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FAST 10: OFF-BROADWAY PICKS FOR NOVEMBER
November 6, 2024, 1:37.39 pm ET

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Photo: Bad Kreyol/MatthewMurphy

By Brian Scott Lipton

With more than three dozen shows playing Off-Broadway, choosing which one(s) to see is incredibly difficult. But here are 10 pieces we think are worth giving a chance. Please check each theater’s website for more information.

Bad Kreyol
The brilliant Dominique Morriseau (“Skeleton Crew”) has crafted yet another thought-provoking play, this time about an unmoored Haitian-American woman (played by Kelly McCreary) who visits her older cousin in Haiti (the superb Pascale Armand) and struggles to overcome significant familial and cultural clashes. (Signature Theatre)

Blood Quilt
This new play from Pulitzer Prize winner Katori Hall (“The Hot Wing King,” “The Mountaintop”) focuses on four sisters who meet at their childhood island home off the coast of Georgia to create a family quilt to honor their recently deceased mother. (Mitzi Newhouse Theatre)


Photo: Gatz

Gatz
For the last time (they say), Elevator Repair Service presents their legendary eight-hour reading/reenactment of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s beloved novel about a “self-made” millionaire who tries to reunite with his former lover -- with tragic consequences (Public Theater)

Mama I’m a Big Girl Now
The three leading ladies of the original Broadway production of “Hairspray” – Marissa Jaret Winokur, Laura Bell Bundy, and Kerry Butler – reunite for this highly entertaining and energetic revue, full of touching stories and timeless musical tunes from a variety of shows and movies. (New World Stages)


Photo: Mama I'm A Big Girl Now

Orson’s Shadow
Austin Pendleton co-directs his excellent play which explores the complex dynamics between legendary figures Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier and his wife, Vivien Leigh as they clash during a troubled theater production. Bonus points: three-time Daytime Emmy Award winner Cady McClain appears as Joan Plowright, who becomes the next Mrs. Olivier. (Theater for the New City)

Robert Will Show You the Door
Stand-up comedian Susan Jeremy has created an award-winning stage adaption of her laugh-out-loud memoir about how she was fired from every job she ever had, and how her devotion to “making it” kept her on a roller coaster of instability which ultimately landed her in the psych ward as a substitute teacher. Yep, it will make you laugh! (LaMama Theater)

Strategic Love Play
In Miriam Battye’s new play, two strangers (played by Heléne Yorke and Michael Zegen) match online and then decide to meet in real life. While the vibe is off, and the conversation is a mess, they keep going – and what begins as a fairly typical first date spirals into something unexpected, (Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre)


Photo: Joan Marcus

The Christine Jorgensen Show
Jesse James Keitel and New York City cabaret favorite Mark Nadler co-star in this inspiring play with music, which follows the real-life professional and personal relationship between actress-singer Christine Jorgensen, the first transgender individual to become widely known in America, and forgotten songwriter, dancer and pianist Myles Bell. (HERE)


Photo: The Devil's Desciple/Carol Rosegg

The Devil’s Disciple
In this new adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s lesser-known play by director David Staller, female ferocity rules as five powerhouse women play out this legendary and almost true historical adventure comedy set in 1777 New Hampshire. (Theatre Two at Theatre Row)


Photo: We Live In Cairo/Joan Marcus

We Live in Cairo
Inspired by the young Egyptians who took to the streets amidst the throes of the Arab Spring, this award-winning musical follows six student activists using their street art, photography and song to overthrow a regime older than they are. The cast includes Ali Louis Bourzgui, who took Broadway by storm last season in the title role of the revival of “The Who’s Tommy” (New York Theatre Workshop)


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