A great cure for the winter blues is getting out of your apartment to see live theatre. Broadway shows are often not the most financially accessible, but there are tons of incredible off-Broadway productions that offer cheaper tickets. I wrote this piece back in June about theatre before the Tonys, but I wanted to catch up on all of the specifically off-Broadway (and off off-Broadway, which is apparently its own term) theatre I’ve seen since then. This list is in order of worst to best (in my opinion). These shows have shorter runs than Broadway productions, so many of them have closed, but I’ve also included a list of current and upcoming shows that I am hoping to see.
Family (La MaMa)
This was the single worst theatre production I have ever seen in my entire life. Like, worse than a middle school musical gone wrong. If there had been an intermission, I would have walked out. My friend Anna and I kept staring at each other in disbelief of what was unfolding before our eyes. This play was written by Celine Song, which was the main draw. It made me lose a ton of respect for her and made me think that Past Lives was a fluke, and she is generally not talented. It was bad in a very different way than Materialists was bad. It was morbid and twisted but without there being any point or resolve to the onstage incest and experimental everything. The plot did not make sense. It felt like a joke in and of itself. I could go on. The most jarring part was leaving the theatre and seeing that it got some positive reviews online. Celine, I fear you’ve lost the plot.
Let’s Love (Atlantic Theater)
The Atlantic has a theater in Chelsea. It’s very charming and you should go. I saw Grief Camp there last year, which I was blown away by; this play, less so. Aubrey Plaza seems to love Ethan Coen, but at this point I’m not entirely sure why? Honey, Don’t, came out in August and has a 39% on Rotten Tomatoes (though I would rank it lower). If Rotten Tomatoes included theatre, I’d rank Let’s Love higher, but not by much. It’s a comedic trio of one acts about love as it unfolds between interwoven couples. It was funny but could have been much funnier. The plot felt disjointed, and I was not sure the Jewish and gay jokes were additive in any way. However, I did adore seeing Aubrey play the saxophone.
The Baker’s Wife (Classic Stage Company)
Ariana DeBose starred in this Steven Schwartz musical at Classic Stage Company, a tiny and intimate theater in the East Village that I did not know was a block from my apartment the whole time I’ve lived there. The staging and set design were lovely; it felt like the entire audience was immersed in the French village where the story takes place. The 1976 musical was based on a 1938 film by Marcel Pagnol, which is interesting because after its recent off-Broadway run, I heard the show is being made back into another movie (a little bit à la Mean Girls the Musical the Movie…) Anyway, it’s a cute show, albeit a bit half baked (pun intended). Ariana DeBose is even more beautiful up close (thanks to my good friend Joni, our seats were in the first row sitting literally on top of the stage itself), and overall, it was a charming production. My standards for a musical are high; the story must contain layers, and the songs must not only advance the plot, but I should leave the theatre singing them, which I didn’t. I never fully bought the chemistry between DeBose and Kevin William Paul, the younger French man who woos her throughout the show. But, during the final number I got whisked onto the stage by cast members who danced around with me for a minute, which was fun. Its run ended in December, but I am definitely interested in seeing another show at this intimate black box theatre in the future.
Anna Christie (St. Ann’s Warehouse)
I was ecstatic to see Michelle Williams, one of my favorite actors, star in an off-Broadway revival of this Eugene O’Neill play. St. Ann’s Warehouse is one of my favorite theatres in New York, and I was seated directly next to Maya Hawke and her fiancé (now husband, only a few weeks later). The vibes going in were high. As always, Michelle delivered a dynamic performance, playing an estranged prostitute who returns to her father in Brooklyn seeking refuge and a new beginning. I appreciated the meta nature of this production taking place right on the East River waterfront, but overall I found the play to be a bit of a drag. It’s slow with no pay off for being so slow, and I struggled to walk away with a clear message of what it was trying to convey. The staging was gorgeous, though.
Smuta (Refuge)
My friend Mark did the set design for this off-off (many times off) Broadway play at a new warehouse club space in East Williamsburg called Refuge. The play takes place in 2019 inside an underground queer club in Moscow, which Mark’s minimalist yet intentional set design conveyed perfectly. Walking into the “theatre,” two djs at a booth greeted the audience and spun songs until the play began. The seating options were either stools or floor cushions. The show starred James Scully of Oh, Mary! and Augustus Prew of The Morning Show, both of whom delivered fantastic performances. I interpreted the show as existing amongst three metaphorical and physical spaces: the literal nightclub in Moscow, commentary on Russia, and interacting with the audience. The historical context is fascinating and something I did not previously know much about. You can read more about the production in Vanity Fair.
Dilaria (Daryl Roth Theatre)
Dilaria is a new play written by Julia Randall, directed by Alex Keegan, and starring Ella Stiller (I went opening night and Ben was there, of course), Chiara Aurelia, and Chris Briney of The Summer I Turned Pretty. It’s a vulgar, sexy depiction of a toxic friendship between two young women in the social media age that gets taken way too far. I agree wholeheartedly with this review; while I was thoroughly amused by it, “Dilaria doesn’t compare to the plays it is trying to emulate”—dare I say Death Becomes Her, which was on Broadway during Dilaria’s run this past summer.
Ginger Twinsies (Orpheum Theatre)
This was my first show at another East Village gem of an off-Broadway theatre. The Orpheum is cozy and quaint and the perfect setting for a ridiculous satirical play about summer camp because it feels like you’re sitting in a summer camp theatre. I remember I was having kind of a weird and bad day before I met up with Olivia to see the very last performance of Ginger Twinsies (which was extended multiple times), and seeing this play completely boosted my mood. It’s essentially an over-the-top campy (literally and figuratively) parody of The Parent Trap, peppered with pop culture references and absurd physical comedy. I don’t know how any of the actors kept in character without constantly bursting into laughter. On the surface it’s incredibly dumb, and there is nothing beneath the surface really (as opposed to with Oh, Mary! which falls in a similar category), but sometimes that’s okay. 80 minutes of belly laughter is all you need to turn your weekend around.
Can I be Frank? (Soho Playhouse)
This was another incredibly funny, incredibly gay summer play that I loved. It was originally developed and produced at La MaMa and is a tribute to the late queer performance artist and comedian Frank Maya, who I knew nothing about before seeing this show. It starred queer comedian Morgan Bassichis and was directed by Oh, Mary! director and recent Tony winner Sam Pinkleton, so at the very least, I knew I was going to laugh. I felt that the show lacked staging and structure that would have made it feel like a true piece of theatre rather than straight comedy, but the narrative did contain some form of arc and interplay between Morgan acting as themself and acting as Frank Maya. I was glad to have been introduced to both Morgan and Frank via this 110-minute production. It’s a unique vehicle for preserving the memory of a queer person who died from AIDS.
Josh Sharp: ta-da (Greenwich House Theater)
Josh Sharp: ta-da feels like the sister play of Can I be Frank? Both gay, both hilarious one-person shows, and both directed by Sam Pinkleton at off-Broadway theaters just blocks from each other in the West Village (once queer art mecca, now Tik Tok-ified home to sorority PR girlies in identical outfits and evil Palantir Murray Hill male transplants. Sigh.) Josh Sharp plays himself in a PowerPoint presentation stuck inside a one-man play that ultimately ends up feeling more like standup than theatre, but I loved every minute of it nonetheless. The PowerPoint has 2,000 slides, but don’t worry, he moves quickly. It’s hilarious and fast paced and ultimately uncovers very real emotions, despite its whirlwind structure. I kind of wish he’d tapped into those hard emotions and life stories earlier than he did, but the word-vomit format is intentional. It’s playing at the Soho Theatre in London until the end of February, if you happen to find yourself there!
The Reservoir (Geffen Playhouse/Atlantic Theater)
I saw The Reservoir last summer at the Geffen Playhouse in LA, but it is now playing at the Atlantic Theater in New York, where you can see it through March 15! I highly recommend it. Josh moves home to Denver to get sober but struggles with brain fog, memory loss, and shame. He begins spending time with his four aging grandparents and realizes that they have a lot to learn from each other. The Reservoir is a darkly funny, remarkably human play about family, memory, recovery, and intergenerational bonds. It’s sad but funny and incredibly poignant. Each grandparent’s character has its own quirks and struggles that will remind you of a grandparent you know.
Weather Girl (St. Ann’s Warehouse)
Another solo play, but this time with a woman! I saw a matinee of Weather Girl by myself on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Upon walking into the theatre through a dark passageway, you’re greeted with a street sign under a disco ball that says, “cell phones prohibited, fatal if used.” The staging and lighting continued to oscillate between surrealist and very natural, even employing a massive downpour of water to resemble a real rainstorm onstage. Brian Watkins wrote the play, and Julia McDermott starred as Stacey Gross, a weather girl in Fresno who is touching up her mascara and drinking prosecco from a Stanley Cup as the world around her burns. She faces a self-reckoning similar to the one we all experience daily—a distance between her onscreen persona and the horrors of the world surrounding her. How can she, in a bright pink pantsuit, smile and deliver gut-wrenching news about how climate change is demolishing her beloved hometown? This play felt incredibly fresh and relevant without trying too hard to be current, which is a tough balance to achieve. It won multiple awards at Edinburgh Fringe in 2024 and transferred to Soho Theatre in London before coming to Brooklyn this past fall. Next, Netflix is adapting it as a limited series, which could go terribly wrong or could end up being great.
Prince Faggot (Studio Seaview)
Last but not least, an audacious original play from Jordan Tannahill that forces a near-future reckoning of privilege, colonization, and queerness. It answers the question we’ve all been asking (not really): is Prince George of Wales (presently 12 years old) gay? Audience members were asked to lock their phones in pouches upon arrival, so you knew it was getting frisky. I feel like this concept must have come to Jordan Tannahill in a dream or while on drugs because it is just so wholly original and over-the-top hilarious, yet it unfolds as a genuine queer coming-of-age story that is more than just raunchy and funny. All of the performances were amazing, though I still am not sure I loved the way the actors broke the fourth wall to share personal anecdotes about being queer, trans, and non-binary. That element often felt distracting from the already rich and dynamic story taking place.
Up next!
As previously mentioned, The Reservoir is at the Atlantic Theater until March 15. I am dying to see something at the new Cherry Lane Theatre; You Got Older sounds like a great coming-of-age comedy and stars Alia Shawkat aka Maeby from Arrested Development… Say less. It’s playing through April 12. My boss recently saw Kramer/Fauci at NYU Skirball, which sadly closes this weekend and didn’t get enough attention, though it sounds fascinating and is directed by Daniel Fish of Oklahoma!. There is a four-week run of Robert Hastie’s (Operation Mincemeat) contemporary take on Hamlet coming to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (another favorite venue of mine) in April and starring Hiran Abeysekera. Lost in Del Valle sounds darkly funny and unique; straight from a five-star run at Edinburgh Fringe, it’s at the Soho Playhouse through May, and tickets are just $48! A new play called The Amazing Sex Life of Rabbits is also at the Soho Playhouse for all of March for $43. It sounds vulgar and hilarious. I am always an advocate for seeing anything at The Public Theater in Noho; their shows usually run for very limited windows, but you can’t go wrong with any of them.
Great piece! Looking forward to more.
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