{"id":172702,"date":"2025-08-24T21:47:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T21:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/172702\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T21:47:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T21:47:14","slug":"10-shows-to-see-new-york-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/172702\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Shows to See* \u2013 New York Theater"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keanu Reeves (his Broadway debut!) in a\u00a0Waiting for Godot<\/a>\u00a0revival,\u00a0Neil Patrick Harris, Bobby Cannavale, James Corden in an\u00a0Art<\/a> revival,\u00a0Lea Michele and Aaron Tveit in a\u00a0CHESS<\/a>\u00a0revival<\/strong>,\u00a0Joshua Henry,\u00a0Caissie Levy,\u00a0Brandon Uranowitz\u00a0in revival of\u00a0Ragtime<\/a>:\u00a0None are listed below.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I look forward to all of them. The reason for their omission is primarily that I\u2019ve already put together a complete, continually updated\u00a0preview of the Broadway 2025-2026 season<\/a>\u00a0that includes details on all of these shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other reasons: 1. Celebrity-studded shows sell themselves, and it\u2019ll likely be tough to get (reasonably priced) tickets, so why torture you?\u00a0\u00a02. There is a tantalizing abundance of new shows \u2014 many beyond Broadway \u2014 that get less attention and may be just as likely to delight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some of the ten I\u2019ve selected below \u2014 all of them shows opening on New York stages between September and December \u2014 may well become \u201ccan\u2019t miss\u201d or \u201cmust see.\u201d But I don\u2019t know that yet for sure (I haven\u2019t seen most of them) and I\u2019ve been burned enough times so that I\u2019m not using those phrases anymore. That\u2019s the reason for the asterisk in the headline. The track record for my past previews is a fairly consistent 70 percent: Three of the ten wind up disappointments in some way.
All I know for certain right now is that these shows excite me enough, or at least intrigue me enough, that I want to make sure to see them, for reasons I enumerate below.\u00a0\u00a0That doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019ll end up liking them (which is why I add a cautionary note to some of them.)
I feel them worth previewing, despite the lack of guarantees, as a way to address a dilemma facing the New York theatergoer: By the time you can be sure that a show is worth seeing (once it\u2019s been reviewed, say, by someone whose taste you trust) it might be too late to get any tickets, or at least any tickets you can afford.<\/p>\n

The shows are organized chronologically more or less according to opening date (when I could find the opening date; otherwise, first performance), with the titles linked to the show\u2019s website.\u00a0\u00a0At the beginning of each month, I put together a monthly calendar of theater openings<\/a>, which will have far more choices for each of the four months as the season unfolds. (And again, check out my Broadway 2025 2026 Season Preview Guide<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"\"Julio Torres<\/p>\n

Color Theories<\/a>
What:<\/strong> Julio Torres makes his Off-Broadway debut with what he describes as a whimsical exploration of color, emotion, and identity that is equal parts comedy, theater, and art piece.
When:<\/strong> September 3 \u2013 21. Opening September 10.
Where:<\/strong> Performance Space New York
Why:<\/strong>\u00a0In his work on screen in Problemista and Fantasmas, and in his standup special \u00a0My Favorite Shapes,\u00a0 Torres has exhibited a gentle, winning touch with surreal comedy, which reflects a unique sensibility in part shaped by his life as a queer immigrant from El Salvador.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Prince Faggot<\/a>
What<\/strong>: Jordan Tannahill\u2019s play imagines a grownup Prince George of England (currently 11 years old) as an out gay man
When:<\/strong> September 11 \u2013 October 26.\u00a0
Where:<\/strong> Seaview Studio
Why: <\/strong>This is an intact transfer of a production from last season that I found, despite its deliberately offensive title and premise, \u00a0not just \u201cwonderfully acted and artfully staged,\u201d as I put it in\u00a0my review<\/a>,\u00a0\u00a0but also surprisingly thoughtful. It has its hilarious campy moments, and is undeniably meant to shock (there are graphic scenes involving nudity), but the storytelling feels honest, especially in the way It employs its six terrific cast members, all of whom identify as queer \u2013Rachel Crowl, K. Todd Freeman, David Greenspan, Mihir Kumar, John McCrea, and N\u2019yomi Allure Stewart \u2013 to tell personal (albeit largely fictionalized) stories about being marginalized. It\u2019s worth seeing for those theatergoers who missed the initial run. However\u2026
Why not:\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0The play is transferring from the non-profit Playwrights Horizons, where it was in a co-production with the also non-profit SoHo Rep, to a commercial Off-Broadway run at the recently bought and rechristened Seaview Studio, where tickets are as high as $199, continuing an off-putting Off-Broadway price-gouging practice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"John Leguizamo<\/p>\n

The Other Americans<\/a>
What:<\/strong> John Leguizamo\u00a0stars in a play he wrote about\u00a0Nelson Castro, a Colombian-American laundromat owner in Queens grappling with a failing business, buried secrets, and a son who returns from a mental wellness facility after a traumatic incident.
When:<\/strong> September 11 \u2013 October 12. Opening September 25.
Where:<\/strong> The Public Theater
Why:<\/strong> Leguizamo has entertained New York theatergoers since his Off-Broadway breakthrough Mambo Mouth in 1991, followed by four solo shows on Broadway, the last of which, \u201cLatin History for Morons\u201d was given a Special Tony Award. This is his first play that features a full cast of characters portrayed by other actors, and a plot that doesn\u2019t sound conducive to his usual freewheeling hilarity. Can he pull it off? He has help from another great pro,\u00a0\u00a0director\u00a0Ruben Santiago-Hudson (whose son Trey plays Leguizamo\u2019s son in the play)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And Then We Were No More<\/a>
What<\/strong>: In this new play by Tim Blake Nelson, Elizabeth Marvel portrays a lawyer in the not-too-distant future is forced to represent a prisoner deemed \u2018beyond rehabilitation\u2019 and destined to perish in a newly developed machine designed to execute \u2018without pain.\u2019 The attorney must strive for justice in a system devoid of mercy.
When<\/strong>: September 19 \u2013 November 2
Where:<\/strong> La MaMa ETC
Why: <\/strong>Tim Blake Nelson, best known as a quirky character actor on screen, has written for the stage before, his play Socrates<\/a>, which was crowded with characters, but certainly erudite. His new play, with a cast of proven New York pros \u2014\u00a0Marvel Scott Shepherd, Henry Stram \u2013 and some newcomers, suggests a timely update of Kafka.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Then We Were No More\u201d has a longer run than usual for La MaMa. It\u2019s worth checking out the other offerings at this longstanding Off-Off Broadway theater.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Little Bear Ridge Road<\/a>
What:<\/strong> The title is the street on the outskirts of Troy, Idaho where the playwright Samuel D. Hunter\u2019s father lived, and it is the setting of Hunter\u2019s play about an aunt and a nephew with a painful history between them who hunker down together during the pandemic.
When:<\/strong> October 7 to February 8. Opening October 30
Where<\/strong>: Broadway\u2019s Booth theater
Why:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0This marks the long-awaited Broadway debut of a playwright whose every play I\u2019ve seen (all of them taking place in his home state of Idaho) has been a quietly amusing and powerfully affecting drama about loss and hope, most memorably \u201cLewiston\/Clarkston<\/a>\u201d\u00a0(2018),\u00a0\u201cGreater Clements\u201d\u00a0<\/a>(2019), and especially \u201cA Case for the Existence of God\u201d\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0(2022.), as well as last season\u2019s\u00a0Grangeville<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0The prolific Joe Mantello directs, and its four-member cast includes the much-praised Tony winning actress (and \u201cRoseanne\u201d alumna) Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock, whose Broadway debut in \u201cIt\u2019s Only A Play\u201d ten years ago made him a fan favorite.
Why not:<\/strong> It marks the return to Broadway of producer Scott Rudin, who was forced to \u201cstep away\u201d from producing four years ago after\u00a0reports of widespread abusive behavior.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kyoto<\/a>
What:<\/strong> The play dramatizes the 1997 conference in Japan that led to the Kyoto Protocol, the first unanimous agreement by the nations of the world on climate change, despite obstacles thrown up by American oil lobbyist and master strategist Don Pearlman (portrayed by \u00a0Stephen Kunken in a reprise of his acclaimed performance in England)
When:<\/strong> October 8 \u2013 November 30. Opening November 3
Where:<\/strong> Lincoln Center\u2019s \u00a0Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater
Why:<\/strong> The play was acclaimed in London, where it was called gripping and funny. The New York version features such reliable actors as Kate Burton and Roslyn Ruff. If I worry this play may be too dry for my taste, I\u2019m reassured by the participation of four theater artists with a track record for theatrical spectacle \u2013 the writers, Joe Murphy\u00a0and\u00a0Joe Robertson, gave us the extraordinary immersive\u00a0The Jungle<\/a>, a re-creation of a real-life refugee camp; the Broadway credits of the co-directors, Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, include\u00a0\u00a0\u201cStranger Things: The First Shadow\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire<\/a>
What<\/strong>: In this play written by\u00a0Anne\u00a0Washburn, an intentional community somewhere in foggy Northern California tries to live off the land and keep an unsteady world at bay \u2013 until one of their own dies unexpectedly.
When:<\/strong> October 23 \u2013 December 5. Opening November 9
Where<\/strong>: Vineyard Theater
Why:<\/strong> \u00a0Washburn is forever in my sights because of her 2013 \u201cMr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play\u201d \u2014 clever, funny take on the apocalypse.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Queen of Versailles<\/a>
What:<\/strong> Stephen Schwartz\u2019s musical, which reunites him with his Wicked star Kristen Chenoweth, is based\u00a0on the 2012 documentary about socialite Jacqueline Siegel, whose plan to build a mansion in Florida to rival the 17thcentury French palace went awry.\u00a0
When:<\/strong> First preview: October 8. Opening November 10
Where:<\/strong> Broadway\u2019s St. James Theater
Why:<\/strong> Some who saw the try-out in Boston found it Schwartz\u2019s\u00a0most emotionally affecting score; everybody seemed to adore the performances by both Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham playing her husband. This promises to be the lavish new Broadway musical of the season, but one with a sharp social message, entertaining and amusing, but also moving,\u00a0
Why not:<\/strong> The danger here is that it turns out to be like last year\u2019s \u201cTammy Faye,\u201d attempting to satire without understanding its target.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Archduke<\/a>
What<\/strong>: In Rajiv Joseph\u2019s play casts Gavrilo Princip and his fellow revolutionaries in a new light. Best remembered as the man who started World War I by assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand, he is pictured here as part of a ragtag group of teenager dreamers s
When<\/strong>: October 23 \u2013 December 21. Opening November 12.
Where<\/strong>: Roundabout\u2019s Laura Pels
Why:<\/strong> The playwright, best known for \u201cBengal Tiger at the Bagdad Zoo,\u201d has a grasp of world history and politics, that brings it down to earth. The only cast member announced as of this writing is Patrick Page, best known for \u201cHadestown\u201d and \u201cAll the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain.\u201d I\u2019d see anything he is in (that included Spiderman!)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Marjorie Prime<\/a>
What:<\/strong> In Jordan Harrison\u2019s play,\u00a0\u00a0an elderly woman\u2019s grown children give her a robot caregiver,
When:<\/strong> Opening December 8
Where<\/strong>: Second Stage\u2019s Helen Hayes Theater
Why:<\/strong> Althought the play was first produced in 2015, it is even more relevant with the ascendance of AI. But it\u2019s also insightful about\u00a0family dynamics.\u00a0My review of it Off-Broadway in 2015.<\/a>\u00a0And what a cast this time: Danny Burstein, Cynthia Nixon, Christopher Lowell. I regret that Lois Smith, now 94, is not reprising her role. But they cast June Squibb, who is a year older at 95, and got her first leading role in a movie last year in Thelma.<\/p>\n

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