Upcoming Indie Theater – May 14
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.
Beauty Freak
Venue: the cell theatre
Date: Now through May 17
Beauty Freak centers on Leni Riefenstahl during the creation and promotion of her magnum opus “Olympia,” a film about the 1936 Berlin Olympics commissioned by the Third Reich. Act I is set during the preparations for the Olympics, and Act II during her U.S. publicity tour in 1938, during which the events of Kristallnacht unfolded. As the regime that supports her artistic vision escalates their campaign of terror and commits increasingly flagrant atrocities, Riefenstahl and her colleagues are forced to reckon with their own complicity and responsibilities as artists.
BRICKGIRL
Venue: Brooklyn Art Haus
Dates: Now through May 17
There's a rumor going around that if you hate someone enough, BRICKGIRL will kill them. She's skinless, soaked in blood, and howling in pain. She shows up, beats someone to death with a brick, then disappears. No one knows the rules. We all want her to kill the right people. Everyone wants her to kill someone. When there's nowhere else to turn, when no one can help you and nothing gets better, there's BRICKGIRL.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Venue: Studio 17
Dates: Now through May 17
A transformative reimagining of Dale Wasserman’s classic play. By stripping away traditional 1960s gender dynamics—including a female Randle P. McMurphy—this production exposes the universal struggle: the crushing weight of institutional authority against the fluidity of the human spirit. In this ward, the "Combine" seeks to mechanize identity itself, and the patients find power through diverse perspectives and a shared fight for freedom.
The Totality of All Things
Venue: Theater 154 (154 Christopher Street)
Dates: May 7-17
In “The Totality of All Things,” an Indiana high school journalism teacher Judith (Colleen Clinton) is unwavering in her belief in truth and moral clarity - until a defaced Pride Month display thrusts her, the faculty, and her star pupil Micah (Cody Jenison) into the center of a heated controversy. As Judith pursues justice, her determination begins to blur the line between conviction and obsession.
In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY
Venue: Several in all five boroughs
Date: Now through May 19
The New York City-based Kairos Italy Theater along with Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò at NYU and the Italy-based KIT Italia will present the 13th season of the In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY, New York City’s premiere festival of Italian theater taking place in all five boroughs of NYC, May 5-19, 2026. Admission to all shows and events in the festival is completely FREE. All shows will be performed in Italian with English supertitles, unless otherwise noted. The festival features productions that have already toured in Italy as well as readings of Italian plays in translation, mentorships and exchanges between Italian and International artists.
HardLove
Venue: SoHo PlayHouse
Date: Now through June 6
Following its sold-out 2025 run at NYC’s legendary SoHo Playhouse, the critically acclaimed dark comedy "HardLove" extends for the third time from May 1-June 6. In “HardLove,” a volatile late-night encounter fueled by booze and magnetic attraction forces two strangers to confront their fears, desires, and the fragile lines between connection and destruction. Featuring Miray Beşli and Chandler Stephenson. Directed by Jee Duman.
Knock Twice Comedy Show
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theater
Date: May 15
Knock Twice Comedy Show is a secret stand-up experience tucked away inside Port Authority’s Hidden Jewel Box Theater. Married couple Vicky Kuperman and Max Cohen host this speakeasy-style night of laughs delivers sharp jokes and surprise guests, featuring NYC's funniest comics. It’s the kind of show you only find if you know where to knock—literally.
DRAUPADI
Venue: NuBox Theatre
Date: May 16
On May 16, at NuBox Theatre, Silsila Sounds presents DRAUPADI, a staged reading of an original play. Set during the 1906 Ahmedabad textile strikes, the production reimagines Draupadi as a Hijra and Siddi worker navigating labor revolution and divine identity. The show begins with a Bharatanatyam performance that depicts the story, followed by the modern retelling.
In the evening performance, there will also be a panel discussion on queer and trans led spaces for artists. tix 3 PM - performance https://luma.com/whiiowyc 7 PM - performance + panel https://luma.com/jf58dnc4
Finn's
Venue: Purgatory
Date: May 16
In his theatrical debut, playwright and director Geve Penn brings his two-act food service drama Finn’s.
Finn’s is a two-act kitchen sink drama, taking place in an Irish bar somewhere in a St. Louis-adjacent Midwestern town. Shift lead and photographer KC takes new hire Lou in under his wing on her first day at the titular bar, butting heads with his general manager Derek with each twist and turn. Just about everything that could possibly go wrong in the span of a single food service shift goes wrong in this kitchen sink drama. The staff at Finn’s must navigate through work/life balance, expressions of masculinity, and existing in predominantly white spaces as people of color, all before closing up for the night. This play is by artists in the food service industry, for artists in the food service industry.
The Wayfaring Strangers
Venue: The PIT Loft
Dates: May 17 and June 21
Join The Wayfaring Strangers for an improvised bluegrass musical featuring brand spankin’ new lyrics to old-timey standards, played on traditional instruments like banjo, stand up bass, guitar, fiddle, washboard, egg shakers and jug. With opening acts Goat Party (April), SLOP (May) and Unheard Of (June).
MELTINGPLOT
Venue: Theaterlab
Dates: May 17-31
30 performances over 2 weeks provide YOU the opportunity to experience what’s next in participatory live performance. Join us for this inaugural festival May 18 -31, 2026 as 5 creators present brand new work.
Like a Good Neighbor by Jake Alexander, THIS IS NOT A CULT by Christopher Lewis Dawkins, In the shadows of her past selves by Deniz Khateri, FEEL BAD by Katy Murphy, and TENN LOVERS by Kristopher Victoria.
Get Fucked
Venue: The Tank
Dates: May 21, 23, 24
This spring, Get F***ed, the bold new sex comedy written and directed by Reese Villella, premieres at The Tank in New York City for a limited run. Get F***ed is NYC’s funniest raunchiest play about sexually active 20-somethings.
The Life and Times of Daisy Forbes
Venue: La Mama
Dates: May 21-24
The Life and Times of Daisy Forbes is a long-form lip-sync illustrating a show girl, our last show girl who is at a distinct crossroads in her life. A crossroads where she is forced to make the decision of whether or not to continue pushing the rock up the hill as a performer and human being in this world. Via TV interviews, trashy pop, obscure musical theater scores and film scenes, Daisy channels these voices as a means of excavating the choices she has made, the feeling of abandonment and the uncertain future ahead.
How Will I Remember This
Venue: IAMT Theater
Dates: May 22, 23, and 24
A new dance narrative, How Will I Remember This, directed and choreographed by Reed Luplau, is scheduled for presentation at the IAMT Theater on May 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, with a subsequent season planned for later in the year. This production represents a collaboration with the esteemed singer/songwriter, Javier Dunn. The work draws inspiration from the Netflix documentary, Eldorado, about the historic and infamous 1920s queer cabaret nightclub. Iconic to Weimar-era culture, Eldorado was a renowned LGBTQ+ venue forcibly closed by the Nazis in 1933. The dance narrative follows one man as he attempts to reconstruct the events that led to the sudden transformation of his world.
The Love Show
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theater
Date: May 23
The Love Show NYC, a globe trotting theater dance company of 20+ years invites you to experience an evening of emotion in their whimsical home. Let us take you on a journey that begins the minute you purchase your ticket. This special event takes place at The Hidden Jewel Box, a secret speakeasy nestled in Manhattan’s Theater District.
WAKE UP
Venue: Gibney: Anges Varis Performing Arts Center
Date: May 31
WAKE UP is an evening length contemporary/experimental dance work. Transcending you to an alternate world of revolt, the piece is a rebellion against the mundane through giving in to human desire. Movement allows the body to access its memory of everyday gestures with a heightened sensibility, inviting primal physical instincts to resurface. Inspired by combining every-day activities such as playing basketball, watching TV, and walking on high heels with raw human emotions such as hunger, release, and collapse, WAKE UP is a spiritual journey where everyday memories and the awakening human cravings intersect.
“Planet of the Grapes” - An Epic, Tabletop, Sci-Fi Adventure
Venue: The Rat
Dates: June 6 & 7
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.
Sugar Sugar! Performance Series
Venue: Domino Park
Dates: Wednesdays and Thursdays in June
Returning to Domino Park for its second edition, Sugar Sugar! will transform Domino Square’s waterfront amphitheater into a festive open-air stage for free, experimental performances. The series runs June 3 to 25, 2026, presenting performances on Wednesday and Thursday evenings each week. Over the four-week run, some of the city’s most exciting artists working across dance, puppetry, clowning, theater, performance art, and music will premiere ambitious, site-responsive works—many artists presenting large-scale performance outdoors for the first time. This year’s program features new work by New York artists Amando Houser and Pussypaws Puppetry; Julia Antinozzi and Isa Spector; HOLE PICS; and Malcolm-x Betts and Kat Sotelo. Three of the four performance weeks were conceived as pairings, with each curator shaping different weeks, inviting unexpected connections or illuminating shared artistic sensibilities, alongside one week devoted to the queer art collective HOLE PICS.