News: SoHo Playhouse Announces First Fully Curated Season

In the first fully curated Fall season from SoHo Playhouse, the New York venue is presenting eight main house shows from the worlds of international theater and comedy, with US artists performing alongside comedians, devisers and theater-makers from Europe. With returning favorites including Xhloe and Natasha, Recent Cutbacks and Awkward Prods, the voices new to the theater include British comedian Elf Lyons in her US debut and former SNL writer Drew Michael in his Off-Broadway debut. The shows have been selected from independent experimental devisers and creators from the USA who present their work internationally, and those from international festivals coming the USA. Also for the first time, SoHo Playhouse will be introducing a subscription package for audiences to see shows at a discounted rate, with exclusive access to selected tickets. A $230 subscription for a six-show package will save audiences up to 25%.

As well as main house events, the venue has programmed four shows for the Huron Club. The intimate, 50-seater space showcases four solo comedians: Louis Katz, Conflicted (17 Sept - 18 Oct); Jena Friedman, Motherf*cker (1 - 11 Oct); Kelly McCaughan, Catholic Guilt (29 Oct – 13 Nov); and Anthony Devito, Jersey Boy (9 – 20 Dec). 

Lost in Del Valle. Photo© Mark Shaw

SoHo Playhouse kicks off the season with Ned Van Zandt’s Lost in Del Valle (14 Sept – 14 Oct), directed by Amir Arison (The Blacklist). Fresh from its award-winning run at the Edinburgh Fringe 2025, where it received the Derek Award for Best Overseas Production, and returning to SoHo Playhouse following a limited run in the spring, this dark comedy details one-man theatrical hurricane Ned Van Zandt’s wild journey through 1970s Chelsea Hotel chaos rubbing shoulders (and more) with Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungeon, parties with Chaka Khan and the LA music scene and his life-changing Texas incarceration— it’s a story of sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll and redemption. 

14–18 Sept, Mon–Fri at 7pm | 23 Sept–14 Oct, Weds–Sat at 7pm, Sun at 5pm | Mon 5 & 12 Oct at 7pm

$35.50-81.50

Next, award-winning British comedian Elf Lyons makes her US debut with her critically-acclaimed show The Woman on the Edge (24 Sept – 18 Oct). Inspired by the collapse of her own engagement, Lyons crafts an absurd, multi-genre piece blending comedy, opera, clowning, and live art. Unable to perform the show herself, in her absence, one of her characters performs it on her behalf. With nods to Hitchcock’s Vertigo, the Apollo 13 mission, and the opera Pagliacci, Elf creates a multi-genre work that crosses between the boundaries of comedy, theater, and live art. Expect a collision of forms as opera, stand-up, clowning, character, and verbatim theater sit side by side alongside audio recordings, bouncy castles, and a fragmented mind that won’t stay in one place. Elf is an ambitious performance artist who has directed half a dozen shows at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. Her own previous works crossing comedy and theater include a re-enactment of a classical ballet using found items, a musical about the economy, a mime show about a bank robbery and a comedy-horror extravaganza inspired by Stephen King’s novels. 

Thurs – Sat at 9pm, Sun at 7pm | $49.50

Love Me, Drew Michael

Peabody Award winner Prashanth Venkataramanujam directs Emmy-nominated comedian Drew Michael’s Off-Broadway debut, Love Me (24 Oct – 22 Nov). Using immersive headphones and cinematic sound design, Michael takes the audience directly inside his mind through five chapters and five relationships in a hilarious exploration of his lifelong search for love. Love Me is produced by Deaf West Theatre, OHenry Productions, Nimitt Makad, and PrashanthVenkataramanujam, and it arrives in New York following an acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023.

Thurs – Sun at 7pm, 2pm matinees Sat & Sun, prices TBC

Following the success of Gwyneth Goes Skiing, Awkward Prods arrives for the holiday season with two irreverent offerings running back-to-back. Written by and starring Linus Karp and Joseph Martin, The (VeryGay) Christmas Prince (16 Dec – 3 Jan) is a joyous, music-filled subversion of Hallmark romcoms featuring original songs by Leland and video cameos from stars including Tove Lo. Panic! In Swedonia. The King is dead, and the Prince in line to the throne is unmarried - if he doesn't find someone soon, he must forfeit the crown! Meanwhile, in New York City, baker Aaron Butcher is butchering his career as a family baker. His puppet colleague, the ever-optimistic Jenny Puppetson, secretly enters him for a mysterious royal commission in the faraway land of Swedonia: Aaron has been chosen to bake the wedding cake for the Prince himself. Extremely reluctantly, and mostly to spite his ex, Aaron accepts. Maybe a commission in a suspiciously familiar, completely fictional country will fix his problems... Audiences are invited to Swedonia - the perfect setting for the ultimate queer parody of all those Netflix and Hallmark romcoms you love to cringe at; the chaotic queer cousin to them all. A top pick by the New York Times and Vogue, written by and starring Linus Karp and Joseph Martin, with origina lmusic by Golden Globe–nominated songwriter and producer Leland (Troye Sivan, Charli xcx, RuPaul's DragRace) and multiple surprise cameos, The (Very Gay) Christmas Prince is a joyous subversion of heteronormative romcoms and a love letter to Karp's native Sweden.

Weds – Sun at 9pm, 5pm matinees Sat & Sun, $41

Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story

Alongside The (Very Gay) Christmas Princ, Awkward Prods brings Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story (2 – 13 Dec), an award-winning celebration of the People's Princess combining drag, puppetry, and audience interaction from the view of heaven, returning after a sold-out run at SoHo Playhouse earlier this year. Do you know the story of Diana? Probably. But do you know our story of Diana? We very much doubt it. Join Diana in heaven as she shares the untold and untrue tale of her extraordinary life. From the creators of Linus Karp Was Hit With An Umbrella.

Weds – Sun at 9pm, 5pm matinees Sat & Sun, $41

Xhloe and Natasha, Bigfoot Ripped My Dog in Half I Saw It

Also running through the festive period, Xhloe and Natasha present Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It (20 Nov – 3 Jan), which won them their fourth consecutive Fringe First Award from the Scotsman this August. Blending precise choreography, clowning, and a nine-foot puppet, the production follows two teenagers whose fake Bigfoot sightings spark dangerous community paranoia in a flood-ravaged Appalachian town. The joke curdles into a dangerous paranoia, and the community zeroes in on conspiracy theories – in the meantime, the water keeps rising. Aside from sparking a panic that spirals out of their control, it forces them to question what might actually be terrorizing their under-resourced and already superstitious community. Dissecting how local paranoia is manufactured and the intoxicating pull of conspiracy culture, the show delves into the dark side of American mythos and the theater of mass distraction. 

Weds – Sun at 7pm, prices TBC

KEVIN!!!!! Brendan Dalton, Rosa Palmeri, Natalie Rich, Nick Abeel. Photo by Bjorn Bolinder

Finally, New York company Recent Cutbacks, known for its lo-fi live movie parodies including Hold On To Your Butts, return with two Fringe hits. KEVIN!!!!! (5 Dec – 3 Jan) is a live, shot-for-shot parody of the classic 90s holiday film. KEVIN!!!!! integrates green-screen projections and live-feed footage with intricate miniature sets and varying scales of puppetry – crafted from recycled materials – to manipulate cinematic perspective in real time. The production utilizes the entire theater space as the McCallister house, moving through the audience to capture the action. Featuring a score of both live and recorded a cappella and choreographed physical theater, the New York-based company delivers a performance that is both a technical feat of homemade craft and a nostalgic celebration of a festive classic.

Sat at 3pm & 5pm (no 5pm show 19th Dec), Sun at 1pm & 3pm | Mon at 7 & 28 Dec 7pm, Tues 29 Dec at 7pm | $47.50

Fly You Fools. Nick Abeel and Kelly Robinson. Photo by Mike Bryk

Alongside KEVIN!!!!!, Recent Cutbacks brings us Fly, You Fools (19 Dec – 2 Jan), an epic retelling of the first chapter of the most iconic fantasy franchise ever made, compressing 178 minutes of cinematic action into just 60. Fly, You Fools sees three actors and a Foley artist band together – in fellowship – to perform a live, shot-for-shot parody combining live sound effects, exaggerated character impersonations and physical theater. The performers remain on stage throughout, shifting seamlessly between roles within a ring of props. Featuring choreographed mime, shadow puppetry, and a makeshift wind machine, Recent Cutbacks returns with a show that both celebrates the fandom and remains accessible to all audiences.

Sat at 5pm, Sun 26 at 5pm, Mon 28 & Tues 29 at 9pm | $47.50

SoHo Artistic Director Darren Lee Cole said, “I’m extremely excited about this year’s Fall Season. After a year of travel and discovery I feel we have some of the very best theater and comedy the world has to offer. The range of ideas and expressions of the human condition are inspiring. Anyone who doubts the future of theater (or humanity for that sake) should come to playhouse and witness some of this work. You will smile and feel we are going to be all right!” Managing Director Ed Wolins said, “SoHo playhouse has for the last 20+ years been programming vital and challenging works from throughout the Globe. This fall 2026 season is an extension of the relationships we’ve been able to build with artists throughout the fringe community. For the first time ever, Soho Theatre in London and SoHo Playhouse co-commissioned Xhoe and Natasha’s newest work, which sold out its entire run in Edinburgh before the festival started. Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It marks a shift in programming; that SoHo playhouse is a place for artists to develop their work and take it across the globe. It’s a privilege to present the works that we’ve programmed, and we’re so grateful to be able to share it with the city of NYC.”

SoHo Playhouse prides itself on supporting and showcasing work that changes minds, encourages discussion, and opens hearts. Their mission is to create and showcase groundbreaking new theater from diverse voices and artists from across the globe. An Off-Broadway theater for local and international artists to share their messages with the world, it works in symbiosis between stage and digital to keep Off-Broadway alive. DarrenLee Cole joined the venue as artistic director in 2004, and since 2007 it has produced the International Fringe Encore Series, providing opportunities to emerging artists who show exceptional talent at each season’s Fringe Festivals. 15 Vandam Street, which became a theater in 1961, was built 200 years ago in 1826.

www.sohoplayhouse.com | (212) 691-1555

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