This month, there are two plays plays similarly entitled, not to be confused:
One, at Ensemble Studio Theatre, is “Franklinland” by Lloyd Suh. It’s another collaboration between EST and the Alfred P.Sloan Foundation, presenting science-based plays. It’s about the only son of Benjamin Franklin and is billed as a comedy.
The other, “Fatherland” at City Center II, is a ripped-from-the-eadlines verbatim piece, about the teenage son who turned in his father, a participant in the January 6th assault on the Capitol.
It received rave reviews when it recently premiered in Los Angeles.
Dominique Morisseau, who wrote the wonderful “Skeleton Crew” is back with “Bad Kreyol,”having its world premiere at Signature. Set in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, we meet two cousins– one brought up there and one in the U.S.– and the resulting different views of their two countries and the world. Ms. Morisseau is a brilliant playwright– whose work always is worth seeing.
If you’ve never seen the exceptional Kenneth Branagh on stage, here’s your rare opportunity– he will be playing in “King Lear,” which he also directed. Although it received mixed reviews in London where the Brits might prefer an unaltered classic, Branagh brings in his version at just under two hours!
Another coming to Signature is “Babe” by Jessica Goldberg (“Parenthood”) with the ever-wonderful Marisa Tomei. It had its highly successful premiere in L.A. and is again directed by Scott Elliott.
“Deep History” by Australian playwright, David Finnigan will be at the Public Theatre, having its American premiere. It was much discussed and highly praised when it played in Edinburgh in 2022. Finnigan writes about his country’s wildfires and six other climate turning points.
Do try “The Counter” by Meghan Kennedy at the Laura Pels, Roundabout Theatre. An friendship at a diner between the server and the daily coffee drinker leads to secrets– sounds intriguing!
Enjoy these, if you have time. I’ll be back with more suggestions next month.
Until then– hope to see you at the theatre!
Carol Tambor publishes a monthly newsletter, which announces worthy shows coming to New York, along with occasional information about London theatre and, of course, the Edinburgh Fringe.