Urban Stages was founded to support playwrights in developing and showcasing new work. They now also work to increase access to the arts. Their mainstage program supports artists and presents acclaimed plays and musicals Off-Broadway.
Karen Snyder
Bridging East and West: Katsura Sunshine Brings 400 Years of Japanese Storytelling to New York
Rakugo is a Japanese tradition dating back 400 years. A single performer kneels on a cushion and tells a long, complex story. A fan and a hand towel are the only props.
Sulfur Bottom: A Haunting Exploration of Pollution, Poverty, and Generational Struggle at the Jerry Orbach Theater
Pollution is bad. It affects all areas of our lives. However, our economy is directly connected to pollution. Factories create jobs and pollute at the same time. We bury the polluted waste, as if hiding it will remove the danger. People of color are most injured by pollution. The most destructive factories and dumping of toxic waste are placed in marginalized neighborhoods. These are the people who do not have the money and power to block any form of pollution. How does pollution affect these families?
Not Ready for Prime Time: How MCC Theater Brings the Birth of ‘Saturday Night Live’ to the Stage
1975 was a rough year for New York City. Garbage piled up in the streets. Subway cars were filthy, covered with graffiti, and unreliable. Crime was soaring. The Bronx was burning. Heroin use and drug trafficking were widespread. Municipal services such as police and sanitation were cut drastically. New York City was broke. The Federal response to New York’s cries for help was summarized in the infamous 1975 New York Daily News headline: “Ford to City: Drop Dead.”
Mexodus at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre: A Hip-Hop Musical Uniting History, Freedom, and Revolution
Mexodus is described as “a two-person live-looped new musical.” Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson have dramatized important ideas in a novel fashion.
The Porch on Windy Hill: A Moving Blend of Folk Music, Family, and Facing Prejudice
The cast of The Porch on Windy Hill – a new play with old music consists of three extremely talented musicians.
The Exorcistic: A Wickedly Funny Rock Parody Possessing The Asylum NYC
A struggling theater troupe decides to cash in on the notoriety of the film, The Exorcist.
Amaze at New World Stages: Jamie Allen Blends Technology, Storytelling, and Magic
Samual Taylor Coleridge said that some art must be viewed with “a willing suspension of disbelief.” The audience’s relationship to imaginative works of art is especially true of the theater. This certainly applies to magic shows. Amaze is an ideal example of a show that works best with a “suspension of disbelief.”
Josh Sharp’s ta-da! Blends Rapid-Fire Humor, Raw Truth, and Real Magic
Josh Sharp is an accomplished actor, writer, and producer who is noted for his contributions to Dicks: the Musical! Sam Pinkleton is the winner of the 2025 Tony Award for directing Oh, Mary! These two have gotten together to produce ta-da!
Ghosts of Hell Creek: A Prehistoric Dance of Survival and Extinction
We are in Montana, 60 million years ago. A group of Actecraptors enters. These graceful, feathered dinosaurs are feeding and courting. Occasionally, mammals dart about.