While Broadway is currently in the midst of a frenzied, jam-packed month of nonstop openings (just prior to the cutoff for consideration for the Tony Awards at the end of the month), Off-Broadway is also currently full of activity, with an extremely diverse assortment of interesting plays and musicals.
Below are 10 current Off-Broadway productions worth seeing.
Dead Outlaw: Created by the team behind the Tony Award-winning musical “The Band’s Visit” and produced by Audible, this new musical is inspired by a true story about an early 20th century criminal whose dead body somehow became mistaken for a dummy at carnival sideshows. Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane, deadoutlawmusical.com. Through April 14.
Oh, Mary!: Writer-performer Cole Escola takes on the role of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln in a comedy set during the weeks prior to her husband’s assassination and depicting Mary as deeply distraught. Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher St., ohmaryplay.com. Through May 12.
Philadelphia, Here I Come!: The Irish Rep’s season-long tribute to Irish playwright Brian Friel continues with Friel’s 1964 tragicomedy about an Irishman on the verge of moving to America. Irish Repertory Theatre, 132 W. 22nd St., irishrep.org. Through May 5.
Hamlet: After starring last year in a one-man adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations,” transgender English actor and comedian (as well as marathon runner and political candidate) Eddie Izzard is doing a solo adaptation of “Hamlet.” Orpheum Theatre, 126 Second Ave., eddieizzardhamlet.com. Through April 14.
The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers: Nickelodeon game show host Marc Summers (who claimed last week that he had been misled into appearing on the documentary “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV”) is currently appearing Off-Broadway in a one-man show that combines anecdotes with interactive games. Begins Feb. 14 at New World Stages, lifeandslimes.com. New World Stages, 340 W. 50th St., lifeandslimes.com. Through June 2.
Macbeth (an undoing): Writer-director Zinnie Harris imagines how Lady Macbeth ended up as a deranged sleepwalker at the end of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” by “undoing” the original text. Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Place, Brooklyn, tfana.org. Through May 4.
Teeth: Michael R. Jackson, writer of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “A Strange Loop,” returns Off-Broadway with a musical adaptation of a 2007 comedy-horror film about a teenage girl who fights back against sexual assault in a most unusual way. Playwrights Horizons, 416 W. 42nd St., playwrightshorizons.org. Through April 28.
Fish: Kia Corthron explores the U.S. educational system in a play about a high school senior and new English teacher at a financially drained public school. Theatre Row, 410 W. 42nd St., keencompany.org. Through April 20.
Sally & Tom: Acclaimed writer Suzan-Lori Parks (“Topdog/Underdog”) tackles the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings by depicting an Off-Off-Broadway theater troupe that is putting on a play about Jefferson and Hemings starring the play’s writer and director, who also happen to be a couple. Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Ave., publictheater.org. Through May 5.
Orlando: Performance artist and playwright Taylor Mac plays the immortal and gender-switching title character in Sarah Ruhl’s adaptation of the Virginia Woolf novel “Orlando,” in which a young Elizabethan man magically turns into a Victorian maiden. Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 W. 42nd St., signaturetheatre.org. Through May 12.
