Where To Catch The Biggest Stars Onstage in New York This December

As the days grow colder, there’s nothing like bathing in the warming glow of stupendous star power. Some big names are on stage in New York right now—including on some of its smallest stages.

“Hadestown” director Rachel Chavkin could dazzlingly direct the phone book, such are her powers of theatrical imagination. In “Scene Partners,” she directs the wondrous Academy Award-winning actress Dianne Wiest, who plays an older woman pursuing (or hallucinating?) her Hollywood dreams. Arresting and assured from its opening moments, the show feels like a dream itself.

Aubrey Plaza and Christopher Abbott are sharing a stage downtown in a production of John Patrick Shanley’s play about a pair of battered Bronxites, “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.” The two stars’ chemistry is undeniable, but Shanley’s writing is what grips you and never lets go—tense, muscular and, finally, thoroughly moving.

“Waiting for Godot” entails quite a different double act, of course. There’s a genuine grubbiness to Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks as Beckett’s tatterdemalion philosophers in the production directed by Arin Arbus—a grubbiness that belies the inspired beauty of their performances. In what is an unforgettable production overall, Shannon and Sparks are clearly having a splendid time (especially when their characters aren’t).

At Playwrights Horizons, “Stereophonic,” starring Juliana Canfield from “Succession,” tells the story of a Fleetwood Mac-style group in the 1970s—replete with songs by Will Butler of Arcade Fire—with stunning verisimilitude and a deep interest in the trauma of making art. Basically, playwright David Adjmi gives audiences the unmissable opportunity to be a fly on the wall of a recording studio during the making of “Rumours.”

What “Spain,” a new play by Jen Silverman, lacks in marquee names, it more than makes up for with superlative performances, and also whopping-great questions about art and its ability to change the world. In any case, these are some new names very well worth remembering: Andrew Burnap, Marin Ireland, Zachary James, Erik Lochtefeld and Danny Wolohan make up what might be the most finely matched ensemble in the city right now.

Yes, there’s some big names in this column, but perhaps the biggest celebrity onstage this winter season is uptown at Lincoln Center: the giant Christmas tree that isthe unmistakable highlight of New York City Ballet’s beloved “The Nutcracker,” never failing to wow audiences, year after year. Now there’s a star for you!