Even with the holidays underway, this month will offer a diverse array of new Off-Broadway shows such new works by esteemed American playwrights, children’s theater, old-fashioned farce, political drama, musicals and operetta.
The Sorceress: A Yiddish Musical Fantasy
Following its acclaimed Yiddish-language production of “Fiddler on the Roof”, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene returns to the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park City to present an 1878 Yiddish fairytale operetta.
Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, nytf.org. Through Dec. 29.
(Courtesy of Paddington Gets in a Jam)
Paddington Gets in a Jam
The popular children’s book character Paddington Bear will make his stage debut in a production helmed by the creator of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show.” It has an hour-long running time and is recommended for children ages three to eight years old.
DR2 Theatre, 103 E. 15th St., paddingtongetsinajam.com. Previews begin Dec. 13.
(Carol Rosegg)
The Mikado
The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players’ new staging of the 1885 English operetta was unveiled three years ago following a fresh wave of criticism over its prior longtime production, specifically at how Caucasian actors portrayed Japanese characters in a caricature-like style.
Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, 68th St. between Park and Lex. Aves., nygasp.org. Dec. 27-Jan. 5.
Halfway B**ches Go Straight to Heaven
Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, whose dark comic plays often deal with the gritty realities of city institutions, now ventures into a NYC women’s halfway house. The large cast includes veterans of his earlier plays such as “Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train,” “The Motherf***er with the Hat” and “Between Riverside and Crazy.”
Linda Gross Theater, 336 W. 20th St., atlantictheater.org. Through Dec. 29.
(Carol Rosegg)
Anything Can Happen in the Theater: The Musical World of Maury Yeston
Composer and lyricist Maury Yeston (“Nine,” “Titanic,” Grand Hotel”) will be celebrated in a new revue directed and conceived by “Forbidden Broadway” creator Gerard Alessandrini. It will also highlight Yeston’s version of “Phantom,” which has yet to receive a major NYC production.
York Theatre Company, 619 Lexington Ave., yorktheatre.org. Through Dec. 29.
- Judgment Day
The Park Avenue Armory, which has produced many prestigious and structurally complex productions in recent years (including “The Lehman Trilogy”), will tackle Christopher Shinn’s adaptation of a 1937 anti-fascist drama. The 16-person cast includes Luke Kirby (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) and Harriet Harris (“Thoroughly Modern Millie”).
Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Ave., armoryonpark.org. Dec. 5-Jan. 10.
London Assurance
The Irish Repertory Theatre Company (which is already currently presenting the 2007 drama “Pumpgirl”) will also revive Dion Boucicault’s 1841 farce, which revolves around money, disguise, young love and creditors.
Irish Repertory Theatre, 132 W. 22nd St., irishredp.org. Performances begin Dec. 6.
Sing Street
Back in 2011, New York Theatre Workshop scored with the musical adaptation of John Carney’s Irish film romance “Once,” which went on to become a Tony-winning hit. Now the company is presenting a musical version of Carney’s 2016 film about a teenage boy who starts a band in 1980s Dublin.
New York Theatre Workshop, 79 E. 4th St., nytw.org. Through Jan. 26.
The Thin Place
Lucas Hnath (who made his Broadway debut two years ago with the surprise hit “A Doll’s House, Part 2”) returns Off-Broadway with a séance-style new play about the friendship between a woman who just experienced a loss and another who can speak to the dead.
Playwrights Horizons, 416 W. 42nd St., playwrightshorizons.org. Through Jan. 5.
Greater Clements
Samuel D. Hunter, who is known for compassionate dramas set in Idaho such as “The Whale” and “Lewiston/Clarkston,” examines the owner a museum and tour company (played by Tony winner Judith Ivey) who is presented with one last opportunity to leave her once vibrant blue-collar community and start a new life.
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center Theater, 150 W. 65th St., lct.org. Through Jan. 19.
