Theater: New Shows (October 12)

Theater fans only have three shows opening this week, a short lull in an otherwise busy season. Lynn Redgrave, always classy, offers up a monologue at the redoubtable MTC; and there's a thriller at 59 East 59 to put you in the Halloween mood. But our Pick of the Week is "The Pumpkin Pie Show", a sensational long-running series whose sole performer, Hanna Cheek, is an astonishingly subtle and energizing rising star of Off-Broadway!

Ghost Light
Where: 59E59
First night: Wednesday, Oct. 14
Opening night: Sunday, Oct. 18
Closing night: Saturday, Oct. 31
URL: 59e59.org
Just in time for Halloween, a chilling drama about a couple who sneak away for an afternoon tryst. But when hotel security informs them of their room's history, the couple discover there's a grain of truth behind an urban legend. Cat-and-mouse games ensue!

Nightingale
Where: City Center Stage 1
First night: Thursday, Oct. 15
Opening night: Tuesday, Nov. 3
Closing night: Sunday, Dec. 13
URL: ManhattanTheatreClub.com
Lynn Redgrave troopers through health problems to present this moving portrait of her maternal grandmother. Redgrave's force of personality and acting chops turn what could be a standard monologue into a resoundingly emotional and artistic homage to a woman forgotten by everyone except her family.

The Pumpkin Pie Show: Commencement
Where: Under St. Marks
First night: Thursday, Oct. 15
Closing night: Saturday, Oct. 31
URL: PumpkinPieShow.com
If you're want to see what's percolating in underground theater, check out this cult series in an East Village basement theater. Talented indie actress Hanna Cheek throws herself bodily into every performance of the Pumpkin Pie Show. This installment: three women react to a school shooting.

Last chance!
Aftermath
Where: New York Theater Workshop
URL: NYTW.org

Burn the Floor
Where: Longacre Theater (B'way)
URL: BurnTheFloor.com

A Disaster Begins
Where: Here Arts Center
URL: Here.org

Eye of God
Where: Theater Row
URL: TheaterEast.org

Is Life Worth Living?
Where: Mint Theater
URL: MintTheater.org

Killers and Other Family
Where: Rattlestick Playwrights Company
URL: Rattlestick.org

Mahida's Extra Key to Heaven
Where: Signature Theater
URL: EpicTheatreEnsemble.org

Underground
Where: Theater Row
URL: TheClockworkTheatre.org