Our guide to plays and musicals coming to New York stages and a few last-chance picks of shows that are about to close. Our reviews of open shows are at nytimes.com/reviews/theater.
Note: Because of the coronavirus outbreak and the state’s ban on gatherings of more than 500 people, many events have been canceled. As of press time, these were still scheduled to take place. Before heading out, visit the website of the performance space or organization for the latest updates.
Previews & Openings
‘THE FRE’ at the Flea Theater (in previews; opens on March 15). Having brought a dancing-penis kickline to Broadway, Taylor Mac has now sunk low. In this new work, set in and around a mud pit, a young aesthete tries to persuade his grubby hedonists to de-ooze. In this show, directed by Niegel Smith, “audiences will literally and figuratively jump into the mud,” the theater warns.
212-226-0051, theflea.org
‘GNIT’ at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center (in previews; opens on March 19). Henrik Ibsen’s fairy tale of man’s search for self — plus trolls — arrives in a new, modern-day adaptation from the existentially oriented playwright Will Eno. In this Theater for a New Audience production, Jordan Bellow, Joe Curnutte, Crystal Dickinson, Deborah Hedwall, Matthew Maher and Erin Wilhelmi star. Oliver Butler directs.
866-811-4111, tfana.org
‘LUNCH BUNCH’ at 122CC (previews start on March 18; opens on March 29). Sarah Einspanier’s compassionate comedy, about public defenders, their midday meals and what we owe to ourselves and one another, comes back for seconds. The Play Company revives this Summerworks show, directed by Tara Ahmadinejad with a cast that includes the original players Ugo Chukwu, Keilly McQuail and Julia Sirna-Frest.
866-811-4111, playco.org
‘NOLLYWOOD DREAMS’ at the Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater (previews start on March 19; opens on April 13). Jocelyn Bioh, an actress and playwright who has a wicked way with comedy, premieres a new play. In Lagos, Nigeria, in the 1990s, Ayamma (Sandra Okuboyejo), a travel agent, fantasizes about becoming a leading lady in that country’s burgeoning film industry. Then she gets the chance. Saheem Ali directs for MCC.
646-506-9393, mcctheater.org
[Read about the events that our other critics have chosen for the week ahead.]
Last Chance
‘ANATOMY OF A SUICIDE’ at the Atlantic Theater Company at the Linda Gross Theater (closes on March 15). Alice Birch’s play, dazzling in its form and devastating in its effect, ends its Off Broadway run. With dizzying simultaneity, the play follows three generations of women (Carla Gugino, Celeste Arias, Gabby Beans) in the throes of suicidal depression. Lileana Blain-Cruz directs.
866-811-4111, atlantictheater.org
‘EMOJILAND: THE MUSICAL’ at the Duke on 42nd Street (closes on March 19). Get your sad faces ready as this symbolist musical by Keith Harrison and Laura Schein shuts down. A romantic comedy set inside a smartphone and starring Lesli Margherita and Lucas Steele, it was described by Laura Collins-Hughes as “the kind of sheer fun that sends you back into the world feeling a little more upbeat.”
646-223-3010, emojiland.com
‘SHE PERSISTED’ at the Atlantic Theater Company at the Linda Gross Theater (closes on March 22). This Atlantic for Kids musical about women who changed history sings its final anthems. Adapted by Adam Tobin and Deborah Wicks La Puma from Chelsea Clinton’s best-selling children’s book, the show, Laura Collins-Hughes wrote, “cleverly conveys positive values.” She added, “This is bouncy fun with a serious streak.”
866-811-4111, atlantictheater.org
Source: Theater - nytimes.com
