The Public Theater unveils additions to its 2026–2027 season: New York premiere of the “Anne Frank” play and Wendell Pierce as Falstaff in Central Park

New York’s most famous public theater has unveiled the additions to its 2026–2027 season, as Playbill reports: the calendar adds the New York premiere of Nathan Englander’s play “What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank”, a joint world premiere of Caryl Churchill’s “Triumph” and the summer “Shakespeare in the Park” program at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater. “In my lifetime, our democracy has never felt more threatened, and in times like these theater has a special obligation: it is the art form of democracy”, artistic director Oskar Eustis said in a statement, according to the New York Theatre Guide.

Englander’s play, adapted from his Pulitzer Prize finalist short story, comes to the United States from London’s Marylebone Theatre and will run at the Public’s Barbaralee Theater from April 8 to May 2, 2027, with Tony winner Patrick Marber (“Leopoldstadt”) again directing, as Playbill reports. The story follows two Jewish school friends — one secular and the other ultra-Orthodox — who reunite after years with their spouses at a dinner that goes off the rails; the cast will be announced soon.

“Triumph”, Churchill’s new short comedy, will have its world premiere simultaneously at the Public and at London’s Almeida: the American version, directed by Saheem Ali, runs at the Shiva Theater from October 8 to 18 as a free pop-up performance, with real-life married couple Annaleigh Ashford and Joe Tapper in the leading roles, according to BroadwayWorld. Also joining the season is “The Surge” by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, a documentary theater piece with verbatim excerpts from real interviews with people affected by ICE’s “Metro Surge” operation in the Twin Cities, as a co-production with Minnesota’s Guthrie Theater.

Next summer, the open-air Delacorte stage returns with the free “Shakespeare in the Park” series: Rachel Chavkin directs “Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2” with Wendell Pierce in the role of Falstaff, along with the return of Belvoir St Theatre’s “Counting and Cracking” and the Public Works version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, according to the theater’s announcement. Tickets for the “Anne Frank” play and the new productions go on sale to partners on October 6 and on general sale on October 21.