Beyond Broadway: Sink Your Teeth Into a Horror Musical, a Drag Show, a Trip to Space and More

Broadway isn't the only place boasting big names. Off-Broadway stages are also getting their fair share of star power this month, with favorites from the silver screen telling fresh stories in New York City's most intimate spaces. The world beyond Broadway also offers musicals that range from the twisted to the inspiring and simple plays that will make you look differently at your morning cup of coffee. 

THE COUNTER
Laura Pels Theatre, Sep 20–Nov 17
Meghan Kennedy’s almost-two-hander is set in a small-town diner with fogged-up windows, centering on the simple daily ritual of Katie (Susannah Flood) pouring Paul (Anthony Edwards) his morning cup of joe. Somehow, under David Cromer’s softly-softly direction, The Counter turns out to be a gripping portrayal of two humans trying to really listen to each other. Flood is achingly good, pouring her heart out along with that diner coffee. The additional olfactory experience—and a voicemail acting cameo from a recent Tony winner—is a bonus. This is deeply nourishing theater, served up with real care and attention. 

DRAG: THE MUSICAL
New World Stages, currently running
Drag: the Musical is definitely not a RuPaul segment, purely devised for shits and giggles. Instead, promises creator and star (and Broadway fan) Alaska Thunderf*ck, this is a real-ass musical. “It might really touch you in a place you weren’t expecting—your heart or in your spirit or your inner child.” Embracing the sequins and sparkly things as well as the grunge and grit of drag culture, the show tells the story of two rival drag bars. Expect West Side Story with more outrageous outfits.

WE LIVE IN CAIRO
New York Theatre Workshop, Oct 9–Nov 24
After a world premiere at the American Repertory Theater in 2019, We Live in Cairo re-emerges off-Broadway in a production with New York Theatre Workshop. Lebanese-American brothers Daniel and Patrick Lazour pen the musical, which follows six student activists both during and in the aftermath of the 2011 Egyptian revolution. The historical moment it captures is specific, but with all the global political upheaval that’s unfolded since, it’s a timely portrait of youthful optimism and the power of art in global protest. It’s also another chance to see a performance from Ali Louis Bourzgui, last season’s breakout star of The Who’s Tommy.

IN THE AMAZON WAREHOUSE PARKING LOT
Playwrights Horizons, Oct 10–Nov 17
Sarah Mantell wrote this play, having its world premiere, partly to overcome their own queer impostor syndrome, partly to provide more roles for non-binary performers. It follows a found-family of queer warehouse workers in the not-too-distant future, traveling from job to job as the oceans rise. “I come from the generation that was constantly told we were ‘10% of the population,’” wrote Mantell, “and there is something healing about writing a 100% kind of play.” Sivan Battat directs the Playwrights Horizons commission.

WALDEN
Tony Kiser Theatre, Oct 16–Nov 24
If push came to shove, would you cut your losses with planet Earth and relocate within the cosmos, or fight it out ‘til the bitter end? As a dilemma that might not be hypothetical for much longer, Amy Berryman’s Walden, directed by Whitney White, is an exciting addition to Second Stage’s off-Broadway season. The fact that the play also pairs Shameless’ Emmy Rossum (in her New York stage debut) with Zoë Winters (a stage regular who became known to TV audiences on Succession) as twin sisters on opposite sides of this ethical debate is a thrilling bonus. “I was really moved by the central question,” Rossum told Broadway.com: “How can we, as women, change and save the world? Is it by influencing the next generation? Is it at home? Or is it by reaching for our dreams?” The macro and micro are both at play—so chances are, this three-hander (completed by Motell Foster) will feel much bigger than that.

TEETH
New World Stages, currently running
Every once in a while, you need a feminist horror musical comedy to spice up your week. Teeth—based on Mitchell Lichtenstein’s 2007 cult film—premiered off-Broadway last spring at Playwrights Horizons, and even in the downpour of new musicals on Broadway, it stood out as one of the most grotesquely exciting productions of the season. It made such a splash that it’s back off-Broadway in an open run at New World Stages with mostly the same cast. Most importantly, Alyse Alan Louis is back as Dawn, the militantly evangelical teen with a body equipped to make men pay for their indiscretions. We can thank the twisted minds of Anna K. Jacobs (book and music), Michael R. Jackson (book and lyrics) and director Sarah Benson for this gruesome addition to the musical theater songbook.

BABE
The Pershing Square Signature Center, Oct 29–Dec 22
In Babe, Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei stars alongside Gracie McGraw, the daughter of country superstars Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. It’s pitch-perfect casting for a play set against the backdrop of the sometimes brutal recording industry. Gus (Arliss Howard) is a 60-something recording industry legend whistling an outdated tune when it comes to his treatment of women, Abby (Tomei) is a talent scout and accomplice, while Katherine (McGraw) is a young hire who won’t stand for being called “girl.” Things can sure get ugly when you look behind the music. Playwright Jessica Goldberg’s work has prompted comparisons to that of Sam Shepard. New Group Artistic Director Scott Elliott directs.

RAGTIME
New York City Center, Oct 30–Nov 10
Barring the option of time travel (which a 2023 reunion concert approximated pretty darn well), New York City Center’s gala presentation of Ragtime, running from October 30 through November 10, has about the dreamiest dream cast an Ahrens and Flaherty disciple could hope for. Joshua Henry’s Billy Bigelow pipes are primed for Coalhouse Walker Jr.; Caissie Levy’s “Let It Go” put a solid down payment on Mother’s showstopper, “Back to Before”; and plucking Shaina Taub from her role on Broadway as suffragist Alice Paul to play anarchist revolutionary Emma Goldman is the ultimate piece of casting. City Center’s recent history with Broadway transfers offers a glimmer of hope that this ensemble will reunite down the line, but best not to take your chances with that gamble.