This is an unusual month for New York theater: While there are no shows opening on Broadway, and few Off-Broadway, there is plenty to see – the annual summer theater festivals, such as the New York Musical Festival, NYMF 2017, which starts on July 10; FREE theatrical concerts like the weekly Broadway in Bryant Park, countless Shakespeares in the parks; and some one-off theater festivals, such as the month-long Soulpepper on 42nd Street — the 20-year-old Canadian theater company’s presentation of ten of its popular plays.
Color key: Broadway: Red. Off Broadway: Purple, blue or black. Off Off Broadway: Green. Theater festival: Orange
July 5
Kim’s Convenience (Soulpepper at Signature)
Kim’s Convenience, “the most successful new Canadian play of the last decade, is set in a family-run Korean variety store. This is one of the 10 shows presented by Soulpepper on 42nd Street.
July 6
Of Human Bondage (Soulpepper at Signature)
“W. Somerset Maugham’s epic tale of lustful obsession and the pursuit of art is adapted for the stage for the first time anywhere. “
July 7
To T or Not To T (Hot Festival)
Queer/transgender Tamil-Sri LankanAmerican artist D’Lo contemplates passing as a cisgender, straight, male, person of color. This is one production in a festival at Dixon Place that bills itself as “the longest-running LGBTQ festival in the world”
July 10
Pipeline (Lincoln Center’s Mitzi Newhouse)
A mother’s hopes for her son clash with an educational system rigged against him in a new play by Dominique Morisseau (Skeleton Crew).
Amerike The Golden Land (National Yiddish Theatre)
The story of an immigrant people, using popular songs of the day, with stories “based on the lived experience of real immigrants “ In Yiddish with Russian and English supertitles.
Matthew McConaughey vs. The Devil (NYMF)
“A Faustian musical comedy that dares to ask the question, “How did Matthew McConaughey win an Academy Award?’ This is one of 20 full productions in New York Musical Festival (NYMF 2017) which runs through August 6
Opening Skinner’s Box (Lincoln Center Festival)
Britain’s Improbable theater company takes us on a tour of “great psychological experiments of the 20th century.” This is the first of five works from the Lincoln Center Festival that are identified as theater.
July 12
Assassins (Encores Off Center! NY City Center)
A concert series production of the musical by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman about Presidential assassins and would-be assassins.
True Right (Ice Factory Festival)
“A reimagining of Sam Shepard’s True West–featuring George and Jeb Bush, as played by two ethnic ladies.” One of the seven plays of this festival.
July 13
Hamlet (Public Theater)
Oscar Isaac as Hamlet, Charlayne Woodard as Gertrude and Keegan-Michael Key as Horatio. Directed by Sam Gold.
July 19
While I Was Waiting (Lincoln Center Festival)
Syrian playwright Mohammad Al Attar offers a portrait of Syria through one middle-class Damascus family who gather around the hospital bed of their son, who was beaten into a coma at a checkpoint. It is based on a true story.
This is one of three plays “opening” on this day (and running just a few performances) as part of Lincoln Center Festival,
Pete The Cat (TheatreworksUSA at Lucille Lortel)
This summer’s FREE summer offering of children’s theater is based on the book series of the same name by James and Kimberly Dean, and recommended for pre-K through third grade.
July 23
Money Talks (Davenport Theater
In this 95-minute musical comedy, Ben Franklin, the face on the $100 bill, is passed from a hedge fund manager, to a stripper, to a judge etc, trying to convince each of them to change their priorities before it’s too late.
Endangered (Davenport Theatre)
A musical about a social media savvy kid reporter and a group of endangered animals from around the globe who must survive an unexpected superstorm.
July 26
The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (Encores Off Center! NY City Center)
Concert version of Kirsten Childs’ 2000 musical is about “a young African-American dancer who finds her way from West Coast suburbia to Broadway, all while navigating the politics of race and gender in an attempt to uncover her own identity.”
July 31
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare in the Park)
Directed by Lear de Bessonet and choreographed by Chase Brock, Shakespeare’s comedy will feature a starry cast including Annaleigh Ashford, Kyle Beltran, Danny Burstein, and Phylicia Rashad. FREE.
