5 Shows to See in New York This Month

1. English
Winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Sanaz Toossi’s English makes its Broadway debut this month featuring the complete original off-Broadway cast. Set around an English language class in Karaj, Iran, it’s one of those supremely satisfying (and all too rare) dramas driven more by the things left unsaid. As the students sniff one another out, trying to discover why they enrolled and where they might be going, we lean forward to discern who these characters are and what they truly want. It helps that the production is helmed by Knud Adams, who has now directed the world premieres of two Pulitzer winners and is the reigning shah of subtext. English marks his Broadway debut.

2. Mindplay
I cannot read your mind, but magician and mentalist Vinny DePonto might just be able to. He’s back in New York with his latest show, Mindplay, following runs in Los Angeles, Boston, and Washington, DC. Audiences in those three cities have been astounded by the way DePonto seems to understand exactly what they’re thinking. Is it shrewd intuition, the insidious power of suggestion, or something more? DePonto earned a Drama Desk nomination for his 2014 show, Charlatan. Our critic praised his “preternatural ability to put participants at ease,” so those with an audience-participation allergy need not be alarmed. But, of course, the charm is all part of the magic in this head of a show.

3. Henry IV
Shakespeare’s two-parter about Prince Hal, the naughty nepo baby of usurper Henry Bolingbroke who eventually gets his act together to ascend the throne as Henry V, has been condensed into a breezy three hours, 45 minutes. Beloved actor Dakin Matthews undertook the adaptation, which naturally means he gets to play the title role. But the plum role of Sir John Falstaff, one of the greatest comic parts in all Shakespeare, goes to Jay O. Sanders, who had us rolling in the aisles in Purlie Victorious. Elijah Jones will play Prince Hal, having recently starred in Henry V at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. Eric Tucker, the director of the ever-extending Music City, helms the production, which is sure to be driven by inventive theatricality and memorable performances.

4. Kowalski
People on both sides of the Atlantic are abuzz about Gladiator II star Paul Mescal and the production of A Streetcar Named Desire he will lead at BAM starting next month. But before that arrives, Gregg Ostrin’s Kowalski will make its off-Broadway debut at the Duke on 42^nd Street. It’s about a significant night shared by Streetcar playwright Tennessee Williams and a young Marlon Brando (who would go on to star as Stanley Kowalski) at a Provincetown beach house. Robin Lord Taylor stars as Williams and Brandon Flynn plays Brando in what is sure to be a memorable night for Williams fans and newcomers alike. Even if you’ve never seen Streetcar, this promises to be a breathtaking introduction.

5. The Antiquities
Climate change and the race to develop ever-more-powerful artificial intelligence has naturally filled our culture with existential angst. The latest theatrical entry in that book of dread is Jordan Harrison’s The Antiquities, which imagines curators at the Museum of Late Human Antiquities, where post-human curators attempt to piece together our lost civilization. Harrison is the author of Log Cabin and the Pulitzer finalist Marjorie Prime, both of which performed at Playwrights Horizons, where The Antiquities will receive its world premiere. He’s one of the smartest playwrights working right now, consistently serving a hearty broth of historical insight sprinkled with pessimism. This is his opportunity to write from the perspective of our inevitable successors.