What’s hot beyond Broadway this April?
Maxamoo’s Hot List, a preview of what we’re looking forward to seeing beyond Broadway in New York City theater this April.
Brits Off-Broadway is an annual festival of British theater in New York City presented by 59E59 Theaters. It has a reputation for bringing over strong work by emerging and veteran British artists. This year the festival will showcase 13 productions over 12 weeks. More info
The Mysteries is an epic, 6-hour, radical reinterpretation of the bible written by 48 different writers and performed by 54 actors at The Flea Theater, dinner and dessert is included with every ticket. More Info
The Neo-Futurists present The Complete and Condensed Stage Directions of Eugene O’Neill Volume 2, a new version of the Neo’s Drama Desk Award nominated production made entirely from the elaborate stage directions in O’Neill’s plays. This volume spans O’Neill’s plays from 1913-1915. More info
Lebanese artists Rabih Mroué and Lina Saneh created 33 rpm and a few seconds as an experimental theatrical piece with no live actors. Using texts, emails, social media posts, voice messages, and video clips, it tells the story of a Lebanese man who committed suicide. It appears in New York for three performances only at The Asia Society. More info
Multiple award-winning playwright Samuel D. Hunter (The Whale, A Bright New Boise) reunites with his frequent collaborator, director Davis McCallum, for The Few at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. It’s a play about the publisher of a small magazine for long-haul truck drivers, who returns to the business after a long absence. More info
The fourth of four world premieres this year by playwright Marcus Gardley, The Box: A Black Comedy will be staged in Brooklyn by The Foundry Theatre. Gardley is know for his lyrical writing style and ability to address difficult subjects with humor. The Box is a play about the complex relationship between law enforcement and communities of color in the United States and is based, in part, on Gardley’s own experiences. More Info
Your Mother’s Copy of the Kama Sutra at Playwrights Horizons is a world premiere by Kirk Lynn, a playwright and artistic director at the theater collective Rude Mechanicals based in Austin, Texas. The production is helmed by director by Anne Kauffman. Hear from Lynn himself about the play on our podcast series “Playwrights & Performers.” More info
The Civilians (Mr. Burns, a post-electric play), one of our favorite New York City-based theater companies, will present The Great Immensity, as part of the Public Lab at The Public Theater. The Great Immensity tackles climate change and society’s reaction to it. Steve Cosson, the founder and artistic director of The Civilians, wrote and will direct the play. The music is by Michael Friedman (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Love’s Labour’s Lost). More info
The Soho Rep will host the world premiere of An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Appropriate). An Octoroon adapts a play from 1859 about a young man who inherits a plantation and falls in love with an octoroon (meaning, a person having one-eighth black ancestry). The Soho Rep calls it an “old-fashioned, meta-melodrama with Humor! Feelings! Live Music! Wigs! Sensation Scenes! Slave Auctions! Exploding Steamboats! Photography! And More!” More info
Chiara Atik’s Women imagines the characters of the literary classic Little Women through the contemporary lens of the hit HBO series Girls. Following a successful run earlier this year, Women returns for more performances at The PIT. More info
The World is Round, based on Gertrude Stein’s book of the same name, combines original music, aerial dance, and acrobatics to tell the story of Rose, who climbs up a mountain looking for answers about her life. Rachel Dickstein, artistic director of Ripe Time theater company, conceived, wrote, and will direct the production, Heather Christian wrote the music and lyrics. It premieres at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in April. More info