Square Park, which was stymied by author and activist Jane Jacobs. Nicholas Hytner and Jamie Armitage co-direct this meditation on passion, power and oppression.
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Various locations throughout the five boroughs.
Previews begin October 19. Opens November 2. Closes November 20.
Masks are required.
Off Broadway MVP Kathleen Chalfant stars in Keen Company's intimate mounting of The Year of Magical Thinking, legendary author Joan Didion's stage adaptation of her best-selling memoir exploring the death of her husband, John Gregory Dunne, and their daughter's fragile health. This is powerful material in any setting, but director Jonathan Silverstein is staging this monologue play in community spaces and private living rooms throughout the five boroughs. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to watch the always-enthralling Chalfant up close.
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59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street between Madison and Park Avenues in Midtown East
Previews begin October 20. Opens October 27. Closes November 19.
Masks are required.
Docutheatre darlings The Civilians (Pretty Filthy, Gone Missing, This Beautiful City) are behind The Unbelieving, an investigation of loss of faith. With a script taken verbatim from interviews with practicing clergy members from myriad religions (Jews, Muslims and all kinds of Christians), the play details their struggles as they come to terms with no longer believing in God. Do they share their revelations or keep preaching what they no longer practice? The Civilians' artistic director Steve Cosson helms the ensemble show.
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The Connelly Theater, 220 East Fourth Street between Avenues A and B in the East Village
Previews begin October 22. Opens November 6. Closes November 19. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Masks are required.
Transport Group and the National Asian American Theater Company (NAATCO) present a revival of Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama A Delicate Balance with an all-Asian cast. A tale of middle-class, middle-aged malaise and dread, the play centers on Agnes and Tobias (NAATCO cofounder Mia Katigbak and Broadway's Manu Narayan) as their house fills up with lost loved ones, including her alcoholic sister, their oft-divorced daughter and nervous neighbors Harry and Edna. Transport Group's artistic director Jack Cummings III helms this production, the first time the classic is being presented professionally with a non-white cast.
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Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane between Sixth Avenue and MacDougal Street in the West Village
Previews begin October 25. Opens November 6. Closes November 27.
Masks are required at the following performances: Sunday, October 30 at 3 p.m.; Thursday, November 10 at 7 p.m.; and Sundays, November 13, 20 and 27 at 3 p.m. Masks are encouraged but not required at all other performances.
A father learns that closing the door to his past means shutting out his daughter in Yilong Liu's new play. When Howard makes a surprise cross-country trip to visit his college-age daughter, he's forced to confront the rift between them caused by his refusal to face memories of his life as a young man in China. Obie winner Francis Jue (Soft Power, Yellow Face) stars in this Audible Theater 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 25. Opens November 16. Closes December 18.
Masks are required.
The New Group presents Evanston Salt Costs Climbing by Pulitzer Prize finalist Will Arbery (Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Corsicana). An examination of the personal impact progress has on blue-collar workers, the play centers on a pair of salt truck drivers who worry that green technology will put them out of business. But is that the only reason for their growing existential dread? Like he did in Heroes of the Fourth Turning, Arbery spotlights the challenges and concerns of characters rarely seen on stage.
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Tony Kiser Theater, 305 West 43rd Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 26. Opens November 15. Closes December 4. If you're a TDF member, log in to your account to purchase discount tickets.
Masks required at Tuesday evening and Wednesday matinee performances only.
Johnny Berchtold and Lily McInerny star in the New York premiere of Camp Siegfried, a terrifying two-hander by Tony nominee Bess Wohl (Grand Horizons, Small Mouth Sounds) about a teenage couple's conversion to fascism. Set on the cusp of World War II at the real-life Camp Siegfried on Long Island, the play centers on two naïve participants who fall for each other and Hitler's dangerous ideology. Tony winner David Cromer (The Band's Visit, Our Town) directs.
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Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street between Ninth and Dyer Avenues in Midtown West
Previews begin October 28. Opens November 15. Closes December 22.
Masks are required.
A provocative new play by Pulitzer Prize winner Bruce Norris (Clybourne Park), Downstate focuses on four registered sex offenders sharing a group home in Illinois post-incarceration. But when a man shows up hell-bent on confronting his childhood abuser, it becomes clear justice and forgiveness are in the eye of the beholder. Tony winner Pam MacKinnon (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) directs..
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The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in the East Village
Previews begin October 28. Opens November 9. Closes November 27.
Maska are required at Tuesday evening and Saturday and Sunday matinee performances only.
Native American theatre-maker Madeline Sayet brings her autobiographical play to The Public Theater. Raised on a mix of the Bard and traditional Mohegan stories in Connecticut, Sayet recounts her time in England pursuing a PhD in Shakespeare as the chaos of the Brexit vote looms. This spurs a deep dive into the impact of colonialism on both sides of the pond, then and now. Mei Ann Teo directs this searing solo show, co-produced with Washington DC's Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and Folger Shakespeare Library.
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Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, 150 West 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue in Lincoln Square
Performances delayed due to COVID. Previews begin November 8. Opens December 4. Closes December 31.
Masks are required.
Deirdre O'Connell, who won a 2022 Tony Award for her breathtaking performance in Dana H., stars in the New York premiere of Sarah Ruhl's dark comedy about a modern-day descendent of executed Salem witch Rebecca Nurse. Becky's life has been all bad luck. Can she harness her ancestor's powers to have a more enchanted future? Tony winner Rebecca Taichman (Indecent) directs this tale about misogyny, sorcery and an alternative ending to an Arthur Miller classic.
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Raven Snook is the Editor of TDF Stages. Follow her at @RavenSnook. Follow TDF at @TDFNYC.
TDF MEMBERS: Go here to browse our latest discounts for dance, theatre and concerts.
Top image: Ralph Fiennes as Robert Moses in Straight Line Crazy, which begins performances at The Shed this month. Photo by Manuel Harlan.
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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