Theater: New Shows (May 9)

'The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World'

If we're less excited about this week's crop of new shows, it's only because we're finally enjoying the sun in New York City's parks―but there's no theater there yet! So we'll head inside in the evening to enjoy the Pick of the Week: 'The Shaggs', a musical collab between Playwrights Horizons ('Grey Gardens') and NYTW ('Rent').

CRADLE AND ALL
Where: City Center Stage I
First night: Tuesday, May 10
URL: ManhattanTheatreClub.com
This yuppie romcom is set in adjacent Brooklyn Heights apartments. Couple #1 are losing sleep over their engagement; couple #2 are losing sleep due to their a squalling, hungry newborn. The scenario sounds uninspired, but Maria Dizzia and Greg Keller are young Off-Broadway actors worth watching.

DESPERATE WRITERS
Where: Union Square Theater
First night: Monday, May 16
URL: DesperateWriters.com
A mash-up of two conventional theater genres: the yuppie comedy and the Hollywood satire. A couple who write films together are about to lose their apartment and have a baby; their improbable solution is to hustle a manuscript from studio to studio in the hopes for a quick but lucrative sale.

JUMP
Where: New World Stages
First night: Wednesday, May 11
URL: JumpTheShowNYC.com
Combining tae kwon-do and acrobatics with slapstick comedy, this Korean import has been tickling audiences on a world tour for years. 'Jump' returns to Gotham (after a 2007 visit) for a run at the New World Stages. Looking for a show to take your 7-year-old nephew to? 'Jump' will keep him spellbound.

A LITTLE JOURNEY
Where: Mint Theater
First night: Thursday, May 12
URL: MintTheater.org
The Mint excavates another lost play from the libraries of American theater. This one's by Rachel Crothers, an early talent who, along with Eugene O'Neill, established an essentially American style of drama in the early 20C. She sets this odyssey to the Old West on a train over four day.

MANIPULATION
Where: Cherry Lane Theater
First night: Saturday, May 14
URL: ManipulationThePlay.com
The American premiere of Mexican playwright Victoria Calderon. In the play, a married woman grows frustrated at her husband's infidelities but finds no help from her randy therapist. It sounds like a bourgeois drama in the continental vein: slightly provocative but not shocking or forward-looking.

NARRATOR 1
Where: Theater Row
First night: Wednesday, May 11
URL: IronJawCompany.com
Sparks begin to fly between two thirtysomething writers, but they find the perils of dating are even harder when their creations spring to life. It sounds like the writer of this whimsical metatheatrical romance has come up with an imaginative angle on how hang-ups can kill a relationship.

THE SHAGGS: PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD
Where: Playwrights Horizons
First night: Thursday, May 12
URL: PlaywrightsHorizons.org
A musical about the worst rock band of the 1960s: the Shaggs, three sisters from NH whose instrumental skills were comparable to those of a two-year-old. Frank Zappa and Kurt Cobain counted themselves as “fans” of the act, who gained a cult following. Expect the show to be better than the band ever was.

SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK
Where: Foxwoods Theater
First night: Thursday, May 12
URL: SpiderManOnBroadway.com
Or 'Spider-Man 2.0'. After a month of retooling, the Webhead returns to Broadway. Will the sacking of Julie Taymor and revisions by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa ('Big Love' on TV and 'The Spectacular Spider-Man' in comics) save this musical from being the butt of late-night comedy routines? We can only hope.

WOMAN BEFORE A GLASS
Where: Abingdon Theater
First night: Friday, May 13
URL: SpinCycleNYC.com
Suddenly ubiquitous, Austin Pendleton has shown his deft hand in directing Chekhov as well as plenty of other drama across NYC. His latest piece revives a 2005 one-woman show about Peggy Guggenheim, the latter-day saloniste who helped to establish modern art in the post-war era.

Last chance!
BE A GOOD LITTLE WIDOW
Where: Ars Nova
URL: ArsNovaNYC.com

BELARUS FREE THEATER
Where: La Mama Etc.
URL: LaMaMa.org

CITY LOVE SONG
Where: 59E59
URL: 59e59.org