Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater

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Corruption

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Corruption

American playwright J. T. Rogers, the author of Oslo, tackles political issues again in Corruption. At first glance, the play’s subject matter looks parochial: the phone-hacking scandal in London in 2010 and 2011. That scandal, in which newspapers belonging to Australian media tycoon Rupert Murdoch were found to have hacked private phones as well as those of public officials, engulfed newspapers, prime ministers, investigative reporters, and members of Parliament. In Bartlett Sher’s thrilling production, the immersion into British politics comes with numerous parallels to American politics.

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The Gardens of Anuncia

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The Gardens of Anuncia

Michael John LaChiusa’s new memory musical, The Gardens of Anuncia, is a love letter to Broadway legend Graciela Daniele and an homage to the three woman who shaped her life in Juan Perón’s Argentina. Sensitively directed by Daniele, it offers one not only a glimpse of the icon before she became famous for her choreography but a portrait of the artist as a mature woman, looking back on her star-dusted life. LaChiusa, who created the book, music, and lyrics, has earned a reputation in the American musical theater as a maverick who never repeats himself. And, indeed, his latest venture cements his image.

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Flex

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Flex

Watching Flex, you may be reminded of The Wolves, the pre-pandemic Off-Broadway hit about a girls’ soccer team. Your mind may flash to TV shows about Black female friends, like Living Single or Insecure. One scene might make you think of Never Rarely Sometimes Always, the 2020 indie film in which a girl travels with her friend for an abortion. The new play also brings to mind any number of dramas—on stage or screen—with a protagonist who’s determined to escape a dead-end hometown, or all those sports stories where everything’s building up to the Big Game.

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The Coast Starlight

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The Coast Starlight

Keith Bunin’s The Coast Starlight is one of those “ship of fools” dramas that throw together unacquainted travelers on a common carrier. The title comes from a real passenger-train service running daily from Los Angeles to Seattle. Amtrak’s website promises potential Coast Starlight customers a “grand West Coast train adventure … pass[ing] through Santa Barbara, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, and Portland.” For Bunin’s characters, however, the reality is not so much an adventure as an anxious long-haul.

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