5 Shows to See in New York This Month

1. The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse
I highly recommend The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse, a wild and hilarious new musical by Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley, writers of the very online comedy Circle Jerk, which was unexpectedly shortlisted for a Pulitzer Prize in 2021. Last Bimbo follows three 16-year-old TikTokers as they journey into the past (2006) to solve the mystery of a pop star who disappeared leaving only a selfie and a Perez Hilton-penned obituary. It’s insane in the best way and has some shrewd things to say about the high age of fraud through which we seem to be passing. Also, Natalie Walker’s operatic vocal fry is a wonder to behold.

2. O.K.!
Christin Eve Cato’s new play, O.K.!, is set around a fictional bilingual adaptation of a classic American musical (I bet you can guess which one). Melinda is an actor in the production, which is performing in the state of Oklahoma, where abortion was recently made illegal by the Dobbs Supreme Court decision. And this is a problem for Melinda, who was scheduled to have one. Performed at the intimate INTAR Theatre, this new play is about women stepping up when the government lets them down.

3. United States vs. Ulysses
When I’m feeling down about America in 2025, I like to think about our past. Specifically, how our first amendment has served as a beacon for transgressive artists around the world. Irish playwright Colin Murphy reminds us of a time when James Joyce could not get his masterpiece, Ulysses, published in Ireland, but had a fighting chance at overcoming an unconstitutional ban in America. United States vs. Ulysses is a fast-paced courtroom drama about the landmark 1933 case that made Joyce legal and left us all a little bit freer. TheaterMania’s Pete Hempstead called it, “as insightful as it is funny.”

4. Seagull: True Story
Whatever our faults, we can console ourselves that we haven’t traveled nearly as far down the road to authoritarianism as Russia, where merely calling the “special military operation” in Ukraine a war can land you in prison. Director Alexander Molochnikov knows this all too well. His off-Broadway debut at La MaMa, Seagull: True Story, is based on his experience with censorship in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine and his desperate attempt to save his reimagined production of Chekhov’s The Seagull by fleeing to America—a humbling experience for even the most laureled international artists. Eli Rarey wrote the script, and the cast is full of downtown veterans like Elan Zafir and Zuzanna Szadkowski. La MaMa has long been a hub for Eastern European dissidents, and I’m always eager to see what they are creating.

5. The Counterfeit Opera
Of course, with weather this nice, I understand it’s a big sacrifice to spend hours in a dark theater. Luckily, at Little Island’s amphitheater, you don’t have to make that choice. There’s a must-see production opening there at the end of the month. Kate Tarker’s The Counterfeit Opera transports John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera to 1850s Manhattan, where petty thieves and whores pray upon their far more successful colleagues. What was I just saying about this being a high age of fraud? The music for The Counterfeit Opera is by Dan Schlosberg, music director of Last Bimbo and one of the hardest-working men in the business. The cast features Broadway stars Lauren Patten, Damon Daunno, Zenzi Williams, and Ann Harada. Helming the production is Dustin Wills, whose inventive staging of Figaro at Little Island had me in stiches. Even if you think you hate opera, this crew will make you think twice.