Theater for the New City

John Mark Lucas's debut play looks at aging and ageism through the lens of a group-therapy session with five old-school Las Vegas drag queens who have made careers impersonating pop-music divas. Joan Kane directs the premiere for her own Ego Actus Theater Company.

Austin Pendleton, the hardest-working man of the New York stage, directs a 25th-anniversary revival of his own engrossing backstage drama about the twilight of theater gods and the considerable umbrage of Orson Welles in exile. Brad Fryman leads the cast as Welles, joined by Ryan Tramont, Patrick Hamilton, Natalie Menna, Cady McClain and Luke Hofmaier.

Harpist Rita Costanzi plucks at your heartstrings in an audtobiographical monologue that explores the tensions she has experienced between her dreams as a musician and the roles assigned to her as a woman. Written for her by Hershey Felder—the creator and performer of multiple solo pieces about composers—the show is punctuated with performances of music by composers including Debussy, Puccini, Bach, Liszt and Albinoni. Lissa Moira directs the world premiere.