ANT FEST
Ars Nova’s fifth annual festival of new talent includes offerings by Joe Tracz (“Bea Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table”), Tim Girrbach (“Birthday Sax”), and the sketch group Political Subversities. Opens June 1. (511 W. 54th St. 212-352-3101.)
AS YOU LIKE IT
The Public’s Shakespeare in the Park season begins with Daniel Sullivan’s production, starring Lily Rabe, Stephen Spinella, and Oliver Platt. With an original bluegrass score by Steve Martin. Previews begin June 5. (Delacorte, Central Park. Enter at 81st St. at Central Park W. 212-539-8750.)
THE BAD GUYS
Second Stage Theatre Uptown presents a comedy by Alena Smith, in which a group of childhood friends reunite for a summer barbecue. Directed by Hal Brooks. In previews. Opens June 4. (McGinn/Cazale, 2162 Broadway, at 76th St. 212-246-4422.)
CHIMICHANGAS AND ZOLOFT
The Atlantic Theatre Company presents Fernanda Coppel’s play, in which a woman goes on a bender after her fortieth birthday. Directed by Jaime Castañeda. In previews. Opens June 3. (Atlantic Stage 2, at 330 W. 16th St. 212-279-4200.)
EMPIRE
The Spiegeltent, an ornate early-twentieth-century Belgian pavilion, returns with this new attraction, featuring circus, cabaret, and burlesque acts. In previews. Opens May 31. (Spiegelworld, 265 W. 45th St. 212-239-6200.)
FOOD AND FADWA
Lameece Issaq and Jacob Kader wrote this drama, about a young Palestinian woman whose love of cooking is set against the political turmoil of the West Bank. Shana Gold directs. In previews. Opens June 7. (New York Theatre Workshop, 79 E. 4th St. 212-279-4200.)
THE GOLDEN VEIL
The National Theatre of the United States of America (an experimental troupe) performs this backwoods tale of a shepherdess’s dalliance with an aspiring inventor. Previews begin May 31. Opens June 4. (The Kitchen, 512 W. 19th St. 212-255-5793.)
HARVEY
The Roundabout revives Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy, from 1944, about a man whose best friend is an invisible white rabbit. Jim Parsons, Jessica Hecht, Carol Kane, and Charles Kimbrough star. Scott Ellis directs. In previews. (Studio 54, at 254 W. 54th St. 212-719-1300.)
JUKEBOX JACKIE
Scott Wittman conceived and directs this musical tribute to the drag artist Jackie Curtis, featuring Justin Vivian Bond, Bridget Everett, Cole Escola, and Steel Burkhardt. Opens May 30. (Ellen Stewart, 66 E. 4th St. 212-475-7710. Through June 10.)
LOVE GOES TO PRESS
The Mint Theatre Company revives the 1946 comedy by Martha Gellhorn and Virginia Cowles, about two female war correspondents stationed on the front lines in Italy during the Second World War. Jerry Ruiz directs. In previews. (311 W. 43rd St. 866-811-4111.)
MEDIEVAL PLAY
The première of a comedy by Kenneth Lonergan (“This Is Our Youth”), in which two French knights set out on a moral quest during the Papal Schism of 1378. The cast includes Tate Donovan and Josh Hamilton. In previews. Opens June 7. (Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 W. 42nd St. 212-244-7529.)
MURDER IN THE FIRST
A stage version of the 1995 film, about the murder trial that exposed the brutal conditions at Alcatraz. Written by Dan Gordon and directed by Michael Parva. In previews. Opens June 6. (59E59, at 59 E. 59th St. 212-279-4200.)
POTTED POTTER
Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner perform a two-man parody of all seven “Harry Potter” books, condensed into seventy minutes. In previews. Opens June 3. (Little Shubert, 422 W. 42nd St. 212-239-6200.)
RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN
Playwrights Horizons premières a play by Gina Gionfriddo (“Becky Shaw”), about two friends from grad school, a successful author and a stay-at-home mom, who envy each other’s lives. Peter DuBois directs. In previews. Opens June 12. (416 W. 42nd St. 212-279-4200.)
SLOWGIRL
LCT3 premières Greg Pierce’s play, in which a teen-age girl flees to her uncle’s retreat in Costa Rica after a horrible accident. Anne Kauffman directs. Previews begin June 4. (Claire Tow, 150 W. 65th St. 212-239-6200.)
STOREFRONT CHURCH
Atlantic Theatre Company presents the final installment of John Patrick Shanley’s “Church and State” trilogy, which began with “Doubt.” Giancarlo Esposito plays a Bronx borough president who clashes with a local minister. In previews. Opens June 11. (336 W. 20th St. 212-279-4200.)
3C
A new play by David Adjmi (“Stunning”), about a Vietnam vet who moves in with two female roommates in Los Angeles. Jackson Gay directs. Previews begin June 6. (Rattlestick, 224 Waverly Pl. 212-279-4200.)
UNCLE VANYA
Annie Baker (“Circle Mirror Transformation”) adapts Chekhov’s play, with Reed Birney in the title role. Sam Gold directs. Previews begin June 7. (SoHo Rep, 46 Walker St. 212-352-3101.)
WE PLAY FOR THE GODS
Fourteen artists from the Women’s Project Lab collaborated on this new work, about a group of female professionals whose lives are intruded on by a trickster god. Previews begin June 1. Opens June 11. (Cherry Lane, 38 Commerce St. 212-352-3101.)