Dear Theater Fans, Today the Public Theater filled in some blanks, giving us a more complete look at its 2026-27 season roster. And it’s a robust one. Now, sandwiched amid its fall offerings, including the just-reviewed “How Shakespeare Saved My Life,” is the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it staging of a new Caryl Churchill work titled “Triumph.” Yes, that’s the one that is also being staged at the Almeida Theater in London (Oct. 16-23). This version of the 15-minute play will be directed by Saheem Ali and will star the married actors Annaleigh Ashford and Joe Tapper. Even better: Performances, at the Public’s Shiva Theater, are free (Oct. 8-18). As for the work itself? It was inspired by Suetonius’s “The Twelve Caesars,” and focuses on Iris, a press secretary to the Roman emperors who is falling for a reporter. Some of the other interesting productions include: a new play from Hana Sharif, the former artistic director of Arena Stage in Washington; “Phil,” a collaboration between George Saunders and Elevator Repair Service; and a stage adaptation of Nathan Englander’s “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank.” The full lineup here. Also this month, “Tom at the Farm” will have a short run at NYU Skirball from Oct. 8-10. Helen Shaw saw it last year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and thought it was amazing. Here’s a short overview that she wanted to share: “Tom at the Farm” has been a star of the international circuit for years: I saw it in Edinburgh in 2025, but it had been on tour, at that point, for almost a decade. It’s one of the most physically imposing plays I’ve ever seen. Armando Babaioff plays Tom, who goes to his lover’s funeral in a deeply rural area of Brazil, where the boyfriend’s giant, brutish brother tries to smash him back into the closet — or to drag him into the farmyard mud beneath it. Actors trudge across a huge expanse of red earth lit as harshly as the surface of Mars: When they fight (and they fight like animals), they grind one another down into the dirt. There’s more on the horizon. Michael Paulson spent a stormy Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, filing the news that “Damn Yankees,” which had an initial run last year, at Arena Stage, will be coming to Broadway in the spring. The new cast includes Neil Patrick Harris, Julianne Hough and Austin Scott. But what should you see right now, you ask? How about a couple of Critic’s Picks? In her review of “School Girls; or The African Mean Girls Play,” Helen was impressed with the “extraordinary” cast and glow-up the dramedy got for its Broadway debut — almost a decade after it was a breakout Off Broadway hit for Jocelyn Bioh. And she found Else Went’s “Degenerates” to be a “sometimes astonishing” work even though its intense “life-or-death stakes” may not be for everyone. Also worth your time: Elisabeth Vincentelli’s great Critic’s Notebook in which she argues that the TV series “Glee” helped turn musical theater into mass entertainment. And it’s not just because that show gave us so many Broadway stars, including Jonathan Groff, Lea Michele and Alex Newell! Thank you for reading each week! Tell us if you’ve seen something great. Please reach out 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, Like this email?Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here.
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