On the eve of their confirmation, puppyish Michael has been thinking about God’s plans for him and Paul. Surely, there’s a reason his family relocated to this new town, where he landed at the same Catholic school as his now-best friend, with whom he can’t wait to go on to college. Wouldn’t it be sweet, Michael thinks, to honor this obviously divine friendship and choose each other’s name for their confirmation? Paul isn’t so sure; his devotion faltering both on earth and above.

In The Saviors, Bubba Weiler’s sophomore play, issues of grace, commitment and calling are explored through a tightly woven quartet whose relationships (to each other and to the narrative) remain thrillingly mercurial. While centered around a latent queer kid’s coming of age in the Catholic church, it also evades cliches and any trappings that might’ve made this a dreary, trauma-forward experience.

The play is something of a miracle, both in the terrain it covers and the way it manages to do so without constricting itself to convention or condescension. It begins with the tragicomedy of Michael’s clear attraction to Paul before deepening their duality and complicating their small world. Michael (Ivan Howe), who spouts bible facts with earnest fervor, might not be the godliest of the two, as evidenced when an unhoused man Julian (Stanley Simons) arrives seeking shelter. (Director Jack Serio nicely utilizes the entirety of the Linda Gross theater, a neo-Gothic former church, beyond David Zinn’s detail-perfect set.) It’s Paul (Julius Rinzel) who doesn’t hesitate to help the man, and the two develop a bond he must keep hidden from Judy (Crystal Finn), the leader of their rapidly dwindling youth group.

I did not care for Well, I’ll Let You Go, Weiler and Serio’s previous collaboration. Despite Weiler’s talent for well-realized characters, his genuine interest in humanity was frustrated by that play’s writerly withholding of information, and made it a fundamentally dishonest work. Serio’s direction similarly trafficked in lack-as-purposeful-minimalism. The two have seriously sharpened their skills.

Serio draws profound performances from his cast, especially his two child actors. Rinzel is a sharp young performer and, with the slighter larger role, Howe is a serious talent to watch—a massive empathy machine able to sell a laugh and a tear. On those grounds, he’s matched by Finn, already a 2026 MVP for her turn in Cold War Choir Practice, again combining her knacks for kookiness and devastating pathos. Simons, a recent screen star best known for The Iron Claw, more than acquits himself as a warm, watchable presence in his stage debut.

Weiler extends an overwhelming grace to each of his characters, and to the contentious space they inhabit. There’s not a whiff of disdain towards faith or religion, even as Weiler charges a powerful undercurrent of tragedy to Michael’s arc; we know his dual devotions must, at least to some degree, reach an intense turmoil. We glimpse some of that during The Saviors, though there’s more than enough emotion and story to contemplate throughout. With this as his latest offering, Weiler’s undoubtedly a playwright worthy of devotion.

The Saviors is in performance through August 15, 2026 at Atlantic Theater Company on West 20th Street in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.

The Real Ivanov, a 100-minute adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s first staged play, Ivanov, written and directed by Chekhov scholar Laura Strausfeld, is making its world premier at the Lynn F. Angelson Theatre this August. The production will have a strictly limited engagement from Aug. 17 to Sept. 19, with official opening set for Aug. 25.

The play follows Nikolai Ivanov, who has become overwhelmed nad depressed. Everyone around him knows why, but he’s not so sure. The adaptation captures the central insight of Chekhov’s first masterpiece: misunderstanding one another is both comic and calamitous.

Sam Underwood stars as Ivanov, leading an ensemble cast including Sam Adegoke, Ivory Aquino, Spencer Aste, William DeMeritt, Jordan Lage, Sarah Long, Amelia Mason, Soph Metcalf, Hagan Oliveras, Kimberlee Walker, Aubyn Heglie, and Brendan Titley. 

The creative team for The Real Ivanov includes Jiyoun Chang (set & lighting design), Ella Matza (costume design), Brandon Bulls (sound design), and April Kline (production stage manager). The production team includes Nina Korelitz Matza (producer), Sam Underwood (executive producer), Ashley M. Cowles (co-producer), and Regular People (general manager).

“From start to end, the 1997 Lincoln Center Theater production of Ivanov starring Kevin Kline punked me. It also changed my life,” writer/director Strausfeld said. “Chekhov revealed to me my own despair – and, for the first time, gave me hope that I could be living better. Despite my years of therapy, it was Chekhov who had the answers I was looking for. Chekhov is scripture to me. It’s not overblown to say I owe him my life.”

The Real Ivanov runs Aug. 17 – Sept. 19, 2026, at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater on East 13th Street in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.

This run will be out of this world. Specimen, a new play written and directed by Randall Sharp, is returning to Axis Theatre Company. Previews begin Oct. 28 with press opening set for Oct. 30, for a limited run through Nov. 21. 

Specimen is set aboard the Nomad, a failing corporate research vessel nearing Earth after a disastrous mission. An unexplained internal explosion has left portions of the ship unstable. Communication falters. Systems misfire. The vessel continues forward. When a mysterious pod docks without warning, the crew discovers what appears to be a rare and immensely valuable lifeform—one that could salvage their mission and secure their return. Or is it just a man? With systems failing and no reliable authority beyond the hull, the crew must determine what has arrived—and what it will be called. On the Nomad, a designation can determine everything.

The play features performances by Brian Barnhart, Andrew Dawson, Britt Genelin, Jon McCormick, Julian Rozzell, Jr., and Jim Sterling along with Spencer Aste, Robert Ierardi, and Lynn Mancinelli (on video).

The creative team includes director/writer Sharp, Jon McCormick, set designer Lynn Mancinelli, costume designer Karl Ruckdeschel, lighting designer David Zeffren, composer/sound designer Paul Carbonara, prop designer/set decorator/assistant stage manager Lynn Mancinelli, production stage manager Laurie Kilmartin, video designer Nicholas Guldner, technical director Jon McCormick, and assistant lighting designer Amy Harper. 
Specimen runs October 28 – November 21, 2026 at Axis Theatre on 1 Sheridan Square in New York City. For tickets and more information visit here. Veterans and active U.S. service members and their families can email info@axiscompany.org to access complimentary tickets.