Theater Update: A lesbian twist on ‘Cyrano,’ with an Indigo Girl
Megan Thee Stallion and Off Broadway picks
Theater Update
March 4, 2026

Dear Theater Fans,

This week let’s focus on shows returning to Off Broadway stages this spring. I know you probably don’t see as many shows as I do, so I’ll get no sympathy here, but returning productions also give me a chance to catch up with productions I may have missed. And I’m especially looking forward to seeing the first one on the list below, which Elisabeth Vincentelli included in her roundup of this month’s notable Off Broadway productions.

  • “Cold War Choir Practice”: Ro Reddick’s play, which just won the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (for English-language plays written by women), will be at MCC Theater through March 29. Last summer, Laura Collins-Hughes praised the show as “a brainy new comedy” that is “infused with choral music and spiked with espionage.”
  • “Burnout Paradise”: This show, from the Australian collective Pony Cam, is getting an extended run at the Astor Place Theater. As Elisabeth described it: “Cast members must perform tasks like cooking a pasta dinner or writing a grant application while trotting on treadmills.” It’s not only superphysical, but a timer is involved.
  • “Mexodus”: Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson’s hip-hop musical (at the Daryl Roth Theater from March 6-May 17) tells the lesser-known tale of the Underground Railroad heading south to Mexico. In her review of an earlier run, Brittani Samuel said the production had a jam-session vibe and called it “an electrifying theatrical experience.”
  • “Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes”: Hugh Jackman and Ella Beatty return to the Minetta Lane Theater (March 17-April 30) in Hannah Moscovitch’s “terrific, tightly plaited knot of a play,” as Jesse Green put it in his review. “The casually suspenseful story,” Elisabeth wrote, “relies on a narrator who may or may not be entirely reliable.”
  • “Music City”: This country musical that Elisabeth reviewed in 2024 has a new venue (the Wicked Tickle) “custom-designed to preserve the show’s immersive vibe.” The score is pulled from the catalog of J.T. Harding, whose songs include “Sangria,” “Smile” and “Somewhere in My Car.” Performances begin March 23.

Also returning to the stage: Jesse Malin, the New York rock stalwart who suffered a rare spinal stroke in 2023. He’s faced many challenges on his journey back to the stage (read our beautiful article here), and now he’s performing “Silver Manhattan,” a show chronicling his own harrowing coming-of-age story. It’s at the Bowery Ballroom through March 29.

Of course, there are new shows, too. Elisabeth wrote about the musical “Starstruck,” a lesbian twist on “Cyrano de Bergerac,” from a creative team that includes Beth Malone (of “Fun Home”) and Emily Saliers (of the Indigo Girls). “We thought ‘Fun Home’ was going to do something and equalize things,” Malone said, of what she considers to be the risk-averse theater industry (at least when it comes to telling lesbian stories). Also, Helen Shaw traveled to Chicago to see stage versions of two beloved books: “Hamnet” and “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.” Adapting existing works for the stage is always tricky. In these works, Helen found that she “most admired the moments when the adapting playwright cut loose from the source material.”

Please reach out to me at theaterfeedback@nytimes.com with suggestions for articles or to offer your thoughts about our coverage. And urge your friends to subscribe to this newsletter.

Have a wonderful week,
Nicole Herrington
Theater Editor

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