MARCH 20 TO APRIL 4
NEW STAGE PERFORMANCE SPACE, 36 W. 106th STREET
"THE BAT" BY KRISZTINA TÓTH
“The Bat” by Krisztina Tóth is a darkly humorous contemporary Hungarian drama in which the disappearance of a child’s rubber bat from a kindergarten changing room triggers escalating suspicion, resentment, and outright hatred among adults in the classroom’s orbit. What begins as a seemingly trivial conflict spirals into tragicomic nightmare as Tóth reveals underlying fractures in contemporary Hungarian society. New Stage Theatre Company (NSTC) will present the piece's US premiere March 20 to April 4, translated by Szilvi Naray-Davey, directed by Ildiko Nemeth and performed by Adam Boncz and Sarah Lemp.

With this US premiere, NSTC comtinues its mission of introducing the works by important female writers who have received little exposure here.  Krisztina Tóth has met with international success. Her works have been translated into twenty languages and she is regarded as one of Hungary's foremost literary voices.

On opening night Saturday, March 21, following the performance at 7:00, there will be a post-play discussion with author Krisztina Tóth, moderated by Hungarian film director Boross Martin.

COMPLETE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/The_Bat.htm
PHOTOS: https://photos.app.goo.gl/oSZLBqNU4hhmFTpX6

MARCH 26 TO APRIL 5
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
"HENRIK IBSEN'S 'DOLL HOUSE' AS TOLD BY AUGUST STRINDBERG AND ADAPTED BY ROBERT GREER"
Robert Greer, Artistic Director of August Strindberg Rep, has always longed to re-write and stage Ibsen's "A Doll's House" into a version that Strindberg would have approved of. That is the idea behind his new adaptation, "Henrik Ibsen’s Doll House as told by August Strindberg and adapted by Robert Greer." Theater for the New City, where Strindberg Rep is a resident company, will present this daring new proposition March 26 to April 5.

Strindberg issued a withering critique of "A Doll's House" in his preface to "Getting Married" (Swedish title Giftas, 1884), a volume of short stories by the Swedish pioneering dramatist on various topics. The goal of this production is to accept Strindberg's criticisms and to make adjustments to Ibsen's play that fulfill Strindberg's arguments that are found neatly spelled out in that book..

COMPLETE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/Doll_House.htm
PHOTOS: https://photos.app.goo.gl/UBQidWHbSYEYpnim9

MARCH 30
CITY CENTER-STUDIO 5
(ENTER 131 W. 55TH STREET, 5 FLOOR)
HIGLIGHTS FROM "THE JAMES JOYCE BALLET" AND OTHER WORKS CHOREOGRAPHED BY KATHRYN ROSZAK
On March 30 at 8:30 PM, Danse Lumière, led by Artistic Director Kathryn Roszak, will present "Pop Up Ballet at City Center," an evening of highlights from "The James Joyce Ballet" and other works, at City Center's Studio 5, 131 West 55th Street (enter stage entrance, 130 West 56th St., 5th floor). This pop-up performance is intended to showcase new works that are now available for touring and to share new directions in Roszak's work, which merges choreography with classic texts.

The 45-minute program, choreographed by Roszak, will be danced by Max Barker (ABT), Jonatan Lujan (Metropolitan Opera Ballet), Maisee Anderson (formerly National Ballet of Canada) and Claire Bucci (formerly Atlanta Ballet). Music will be provided by guitarist Miles Johnson. Black step dancer Kaitlyn Sardin (@Kaitrock) will appear as special guest. Music will be provided by guitarist Miles Johnson (https://www.ziggyandmiles.com/). It will be introduced by Jack Schlossberg, the 33-year-old grandson of President John F. Kennedy, political commentator and author, who is presently running as a Democrat for Congress in New York's 12th Congressional District. He is running for the seat being vacated by incumbent Jerry Nadler, who is retiring.

"The James Joyce Ballet" is a compilation of dances inspired by Joyce's major works, including "Ulysses," "Finnegans Wake" and the short story "The Dead." Beyond Joyce’s literature, the choreography explores the lives of his wife, Nora Barnacle, and their daughter, Lucia Joyce, who was herself a talented modern dancer.

COMPLETE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/Kathryn_Roszak.htm
PHOTOS: https://photos.app.goo.gl/sbtZFCuuC8eiHP8TA

APRIL 9 TO 26
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
"FLO" BY TOBY ARMOUR
Can you double-cross the devil? The question is answered in “Flo” by Toby Armour, a fantastical, philosophical comedy that follows the restless journey of an elderly widow, Flo Weinberg, who lives alone on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Feeling that her life has amounted to little, she confides her regrets to a mysterious longtime companion, Max, who offers her a Faustian bargain: if she sells him her soul, he will grant her youth, beauty, fame and any desire she can imagine. But when the time comes to pay up, Flo has other ideas. Directed by Joan Kane.

COMPLETE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/Flo.htm
PHOTOS: https://photos.app.goo.gl/HExA5SYkhi1kFquY7

MAY 22 TO JUNE 28
WP THEATRE, 2162 BROADWAY
WOODIE KING, JR.'S NEW FEDERAL THEATRE PRESENTS
"BLOOMING IN DRY SEASON" BY ELJON WARDALLY
"Blooming in Dry Season" by Eljon Wardally is a Caribbean tale set in a rum shop in Grenada. The plot centers on Rose, an oppressed housewife who has put her dreams on hold for her husband and daughter. She is forced to make a decision about her own future when a life-changing opportunity presents itself for her daughter. The play features a Calypso-infused score composed by jazz musician Etienne Charles. In 2024, it won the International Black Theatre Festival—Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin Rolling World Premiere Award. 

Eljon Wardally is an award-winning Grenadian Italian-American playwright and screenwriter. Her work focuses on amplifying underrepresented voices with authentic, socially relevant stories, often with a dark comedic twist.

MAY 22 TO 24
THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
LOWER EAST SIDE FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS
Over 200 performing arts organizations, independent artists, poets, puppeteers and film makers will gather for the 31st annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, which will be mounted May 22 to 24 in and around Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. (at E. 10th Street). Admission is free but donations will be gratefully accepted.

The festival has been presented annually since 1996, although in 2020 it was produced online due to pandemic concerns. A cohort of theater, dance, performance, music, film, literary and visual artists are participating on all three days. Multidisciplinary indoor performances will take stage from 6:00 PM to midnight each evening, utilizing two of TNC's four theaters. From 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Saturday, vendors and food sellers, including booths from nearby restaurants, will line the closed-off block of East Tenth Street between First and Second Avenues. On Saturday afternoon inside in the Johnson Theater, there will be performances by and for children, curated by T. Scott LillyDanielle Hauser and Miguel Loyola, emceed by John Grimaldi. A fine art show, curated by Carolyn Ratcliffe, will be hanging throughout the fest in the theater's lobby gallery. A film program will be presented Saturday from noon to 10:00 PM in the Cabaret Theater, featuring works by auteurs from the Lower East Side/East Village along with works that reflect the essence of the neighborhood. Over 25 films curated by Burak Tatar will be screened, accompanied by talkbacks with a number of the film makers. On Saturday from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM, an Outdoor Stage adjoining the theater will offer music and multi-discipline performances curated by Richard West, assisted by Didi Champagne. On Sunday from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM in TNC's Community Theater, there will be a "Poetry Jam with Prose on the Side" curated by Lissa Moira.

JULY 16 TO AUGUST 1
PARKING LOT AT 145 STANTON STREET
SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARKING LOT "AS YOU LIKE IT"
The Drilling Company's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot (SITPL) is presenting its 31st season this summer. Its concept--presenting free Shakespeare plays with a "poor theater" aesthetic in a working parking lot--is now widely imitated around the US and around the world, with productions as far away as New Zealand. From July 16 to August 1, free performances of "As You Like It," directed by Hamilton Clancy, will be offered in the schoolyard/ parking lot of Lower East Side Prep, 145 Stanton Street (at Norfolk/Rivington Streets).

COMPLETE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/SITPL_2026.htm

VIDEO ON DEMAND

"USED AND BORROWED TIME" BY SOPHIA ROMMA
"Used and Borrowed Time," written and directed by Sophia Romma, is now available on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Roku and the Vyre Network. This experimental avant-garde film, a psychological drama phantasma, has amassed over 45 festival awards and 26 festival film selections. An interracial couple's idyllic love rises above the hatred of a vengeful white supremacist family in segregationist Alabama during the 1960s. The film pays homage to the French New Wave films of Goddard, Truffaut and Agnès Varda. It has been translated from its original English into Greek, Spanish and Italian.

COMPLETE INFO: www.usedandborrowedtime.com

THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY & NEW YIDDISH REP PRODUCTION OF "THE DYBBUK"
"The Dybbuk" is arguably the most well-known play in the Yiddish theater lexicon. It was premiered on December 9, 1920 by the Vilna Troupe at the Eizeum theater in Warsaw. Its success catapulted that company onto the International stage. It has since been translated into 27 languages and performed worldwide. From December 9-13, New Yiddish Rep celebrated the play's 100th birthday with a live performance streamed from Theater For The New City. A recording of the production has now been released for the general public to view on Vimeo.

MORE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/Dybbuk.htm

"Feathers of Fire" is the most elaborate shadow theater experience ever created, and this recording, captured on an actual theater stage, transforms it into a video-on-demand production for all ages. The story is adapted from Shahnameh (the Persian Book of Kings) and tells the action-packed tale of two star-crossed lovers of old Persia. Zaul, an outcast albino boy, is brought up by a bird-goddess and grows up into a wise ruler. He enters into a forbidden love with Rudabeh, a princess who is the granddaughter of the dreaded Serpent King. Their young, impetuous romance survives many precarious adventures before they finally receive blessings for their union. When they ultimately have a child, it is Rostam, "the Hercules of Iran." Aspects of the story are reminiscent of "Romeo and Juliet," "Rapunzel," "The Firebird" and "Jungle Book."

The piece is created and directed by Hamid Rahmanian, a 2014 Guggenheim fellowship-winning filmmaker/visual artist living in Brooklyn. It is endorsed by Francis Ford Coppola, who called the production "Fantastic! One of the greatest epics of all time and my favorite Shahnameh brought to life in a spectacular fashion by Hamid Rahmanian with shadow puppets design and cinematic wizardry."

COMPLETE INFO: www.jsnyc.com/season/feathers.htm