Thinking Theater NYC

Azhar-Bande Ali, a New York–based comedian whose work has been compared to Hasan Minhaj and Mike Birbiglia by critics, will present Desi SNL , written, directed, and produced by Azhar Bande-Ali in partnership with Shreya Thakur and media host and storyteller Sandalina Sattar as part of the 2026 New York City Fringe Festival with FRIGID New York at wild project (195 E 3rd St, New York, NY 10009) with performances on Fri April 3 at 6pm, Mon April 6 at 7:40pm, Mon April 13 at 6pm & Sat April 18 at 8:40pm.  Desi SNL  is an ensemble cast-driven sketch comedy show reimagining the SNL format with monologues, the Weekend Update segment, and original skits rooted in South Asian culture— delivering sharp satire, bold performances, and unapologetically relatable takes on identity and diaspora life with an ensemble cast of TBA South Asian talent. Lead writer, director, and co-producer Bande-Ali has won multiple Moth StorySLAMs and earned Best Comedy awards for his specials Curr...

 Chaturbox Productions will present The Third Choice written, directed and performedby Tahir “Tai” Chatur as part of the 2026 New York City Fringe Festival with FRIGID New York at The Rat NYC (68-117 Jay St, Brooklyn, NY 11201), with performances on Thu April 2 at 6:30pm, Fri April 3 at 6:30pm, Mon April 13 at 8:10pm & Sat April 18 at 10:20pm. The Third Choice chronicles therapist-comedian Tahir “Tai” Chatur’s journey through identity and belonging, shaped by a lifelong reluctance to choose. From rural Kenya to even more rural Canada, this solo show blends stand-up, storytelling, and therapy, walking with you through culture, faith, and the exhausting life of a chronic yes-man. The Third Choice is a show that lets you be your complicated and multiple identity selves. From Muslims that celebrate Christmas to the New Yorkers that listen to country music this family-friendly show is a welcome home. From viral therapy-sketch storyteller to the Fringe stage, Tahir “Tai” Chatur mak...

Rachel Lin in Dear John at Brick Aux, 2023. Directed by Nana Dakin. Photo by Marcus Middleton. Dear John , written by and starring Rachel Lin ( Law & Order: Organized Crime , NYTW 2050 Fellow) will run March 6–19, 2026 in the Dorothy B. Williams Theater at HERE Arts Center. Dear John is directed by Tara Elliott, produced by Emily Kleypas and Kelly Letourneau, and co-produced by Ben Natan and AJ Liu with Small Boat Productions. It’s 2011, and a recent college graduate is trying to move out of her mom’s house (with little hope and no prospects) when she receives a message from a mysterious stranger named John on Facebook. Dear John is a solo show based on a true story about what happens when a long-absent father finds his not-quite-adult daughter through a social networking website. Weaving together Facebook DMs, recorded interviews, and anecdotes of growing up undocumented in New York’s Chinatown, Dear John is a coming-of-age story delightfully told by writer and performer Rachel ...

  Loose End Productions, an independent Australian theatre and screen production company founded by playwright and actor Rose Treloar, will present Watch Me Sleep written by Treloar and directed by Talia Benatar as part of the 2026 New York City Fringe Festival with FRIGID New York at UNDER St. Marks (94 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10009), with performances on Tue April 14 at 7pm, Thu April 16 at 6:30pm, Thu April 16 at 9:50pm, Sat April 18 at 5:20pm; and Sun April 19 at 2pm.  Fresh from two sold-out Australian seasons, Watch Me Sleep is a fiercely intimate one-act play bringing a love story from down under to NYC. Ava and Emmett invite the audience into the private anatomy of their relationship – its humor, heat, fractures and scars, beginning and ending in the present day with the belly of the play a series of flashbacks into their relationship’s highs and lows. Using direct address, the audience becomes a silent third character in the play, a mutual friend to the couple acti...

Hope Brannon Slut Liturgy , written and performed by Hope Brannon, and directed by Max Kantor, will be presented as part of the 2026 New York City Fringe Festival with FRIGID New York at the Chain Theatre Mainstage (312 W 36th St. 4th floor, New York, NY 10018) with performances on Tuesday, April 7th at 9:20 PM, Saturday, April 11th at 12:20 PM, Wednesday April 15th at 7:40 PM, Thursday, April 16th at 9:20 PM, and Sunday, April 19th at 7:00 PM.  Slut Liturgy is a one-hour solo show that follows Hope’s time both in an intensive outpatient program and with religious bipolar mania. Crude and genuine, funny, and chaotic, Slut Liturgy invites you to crash out with the manic Antichrist, smoke cigarettes with she-god, and do whatever else Hope’s delusions want. Playwright and performer Brannon is a writer and comedian based in Chicago and an alum of, has written multiple plays for, and performs regularly at the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago. Yes, she almost became a nun. Yes, she prefers...

Infinite Monkey Theater Company will present did you charge your phone for the end of the world? written and directed by Fletcher Michael.  The year is 2034. A city-demolishing asteroid is heading for Brooklyn. The government refuses to alert the public of the impending catastrophe until a boutique advertising agency can come up with a positive rebrand for the calamitous asteroid. The production will be presented as part of the 2026 New York City Fringe Festival with FRIGID New York at wild project (195 E. 3rd Street, New York, NY 10009) with performances on Sat April 4 at 8:40pm, Mon April 6 at 6pm, Sat April 18 at 3:40pm & Sun April 19 at 5:20pm. The performance will run approximately 60 minutes, and the cast will feature Fletcher Michael, Lucy Boisvert, and Collin Dennis. Tickets ($15) are available for advance purchase at  www.frigid.nyc .  Fletcher Michael (Playwright/Director) is the founder of Infinite Monkey Theater Co., through which they write, direct, prod...

Officer Scott , the cult favorite comedy with music, returns to Brooklyn Art Haus for a string of shows confirmed for spring. Created and performed by Sloan Brettholtz and co-written and directed by Bailey Nassetta, the outrageous solo show blends absurd humor, audience participation, and raw vulnerability into a wildly original theatrical experience. Officer Scott follows a deeply committed NYPD officer who is offered the one thing he has always wanted: a sanctioned partner. The catch is that he must successfully deliver a D.A.R.E presentation to an auditorium full of fourth graders. When the presentation spirals out of control and Scott falls for a substitute teacher, his faith in the system begins to fracture. Rejected by his precinct and abandoned by the institution he devoted his life to, Scott is forced to confront who he is beyond the badge. Guided by a giant butterfly conjured from his rage, Scott embarks on a surreal, drug induced Christmas Carol- style journey where Jesus, h...