Staff Picks No. 135
Night Side Songs : The Lazours, Mary Testa, Robin de Jesús
Lincoln Center
February 14th-March 29th 2026
I know, I know, Staff Picks highlighting an off-Broadway show, at *Lincoln Center*? What on earth, but hear me out — first, it has legend Mary Testa (she's in everything) and, second, this show is a communal and unique experience made in a flexible style that more mainstream venues should embrace. The Lazours' gently sung-along score is an invitation instead of a proclamation, so lean in if you feel so inclined, and go on the special journey.
Staffer: Billy McEntee
we're delinquents.pdf : MIDDLE SISTER (Claire Tumey & Hannah Bird), Luis Feliciano, Cat Ashley, Michael Fiebig, Alexandra Haddad, Nina Lucia Rodriguez, Maddie Hopfield, Ben Hard, Queen-Tiye Akamefula, Izabel Mar, Lexie Waddy
Brick Aux
February 26th-March 1st 2026
Inaugural production alert!! New theater producing outfit MIDDLE SISTER brings their new show to Brick Aux re: a “live-in person email attachment come to haunt the prefrontal cortex” which is what I think will heal the microplastics in all of us. Big fan of a lot of folks on this team, big fan of people coming together to bring a new work to life, love a show that sounds like I will have my brain stamped by something hereto unseen.
Staffer: Reuven Glezer
Twelve Minor Prophets : Eno River Players, Leo Egger, Charlie Mayhew, Tommy Robertshaw, Katherine Mostek, Lauren Lee, Madeleine Rubin-Charlesworth, Jake Eisner, Sam Pergola, Anna Aubry, Jake Fallon, Liat Graf, Yehuda L. Hyman, Brian Linden, Chani Reese, Felix Teich
JACK
February 13th-28th 2026
A metatheatrical reinterpretation of the Book of 12. Everything Eno River Players has been doing has been incredible, and I cannot wait to catch this.
Staffer: kanishk pandey
Fuzzy Palace Puppet Slam : Muna M Muhsin, Zahra Budhwani, Mr. Ky Why, Lil Miss Ethel, Jupiter, Haphazard Puppetry, Hungry Jack, Baka Nawa, rej, Emma Singer, Masc Ari
Trans-Pecos
Tuesday February 24th 2026
In December 2025, on this very website, I made the prediction that puppets would be to 2026 what clowns were to 2025. Thus far, I have been nothing but vindicated. Get in on the ground floor of the puppet revolution at the Fuzzy Palace Puppet Slam in Ridgewood, where the NYC puppet scene is incredibly active (in addition to Trans-Pecos, keep an eye on any Purgatory puppet programming). I’m especially excited about this event because of co-host Lil Miss Ethel, who is a bona fide star.
Produced by @mu_cube @mr_kywhy @hungryjackdrag
Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener
Nonstop Noise Fest : Tie Die, Zilmrah, Each Night I Dream of Razors, Kwami Winfield + Neuter, Limerence, Nightmare Neighbor, Wolverine Carcass, Faccia Brutta, Quid Pro Quo, Beton Tåge, Nonlyfans, Half Decayed, Pacing Animal, Painted Faces, Went Missing, Revered Corpse, Comforters
The Living Gallery
Monday February 16th 2026
Exactly what it sounds like: a thrillingly dense lineup at one of the pillars of the NYC noise scene. Don’t forget your earplugs.
Sets from:
Revered corpse @transgrinder
Half Decayed @half_decayed
Quid Pro Quo @qu1dproquo
Went Missing @selmonious_patronious
Painted Faces @theoriginalpaintedfaces
Comforters @badtripsny @messicaarson
Zilmrah @zilmrah
Wolverine Carcass @getawesomerecords
Faccia Brutta @jpstandsforjoepesci
Nightmare Neighbor @divisive_neighbor_
Beton Tåge @perfumeabject
Each Night I Dream of Razors @wyrdsystyr
Kwami Winfield and Neuter @_._kwami_._ @female_soundguy
Pacing Animal @mouthofinfinity
Limerence @kornchip.kardashian
Nonlyfans @4lice.2ha0 @montgomery___harris
and yours truly, Tie Die @tiedierecordings
Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener
Hate Radio : Milo Rau, Sébastien Foucault, Eric Ngangare, Diogène Ntarindwa, Bwanga Pilipili, Estelle Marion, Nancy Nkusi, Afazali Dewaele, Jens Dietrich, Anton Lukas, Marcel Bächtiger, Jens Baudisch, Mascha Euchner-Martinez, Milena Kipfmüller
St. Ann’s Warehouse
February 12th-28th 2026
Milo Rau, Europe’s weird bad-boy provocateur with intensely leftist theatrical experiments, returns to NYC with several shows this season, the foremost of which is his recreation of the infamous “Radio Machete” that dispersed propaganda against Rwanda’s Tutsi population in the wake of the 1994 genocide. You will wear headphones, you will watch the world tear apart before you, you will come to know why Rau is one of our most exciting and controversial theatrical practitioners.
Staffer: Reuven Glezer
Meat Suit, or the shitshow of motherhood : Aya Ogawa, Catherine Galasso, Jian Jung, Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Christina F. Tang, Megumi Katayama, Leyna Marika Papach, E Sara Barnes, Marina Celander, Cindy Cheung, Robyn Kerr, Maureen Sebastian, Liz Wisan
Signature Center/Second Stage
February 11th-March 15th 2026
I saw Aya Ogawa's really magnificent THE NOSEBLEED at the Japan Society way back when and her earlier brilliant production of Haruna Lee's SUICIDE FOREST at the former Bushwick Starr, so anything she's working on I am quick to jump on - this time, a bouffon-laden song-filled excavation of motherhood. Big artistic leaps! Experiments in form! Co-lighting design from brilliant peer Christina Tang!
Staffer: Reuven Glezer
Reagan: The Musical: The Documentary : Sam Kebede
Ars Nova
Friday February 20th 2026
I love a documentary about a musical. "Best Worst Thing" brought me to tears, and I think this one may too, but for comedic reasons. The only Black cast member of the biggest musical of 2028, "Reagan", discusses that experience?? Come on now. I'm waiting for someone to finally release the "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" documentary that I hear Julie Taymor won't let free out of defamation (again, this is a documentary), so when it comes to intense lore, this show will have to whet my appetite for now.
Staffer: Billy McEntee
Freaked Up Valentine’s : Misuser, Sexorcist, Reagan Holiday, I Love Lucy, Lady Torrestial, Naughty or Noise
Stone Circle Theatre
Thursday February 12th 2026
Alt-dance and experimental nightlife freaks Torrestial and Quinten serve up a steamy, somewhat sinister platter of noise, burlesque, music, and performance. There’s an erotic charge behind everything Naughty or Noise produces, and the voltage will be high with this one: a pre-Valentine’s Day moment… in a church. Perfect for those who like being scared and turned on at the same time. Bring a date!
Produced by @naughtyornoise
@misuser__
@s3xorcist
@reaganholiday
@ilovelucybilliondollars
Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener
The Passion of Mr. Cardboard : Miles Calderon
Under St. Marks (Frigid Fest)
February 18th and 22nd 2026
Do you know Mr. Cardboard? You probably do. And if you don’t, you definitely do. The big-pantsed guy was everywhere last year, from Chris Gethard’s That Show to, somehow, every single clown show at Ed Fringe. Miles Calderon presents a work-in-progress showing of his new Mr. Cardboard solo show, where the character—“something between a jovial imaginary friend and an all-powerful god of play”—is tasked with saving the Land of Cardboard.
Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener