Thinking Theater NYC

The Jester's Wife Written and directed by T. J. Elliott Presented by Knowledge Workings Theater LLC at the 36th Street Theatre 312 W 36th St., 3rd. Fl. September 21-October 8, 2023 Jester (Steve Weatherbee) entreats Wife (Emma Taylor Miller) to join his scheme while Stranger (Xander Jackson) observes. Photo by Marjorie P. Elliott When we tell stories, what forces shape not only which stories we choose to tell but also who the protagonists are and who ends up relegated to the margins? The Jester's Wife , written and directed by T. J. Elliott and billed as a Dark Ages comedy, raises such questions by, in a Stoppard-esque move, approaching the story of medieval Irish martyr St. Dymphna by decentering Dymphna herself in favor of those who would normally play at best supporting roles in the tale. This shift foregrounds reflections on gender, religion, power, and art, all wrapped in a hilarious production that would make the titular jester–and his wife–proud. Wife (Emma Taylor Mille

Relapse: A New Musical Book and lyrics by J. Giachetti Music by Louis Josephson Directed by Joey McKneely Presented by Gotta Believe Theater Group at Theatre Row 410 W 42nd St., Manhattan, NYC September 2-23, 2023 Vinny Celerio (as Intrusive), Nicole Lamb (as Intrusive), Mia Cherise Hall (as Melinda), Zummy Mohammed (as Intrusive), and Audree Hedequist (as Intrusive). Photo by Thomas Mundell | @MundellModernPixels “WebMD has nothing on me.” —Your intrusive thoughts Recovery and relapse. It is a process and cycle that nearly 21 million people in the U.S. consider themselves to be in. Substance abuse and other psychological conditions that prey on obsessive thoughts and behaviors became a terrifying emergency during the pandemic. Not only did substance abuse and overdoses rise during it, but treatment for these conditions became more difficult to access. Many films, series, books, and other media claim to be the art we need after COVID. Theater was a form that was especially hit hard

Irregulars Written and directed by David Adam Gill Presented by New Ambassadors Theatre Company at the Hudson Guild Theatre 441 W. 26th St., Manhattan, NYC September 7-24, 2023 Marie Elèna O'Brien, John Peña Griswold, Eric Svendsen, Jonathan Peck, Mickey Pantano. Photo by Mordecai Nuccio The titular Irregulars in the rollicking new comedy from David Adam Gill, Artistic Director of New Ambassadors Theatre Company, hail not from London's Baker Street but Brooklyn's own Carroll Gardens, but if the mysteries with which they are concerned are intrafamilial rather than criminal, they are no less important–and a lot funnier–for that. The title Irregulars literally refers the business, Roger's Irregulars, which sells irregular clothing, that is owned by one of its characters, but metaphorically encompasses Roger (Todd Butera) and his immediate family and in-laws, as well as a couple of those in that extended family's immediate orbit. Playing in repertory with the terrific

Tight Five Written by Jennifer Downes and John Peña Griswold Directed by John Peña Griswold Presented by New Ambassadors Theatre Company at the Hudson Guild Theatre 441 W. 26th St., Manhattan, NYC September 7-24, 2023 Priyanka Arya Krishnan and Jennifer Downes. Photo by Mordecai Nuccio. Most of us have plans for self-improvement that are contingent with some kind of "if only"–if only we had more time or funds or resources or support, surely we would succeed, perhaps even transformatively. In Tight Five , a superb new play from New Ambassadors Theatre Company's Jennifer Downes and John Peña Griswold, one woman offers another the chance to have all of the obstacles on her path to the top of her career removed. The question, though, as always with such offers, is, at what cost? As the funny and captivating Tight Five , playing in repertory with the equally terrific new comedy Irregulars (read our review here ), unspools its answer, it tackles big questions of what it means

Irondale , now celebrating forty years of artistically ambitious, and cutting-edge theatre, invites longtime friend and collaborator Theater Grottesco to bring their proactive and funny and hilarious one-man show Consider This to The Space at Irondale September 28th and 29th at 7:30 p.m. Recognized globally for their audacious approach to live performances, Theater Grottesco masterfully weaves together classical and modern theatrical styles, embarking on a lyrical odyssey through culture and imagination. Consider This is a 60-minute romp through the very roots of Western theater which not only resonates with the company’s foundational ethos but also encapsulates the essence of their extensive artistic portfolio. The performance opens with a reflection and a question: There were times when theater artists were changing the world. Are they still? From the grandeur of Greek Tragedy to the playful artistry of Commedia dell’Arte, from the whimsical world of Clown to the enigmatic allure o

Sex Work/Sex Play Written by Caytha Jentis Directed by Rosie Gunther Presented by Emerging Artists Theatre at the 28th Street Theatre 15 W. 28th St., 2nd Fl., Manhattan, NYC September 4-October 29, 2023 Sex Work/Sex Play – Constance Zaytoun and Amber Gatlin. Photo by Richard Rivera. When it comes to sex, most people probably have experiences, desires, habits, frustrations, and so on that they do not share readily or at all (inhibitions no doubt shaped by our puritanical, heteropatriarchal culture). At the start of Sex Work/Sex Play , from playwright Caytha Jentis, each of the characters is keeping at least one such secret, leading to comic collisions that upend a status quo that is less than ideal for most of them. Sex Work/Sex Play is making its world premiere in repertory with two further world premiere productions–solo show Anne Being Frank and Doris Day: My Secret Love , a play with music–and it also features four special performances, with the September 22nd performance follo

Bioadapted Created and directed by Tjaša Ferme Assistant directed by Nasay Ano Written by James Yu, Alexis Roblan, and Tjaša Ferme and sourced from various transcripts Presented by Transforma Theatre at Culture Lab LIC 5-25 46th Ave., Queens, NYC September 7-24, 2023 BIOADAPTED, featuring Melody Munitz and Arianne Banda. Photo Credit: Dinara Khairova Conversations about A.I. have become mainstream if not inescapable, particularly in regard to large language models and their existing or potential effects in areas ranging from education to art and performance to journalism to climate collapse. Bioadapted , created by award-winning actor, playwright, and creator Tjaša Ferme and making its world premiere at Culture Lab LIC, generates its own wide-ranging consideration of A.I., melding fiction and verbatim text from real panels, interviews, and even a published essay composed by GPT-3 itself. The thought-provoking, the humorous, and the dystopian rub disembodied shoulders as Bioadapted im

The Creeps Written and performed by Catherine Waller Presented by The Creeps NYC with Kendra Keenan and Gustavo Lutterbach; Carson Gleberman; Claire Wilkes; and Sharon Fallon Productions, Inc. at Playhouse 46 at St. Lukes 308 W 46th St, Manhattan, NYC September 1-November 5, 2023 Catherine Waller. Courtesy of Kampfire PR The Creeps begins to establish an atmosphere even before the show starts, bathing the performance space and the audience seated on its four sides in a shade of yellow light that washes the color out of everything and everyone, a fitting prelude to the uncanniness to come. An equally funny, unsettling, and, perhaps surprisingly, empathetic solo show from Catherine Waller, The Creeps has won awards at the Hollywood Fringe, Amsterdam Fringe, and United Solo Festival, and it now arrives in Hell's Kitchen with its roster of lonely, damaged, and, in one instance, subtly menacing characters ready to meet the spectators who descend below Saint Luke's Church to Playhou

Click Written by Drew Pisarra Directed by James Dean Palmer Presented by Drew Pisarra in association with The Tank 312 W 36th St., 1st Fl., Manhattan, NYC August 30-September 9, 2023 Mohammad Saleem as Del, Shuga Ohashi as Claire, and Saman Peyman as Oona in Drew Pisarra’s Click at The Tank, directed by James Dean Palmer. Photo credit: Justin Lahue From a soft click to a loud slam, how one replaced the phone handset could at one time act as a kind of conversational gesture on its own. Who hangs up on whom and how is one of the ways to track the shifting power dynamics in Drew Pisarra's new play, Click , which takes us back to a New York City where not only landlines but also public pay phones were ubiquitous, for what turns out to be an idiosyncratic slice of noir. Click takes some inspiration from Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film Breathless ( À Bout De Souffle ), in which male protagonist and criminal hustler Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) spends a lot of the time when he is not st

The Greek Cultural Center and The Garret Theatre  will present Isaac's Eye , by Lucas Hnath, from September 1st-17th, 2023 at the Greek Cultural Center's Astoria Playhouse. This will be the second full-scale co-production between community mainstay The Greek Cultural Center and The Garret Theatre Company, an upstart co-operative organization in Astoria. It is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatist Play service Collection (Dramatists.com) and the Actors Equity Association. Isaac's Eye is a half-fictional account of the early professional career of famous scientist Isaac Newton. The play imagines that certain choices Newton made, especially in his relationships with others and with himself, dramatically altered his (and therefore our) way of seeing the world. Isaac's Eye was commissioned and developed by Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P Sloan science and technology project and received its world premiere at Ensemble Studi

  Having had a workshop run downtown last June (you can read our review here  - short version: we recommend it!),  Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares , written by Christine Stoddard and directed by Fiamma Piacentini, returns further uptown, for a run from September 8-October 1 at The Tank (312 West 36th Street). Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares follows Maya, a young Salvadoran-American, who navigates trauma and family mythology through magic and folklore as she comes of age in Phoenix, Arizona. Her story explores mother-daughter relationships, mixed race identity, being the child of an immigrant, growing up without a father, and using fantasy as a coping mechanism, while featuring movement and dance. Owls, jaguars, and cacti also make dream-like and delightful appearances. The cast of Mi Abuela, Queen of Nightmares features Adriana Ascencio, Lupita Asto, Telba Cavero, Andie Fuentes, Addy Marsh, and Ash Patlan. Performances will take place on September 8th, 9th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 21s

Mecca Is Burning Written by Cris Eli Blak, Lisa McCree, Levy Lee Simon, and Mona R. Washington Contributing writer: Karen Brown Directed by Karen Brown Presented by The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. ; co-commissioned by Penn Live Arts at the University of Pennsylvania Harlem School of the Arts, 645 St. Nicholas Ave., Manhattan, NYC August 10-20, 2023 A couple is estranged by their responses to impending violence. Dee' Ja-Ray (Kenya Wilson) and A'Brian (Alton Ray) receive an alert about impeding violence on their cell phone. Photo by Jonathan Slaff. For over a century, Harlem has been a center of Black culture in the United States, but the gentrification that began to encroach on the neighborhood in the new millennium continues to impact on and reshape the community in ways reflected in the title of the new play Mecca Is Burning . Mecca Is Burning is a production from The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. (NEC), founded in 1965 by playwright Douglas Turner Ward, producer/actor Rober

The Ukraine Fringe Team. Courtesy of Alex Borovenskiy Ukraine Fringe grows out of the only English-language theatre festival in Ukraine, the PRO.ACT Fest, which after its 5 years of existence is changing its format.  The idea of Ukraine Fringe came from 2 international theatre makers, Steve Gove (founder of Prague Fringe) and Alex Borovenskiy (artistic director of ProEnglish Theatre of Ukraine). Together they will bring the International Fringe culture to Ukraine and raise awareness about Ukraine in the World. The creators of Ukraine Fringe believe that the format is perfect for the country because it is affordable for a wide audience and it supports the unique work of independent artists.  The goal of Ukraine Fringe in 2023 is to support Ukraine via the Ukraine Fringe Festival, which has objective including to unite the world's Fringe theaters, to bring Fringe culture to Ukraine, to create a festival with an active position, and to increase the world's awareness of Ukraine and

Shrew You! Written by David Andrew Laws and William Shakespeare Directed by Sophia Carlin Presented by Hamlet Isn't Dead at UNDER St. Marks 94 St. Marks Place, Manhattan, NYC August 11-18, 2023 Olivia Ridpath, Azumi Tsuzui, and Jillian Cicalese. Rehearsal photo. Courtesy of Emily Owens PR. Among the dramatic works of William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice and The Taming of the Shrew share the distinction of being the most problematic to mount in a way that does not turn off contemporary audiences. But while it is possible to frame Shylock as a tragic figure within what is supposed to be a comedy, Shrew presents the arguably more difficult problem that Katherine embraces and even celebrates her own gaslighting oppression by the end of the play. Some productions try, with varied success, to soften the play's misogyny–by, for instance, playing Katherine's praise of women's subjugation as sarcasm–but it's a tough target to hit while preserving the original text.