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Review: "What a World! What a World!": What a Play!

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What a World! What a World! Written by Eric Marlin Directed by Ilana Khanin Presented by The Tank 312 W 36th St., Manhattan, NYC July 9-August 2, 2026 Queen-Tiye Akamefula and Annie Hoeg. Photo by Maria Baranova. Film studies brought us the concept of the heterosexual male gaze as the default mode of looking in media, implicit in how the camera mediates between the image and audience, and the new play What a World! What a World! , uses an old movie to anchor its thinking about the gaze, both in (the) film and in the world. What a World! What a World! , by Eric Marlin, explores being seen, self-presentation, the inscription and interpretation of texts and bodies and bodies as texts, all in relation to queerness and camp. Making its world premiere at The Tank after previous workshopping at Ars Nova ANT Fest in 2019 and the Prelude Festival in 2023, What a World! What a World! stages a smart, surprising sixty-five minutes of slippery boundaries and contested perspective. Queen-Tiye Akame...
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News: Red Door Productions Presents Pulitzer Prize-Winning "Crimes of the Heart" July 15-26

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The cast of Crimes of the Heart . Courtesy of Kampfire PR.  This July, Red Door Productions will present its production of Beth Henley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Crimes of the Heart , directed by Eve Bianco.  Crimes of the Heart  will play a limited engagement at Theater 154 (154 Christopher Street, New York, NY 10014). Performances begin Wednesday, July 15 and continue through Sunday, July 26. Opening Night is Friday, July 17 (7:30 p.m.). ​ Tickets are $40 and available here . Crimes of the Heart  follows the three Magrath sisters as they reunite in their hometown of Hazlehurst, Mississippi after the youngest shoots her husband. The Magrath sisters are three women who've been dismissed, misunderstood, and written off, who survive anyway, entirely on their own terms. As Bianco says, “They are not victims; they are warriors, unapologetically rebelling against the forces that seek to define and confine them.”  In Henley's play, it's been a bad few days for the Mag...
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News: Forgotten Artist Productions Presents "When In God’s Country, Hide In The Closet" at New York Theater Festival, July 23–26

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This July, Forgotten Artist Productions is pleased to present the play When In God's Country, Hide In The Closet , written and directed by Michael Thomas Cain, as part of 2026 Spring/Summerfest at the New York Theater Festival (NYC). The theatre production features Mark Parsia as Francis/Frank, Charles Kramer as Honorè/Hank, and Ron Barba as Dr. Sonny Moore. When In God’s Country, Hide In The Closet follows Francis and Honoré while they are attempting to enjoy each other’s company in the Bible belt, but they're careful to hide at a corner table of a restaurant on a Monday night for social and professional reasons. What will be the fate of this gay couples love during a time and place that is not accepting? Forgotten Artist Productions is a full-service production company based in New York that has produced critically acclaimed plays and award-winning films such as Not Approved For Cancer Treatment (theatre and short film), Where Art Lives (theatre), 15 Minutes with Ellen (the...
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Review: A Masterful "Misterman" Revival Anchors the Origin Irish Theatre Festival

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Misterman Written by Enda Walsh Directed by Labhaoise Magee Presented by Origin Theatre Company at Theatre Row 410 W 42 St., Manhattan, NYC June 23-July 5, 2026 With a new production of Enda Walsh's Misterman , the newly renamed 2026 Origin Irish Theatre Festival (formerly Origin 1st Irish), under the new leadership of Artistic Director Labhaoise Magee and Executive Director Aidan Cleary, Origin Theatre Company returns to the show with which it made its debut 24 years ago, a play whose protagonist restages his own past. Misterman is the centerpiece of Origin's 2026 festival, which runs from June 16th through July 5th and features a concert, staged readings, and a gala in addition to the full production of Misterman , all celebrating Walsh, a transformational voice in contemporary Irish drama. Misterman was first performed in 1999 in Cork, with the playwright also performing, and returned in a revised version (now starring Cillian Murphy) in 2011 at the Galway Arts Festival,...
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Review: Theater 2020 Delivers a Refreshing Take on "A Comedy of Errors"

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 A Comedy of Errors Written by William Shakespeare Adapted and directed by David Fuller Presented by Theater 2020 at The Great Room at A.R.T./New York 138 South Oxford St., Brooklyn, NYC June 12-27, 2026 L to R: Amelia Corrada, Robert J. Dyckman, KoDee Martin, Linda Elizabeth, David Arthur Bachrach, Eileen Glenn, Justino Brokaw, Sabrina Kalman, Francoise Traxler, Jenna Hochkammer. Photo: John Hoffman. Sometimes theater sheds light on enduring issues in society and human existence; sometimes it’s pure entertainment. We need both—to see anew the most challenging aspects of life and to laugh. Theater 2020’s charming 75-minute adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors presents the classic tale of mistaken identity anew. With a cleverly streamlined script and a versatile, talented cast, Theater 2020’s A Comedy of Errors is a laugh-out-loud good time from start to finish. Life is hard; laughter is a priceless antidote that the best theater can provide to take away ...
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Review: "Syrian Soap" Clowns in the Face of Crisis

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Syrian Soap Written and performed by E. Zaalan Directed by Tallie Medel Original direction and co-devising, dramaturgy by Natasha Mercado Presented by National Queer Theater and HERE Arts Center at HERE Arts Center 145 6th Ave, Manhattan, NYC June 24-27, 2026 Not a lot of shows tell the audience that they can stick around and hang out in the pool afterward, but then, the current production of E. Zaalan's Syrian Soap gets the interactivity started even before the performance begins, with spectators given bubble wands and offered tea during that pre-show period. The pool in question, inflatable and filled with clear bubble wrap and beach ball "water," represents part of the Intergalactic Bathhouse, the form taken by the afterlife in this marvelous solo show. In the fabulously funny Syrian Soap , Zaalan, a stand-up, clown, and conflict mediator, plays both a long-deceased ancestor and (a version of) themself in a masterful piece of clowning that is also an articulation of...
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News: Shakespeare Downtown Celebrates 10 Seasons of Free Performances with “Uncle Vanya,” June 11–21

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Billie Andersson, Juan Pablo Toro, Evan Olson, Scarlett Strasberg. Photo by Amy Goossens. Lower Manhattan’s Shakespeare Downtown  is celebrating its 10th season of free performances with Geoffrey Horne’s translation of Uncle Vanya - Anton Chekhov’s timeless tragicomedy of longing, frustration, and fading dreams, performed within the open-air stone walls of Castle Clinton National Monument June 11–21, 2026. Free tickets are available at the door beginning at 5:45 p.m. on the day of each performance.   In Uncle Vanya , love, regret, and the quiet ache of unrealized lives simmers beneath the surface of a crumbling 1800s Russian country estate. As a family and their restless visitors collide over long-held frustrations and unexpected passions, this timeless masterwork unfolds with dark humor and piercing heartbreak. Uncle Vanya is directed and translated by Geoffrey Horne, who studied acting and directing with Lee Strasberg, became a member of the Actors Studio, and is influenced ...
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