5 Shows to See in New York This Month

Now that the Summer Olympics are over (au revoir), I’m ready to turn my attention back to the stages of New York City, many of which will remain dark for the duration of the summer, but not all. Here are five new shows on and off Broadway you should check out in the coming month.

1. Life and Trust
Fans of immersive theater (that’s when the actors and set are all around you) won’t want to miss Life and Trust, a mysterious new show from the producers of Sleep No More. They’ve teamed up with writer and radio personality Jon Ronson to transport the Faust legend to New York City on the eve of the 1929 stock market crash. While he had some quibbles with the narrative, our critic called it “astonishingly well-executed.” I would expect nothing less from the world’s leading purveyors of interactive theater.

2. Once Upon a Mattress
Sutton Foster is back on Broadway with a revival of Once Upon a Mattress, which opened on Monday. This classic Mary Rodgers musical comedy is a retelling of “The Princess and the Pea,” and remains one of the most popular selections for high school and amateur theaters. This is an opportunity to see it with an all-star cast that includes Michael Urie, Ana Gasteyer, Nikki Renée Daniels, and Brooks Ashmanskas. Our critic praised their “deliciously over-the-top comic performances” that are nevertheless still grounded in the story — which is a lot smarter than it first appears.

3. The Roommate
On August 29, Broadway performances begin for Jen Silverman’s The Roommate, starring Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone. Yes, the very Patti LuPone who dramatically departed the actor’s union and swore off ever performing on Broadway again…in a musical. Luckily, The Roommate is a play about two older women cohabiting as they attempt to reinvent their lives. If Oh, Mary! has taught us anything, it’s that Broadway audiences are hungry for comedy right now, so The Roommate couldn’t be arriving at a better time.

4. Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song
Gerard Alessandrini has been making audiences howl for four decades with Forbidden Broadway, his semi-regular revue that skewers the latest offerings on Broadway. This was slated to be the summer the franchise finally made the leap to the Great White Way, but a change of plans has landed the show at Theater 555 off-Broadway. But at least it’s still happening. This year’s edition, Merrily We Stole a Song, promises send-ups of Hell’s Kitchen, Stereophonic, and The Outsiders, among others. It’s a must-see for the Broadway faithful.

5. Our Class
Finally, I highly recommend the return engagement of Our Class, Tadeusz Słobodzianek’s drama about a class of students in Poland and what becomes of them as they live through World War II and the rise of communism. The show played the Under the Radar festival earlier this year. This English-language production comes from director Igor Golyak and Arlekin Players Theatre, one of the most exciting experimental theater companies working in New York right now (you can read about their production of The Cherry Orchard with robots here). I never miss an opportunity to see what they’re up to, and neither should you.