We took a few weeks off from our weekly roundup while one of our editors made some time to be with his newborn daughter. But we’re back this week, and there are some amazing shows up.

As always, the weekly roundup isn’t an endorsement, as we’ve not personally seen everything. It’s our way of keeping you in the loop.

INVESTIGATIVE

John Earl Jelks and Khris Davis. Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

“Sweat”
Written by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Kate Whoriskey
The Public Theater

With warm humor and tremendous heart, “Sweat” tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the line of a factory floor. But when layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in the hard fight to stay afloat.

GET TICKETS HERE

INVESTIGATIVE/VERBATIM

Anna Deavere Smith with Marcus Shelby in “Notes From the Field.” Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

“Notes From the Field”
Created, written and performed by Anna Deavere Smith
Music composed and performed by Marcus Shelby
Directed by Leonard Foglia
_{Second Stage at the Tony Kiser Theatre}

One of the most hailed and provocative theater artists of our time, Anna Deavere Smith, leads a new installation of powerful first-person storytelling in Notes from the Field. Urgent and inspiring, it depicts the personal accounts of students, parents, teachers and administrators caught in America’s school-to-prison pipeline. Investigating a justice system that pushes minors from poor communities out of the classroom and into incarceration, Notes from the Field shines a light on a lost generation of American youth. Drawn from interviews with more than 250 people living and working within a challenged system, Anna Deavere Smith continues her mastery of the documentary solo performance by stimulating awareness and ultimately, change for the better.

GET TICKETS HERE

INVESTIGATIVE

Sarah Jones in “Sell/Buy/Date.” Photo by Joan Marcus.

“Sell/Buy/Date”
Written and Performed by Sarah Jones
Directed by Carolyn Cantor

Tony Award® -winning playwright and performer Sarah Jones (Bridge & Tunnel) returns to the New York stage as a dazzling medley of characters in “Sell/Buy/Date,” an exuberant new show inspired by the real-life experiences of people affected by the sex industry. Brimming with Jones’ masterful, multicultural characterizations, “Sell/Buy/Date” presents an honest, moving and even humorous look at a complex and fascinating subject, all while preserving the full humanity of voices seldom heard in the theater.

GET TICKETS HERE