Upcoming Indie Theater – September 12
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 FRIGID NYC which is available for rentals.
Scheduling Note: We won’t have a list during the week of September 14. We’ll be back the following week.
Let Me Be a Dreamer
Venue: Don’t Tell Mama NYC
Date: September 12
Learn more and get tickets: https://shows.donttellmamanyc.com/show/claire-lundin-let-me-be-a-dreamer
Claire is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter performing her one-night-only original cabaret Let Me Be a Dreamer at Don’t Tell Mama on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7pm! It’s a funny and heartfelt show about the blurry line between hope and delusion and what it looks like to actually chase a dream in NYC. With roots in musical theatre, Claire brings a flair for storytelling, humour, and theatricality to her music, blending the intimacy of a singer-songwriter with the energy of the stage.
The Infinite Wrench
Venue: Asylum NYC (123.E 24th St)
Date: September 12
Learn more and get tickets: nynf.org/tiw
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.
Gigi Dabrowski : Live from house arrest
Venue: Under St Marks
Dates: September 12 & 14
Learn more and get tickets: https://tickets.frigid.nyc/event/6897:1497/
Gigi Dabrowski has been accused of embezzlement, confined to her apartment, and has decided the best way to deal with all of this is obviously to have a party and tell everyone her side of the story.
Afterwards
Venue: Shares @LAMAMA
Dates: September 12, 14, 17, 18, & 19
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.poetictheater.com/afterwards/
Afterwards is a spiritual, theatrical novella, a sequel to Enz’s play City Girls and Desperados. Enz’s elliptical, transcendent storytelling revolves around a crew of hipster artists orbiting the steadying center of legend to legends; Sam Shaw - creator of the famous (Marilyn subway shot) and esteemed, Cassavetes producer, whose lawsuit of biblical proportions with his only son evolves into a blueprint for forgiveness that gives this piece its resonant heart. Sam’s son is shattered by his refusal to say “Yes, I do, I do love you.” after an argument with the love of his life French film Goddess Françoise Dorléac, just before she drives away to her fiery death. This tragedy ripples through decades across oceans snuffing out the possibility of love for generations.
Boys Will Be Dogs
Venue: Brooklyn Art Haus
Dates: September 12 & 17-19
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/boys-will-be-dogs-tickets-1996903826099
Lacrosse star Logan has a lot going for him - he’s sixteen, has a near guaranteed scholarship to Yale, and just got his first girlfriend. But when mounting pressures lead him to seek guidance in the alt-right manosphere, the adults in his life are all too busy to notice. As his older sister, her spouse, and their roommate navigate shared secrets and a particularly violent neighborhood dog named Cupcake, Logan’s mindset deteriorates in an abstract space called “the turf” where he sees himself as a dog on his girlfriend’s leash. When his radicalization erupts in an act of violence, will his caretakers be able - or willing - to help?
Cry Havoc
Venue: 153 Morgan Avenue
Dates: Now through September 19
Learn more and get tickets: https://madcompositionco.ticketspice.com/cry-havoc
The year is 2043. Last year, a devastating earthquake struck Rome, wiping out most of the city’s infrastructure. In its aftermath, Governor Julius Caesar declared a state of emergency, using his set of emergency powers to rebuild the city in the image of its people, amassing their undying support while accumulating unprecedented authority. Now, only the Senate stands between Caesar and his vision of the city – and you’ve just been elected. Take Rome’s fate into your hands in this new, immersive telling of the tragedy of Julius Caesar. As one of a handful of newly elected Roman state senators, you’ll vote on a series of proposals about power, who should have it, and how to regulate it. Your choices will determine the scenes you see, the information you learn, and the way the story unfolds.
Dirty Bird
Venue: ErF Gallery
Dates: Now through September 20
Learn more and get tickets: https://dice.fm/event/923ood-dirty-bird-20th-sep-erf-gallery-new-york-city-tickets
Summer. A family gathers. And for no good reason, destroys one another. A forensic examination of the transcendence and violence of desire, the insatiable need to discover new forms of human expression and the brutal aches that shape us… a traverse to endure amongst the moments of neon lightening and jagged wounds. Dirty Bird is a radical new adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull by writer / director Whit Flint, with a score built around artists like Bowie, the Pixies, and the Zombies.
The Diary of Ana Fernandez
Venue: American Theatre Of Actors
Dates: Now through September 20
Learn more and get tickets: https://americantheatreofactors.org/the-diary-of-ana-fernandez/
Drawing parallels to Anne Frank’s story, The Diary of Ana Fernandez portrays the struggles of a young, undocumented girl and her father as they navigate fear, separation, and resilience amidst the threat of deportation.
Quacks & Whacks: A Cancer Comedy + Patient Advocacy Panel
Venue: Caveat
Date: September 13
Learn more and get tickets: https://caveat.nyc/events/quacks-whacks-a-cancer-comedy-patient-advocacy-panel-to-follow-2026-09-13
In this mother-daughter creation inspired by true events, absurdist humor, clowning, puppetry, music, and animation bring to life the very real struggles and triumphs of navigating the circus that is the American healthcare system. We join Sharon, a middle school teacher (and the cast of idiot cancer cells hiking through her body) as she collides with fried receptionists and zany doctors in pursuit of effective screening, human healthcare, and, really, any kind of answers at all. The show will be followed by a panel conversation on patient advocacy with special guests Shlomit Liberty, medical crisis manager, and Micah Damsky, ombudsman with Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY.
Heist!
Venue: KGB Bar
Dates: September 13 & 27
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-sparrows-in-heist-nyc-kgb-tickets-1999205238686
In 'Heist!', in order to steal a ex-lover's Heart (not her real heart, but a heart shaped diamond worth one Belarusian Rubles), a group of rag-tag theives and their old semi-professional Capture the Flag buddies stage an elaborate heist. They just might accidentally end up stealing her real heart in the process. And losing the diamond.In 'Heist!', in order to steal a ex-lover's Heart (not her real heart, but a heart shaped diamond worth one Belarusian Rubles), a group of rag-tag theives and their old semi-professional Capture the Flag buddies stage an elaborate heist. They just might accidentally end up stealing her real heart in the process. And losing the diamond.
Hell Hath Turned Over. F*CK
Venue: Ars Nova
Date: September 14
Learn more and get tickets: https://arsnovanyc.playtime.world/event/a9eff7f302e278d8dfdeb8d2c548c8b7eac31a8542dc25ff96accdfb
A post-apocalyptic, God-stricken world is on fire ‘cause Texaco left the air-fryer plugged in. A Gen Z nun and a priest contemplate the new meaning of life as they journey through the remnants of America's past: cancel culture, mukbangs, and Hollywood. HELL HATH TURNED OVER. F*CK is a satirical fantasia of the American Western Social Media experiment, false escapism, and the threat of Tik Tok dances.
Papa Do Preach
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theater
Date: September 16
Learn more and get tickets: papadopreach.eventbrite.com
Comedy! Music! Drag! And so MUCH MORE! Papa Do Preach is an extra special comedy variety show with the best acts in the city ready to breathe a little life into your tired soul.
Mom and I Go to the Temple
Venue: The Tank
Dates: September 16-19
Learn more and get tickets: https://tickets.thetanknyc.org/EventAvailability?EventId=155801
Mom said we were just taking a simple trip to a temple hidden in the mountains of Malaysia. What she failed to mention was that this "temple" wasn't quite what it seemed. As the journey grew stranger, it became increasingly clear that mom knew far more than she was letting on—and that this wasn't going to be a simple day of prayer. Based on a true story, this is the tale of the most terrifying trip I've ever taken with my mother... and the reason I now ask a lot more questions before getting into the car.
ReproEco: Tomorrow Is Now
Venue: Theatre at 14 St Y
Dates: September 16, 17, 19, 23, 25, 26, 27 and October 1, 3, & 4
Learn more and get tickets: https://ci.ovationtix.com/36649/production/1286595
New York City: 'ReproEco: Tomorrow Is Now.' Multidisciplinary, Multicultural Theatre & Dance on Reproductive Freedom & Environmental Justice! Through humor, mythology, Afro-futurism, dance and drama, we look at toxins, microplastics, and the effects on our bodies, our communities and our fugures. Works by writers Diane Breeser, Cindy Cooper, Alinca Hamilton, Mildred Inez Lewis, Cassandra Medley and Laura Shamas; Lorca Peress directs. Chroegraphy by Jennifer Chin. Coproduced by MultiStages Theatre and ReproFreedomArts.
Vagina Rex & The Gas Oven
Venue: New Perspectives Theatre Company
Date: September 17
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.newperspectivestheatre.org/buy-tickets
The play is a powerful, interdisciplinary text about female rage and pain in heterosexual marriage. In 1969 Arden brought together the radicalism of her feminist rage with the possibilities of experimental staging when Vagina Rex and the Gas Oven appeared at Jim Haynes‘s Arts Lab Drury Lane, directed by Jack Bond and became a huge success. Arts Lab in Drury Lane was a key site in the alternative London theatre scene of the 1960’s linked to Yoko Ono and David Bowie amongst many others.
THE LOVE SHOW at The Hidden Jewel Box Theater
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theater
Date: September 17
Learn more and get tickets: loveshow.eventbrite.com
The Hidden Jewel Box's in-house show returns for a a heartfelt and titilating night of dance, burlesque, song, and theater. Laugh, cry, and experience an unforgettable evening of intimate whimsy unlike any other in the "Paris Authority". The Love Show NYC, a globe trotting theater dance company of 20+ years invites you into our little home. Let us take you on a journey that begins the minute you purchase your ticket.
McMusical
Venue: Theater For The New City
Dates: September 17-20
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/mcmusical
From the creators of Garfeld: The Musical (A Garfield Parody) comes McMusical, a brand-new, unhinged satirical romp making its first developmental production at Theater for the New City, September 17–20, 2026. Randy McDandy, the washed-up clown mascot of the fast-food empire McDandys,bites off more than he can chew when he takes over one of his restaurants in the perilous streets of Slumsville. He’s shocked to find that the restaurant has been transformed into a cold, corporate shell, stripped of all its charm. Determined to restore McDandys to its former glory, Randy must battle cynical corporate overlords. With appearances from other iconic mascots and a slew of crazy side characters, McMusical is a high-energy, R-rated parody served with unexpected heart and earnestness.
Samuel Beckett's "Happy Days"
Venue: Loading Dock Theatre
Dates: September 17-20, 25-27, and October 1-3
Learn more and get tickets: https://tinyurl.com/happydaysbrooklyn
Brave New World Repertory Theatre presents a rare revival of Samuel Beckett's timeless classic "Happy Days," featuring real-life married couple Claire Beckman and John Edmond Morgan as Winnie and Willie. Buried waist-deep in a scorched mound of apocalyptic waste, a middle-aged woman clings to her daily rituals with relentless optimism as her world closes in around her. Written during the Cold War, when the image of a barren landscape evoked the shadow of nuclear annihilation, Beckett's play has evolved into a stark metaphor for the current climate crisis, political paralysis, and our seeming inability to break free of patterns that harm ourselves and the planet. The female-led production is directed by Jade King Carroll, artistic director of Chautauqua Theater Company, and runs September 17-October 3 at the intimate Loading Dock Theatre on Tillary Street in downtown Brooklyn.
Knock Twice Comedy Show
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theater
Date: September 18
Learn more and get tickets: knocktwiceseptember.eventbrite.com
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.
Laughing & Talking & Laughing With Singing
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theater
Date: September 19
Learn more and get tickets: latalws.eventbrite.com
Laughing and Talking and Laughing with Singing is a variety talk show with music, comedy, interviews and unexpected, uncanny delights. LaTaLwS is hosted by Hattie Hayes, an eldritch delight who has existed for 500,000,000 billion years. LaTaLwS features sketch comedy NYC's most talented writers and actors, musical guest performers and interviews with celebrities from this and other timelines.
The Wayfaring Strangers
Venue: The PIT
Date: September 20
Learn more and get tickets: https://tinyurl.com/waystrangeape
Join The Wayfaring Strangers at The PIT on Sunday, August 16 at 7pm for an improvised bluegrass musical, featuring brand spankin’ new lyrics to old-timey standards, played on traditional instruments like banjo, guitar, stand up bass, washboard, triangle and jug.
los little guys
Venue: Arts On Site
Date: September 24
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.artsonsite.org/tickets
Los Little Guys, a Mexico-USA based project between Erik Elizondo and Dimitri Kalaitzidis, presents 3 original works. “Short Duet For A Lonely Gentleman” was created by UK choreographer Barnaby Booth. Trapped in cycles of aggression and loneliness, two men reshuffle and rationalize their hopelessness, lust, and pride. “Solo, Resonando en Eco,” by Erik Elizondo, is inspired by the archived song of the extinct bird Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, recorded while the last of its species. “Ready, Set, Unsettle,” created and performed by Dimitri Kalaitzidis, questions the space between comfort and compromise.
Los Video Nasties 2026 NYC TOUR
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theater
Date: September 26
Learn more and get tickets: nasties.eventbrite.com
LA CASA NORTE x THE HIDDEN JEWEL BOX THEATER bring you 8 award-winning short films from all over Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Argentina—spanning LGBTQ+ dramas, documentaries, monologues, and experimental animation. From amateur filmmakers, film students, and professional artists, this program celebrates the full spectrum of independent cinema and its going everywhere between Tijuana and Tokyo (With more than 3 dozen venues worldwide hosting screenings).
MEAT
Venue: The Tank
Dates: September 30 and October 1
Learn more and get tickets: https://thetanknyc.org/calendar-1/meat2?rq=meat
Ham, a West Texas meatpacker, longs for a promotion. He will do anything to get it. Beleaguered by his grim career, eccentric libertarian coworker, and stalled long-distance relationship with a woman 30 years his senior, Ham is plagued by the looming presence of his manager and visions of his dead mother. MEAT fleshes out the unsustainable nature of capitalism, climbing the ladder, and a hunger for your own piece of the pie.
Filmshow is a live show that combines award winning short films and live experimental theater to create an entirely new peice of art. A filmshow if you will.
Persephone: A Garden Between Worlds
Venue: Newtown Creek Nature Walk Phase 3
Dates: October 3, 4, 10, and 11
Learn more and get tickets: https://linktr.ee/persephoneimmersive
Journey into the underworld via our immersive reimagining of the Persephone myth. Pulling on the aesthetic traditions of "Viola’s Room" and "Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy", attendees will wander through a fantastical outdoor location in Greenpoint during this intimate adventure. As Homer narrates the tale of Persephone’s kidnapping by the Queen of the Underworld, dancers and large-scale installations bring the myth to life.
Show Up, Kids!
Venue: The Rat
Dates: October 3, 10, 17, 24 and November 7, 21, & 28
Learn more and get tickets: https://showup-theshow.com/
This interactive show for kids 3-10 years old puts a wildly comedic twist on the traditional kids’ show. When the main attraction is a no-show, hapless host Bebe gets the kids (and their grownups) to help create a comedy show on the spot by choosing plot, props, characters, costumes, and settings - resulting in a wildly unpredictable, one-of-a-kind, 45-minute laughfest. Now in its 8th year!
sweet prince
Venue: The RAT NYC + Culture Lab LIC
Dates: October 5 (The RAT NYC) and October 9 (Culture Lab LIC)
Learn more and get tickets:
October 5: https://www.theratnyc.com/event-details/sweet-prince
October 9: https://events.humanitix.com/sweet-prince
The murderous uncle? The beguiled queen? A hired friend? Who will you choose? sweet prince is an interactive, one-woman Hamlet that invites the audience to step in as the missing characters. Ready to be?
Inter-grant Festival
Venue: Arts On Site
Dates: October 8-10
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.artsonsite.org/tickets
The Inter-grant Festival is a three-night celebration highlighting the vibrant work of Inter-grant artists through visual art, live performance, film, and dialogue. Every evening offers a fully dynamic experience; starting with a pre-show art sale, continuing into live performances and docuseries film screenings, and closing with an artist-led post-show discussion.
A Part Of The Noise
Venue: THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY/ Johnson Theatre
Dates: October 8-25
Learn more and get tickets: https://theaterforthenewcity.net/shows/a-part-of-the-noise/
The year is 1959, and Franz’ art dealer, Sidney Janis, refuses to include Franz’ new color abstractions in an upcoming one-man show. Sidney wants Franz to ride out the popularity of his black and white paintings that are selling for record prices. Franz insists on including his two newest color abstractions, and Sidney threatens that if he does, this will be his last show at the prestigious Janis Gallery.
LBJ: The Play
Venue: Paradise Factory
Dates: October 9-30
Learn more and get tickets: www.lbjtheplay.com
A 5th grade teacher hires local performer Sunny Zimmerman to give a simple historical presentation as LBJ. The only problem? Sunny’s gone method. They’ve been living and breathing as LBJ, and LBJ has decided that this is his one chance to salvage his legacy – with an ambitious theatrical production. As his vision doesn't go according to plan, the boundaries between actor and role become increasingly blurred.
The Oldest Profession
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theater
Dates: October 9 & 17, November 6 & 7, December 18
Learn more and get tickets: theoldestprofession.eventbrite.com
The Oldest Profession is a mad dash through 10,000 years of history from a sex worker’s perspective. Kaytlin Bailey is reframing the story of western civilization from a mesmerizing new angle. Weaving history, stand-up comedy, and lived experience in a fast-paced and profoundly moving hour-long solo show. The performance is punctuated by a projected art history slideshow.
Brownstone Steps Play Festival
Venue: South Oxford Space
Dates: October 17 & 18
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.ticketsignup.io/TicketEvent/BFest2026
BFest presents its first ever complete lineup of women playwrights, for 5 plays of timely stories by, for or about women and the families we hold dear. Join us
Lucie Pohl: Old as Mold
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theater
Date: November 12
Learn more and get tickets: oldasmold.eventbrite.com
Comedian Lucie Pohl tapes her first comedy special presented by the New York Comedy Festival! Old As Mold is a new solo comedy hour diving into the chaos and wisdom of life as a woman over 40 but somehow still under 5”5.
A Night With Mr. Wonderful
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theater
Date: November 13
Learn more and get tickets: mrwonderful.eventbrite.com
Experience the unforgettable journey of Sammy Davis Jr. in A Night With Mr. Wonderful, a dynamic variety show capturing the icon at the height of his global fame. Set against the vibrant 1960s and 1970s, this production fuses spectacular live performances of hits like Mr. Bojangles with the gripping story of Davis’s evolution from superstar to a fierce activist fighting racial inequality. Beyond the glamour, it reveals the intense personal and professional struggles he faced navigating a white-dominated industry. Driven by themes of resilience and the unifying power of music, this vibrant celebration is a must-see for anyone who loves history, legendary songs, and stellar live theater.
Pearl Necklace
Venue: The Hidden Jewel Box Theater
Date: November 14
Learn more and get tickets: pearlnecklace.eventbrite.com
Pearl Necklace is a dirty comedy dripping in burlesque glamour, vintage decadence, and a touch of film noir. Telling stories from her glamorous—and not-so-glamorous—life, Natalie Perlin brings a comedy that’s sharp and wicked, yet unexpectedly sweet and melancholy, finding humor in the timeless, titillating absurdity of being a woman in the modern world. Definitely not for pearl clutchers. After all, Pearl Necklace is more than just jewelry.