Some of the best theater I’ve seen this fall has been solo shows. In fact, Billy Crystal’s 860 was just extended until February 14, 2027. Crystal is a past honoree at the United Solo Theatre Festival, the world’s largest festival of solo shows, now in its 21st season.
The fall festival is on fire, particularly the shows offering social commentary, given the looming midterm election. But with such a diverse schedule, I couldn’t resist diving back into the calendar for five more picks (and one can’t-miss conversation) that piqued my interest, and why.
It wants better content.
‘Earth, Wind & Car Fire’ starring Janora McDuffie
October 29, 8:30 p.m.
October 30, 7 p.m.
Janora McDuffie has spent most of her career in Los Angeles. You’ve probably seen her on TV shows like NCIS, Grey’s Anatomy, and This Is Us. If you haven’t seen her, you’ve likely heard her—McDuffie was the live announcer for the 94th Academy Awards.
But life on screen and in the control booth has played out differently than McDuffie’s real-life navigation of race, sexuality, faith, and family. What began as a 10-minute story at a 2017 storytelling showcase has become a fully realized work: Earth, Wind & Car Fire.
“What started as a single story has taken on a life of its own,” says McDuffie, “one built on truth, resilience, humor, and the courage to finally set yourself free.”
Why now — With studios quietly minimizing diversity initiatives, the multi-hyphenate hustle has become less a personal brand than a survival plan for women of color in Hollywood.
‘Thurgood’ starring Michael Anthony Tatmon
November 4, 7 p.m.
Thurgood Marshall didn’t take no for an answer. The prospective law student was barred from the University of Maryland’s all-white law school. Instead, he attended Howard University, where he graduated first in his class. And that’s just the beginning of Marshall’s legendary career, brought to life onstage by Michael Anthony Tatmon.
Marshall was a magnetic orator, which helped seal the fate of arguably his most famous victory, Brown v. Board of Education (1954). He also moved in powerful circles, from classmate Langston Hughes to President Lyndon Johnson, who appointed him to the Supreme Court.
Tatmon has big shoes to fill. Laurence Fishburne appeared in George Stevens Jr.’s play in 2008 on Broadway, earning a Drama Desk Award for best solo performance.
Why now — The Justice Department has been dismissing decades-old school desegregation cases this year, calling them outdated federal oversight, while civil rights advocates warn the work behind Brown v. Board isn’t finished.
‘Pressure’ starring Daxton Bloomquist
November 5, 8:30 p.m.
November 10, 7 p.m.
Like many Americans, Daxton Bloomquist (The Book of Mormon) has dealt with insurance companies. It’s no spoiler to say his battle for health care was fraught with anxiety. When an eye injury spirals into three surgeries, massive medical debt, and body dysmorphia, Pressure takes on new meaning.
Still, Bloomquist promises plenty of laughs (and his shirt comes off, too). As Truvy says in Steel Magnolias, “Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.”
Why now — Actor Cheyenne Jackson recently launched One Job Away on Instagram, spotlighting union actors who are one booking short of qualifying for SAG-AFTRA health insurance, and he got hundreds of submissions in under a day. Bloomquist’s show is what happens on the other side of that math.
Solo Unplugged: In conversation with Cheeyang Ng
November 7, 4 p.m.
1 Minute Critic is taking to the stage between United Solo shows. We’ll be joined by award-winning theatermaker Cheeyang Ng (Legendary) for an intimate conversation about new forms of theatermaking, pushing back on Western ideas of what theater “should” be, and breaking through as a queer Asian multi-hyphenate talent.
The afternoon includes a screening of the music video for “In the Beginning,” the opening number from Legendary, plus audience Q&A. It’s a rare chance to hear from one of solo performance’s most exciting voices at a festival built for the form.
Why now — The number of new Broadway musicals fell roughly 60% last season, so the next great one probably won’t be born in Shubert Alley. Odds are it’s coming from someone like Ng, whose suitcase-sized show sold out from Singapore to Edinburgh.
‘Show Pony’ starring Irene Molloy
November 11, 2 p.m.
Irene Molloy knows firsthand the ups and downs of a life in the theater. In 1996, the Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter landed the lead in the highly anticipated Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Whistle Down the Wind. After mediocre out-of-town reviews, producers scrapped plans to bring it to Broadway.
Several years later, Molloy finally made it to Broadway in The Civil War, which ran only 61 performances. TV and film were equally as brutal. The thrill of landing a series regular gig in Grosse Pointe (a teen soap satire created by Darren Star) lasted only one season.
Through it all, Molloy kept making music and eventually unpacked her complicated relationship with her mother, a driving force behind her early career.
Why now — Stage parents never went away; they just picked up ring lights. As states move to protect child influencers’ earnings, Molloy offers the long view on what happens when a mother’s dream becomes her daughter’s job.
‘Tuesday’ starring Laura Lee Botsacos
November 20, 8:30 p.m.
November 21, 2 p.m.
The country marked the 25th anniversary of 9/11 earlier this fall, one of the most haunting and devastating days in American history. Laura Lee Botsacos lived through it. Much has been written and said about the horrific event and its aftermath, including first responder John Feal’s newly released memoir, I Will Follow You Anywhere, and Rachel Kaly’s solo show, Hospital Hour. Botsacos invites audiences into her world—a world that imploded on that fateful Tuesday.
“It didn’t matter what you looked like. What you were wearing. What your gender was. Who you genuflected to,” Botsacos recalls on Instagram. “The only thing that mattered is that somebody was gonna help you.”
Why now — This 25th anniversary year was the first time the 9/11 ceremony rang a seventh bell for those lost to illnesses from Ground Zero. That’s a reminder that the day never really ended for the people who lived it. Arriving just weeks after Election Day, Botsacos’s memory of a city driven by compassion lands like a dare.
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Featured illustration: AI-assisted, art direction by 1 Minute Critic.
