Full festival lineup:
The Peculiar Patriot
Inspired by her decades-long work with prison populations, including on the notorious Rikers Island, Liza Jessie Peterson’s timely and urgent one-person show unpacks the human impact of mass incarceration in America. Fearlessly funny, smart and provocative, The Peculiar Patriot traces the migration of systemic injustice from the plantation to the prison yard.
The Unexpected 3RD: A Radical, Rollicking Rumination on the Optimism of Staying Alive
Deep into her 3rd and final act of being a person, NYTW Usual Suspect Kathryn Grody investigates an eclectic, devastating and hilarious potpourri of shocking discoveries as she finds herself at 79 becoming…not quite old, but elder. “Old starts at 95!” she declares.
Mention My Beauty
Mention My Beauty is a one-woman performance piece by playwright and performer Leslie Ayvazian who speaks candidly about navigating the anti-war movement, the women’s movement, and the sexual revolution. There’s also the heartbreak of the expectations of Armenian parents still reeling from the Genocide of 1915. Leslie tells decidedly unsentimental, often hilarious stories of her life as a young woman surviving the cultural revolution without a plan.
SARDINES (a comedy about death)
A celebrated hit at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Sardines explores—with tremendous grace and humanity—the tragic, hilarious, and important questions of our time: Can we enjoy life if we know how it ends? Does making art actually help? And if Rihanna’s song is called “Don’t Stop the Music,” why does the music… stop? Find out in this deliciously authentic, insightful, and laugh-out-loud show created and performed by actor-comedian Chris Grace (“Superstore,” Dropout’s “Chris Grace: as Scarlett Johansson”).
The Horse of Jenin
Fresh from an acclaimed run at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival and combining storytelling, mask, and stand-up comedy, The Horse of Jenin is constructed from the fragments of Palestinian actor and comedian Alaa Shehada’s own memories and stands as an ode to the power of imagination and the resilience it brings.
