February 1: American Horror Story’s Jamie Brewer makes her Off-Broadway stage debut as Amy—a woman with Down syndrome who helps her family deal with their father’s death—in Lindsey Ferrentino’s Amy and the Orphans. The world-premiere production from Roundabout Theatre Company is helmed by seven-time Tony Award nominee Scott Ellis. Performances begin February 1 ahead of a March 1 opening at the Laura Pels Theatre. The run is scheduled through April 22.
February 2: Jayne Houdyshell and Pascale Armand go head to head in JC Lee’s Relevance, a new play about the collision of ideals within the feminist movement. Tony nominee Liesl Tommy directs the world premiere at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, produced by MCC Theater. Performances begin February 1 ahead of a February 20 opening, for a run scheduled through March 11.
February 2: In his newest play, Fire and Air, four-time Tony-winning playwright and musical book writer Terrence McNally explores the rich history behind Sergei Diaghilev’s preeminent company Ballet Russes. Tony winner Douglas Hodge stars as Diaghilev alongside James Cusati-Moyer as celebrated dancer Vaslav Nijinsky in the John Doyle-helmed world premiere at Classic Stage Company. The production also stars Broadway favorites John Glover, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Marin Mazzie, and Marsha Mason. The show officially opens February 2, and is scheduled through February 25.
February 4: Schaubühne Berlin’s production of Returning to Reims—an adaptation of French author Didier Eribon’s memoir of the same name, directed by Thomas Ostermeier—receives its American premiere at St. Ann’s. Homeland’s Nina Hoss stars in the documentary adaptation of Eribon’s personal account of coming out. Performances run February 4–25.
February 5: The Olivier Award-winning Royal Court Theatre production of Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen, directed by Matthew Dunster, makes its U.S. debut at the Atlantic Theater Company. Game of Thrones star Mark Addy plays Harry, the second-best hangman in England on the day that hanging is abolished in this new play by 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’s writer and director. The show officially opens February 5 and has been extended through March 7.
February 6: Soho Rep re-opens its longtime Tribeca theatre with the world premiere of Aleshea Harris’ Relentless Award-winning Is God Is, directed by Taibi Magar. Alfie Fuller and Dame-Jasmine Hughes play Anaia and Racine, twin sisters who undertake a murderous journey from the Dirty South to the California desert, seeking payback for a horrendous act. “Through this work, I sought to answer what I felt were compelling questions,” says Harris. “What would happen if women who had been abused sought eye-for-an-eye justice for themselves and each other unapologetically? What if I wrote characters who spoke a language I spoke growing up (and still speak, depending), a language I’ve rarely experienced on stage, a language that eschews respectability politics, opting instead for gut-wrenching, unflinching honesty?” Performances run February 6–March 11.
February 6: Kate Benson’s upside-down romantic comedy [Porto] makes its official splash on the Off-Broadway stage following an acclaimed world-premiere at the Starr earlier this year. Obie winner Lee Sunday Evans directs the return engagement at the WP Theater, a co-production of the WP, The Bushwick Starr, and New Georges. The show officially opens February 6 for a run through February 25.
February 6: Best-selling author and performer of The Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler, returns to the stage with a new adaptation of her acclaimed memoir In the Body of the World. The American Repertory Theater production, directed by Diane Paulus, is co-presented Off-Broadway with Manhattan Theatre Club. The new solo show officially opens February 6 at MTC’s New York City Center, where it’s playing through March 25.
February 7: New York Theatre Workshop kicks off the new year with An Ordinary Muslim, written by 2017–18 Tow Foundation Playwright in Residence Hammaad Chaudry and directed by Obie Award winner Jo Bonney. The play follows a young London couple trying to reconcile the expectations of their parents and the traditions of their Pakistani heritage with the pressures of living in a modern, Western society. Performances are scheduled through March 11.
February 8: Pulitzer Prize finalist Jordan Harrison (Marjorie Prime) returns Off-Broadway with The Amateurs, a play about a troupe of actors attempting to outrun the Black Death in 14th-century Europe. Oliver Butler directs the world premiere at The Vineyard Theatre. Performances begin February 8 for a run scheduled through March 18.
February 8: Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Suits) and Tony winner Roger Robinson star as a Harlem college professor and his aging father from Mississippi in James Anthony Tyler’s clashing-of-wills play Some Old Black Man. Joe Cacaci directs the limited engagement from Berkshire Playwrights Lab at 59E59 Theaters. Performances will run February 8–March 4.
February 8: Ensemble Studio Theatre kicks off its winter mainstage programming with the world premiere of Sylvia Khoury’s play Against The Hillside. The new drama examines the hidden costs of drone warfare through the stories of a drone pilot and a young Pakistani woman. The co-production with The Radio Drama Network is directed by William Carden and will play through February 25. Performances began January 31 ahead of a February 8 opening night.
February 13: From Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Bruce Norris comes a look at the roots of American capitalism in The Low Road, an epic new work in which 16 actors play 50 roles. The Public Theater production is directed by Dear Evan Hansen’s Michael Greif. Performances are scheduled February 13–April 1.
Read: Last Chance: Schedule of Upcoming Broadway and Off-Broadway Show Closings
