Rachel Graham

Wadiah Waliah and Benjamin Rowe appear in Terence Anthony’s The House of the Negro Insane, directed by Daniel Carlton, at 59E59 Theaters. (© Steven Anderson) Terence Anthony challenges his actors with The House of the Negro Insane, now running at 59E59 Theaters. Not only does the play tackle the dark, racist history of 1930s mental institutions, but it places much of the drama on the shoulders of a child actor. Though flawed, The House of the Negro Insane still largely meets the mark.

Dakin Matthews, Jean Lichty, and Robert Sean Leonard star in the off-Broadway revival of Wendy Wasserstein’s An American Daughter, directed by Sarna Lapine, for La Femme Theatre, at the Pershing Square Signature Center. (© Joan Marcus) We are almost 40 years out from Wendy Wasserstein’s Pulitzer Prize win for The Heidi Chronicles, and it’s an ideal time for major revivals of her work.

Enette Fremont, Georgia Kate Cohen, Emily Oliveira, and Abby Erff star in Scarlett Grace McCarthy’s The Betrothed, directed by Sarah Connolly, at WP Theater. (© Austin Ruffer) Ever wondered if works of Jane Austen would be better with bisexual characters? (Yes, I have.) Then consider The Betrothed, a queer reimagining of the Victorian marriage plot at WP Theater.