While considerable attention will be paid over the next few weeks to the Broadway plays and musicals that have been nominated for Tony Awards (leading up to the awards ceremony on June 16), this month will also witness a flurry of new Off-Broadway shows. Below are a dozen new Off-Broadway titles worth considering.
All of Me: Laura Winter’s inverts the classic romantic comedy in order to explore class and disability, with a boy who uses a wheelchair and a girl who uses a scooter and who both rely on text-to-speech technology. The cast includes Madison Ferris (“The Glass Menagerie”) and Kyra Sedgwick (“The Closer”). Through June 16 at the Pershing Square Signature Center, thenewgroup.org.
Breaking the Story: In what will be the last show presented by Second Stage at the Rem Koolhaas-designed Tony Kiser Theater in Midtown, Alexis Scheer’s journalism drama depicts a foreign war correspondent (played by Maggie Siff) who considers whether to return to the frontlines of conflict. Begins previews May 16 at the Tony Kiser Theater, 2st.com.
Dungeons and Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern: This live show inspired by the classic tabletop roleplaying game features a cast of five actors playing numerous characters and allows the audience to serve as a fourth player (using software that allows for votes) in a fantasy realm of puzzles and combat. Playing at Stage 42, thetwentysidedtavern.com.
Here There Are Blueberries: Tectonic Theater Company, best known for “The Laramie Project,” presents a new docudrama inspired by an album of photographs depicting Nazi officials at leisure that was discovered in 2007 at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Through June 16 at New York Theatre Workshop, nytw.org.
Jordans: In Ife Olujobi’s dark workplace comedy (which contains an advisory warning for sexually explicit content, nudity, vomit, violence, and blood), two young Black employees confront issues of race, assimilation, and capitalism. Through May 19 at the Public Theater, publictheater.org.
The Keep Going Songs: Abigail and Shaun Bengson (better known as the Bengsons, a couple that is also a band) present a concert-drama-storytelling hybrid in which songs dramatize various kinds of life cycles in the universe. Through May 26 at the Claire Tow Theater at Lincoln Center, lct.org.
The Lonely Few: Set around a Kentucky bar (allowing for some onstage seating), this new musical follows a small-town band that is unexpectedly invited by a well-known musician to join her tour. Through June 2 at MCC Theater Space, mcctheater.org.
Sally & Tom: Suzan-Lori Parks’ (“Topdog/Underdog”) meta-theatrical comic drama about the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings has had its limited run extended no less than four times. Through June 2 at the Public Theater, publictheater.org.
The Welkin: Sandra Oh (“The Sympathizer”), Dale Soules (“Orange is the New Black”) and Ann Harada (“Avenue Q”) will appear in Lucy Kirkwood’s new comic drama set in 18th century rural England, in which a young woman who has been sentenced to death claims to be pregnant. Begins performances May 16 at the Linda Gross Theater, atlantictheater.org.
Three Houses: Described as “a post-pandemic open mic night parable about magic, madness, and the end of the world,” Dave Malloy’s (“Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812”) musical drama explores three individuals in Latvia, New Mexico, and Ireland, respectively, who are haunted by their grandparents. Through June 9 at the Pershing Square Signature Center, signaturetheatre.org.
Molly Sweeney: The Irish Rep’s season-long tribute to playwright Brian Friel concludes with Friel’s three-person drama about a blind woman readjusting to life after her eyesight is restored. Begins performances May 15 at the Irish Repertory Theatre, irishrep.org.
Staff Meal: Playwrights Horizons (which scored big time this season with “Stereophonic”) now presents Abe Koogler’s play about a mysterious restaurant where lonely city folk find comfort and respite from the outside world. Through May 24 at Playwrights Horizons, playwrightshorizons.org.
