Staff Picks No. 152
NANCY : Sean Swenson, Em Hausmann, Cori Diaz, Gabs Ethridge, Sam Grace Lane, Whimzee Lee Hanna, Mav Leslie, Sarah Jae Leiber, Lou Barcott
Brick Aux
June 25th-28th 2026
Sean Swenson is both an excellent human but also a deeply imaginative, exciting new playwriting voice. Just read that fucking blurb, man. A very short run at Brick Aux to encounter Mephistopheles, the divine, gender trouble, and…Michael Mann? This is objectively my shit.
Staffer: Reuven Glezer
The Infinite Pride : The New York Neo-Futurists
Brooklyn Art Haus
June 26th-27th 2026
I cannot emphasize enough how many of you would have your lives changed by witnessing the manic miracle that is the New York Neo-Futurists' Infinite Wrench. For those unfamiliar, the Infinite Wrench consists of a multi-week run featuring no less than thirty bite-sized plays a night, which the Neos must attempt to perform over the course of an hour. The Neos embrace everything that makes live performance so alive: effort, high stakes, the sense that this undertaking may be just a touch impossible, and pure fun. Join them for their two-night-only Pride special!
Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener
Two Roly Pollies : The Million Underscores (Hannah Gross, Nicolás Noreña, Timothy Scott)
ALab Theatre Festival @ IRT
June 23rd-24th 2026
The Million Underscores have consistently produced some of my favourite dance work over the last few years. I often find myself wanting to live inside the brains of Nico, Tim, and their collaborators, whose work lives in the bittersweet place between a blushing giggle and a heartfelt sigh. I'm utterly delighted to be artists-in-arms with them for this year ALab's Theatre Festival--check out the entire lineup if you haven't yet.
Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener
Roly Pollies at The Brick in 2024 were two of my favorite nights that year. Could not have been more different each night… so definitely go twice if you have the time! WORTH IT. Roly Pollies (in my experience) is super responsive to the space, the audience, the prompts, every.single.thing. in a really honest way. So, it can be funny, strange, sexy, stupid, scary, tense… and the idea of seeing IRT used differently is very alluring.
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister
Sugar Sugar! Program C : HOLE PICS (MTHR TRSA and Buffy Sierra)
Domino Park
June 18th-19th 2026
I finally get to see HOLE PICS liiiiiive! I cannot wait. Billy McEntee did a great interview with them for Greenpointers, which really gives a sense of their vibe if you do not already know their vibe. I often do not feel cool enough to go to the nightlife spots, so I love when nightlife shows find their way into parks and theaters. Come sit under the stars and get some HOLE PICS!
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister
The Gay Divorce : Cecilia Corrigan, Cliff Mak, Allison Brooks
The Brick
June 11th-20th 2026
I cannot wait to go to The Brick this suuuuuummmmmer! I have no idea what to expect from this show, other than noting that Eric Andre called it “very fucking funny”. I guess I am also I am expecting gayness. And divorceness.
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister
Derangements and The Family Dog : Nadja Leonhard-Hooper, Bailey Williams
Wild Project
June 1st-30th 2026
Clubbed Thumb is halfway through its Summerworks! "Derangements" lives up to its title, not much more that needs to be said there, and I can't wait for Bailey Williams' "The Family Dog," which will I am thinking will be funny and melancholic, perhaps like your own experience with a family dog.
Staffer: Billy McEntee
I got to see Derangements last week and am stoked to see The Family Dog in 2 weeks! I wrote this response to Derangements for NYTR, so check it out! When it comes to Bailey Williams… I feel like I should have Bailey Fan Club merch available on my personal website. That is how hard I go for Bailey. During a Bailey show you will be incredibly present and IN IT. After, you will talk about it and talk about it and remember it forever and will keep bringing it up in conversation. Substantial Entertainment. And Andrew Garman is in this one! Andrew is a fantastic actor with whom I have done maaaany audiobooks. Listen to his audiobooks! And see these shows!
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister
from rock to rock...aka how magnolia was taken for granite : Jeremy Nedd
Lincoln Center - Alice Tully Hall
June 18th and 19th 2026
I've wanted to see this show for awhile, as I love to see viral dance move (in this case the The Milly Rock) on high-brow stages. Tickets are PWYW starting at $5, see u there!
Staffer: Travis Amiel
TRAPPED IN A CLUB : Torrestial
Otion Front Studio
Sunday June 14th 2026
Often found writhing in the hardcore and latex-bound corners of NYC performance, Torrestial is a dancer who has perfectly married the erotic and grotesque to create an oeuvre of disjointed rhythms, mangled bodies, and some spectacularly mean mugging. TRAPPED IN A CLUB is the culmination of their Otion Front residency, and while I would be maybe a little scared to be trapped in a club with them, it would also be uniquely thrilling.
Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener
Art Workers Are Artists Too : Sarai Frazier, Andy Sowers
Performance Space New York
Saturday June 27th 2026
Co-organized by PSNY's production manager (Frazier) and director of production and technical operations (Sowers), Art Workers Art Artists Too is a yearly program "performed, run, and designed by technicians, designers, front of house, and other art workers who work at Performance Art New York." As a box office girl with many beloved techies, designers, SMs, and PAs in her life, I'm moved by this. Take the time today to ask your favourite stage manager what talents they've got up their sleeve!
Staffer: Leah Plante-Wiener
[…/+*^%<>€£¥$&@!!!!^^^] : Moriah Evans, Cyril Baldy, Malcolm-x Betts, Chloë Engel, Kris Lee, João dos Santos Martins, Varinia Canto Vila, Madeline Best, Doris Dziersk, Ian Douglas Moore, Strauss Bourque-LaFrance, Joshua Lubin-Levy, Matt Shalzi, Margaret Knowles
The Chocolate Factory
June 5th-13th 2026
If you know me, you know I love unsayable titles and non-linear art. I love accumulation and experience and intention! But I do not have any desire to “totally get it”. I am ready to be there for whatever there is.
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister