‘Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo’
The country star Jennifer Nettles isn’t new to musicals, but she’s considerably stepped up her game with this production: She wrote the score and the book, and leads the cast as the title character, inspired by the legend of a 17th-century poisoner. Mary Zimmerman (“Metamorphoses”) directs and Austin McCormick, creator of bawdy, decadent shows for Company XIV, handles the choreography. (Through July 26, Perelman Performing Arts Center)
‘Label•less’
It’s not uncommon to spot a boy-band member in a musical, like Joey McIntyre popping up in “Waitress” or Joey Fatone in “& Juliet.” Drew Lachey, of 98 Degrees, has done that, too, but now he is taking a different path by teaming up with his wife, the choreographer Lea Lachey, to create a new show. “Label•less” stitches together various stories, some inspired by the cast members’ own experiences (not unlike “A Chorus Line”). (Through Aug. 29, the Duke on 42nd Street)
‘Othello’
The Classical Theater of Harlem’s outdoors productions usually have impressive energy, so it’ll be interesting to see what the director Carl Cofield makes of Shakespeare’s tragedy of sex, lies and homicidal jealousy. James Udom (Othello), Nick Westrate (Iago) and Isabel Arraiza (Desdemona) form the three points of the tragic triangle. (July 2-26, Richard Rodgers Amphitheater at Marcus Garvey Park)
‘The Whoopi Monologues’
In 1984, Whoopi Goldberg made her Broadway debut with a solo bearing her name and made up of short pieces that, as The New York Times noted then, are “not anecdotes but complete short plays with a twist or two at the ending.” Now this show is back, with five performers taking on the gallery of characters that Goldberg used to handle on her own. We should be in good hands because the cast is made up of Dominique Fishback, Kecia Lewis, Danielle Pinnock, Kerry Washington and the tireless Kara Young. Whitney White directs. (July 7-Aug. 30, Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater)
HOT Festival
What’s in this festival? A better question is, what’s not in it? Cabaret, comedy, storytelling, theater, dance — it’s all fair game, as long as it’s L.G.B.T.Q. It’s nice to see scrappy Dixon Place keep the Lower East Side’s old anything-goes ethos alive. (July 6-25, Dixon Place)
‘Shifters’
Young love can be complicated, and revisiting it a few years down the line can cast a new light on it — not necessarily a flattering one. Such is the basic premise of Benedict Lombe’s two-hander, an import from London. The couple are played by Heather Agyepong, from the original cast, and Daniel Ezra; the director Lynette Linton is at the helm again. (July 6-Aug. 30, Cherry Lane Theater)
‘Dukes’
Jane Wickline has gotten some buzz for her musical interventions in the Weekend Update section of “Saturday Night Live” (some of us are partial to the irresistibly catchy “Party,” her song about Gen Z’s partying habits). Now Wickline and her regular accomplice, the comedian Liva Pierce, settle in for a longish run of their evening of comedy and music — a hybrid that is the trend of the month. (July 8-Aug. 2, SoHo Playhouse)
‘The Saviors’
Following their Off Broadway hit “Well, I’ll Let You Go,” the playwright Bubba Weiler and the director Jack Serio partner again on a new drama about a pair of altar boys facing a crisis. It looks like sensitive material, but Weiler and Serio have established that they have a delicate touch. Coincidentally, or not, the Atlantic Theater Company’s main stage is in the converted parish house for St. Peter’s Church. (July 8-Aug. 8, Atlantic Theater Company)
‘Goodbye Horses: An Unauthorized Retelling of Jonathan Demme’s “The Silence of the Lambs”’
Almost five years after “Never Let Go,” a surprisingly emotional solo retelling of “Titanic,” Michael Kinnan finally returns with a new project. Again, he tackles a famous movie, but in a drastically different register from James Cameron’s aquatic disaster romance: The horror-tinged thriller “Silence of the Lambs.” (The show’s title refers to the song playing during an intense scene of that 1991 movie.) (July 9-25, the Brick Theater)
‘What a World! What a World!’
Two performers (Queen-Tiye Akamefula and Annie Hoeg) try to re-enact an overheated 1943 melodrama in Eric Marlin’s new play. Don’t bother looking up that movie, “The Pearl of My Oyster,” on Letterboxd. (July 9-Aug. 2, the Tank)
‘Are You Mad at Me??’
Bryan Safi (who plays the dispatcher Josh Russo on the ABC series “9-1-1”) confronts his anxieties in this comic solo, which was well received at Edinburgh Festival Fringe last year. The show incorporates crowd work and songs, confirming that the comedy-music hybrid is definitely a thing this month. Read on. (July 10-Aug. 15, HERE Arts Center)
‘Broad Strokes’
Like many comedians, Cat Cohen mines her own life for material, simultaneously roasting and embracing our era of oversharing. Unlike most comedians, she also writes songs that are as funny as her patter. In her new show, directed by Alex Timbers, she looks back on having a stroke — with musical numbers, of course. (July 14-Sept. 5, Lucille Lortel Theater)
‘Woyzeck’
A young experimental company (Adult Film) takes on a classic text (Georg Büchner’s unfinished play about a murderous soldier) in an immersive production (enter at your own risk) with music (rock) at a new performance space (a former sweater factory) in New York City’s hip outer reaches (Ridgewood, Queens). This kind of production is exactly why we live here. (July 15-Aug. 8, Modern Sweater)
‘The Gin Game’
A mere $20 buys you a radically different register with this revival of the D.L. Coburn two-hander starring the real-life spouses Debra Winger and Arliss Howard. As if this pair weren’t enough of a draw, David Blum’s production takes place at the intimate Housing Works Bookstore. (July 15-Aug. 9, Housing Works Bookstore)
‘Pepper Slit: Live in Her Living Room’
Another “S.N.L.” cast member with a musical bent is onstage this month: The alum Chloe Troast brings her character Pepper Slit to the tiny East Village Basement. Troast is a terrific singer (she did Mama Cass justice, which is not easy) so we’re particularly looking forward to this show’s numbers. (July 21-Aug. 15, East Village Basement)
‘Disruption’
Adam Smith had it wrong: The invisible hand guiding our choices isn’t the free market, but a manipulative algorithm. Andrew Stein’s new play examines how much agency we are ready to relinquish, though the production has a very compelling human component: a top-notch cast that includes Irene Sofia Lucio (“Liberation”), Conrad Ricamora, Elizabeth Stanley and John David Washington. (July 22-Sept. 13, Pershing Square Signature Center)
‘An American Daughter’
Like most of Wendy Wasserstein’s work, this drama is about what it means to be a complicated woman in a less-than-welcoming world (here, that of politics). The play didn’t do well when it opened on Broadway in 1997, and Wasserstein kept revising it — this revival from La Femme Theater Productions uses a retooled Act II, for example. Sarna Lapine directs an impressive cast that includes Montego Glover, Robert Sean Leonard, Mary Beth Peil and Ryan Spahn. (July 23-Sept. 6, Pershing Square Signature Center)
‘The Winter’s Tale’
It’s been too long since we’ve seen Raúl Esparza in a regular stage run in New York, so it’s great to have him back in Daniel Sullivan’s production for Shakespeare in the Park. Esparza portrays the tyrannical King of Sicily, who becomes irrationally convinced that his wife (Lily Rabe) cheated on him. What follows includes narrow escapes, shepherds real and in disguise, repentance, and one of the most contrived happy endings you could dream of — which is not something we sniff at nowadays. (July 25-Aug. 23, Delacorte Theater)