Concluding Dec. 22
The Good Mother (Off-Broadway at the Acorn Theatre). The New Group's production of Francine Volpe's psychological thriller The Good Mother stars Gretchen Mol as a mother trying to make ends meet. Here's how it's billed: "In this taut psychological thriller, Larissa is a single mother who can barely meet the mortgage on her house in Mount Vernon, NY. When a bizarre incident involving her four-year-old daughter forces her to face someone from her past, her own questionable actions come back to haunt her." Visit TheNewGroup.org.
Concluding Dec. 23
Disgraced (Off-Broadway at the Claire Tow Theater). Aasif Mandvi and Heidi Armbruster co-star in the LCT3 production of Ayad Akhtar's Disgraced, about a Pakistani-American lawyer on the rise. Disgraced, according to LCT3, "is the story of Amir Kapoor (Mandvi), a successful Pakistani-American lawyer who is rapidly moving up the corporate ladder while distancing himself from his cultural roots. When Amir and his wife Emily (Armbruster), a white artist influenced by Islamic paintings, host a dinner party, what starts out as a friendly conversation escalates into something far more damaging." Visit LCT.org.
If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet (Off-Broadway at Roundabout Theatre Company's Laura Pels Theatre). The U.S. premiere of Nick Payne's dysfunctional-family drama If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet stars Jake Gyllenhaal in his American stage debut. Here's how Roundabout bills the play: "If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet is an entertaining look at a regular family stuck somewhere between knowing what the problem is... and doing something about it. Fifteen-year-old Anna's weight makes her a natural target for bullies. When her mom transfers Anna to the school where she teaches in order to protect her daughter, it only makes things worse. Anna's environmentalist dad, determined to finish his new book and save the planet, is no help at all. Just as Anna gets suspended for retaliating with a head-butt, her estranged uncle Terry arrives unannounced. A heartbroken drifter with the mouth of a sailor, Terry reaches out to Anna in a way that no one ever has. Their unexpected friendship sends her parents' rocky marriage into a tailspin as the whole family wonders, what — or who — really needs saving?" Visit RoundaboutTheatre.org.
