🎭 NEW! Off-Broadway Theatre Newsletter

New York Theatre Workshop (Artistic Director Patricia McGregor; Managing Director Maya Choldin) has announced additional details for the first-ever IN THE BRICKS Festival, a curated festival of intimate work exploring the elemental connection between performer, audience, and the present moment. The festival will take place May 5 through June 14, 2026, with a Festival Celebration on May 13.

🎭 NEW! Off-Broadway Theatre Newsletter

The IN THE BRICKS Festival will feature The Peculiar Patriot, written and performed by Liza Jessie Peterson and directed by Talvin Wilks, co-presented with National Black Theatre in association with Lena Waithe. Also newly announced is The Unexpected 3RD: A Radical, Rollicking Rumination on the Optimism of Staying Alive, written and performed by NYTW Usual Suspect Kathryn Grody and directed by Timothy Near. Both productions will play in repertory at 79 E 4th Street.

Presented in repertory at 83 E 4th Street will be Mention My Beauty, written and performed by Leslie Ayvazian and directed by David Warren, and Sardines (a comedy about death), written and performed by Chris Grace and directed by Eric Michaud.

The Horse of Jenin, written and performed by Alaa Shehada, will be presented with PlayCo as screenings at Cinema Village (22 E 12th Street). NYTW had previously planned in-person performances of the piece; however, in November 2025, Shehada was detained by Customs and Border Patrol while attempting to enter the U.S. on a valid O1-B visa and was denied entry. Screenings will be presented in lieu of live performances. NYTW, PlayCo, and producing partners remain committed to ensuring Palestinian voices are heard.

Single tickets for the IN THE BRICKS Festival start at $30. A limited number of festival passes will be available for $120. NYTW member and donor priority booking begins February 23, with public on-sale March 10 at 1 p.m. ET.

PRESENTED IN REPERTORY @ 79 E 4TH STREET

THE PECULIAR PATRIOT

Written and Performed by Liza Jessie Peterson

Directed by Talvin Wilks

Inspired by Peterson’s decades-long work with prison populations, including at Rikers Island, this one-person show examines the human impact of mass incarceration. The piece traces the migration of systemic injustice from plantation to prison yard through the story of Betsy LaQuanda Ross, a self-proclaimed “peculiar patriot” who regularly visits incarcerated loved ones.

THE UNEXPECTED 3RD: A RADICAL, ROLLICKING RUMINATION ON THE OPTIMISM OF STAYING ALIVE

Written and Performed by Kathryn Grody

Directed by Timothy Near

NYTW Usual Suspect Kathryn Grody reflects on entering elderhood at 79, exploring aging, democracy, climate change, grief, and discovery in a personal, humorous meditation on impermanence.

PRESENTED IN REPERTORY @ 83 E 4TH STREET

MENTION MY BEAUTY

Written and Performed by Leslie Ayvazian

Directed by David Warren

Ayvazian shares stories of navigating the anti-war movement, the women’s movement, and the sexual revolution while grappling with the expectations of Armenian parents shaped by the Genocide of 1915.

SARDINES (A COMEDY ABOUT DEATH)

Written and Performed by Chris Grace

Directed by Eric Michaud

A hit at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Sardines explores mortality, art-making, and joy through humor and reflection. The show asks whether we can fully enjoy life while knowing how it ends.

SCREENINGS PRESENTED @ CINEMA VILLAGE (22 E 12TH STREET)

THE HORSE OF JENIN

Written and Performed by Alaa Shehada

Directed by Katrien Van Beurden and Thomas Van Ouwerkerk

Blending storytelling, mask, and stand-up comedy, The Horse of Jenin reflects on a sculpture built from the debris of invasion in Occupied Palestine and its symbolic role in the life of the playwright. Screenings will run May 8–14 at 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 plus fees.

FOR THE CULTURE SERIES EVENTS

Through its For the Culture Series, NYTW will host affinity events during the festival, including a masterclass with Chris Grace, open salons centered on art and incarceration, a community mixer, an Open Streets salon presented with FABnyc, and a Longest Table gathering focused on storytelling and connection.

ADDITIONAL NYTW PROGRAMMING

Also beginning performances later this month at NYTW is the World Premiere of My Joy is Heavy by The Bengsons, directed by Rachel Chavkin, running February 25 through April 5, 2026.

Founded to empower visionary theatre-makers, NYTW has mounted more than 150 productions, including Rent, Once, Hadestown, and Slave Play, earning a Pulitzer Prize, 29 Tony Awards, and numerous other honors.

For full festival schedules and ticket information, visit nytw.org.