The musical “Hadestown” is brought to the screen with the original Broadway cast, followed by a live concert. Broadway songwriters Sara Bareilles and Alicia Keys are each profiled. There’s a documentary about a drag theater company putting on a production of “The Rocky Horror Show” in Wyoming. The 25th annual Tribeca Festival, running from June 3 to 14, directly appeals to theater lovers with such fare.
But I’ve sorted through the hundreds of festival offerings for my list of 15 below that might be of interest to theater enthusiasts, many less directly — because of the subject matter or the characters or the performers involved, or because it’s the kind of work more commonly seen on stage (e.g. musical, dance, improv.)
The shows and events are listed more or less chronologically (according to the first of their several screenings/presentations), with their titles linked to the relevant festival webpage.
This preview should be treated as just a small taste of the annual event that has grown monumentally since Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff launched it eight months after 9/11 in order to cheer and revitalize the surrounding neighborhood. What was at first called the Tribeca Film Festival was renamed simply the Tribeca Festival because it has expanded way beyond films to feature music, games, TV, audio, immersive programming. and something called Tribeca X, “ (“brand storytelling at the intersection of entertainment and marketing,”) as well as talks, panels and podcasts. including in-person conversations this year in what’s being called the Tribeca Storytelling Summit
Storytelling Summit: Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater
June 4, 2 p.m.
The two discuss their work together, from being repeatedly cast opposite one another to actively creating projects built around their shared sensibility. (This conversation in the storytelling summit is apparently not available for individual purchase, but only as part of the entire series.)
Sara Bareilles: Good Grief
June 4,5,10,15
A documentary of singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles as she recorded her latest album with her band over six days in 2025. Bareilles is a Tony-nominated composer (Waitress) and actress (Into the Woods)
The Accompanist
June 4, 5, 7, 12
Aubrey Plaza and Susan Sarandon are among the stars in this story of a young child placed by a social worker into the care of a kind but mischievous old woman.
The Revisionist
June 5, 6, 11
Andre Holland, Tom Sturridge, and Dustin Hoffman are among the stars in this story of a novelist who subtly manipulates the people closest to her like characters in a book.
Airport BLVD
June 5, 6 and 10
This jazz-infused musical is set in the transforming streets of East Austin, while Xavier watches his community, friendships, and sense of home disappear.
Mother Future Self
June 5, 6, 13, 14
Sofi and Jordan try to rekindle their friendship at an experimental dance camp in Maine.
Time Warp
June 6, 8,13
A documentary about the inaugural production of a drag theater troupe in the once-booming mining town of Rock Springs, Wyoming, staging “The Rocky Horror Show.” Led by the charismatic 25-year-old performer Kenny Starling, the determined company fights for queer visibility and acceptance in their community.
Only What We Carry
June 6,7, 10
Long-buried secrets and emerging romances bubble up and boil over between a dancer, her sister, her former choreographer, and his visiting friend in this improvisational drama shot in six days on the Normandy coast.
Playing Potus
June 6,7, 9
A documentary about the comedians who have played U.S. presidents, including Dana Carvey, Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, Keegan-Michael Key, Alec Baldwin, Kate McKinnon. (I’m hoping they include stage performances: Will Ferrell portrayed George W. Bush on Broadway.)
threeASFOUR: Full Circle
June 7, 8, 11
Director Sean Ono Lennon spent five years photographing the three-person streetwise NYC fashion design collective, known as threeASFOUR, Gabi Asfour, Angela Donhauser and Adi Gil.
The Symphony of Dance
June 7, 8, 11
A documentary about dancing partners and married couple Broadway veteran Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert, who are touring with their “Symphony of Dance” when Hayley is forced to fight for her life following a shocking health crisis.
Hadestown the Musical
June 8, 9, 12
Anaïs Mitchell’s Tony-winning musical , filmed on the West End performed by the five principal members of the original Broadway cast: Reeve Carney, André De Shields, Amber Gray, Eva Noblezada, and Patrick Page. On June 8, after the film’s premiere, Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada will perform a live concert.
They Fight
June 8,9, 11
Andre Holland, Wendell Pierce, Samara Wiley are among the stars of a feature film, based on a 2018 documentary, about an ex-con who reintegrates into society by coaching a motley crew of teenage boys at a local D.C. youth gym
Act One
June 10, 12, 13
A psychological thriller about a lonely aspiring teen actress who finds herself drawn to an acting teacher pulling her into a web of desire and control
Alicia Keys: Girl From Hell’s Kitchen
June 13, 14
Alicia Keys reflects on her childhood growing up in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen and the journey that led her from the gritty streets of 90s New York to the Broadway stage, with the musical “Hells Kitchen”
