In recent months, it has become increasingly clear that nonprofit theater companies in New York and across the country are facing severe post-COVID financial challenges, which has led to cuts in size, staffing and programming. Nevertheless, one can easily find a great deal of diverse theatrical activity Off-Broadway in September, including the 10 shows below.
Infinite Life: In Annie Baker’s (“The Flick,” “Circle Mirror Transformation”) new play, five women in Northern California relax outside on lounge chairs and contemplate pain, craving, and aging. Currently in previews at the Linda Gross Theater, atlantictheater.org.
Dig: Theresa Rebeck, whose play “I Need That” will be presented on Broadway in the fall with Danny DeVito, will also have a new work premiere Off-Broadway about a woman who returns to her old neighborhood following a stint in rehab. Currently in previews at 59E59, primarystages.org.
Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors. Bram Stoker’s classic vampire saga receives a contemporary comic makeover emphasizing camp and sexuality, with inspiration from Charles Ludlam, Monty Python and Mel Brooks. Currently in previews at New World Stages, draculacomedy.com.
Love Letters: Rotating casts will take turns doing short runs in the late A.R. Gurney’s epistolary two-hander, including Matthew Broderick and Talia Balsam, J. Smith-Cameron and Victor Garber, and Brooke Shields and John Slattery. Through Oct. 1 at the Irish Repertory Theatre, irishrep.org.
Death, Let Me Do My Show: Rachel Bloom, co-creator and star of the sitcom “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” comes to the New York stage in a one-woman musical comedy “that is definitely not about the ever-present spectre of death” or “the pandemic and the tumultuous events that ensued in her personal life.” Begins previews on Sept. 6 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, rachelbloomshow.com.
Prometheus Firebringer: Described as a hybrid performance/lecture that brings together ancient Greek tragedy and the impact of technology, Annie Dorsen (co-creator of the musical “Passing Strange”) will use the AI model GPT-3 to recreate the missing portions of the Prometheus trilogy by Aeschylus. Begins previews on Sept. 15 at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center, tfana.org.
Swing State: The Chicago production Rebecca Gilman’s new drama about a small community in rural Wisconsin has transferred to New York courtesy of Audible. Previews begin Sept. 8 at the Minetta Lane Theatre, swingstateplay.com.
Job: Veteran actor Peter Friedman, who was recently a regular cast member on “Succession,” returns to the New York stage in a psychological thriller Max Wolf Friedlich about a big tech employee who seeks help from a crisis therapist. Begins performances on Sept. 6 at Soho Playhouse, sohoplayhouse.com.
Mary Gets Hers: The first production of the Playwrights Realm since 2020, Emma Horwitz’s “off-kilter medieval tragicomedy” takes inspiration from a play by the tenth century female playwright Hrosvitha of Gandersheim. Begins performances on Sept. 11 at MCC Theater Space, playwrightsrealm.com.
Refuge Plays: Roundabout Theatre Company and New York Theatre Workshop co-present Nathan Alan Davis’ story of a Black family over the course of 70 years. Performances begin Sept. 14 at the Laura Pels Theatre, roundabouttheatre.org.
