Staff Picks No. 132
Gooey’s Toxic Aquatic Adventure : La Daniella, Ben Langhorst, Sammy Zeisel, Cat Raynor, Hahnji Jang, Kyle Stamm, Kathy Ruvuna, Gaby Febland, Jonathan Schatzberg, Jon Schneidman, Maya Quetzali Gonzalez, Sarah Jones, Anica Acuña, Leigh Honigman, Leah Plante-Wiener
The Bushwick Starr
February 4th-21st 2026
It takes a village…or a toxic canal…to mount a show of such ambition and originality and really, you had me at “puppet musical taking inspo from SWEET CHARITY.” And what better way to tell a tale of a gentrifying New York than via mermaids, puppetry, body horror, some of downtown theatre’s finest, and…a severed arm. Hey, listen, growing up I was told never to be walking along Newtown Creek by night. I am just saying.
Staffer: Reuven Glezer
The Visitors : Jane Harrison, Wesley Enoch
PAC (Under the Radar)
January 21st-February 1st 2026
A "first-contact" drama from Moogahlin Performing Arts and Sydney Theatre Company, Harrison dramatizes the fateful day in 1788 when white settlers pulled into Sydney Harbor and the question of how to welcome these "visitors" who we know will change Australian history. A First Nations team producing a work about Australian indigineity on a scale we don't (regrettably) get to see in NYC is well worth the ticket, go forth to PAC before it's over!
Staffer: Reuven Glezer
annachristie : BT Hayes
The Rat
Monday February 2nd 2026
Raise your hand if you thought that Anna Christie, starring Michelle Williams, was a one-woman show. (Apologies to Eugene O’Neill and Brian D’Arcy James.) Thanks to BT Hayes, who worked on the recent Broadway production, one-woman Anna Christie is now a one-night-only reality. Multihyphenate extraordinaire Hayes will, of course, be performing all roles. 70% of proceeds go towards Minnesota mutual aid funds!
Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener
metamorphosis iii episode 4 : Stacy Grossfield, Alexandra Albrecht, Nola Sporn Smith, Hannah Franzen, Dead Tooth, Gordon Bridditantade, J&M Special Effects, Jeremy Kadetsky, Ben Demarest, Gil Sperling
The Collapsable Hole
February 12th-14th 2026
As if I wasn’t going to pick this… LOL. I’m flagging it early because THIS IS THE LAST EVER EPISODE OF METAMORPHOSIS III so get your tickets nowwww. I’m not quite ready to say goodbye and I’m not sure how I’ll cope when it’s all done. Maybe I’ll throw myself down the stairs like Hannah Franzen. Or recite the argument between Alexandra Albrecht and Nola Sporn Smith to myself ad nauseam. Or lie face down in a kiddie pool. All of this is to say: Stacy Grossfield is a generational talent, and metamorphosis iii is 1000% that girl, cold lasagna noodles and all. NOT TO MISS!!!!
Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener
I want to hold onto something beautiful and empty : Hillary Gao, Nikkie Samreth, Isabel Ebeid, Miranda Kang, Sam Xu, Ring Yang, Emily Lawrence, Leigh Honigman, Hannah Bird, Forest Entsminger, Emma Hasselbach, Miguel Lorenzo, Connor Sale, Eva Rubin, Joshua Chiang, Celine Abdallah
The Brick
January 26th-February 8th 2026
Hillary seems to make theater that is unconcerned with following the rules of theater. Thank goodness. Her plays are slippery and FULL. I cannot wait.
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister
Hold On To Your Butts : Nick Abeel, Kyle Schaefer, Blair Busbee, Kelsey Didion, Kristin McCarthy Parker, Recent Cutbacks
SoHo Playhouse
February 7th-March 15th 2026
From the creators of lo-fi foley laden Lord of the Rings parody FLY, YOU FOOLS! comes a lo-fi foley laden parody of Jurassic Park, which I am sure will be the best evening of your life if you get yourself a ticket. Delightful work by lovers of silly, go get eaten by a velociraptor and report back!
Staffer: Reuven Glezer
The Tragedy of Coriolanus : Ash K. Tata, Afsoon Pajoufar, Avery Reed, Masha Tsimring, Brandon Bulls, David T. Little, Lisa Renkel, POSSIBLE, J. David Brimmer, Dan Safer, Dan O'Connell, Andrew Wade, Sean Frank, McKinley Belcher III, Roslyn Ruff, & see more at link (there's so many people)
TFANA
February 1st-March 1st 2026
I think this is the second Shakespeare production I have Pick'd in a row directed by someone whose take on Shakespeare will be likely be one with originality and cleverness, so there's my defense! If you don't know CORIOLANUS, it's a beast of a work drowned in blood, and what feels like a - dare I say it? - timely New York revival about a man loved by the people he's sworn to protect, but loathes them back. Antics ensue. Bloody, bloody antics.
Staffer: Reuven Glezer
Friends and Lovers and Enemies : Aziza Love, Ashley De La Rosa, Ethan Philbrick, Granite Garden, Fancy Feast & Zoe Ziegfeld, Eliya Smith & The Goat Exchange, Sam Kebede, SuperKnova, Riylan Mills, I’m Going to Marry Your Dad, American Sing-Song, Matthew Antoci
Ars Nova
February 13th-27th 2026
Matthew Antoci is New York’s greatest performance curator. Period. (For transparency, they are also my fellow Staff Picker.) If you’ve ever enjoyed a night of ?!: New Works or Salon, you’ve got Antoci to thank. When they were named Ars Nova’s Head of Programming last year, cheers erupted across the city. I’ve even heard rumours of pots and pans being hit. It was a moment both in and for the culture, and now we reap its bounty. Antoci begins their time at Ars Nova with a monthlong program of one-night-only shows from a dazzling variety of artists— I mean, look at the material. Nurse your post-festival blues by showing up to literally any night of Friends and Lovers and Enemies. You’re welcome!
Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener
The Ramble : Nick Deveau, Zack Young, Kid Nicoleman
Green Central Knoll
Sunday February 8th 2026
An afternoon of exploration on foot, scavenger hunts, and free tea in Bushwick! Nick Deveau provides “observational analysis via audio-sampling”; Zack Young provides “groundbreaking wayfinding via historical context.” I am so damn tickled by this concept. Somebody please go and report back to me.
Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener
Creature/Comfort : Benita de Wit, Aine Brown, Kay Wasil, Excess Materials, Hugh Mann Race, Henry Lang
LifeWorld (Exponential)
January 22nd-24th 2026
Weird puppet stuff is always up my alley. Monster puppet stuff? Even better! Synth pop added in? Oh my god.
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister