Upcoming Indie Theater – July 17
Each week, we share upcoming indie theater shows and productions in New York City. These are submitted by members of the IndieSpace community.
Do you have an upcoming show to share? Use the Show/Production Sharing Form to share the details of your show/production with IndieSpace so that we can share with the community.
For more coverage of indie theater in New York, please visit New York Theatre Review.
The preview image is from JACK, which is available for rentals.
Everyday is A Pig's Birthday
Venue: Triskelion Arts
Dates: July 17 & 18
In Everyday is A Pig's Birthday, the birthday party is a repeated social ritual through which care, intimacy, and alienation are continuously intertwined. The work inhabits a temporality where celebration never fully arrives nor disappears, but is transformed into a choreography of memory, longing, and fragile connection. At once playful and quietly lonely, Everyday is A Pig's Birthday invites audiences into a world of flying pigs, melting ice cream, failed parties, and celebrations that never fully settle into place.
God! The One-Man Show
Venue: Actors' Theatre Workshop
Dates: July 17 & 18
…But what was God doing before the Big Bang? Obviously, performing a few last-minute miracles like juggling, magic, and “other stuff.” In this hilarious “prequel” to The Bible, Rich Potter reprises his role as the Creator of Everything that ever was, is, or will be in "God! The One-Man Show." Enjoyed by heretics and believers alike, declared, “…better than 9 years of Catholic school!” Come to the show and get ready to be! PG13 “A Comedic Hurricane!” [5 stars] -DC Metro Theater Arts!
CANTO 250: A Comedy in 4th Person
Venue: Teatro LATEA | New York Theater Festival
Date: July 17 & 19
A 75 year old NEA grant recipient is interviewed in his home by a 29 year old lawyer representing the DOGE. He is informed that his grant will not be honored, but if he is willing to edit his life’s work, a 250 section poem representing each year in American history, he will be fast tracked for the Celebrating America 250 program. The play explores what history and art can mean in this moment.
“Planet of the Grapes” - An Epic, Tabletop, Sci-Fi Adventure
Venue: Under St. Marks
Dates: Now through July 19
Award-winning lockdown hit “Planet of the Grapes” transports audiences to a futuristic world where talking grapes reign supreme and humans are rendered speechless. Directed by Michole Biancosino, this fast-paced comedic homage blends the charm of Victorian toy theater with the sci-fi spectacle of the 1968 classic “Planet of the Apes,” creating an interactive, immersive, all-ages adventure packed into a juicy 60 minutes. Produced by Project Y Theatre, SparkDog Productions Inc., and PM2 Entertainment.
EdFest
Venue: Brooklyn Art Haus
Dates: Now through July 19
Duces Wild presents EdFest: a festival of Edinburgh Fringe previews 14-19 July 2026 @ Brooklyn Art Haus Six days. Fifteen shows bound for Edinburgh Fringe. Catch the next Fringe breakout star before they even get to Scotland. Featuring drag, clown, theatre, comedy, storytelling, dance, music, and immersive shows, there's something for everyone. Revolution! Microsoft Paint! Grief! Emoji! Starry Night! Love! Spies! Fame! Tickets start at $20. Use code HAGGIS to save when you buy tickets to more than one show in the festival.
Crimes of the Heart
Venue: 154 Christopher Street
Dates: Now through July 26
Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley, directed by Eve Bianco | Presented by Red Door Productions
It's been a bad week for the Magrath sisters. The eldest is turning thirty alone. The middle one has come home from Hollywood with broken dreams. The youngest has just shot her husband. Set over a few extraordinary days in a kitchen in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, Crimes of the Heart is Beth Henley's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about sisters, secrets, survival, and the particular madness of family love. Devastating and hilarious in equal measure, often in the same breath. Red Door Productions brings this Southern tragicomedy to New York City for a limited two-week run at 154 Theater on Christopher Street.
Foosball
Venue: Arts On Site
Dates: Now through August 1
Caught between small-town Michigan drama and an abusive father, JJ Janson has to navigate an impossible love triangle on his 16th birthday. Foosball begs the question: Can we overcome our trauma or do we learn to live with our wounds? That's Pure Michigan, baby!
The Betrothed
Venue: WP Theater
Dates: Now through August 1
Chosen as part of WP Theater's Space Residency Program for indie theater companies,The Betrothed by Scarlett Grace McCarthy and directed by Sarah Connolly is an absurdist comedy of love, ambition, and social expectation set in the 19th century and performed by an all-women cast. When her brother’s broken engagement disrupts Kitty’s plans to secure a suitor, she’s forced to confront the rigid expectations placed upon her and schemes to restore order and ensure everyone gets their happily ever after. As romantic entanglements unravel and betrayals come to light, The Betrothed queers the classic marriage plot.
The Potluck
Venue: Soho Rep and INTAR
Dates: Now through August 2
Solidarity is just another kind of queerness. In 1979, five labor organizers were murdered at a protest in the streets of Greensboro, NC, by members of the KKK and the American Nazi Party. A year later, César James Alvarez was born into the survivor community and named for two of the victims. 37 years after that, César got a commission to write a musical about the Greensboro Massacre, but it turned into a show about ghosts… and capitalism…and how to recuperate from trauma that happened to you before you were even born. The Potluck is a new musical featuring a 12 person intergenerational cast that conjures the soft side of the revolution, and tells a story about what to do when the government is actually trying to kill you.
Woyzeck
Venue: Modern Sweater
Dates: Now through August 8
Adult Film will present Woyzeck by Georg Büchner, translated by the late and storied American actor, John Christopher Jones, directed by international director Seth Bockley (2666, Gilgamesh) Summer of Blood!! Woyzeck will be the inaugural production at Modern Sweater, a former sweater factory in the heart of the independent arts capital of New York, Ridgewood. Joining the Adult Film company members is Randall Jaynes, who served as a Blue Man and the Senior Artistic Director with Blue Man Group for over two decades. Woyzeck will present a site-specific exploration of class conflict and madness. A rock musical devising lyrics from 1830s Germany. A horror story through a humanist lens.
The Infinite Wrench
Venue: Asylum NYC (123.E 24th St)
Dates: July 17, 18, 24, 25, and 31 August 1, 7, and 8
The Infinite Wrench is a barrage of 30 short plays the cast attempts to perform within a single hour in a race against the clock. Each play offers something different, be it funny, profound, elegant, disgusting, topical, irrelevant, terrifying, or even a dance or a song. All are truthful and tackle the here-and-now, inspired by the lived experiences of the performers. With new plays every week, The Infinite Wrench is the Neo-Futurists’ ongoing and ever-changing attempt to shift the conventions of live performance and speak to audiences, including those unreached or unmoved by traditional theater.
Princess Particular
Venue: The Secret Theatre
Dates: July 18
Meet Princess Particular — a delightfully kooky princess with a big imagination and an even bigger personality! In her topsy-turvy royal world, the unexpected is always around the corner and every adventure is filled with laughter, surprises, and plenty of fun. Join Princess Particular for a whimsical children’s theatre experience the whole family will enjoy, and dressing up is encouraged!
The Anxiety of Laughing
Venue: The American Theatre of Actors (ATA) New York, NY
Dates: July 18, 21, 22, 24, & 25
The Anxiety of Laughing is a heartfelt tale of resilience and love that follows Joey, a stand-up comedian with cerebral palsy, and his fiancée, Leah, a talented ballerina. As they support each other in pursuing their dreams, a tragic car accident shatters their lives, leaving Leah paralyzed from the waist down and testing the depth of their commitment. The Anxiety of Laughing is produced by Mixing It Up Productions, LLC, which is a multi-media entertainment company that develops, produces, licenses, and publishes intellectual properties in theatres, music, film/video, and literature. The Anxiety of Laughing will be playing as a part of The Midtown International Theatre Festival, taking place at The American Theatre For Actors from July 13th- 25th
STALIN: The Musical
Venue: The Chain Theatre
Dates: July 19 & 22
In this bombastic, historically-questionable, and unapologetically campy comedy musical, history gets hijacked by glitter, groove, and revolution. From boyhood dreams in a Georgian village to a trip to the casino in the shadow of state terror, the show slaps Marxism in a sequined leotard and sends it pirouetting through history.
"Memory Palace" by Charles Mee
Venue: ...AND Festival at Mabou Mines
Dates: July 20 & 21
A man in black tie, whose identity as a dictator in exile, or an estranged father giving hard earned advice, recounts anecdotes on global devastation, human cruelty, and the beauty and redemption of nature. The New York Premiere of Charles Mee's "Memory Palace!"
The Silver Lining with Gianmarco Soresi
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theatre
Date: July 21
Gianmarco Soresi is a New York-based stand-up comedian, actor, and creator known for his sharp societal observation and spry, energetic stage presence. Gianmarco effortlessly commands a room with his animated style, blending upbeat candor with dark comedic beats, which has garnered him critical acclaim from The New York Times, NPR, Esquire, The Atlantic, Buzzfeed, ABC News, Billboard, and many more. He’s performed stand-up on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Comedy Central, Don’t Tell, and was selected as a JFL New Face in 2022. He has amassed a dedicated following of millions across social media accounts and is the host of the popular podcast “The Downside with Gianmarco Soresi". Gianmarco released his first hour-long special, THIEF OF JOY, which reached over 1 million views in the first week and counting.
The Kitchen
Venue: AMT Theater
Dates: July 23-25
Witness the gripping dark comedy "The Kitchen" by Earl Crittenden, when a surprise kitchen renovation in a rent-controlled Manhattan apartment triggers an eviction, exposes the neighbor as a predatory landlord, and forces a reckoning with a grandfather's hidden queer life in a Broadway Bound Theatre Festival presentation at AMT Theater on July 23, 24 and 25. Don't miss it!
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theatre
Dates: July 24-26
Shakespeare’s famous comedy features messy love triangles, mischievous magic, and a person with a donkey’s head. Four Athenian lovers flee into a magical forest only to be caught in the middle of the fairy king and queen's argument. Puck, the mischievous trickster, meddles with their feelings towards one another; meanwhile, a group of actors is preparing a play for the Athenian king's wedding day. What could go wrong?
Measure for Measure
Venue: The Makers’ Space
Dates: July 28 - August 1
Measure for Measure asks us to bear witness to a world where morality cannot sustain itself – it flows, flies, and falls like sand. In it, the line between the state and the individual is blurred beyond recognition, and justice turns out to be more akin to bargain than mercy. And then there’s uncleanliness. Tons of it. Here, righteousness is like a rubber band: stretch it enough and you’ll permanently deform it into a kind of perversion. Measure for Measure revolves around that elasticity, its focus is on this exercise of clinging to humanity in a world that renders the moral absurd. I mean, really ask yourself: is being good possible when you’re teetering on the razor’s edge between someone else’s destruction and your survival?
FRIZZLED: A Magic School Bus Musical Parody
Venue: Culture Lab LIC
Dates: July 30 - August 2
Frizzled is a wild, nostalgic coming-of-age musical blasting the kids you know and love into outrageous and very grown-up scenarios with their favorite frizzy-haired teacher. Featuring a score packed with infectious hooks about getting older, partying it up, and wanting to lesbian kiss your best friend, this show is guaranteed to make you laugh. Join the kids from Walkerville High as they take one last ride on that big yellow bus! not suitable for audiences under 18
THE BRIDE: A Kill Bill Ballet
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theater
Dates: July 31 – August 2
The Love Show's iconic tribute to Kill Bill, The Bride returns with a vengeance, tearing into the Theater District with grit, wit, sex, and action that won't quit. From director/choreographer Angela Harriell and her prolific dance theater company, The Love Show NYC, comes an homage to Quentin Tarantino’s classic film cycle about revenge, honor, and redemption. A cult classic reimagined through evocative dance and live song, The Bride: A Kill Bill Ballet is a wildly entertaining ride. It's sexy, wacky, beautiful, and weird.
Our Name Is Mara
Venue: National Dance Institute
Dates: August 1
When her father misses her spelling bee, 12-year-old Mara suspects something’s amiss. Anxious for answers, Mara interrogates her neighbor and demands answers from her family. She discovers her father’s been hospitalized then reasons her love is the only medicine he needs to get better. But when he's still not better, she's left questioning if her dad is the same man she knew.
Work Sucks: An Improv Comedy Show
Venue: Duke Comedy Theatre @ Westbeth Community Room
Dates: August 1
Bad jobs, terrible bosses, co-workers from your nightmares. Bring us your worst workday stories, and watch seasoned improvisers from NYC and Hudson Valley’s top comedy theaters turn them into live, laugh-out-loud comedy right before your eyes. Free entry! Donations welcome.
Higher Than a Body
Venue: wild project
Dates: August 7 & 8
Performance art meets supernatural satire in a special work-in-progress presentation of Higher Than A Body, a new solo performance written, composed, and performed by multidisciplinary artist Neil Totton. Developed in residence at wild project, this showing invites audiences into a memory set to music, packed with humor, sass, and deep introspection.
Lunaticus
Venue: The Tank
Dates: August 10
When sudden spells of aphasia and mysterious blackout episodes lead to a life-changing neurological diagnosis, Danielle is left to navigate an escalating disability while sorting through her relationships, confronting her mortality, and reckoning with an unexpectedly fractured sense of self. LUNATICUS is a quirky, nuanced, deeply personal take on one of humanity’s most ancient and most misunderstood afflictions. This brand-new solo show dives deep into a real-life story of epilepsy, a condition that's been remarkably underexplored in the American theatre. Despite affecting humans for thousands of years, the experience of epilepsy remains shrouded in mystery and marred by misunderstanding. Danielle Allen’s autobiographical tale of the adult-onset epilepsy that upended her life aims to shed light on the diversity of epileptic experiences while reminding us of the power that comes with speaking our stories out loud.