#premieres

#premieres

A gala is a gala. It's there to celebrate, not to challenge. So, it's to the credit of Ballet Icons, the organisation behind the annual Ballet Icons Gala, which marked its 20th anniversary at the Coliseum on Sunday, that, side by side with gala staples such as Le Corsaire and Diana and Actaeon, it makes a point of programming new and less familiar works.

Winter may not be prime time for New York theaterat least not compared to the star-studded fall openings and the awards-hungry spring rushbut this season is unusually robust, with a mix of high-profile revivals, adventurous downtown premieres, and unexpected celebrity turns. From June Squibb's Broadway bow in Marjorie Prime to Michelle Williams leading a new Anna Christie and Elevator Repair Service taking on Ulysses, the cold months are offering more heat than usual.

Celebrating old and new works, two more companies open their seasons this month. In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Third Rail Reportory is revisiting the first show it produced, in 2005, Craig Wright's Recent Tragic Events, while Corrib Theatre has commissioned a work, Stilt, by award-winning playwright Joy Nesbitt. Meanwhile, former Fertile Ground producers continue to flourish this fall. Jed Sutton (What the Fox?, 2025) and Ariel Bittner (Mountain Woman, 2025) are joining forces with Maddy Schultz this month to present, three short plays onstage at Ethos Music Center.