The Tenth Man
Paddy Chayefsky’s 1959 Broadway play is translated into Yiddish by Eleanor Reissa (who also directs) and Harvey Varga. “Der Tsenta” is set in a run-down Orthodox synagogue, where the elderly men search for another man to make the required ten for a minyan. One man brings his granddaughter, convinced that she is possessed by a dybbuk. Previews begin May 17, opens May 21, through June 11, National Yiddish Theatre-Folksbiene, Museum of Jewish Heritage,
36 Battery Place, Nytf.org.
Unknown Soldier
While cleaning out her grandmother’s home, a woman finds a photograph of an anonymous soldier; this begins a quest to discover the unspoken secrets embedded in her family’s history. The musical spans three generations, with Estelle Parsons as the grandmother.
This is the New York premiere of one of the last works by the late composer and lyricist Michael Friedman, who got his start in theater with Liz Swados. The show was co-written with Daniel Goldstein. Through March 29 at Mainstage Theater, Playwrights Horizons, 416 W. 42nd St., Playwrightshorizons.org.
Nancy Drewinsky … and the Search for the Missing Letter
In a one-woman show that’s personal and political, full of mystery and humor, Robin Bady describes her childhood aspiration to join the FBI, while, unbeknownst to her, her scientist father was being investigated by Sen. Joseph McCarthy. Part of the Frigid New York Festival. Feb. 22, 26, 28, March 8, Kraine Theater, 85 E. Fourth St., Nancydrewinsky.com.
The Lehman Trilogy
Directed by Sam Mendes, the play follows three brothers — played by Simon Russell Beale, Adam Godley and Ben Miles — who immigrate to New York, and follows the family over two centuries, from their building a tremendously successful firm to its ultimate collapse and the ensuing financial crisis. Previews begin March 7, opens March 26, through June 28, Nederlander Theater, 208 W. 41st St., Thelehmantrilogy.com.
The Vagrant Trilogy
A New York premiere commissioned by the Public Theatre, Mona Mansour’s play explores the Palestinian struggle for home and identity. The epic tale of three generations of a family over four decades — told in three parts with six actors in 19 roles, directed by Mark Wing Davey — begins in 1967, when a Palestinian literary scholar is in London when war breaks out. The next two parts feature alternate realities, based on the man’s decisions. March 17-April 26, LuEsther Hall, The Public Theatre, 425 Lafayette St. publictheater.org.
Take Me Out
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In the first Broadway revival of Richard Greenberg’s Tony Award-winning play, Jesse Williams plays the mixed-race Major League baseball player who comes out as gay and is confronted by prejudice in its many varieties. The play first opened on Broadway in 2003, and its themes of homophobia, racism and masculine identity are still timely. Previews begin April 2, 2nd Stage, Hayes Theater, 240 W. 44th St., 2st.com.
The Bedwetter
This musical comedy is based on comedian Sarah Silverman’s memoir; she collaborated on the show with Joshua Harmon (who wrote “Bad Jews”) and lyricist Adam Schlesinger (from the band Fountains of Youth). Linda Lavin plays the Jewish grandmother. Previews begin April 25-June 14, Atlantic Theater Company, Linda Gross Theater, 336 W. 20th St., Atlantictheater.org.
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