Limited run: The now-or-never list

The Public’s annual Free Shakespeare in the Park returns to the Delacorte in Central Park for six weeks only, May 22 through Jun 28. Saheem Ali directs a new bilingual staging of the star-crossed lovers: Romeo and Juliet speak Spanish to each other while the rest of Verona plays out in English. Free tickets via the daily digital lottery this summer, exclusively on TodayTix (ADA and senior 65+ lotteries listed separately).

Running through Jul 6 at The Club, this off-Broadway parody takes Heated Rivalry — the hockey-romance series your group chat hasn’t shut up about — and reroutes it through full musical-theatre camp. Expect bob wigs, scene-stealing cameos, and a Broadway cast committing to the bit harder than the source ever did. Best paired with a Canada Dry and a friend who’s already memorized the season.

This production brings a cinematic, true-crime intensity to the James Earle Jones Theatre through Jul 12, reconstructing a man's twenty-year journey on death row. It’s a raw, high-intensity solo performance with a narrative pacing that feels more like a bingeable prestige limited series than a traditional stage play.

This Pulitzer-winning drama at the Booth Theatre through Jul 19 skips the usual "math genius" tropes to focus on the messy, inherited nature of brilliance and family loyalty. It’s a grounded, dialogue-heavy production that explores the thin line between genius and instability with a sharp, contemporary energy.

Running through Jun 7 at the Todd Haimes, this champagne-soaked classic centers on two best friends who get progressively more unhinged as they wait for a mutual ex-lover to arrive. It’s a breezy, biting look at social niceties and vintage wit, serving as a great excuse to dress up for a night of perfectly timed comedic chaos.

This Western-influenced thriller runs through Jun 27 at the Lucille Lortel, using live Foley sound effects and looping to reconstruct a small-town vigilante story. It’s a high-wire technical feat that keeps you on edge, focusing on the raw tension of a community pushed to its absolute breaking point.

This world premiere begins at the Friedman, where a meticulously curated, atmospheric set becomes a silent central character in a complicated family history. We’re watching this one for the way the staging makes the theater itself feel like a living, breathing part of the story's heavy emotional landscape through May 24.

This high-tech reimagining of Jean Genet’s masterpiece stays at St. Ann’s Warehouse through Jun 14. It’s a dark, psychological ride set in the digital era, exploring the blurred lines between reality and the rituals we perform to survive our own circumstances.

Sting’s soulful score brings a gritty, shipyard-town atmosphere to life, offering a rare chance to catch a deeply personal project that trades typical Broadway flash for raw, folk-inspired storytelling. It’s only in town for a brief stay, making this the moment to see how a legendary songwriter translates the industrial rhythms of his hometown into a poignant, live experience.

Studio 54 is leaning back into its rowdy, late-night roots through Nov 29 with a revival that feels more like a community rite of passage than a standard musical. Expect a lot of leather, plenty of shouting from the rafters, and a production that stays true to the campy, glam-rock heart of the original cult favorite.

This soulful August Wilson masterpiece is running at the Barrymore through Jul 26, capturing the search for identity and "song" in a 1910s boarding house. The play is deeply rhythmic and atmospheric, providing a meaningful, heavy experience for anyone who appreciates theater that acts as a profound historical lens.

Catching this revival at the Minetta Lane through Jun 14 feels like an accidental eavesdrop on a first date that’s going beautifully, agonizingly sideways in a cramped Manhattan apartment. It’s an intimate chamber piece that relies on quiet tension and sharp dialogue, making the small stage feel like the most high-stakes setting in the city.

Playing through Jun 8 at the Minetta Lane, this quiet, vulnerable exploration of identity and new parenthood avoids the usual clichés through three interconnected monologues. It’s an honest piece of writing that focuses on the unspoken shifts in perspective that happen the moment a family begins to grow.

This show at the Hudson is essentially an interactive hug running through Jun 28, where the audience helps compile a list of everything worth living for, from ice cream to old records. Because the crowd is so involved in the storytelling, every performance feels like a one-of-a-kind event that’s both deeply personal and communal.

Playing through Jun 14 at the Hayes, this sharp-edged comedy starts with a disastrous blind date and spirals into an exploration of how much we actually owe the people in our lives. The dialogue is fast, smart, and occasionally mean-spirited in the best way possible, making it a great pick for fans of cynical humor.

Running through Jun 28 at the August Wilson Theatre, this stage adaptation captures the frantic energy of a Brooklyn bank heist gone wrong during a sweltering summer. It focuses on the media circus and the human motives behind the famous 1970s headlines, bringing a gritty, cinematic intensity to the stage.

The spectacular at the Al Hirschfeld stays in town through Aug 30, offering a sensory overload of velvet-soaked sets and a pop-heavy soundtrack you already know by heart. It’s a maximalist party where the immersive design and high-fashion costumes are just as much of a draw as the high-energy performances.