What's on in the Weeks Ahead at Bay Street Theater

June is on the doorstep and Bay Street Theater opens its summer season with lots that’s new, including “Bob & Jean: A Love Story,” a new play by Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Schenkkan, running now through June 15. Directed by Matt August, the play stars Jake Bentley Young and Mary Mattison as a couple tethered by time, memory and the complex tenderness of a lifelong connection. They are joined by Scott Wentworth who, as the show’s narrator, guides the story across time and perspective.

“This may be the most personal piece I’ve written,” says Schenkkan. “And it belongs in a theater like this. Intimate. Human. Present. It asks the audience to sit inside the silences and listen for what love really costs.”

Also coming to Bay Street from June 2 through 13 is “Title Wave: The New Works Festival,” which invites four playwrights into residency in Sag Harbor, each one developing an original play that culminates in a staged reading and conversation with the audience.

“Title Wave is one of the most important things I program each season,” said Scott Schwartz, Bay Street’s artistic director. “It’s where we put our values into action. It says we are willing to stand with stories before they’re finished. That we believe in the people who are still figuring it out. That we think the act of making something in real time, with real people, still matters.”

“Mister Halston” by Raffaele Pacitti opens the festival on Monday, June 2, at 7 p.m. with a solo portrait of the iconic designer, written and performed by Pacitti himself. The play explores the line between legacy and identity as Halston navigates fame, failure, and the making of a brand.

“Curvy Widow: Owning It” follows on Saturday, June 7, at 2 p.m. and is a sharply funny musical about starting over. Written by Bobby Goldman with music and lyrics by Drew Brody, the piece follows a widow’s midlife reinvention through dating, heartbreak and self-discovery — all with a wink and a wickedly good playlist. That same afternoon, “Writing the Wave” features original work by East End teens, performed in their own voices as part of Bay Street’s commitment to nurturing young storytellers.

On Monday, June 9, at 7 p.m. “Ajax” by Habib Yazdi offers a political unraveling set poolside in 1953 Tehran. As alliances shift beneath the surface, ambition collides with history in a moment that feels both distant and immediate.

“U.X.” by Jason Gray Platt closes the series on Friday, June 13, at 3 p.m. with a sharp satire of tech idealism gone wrong. A programmer builds a virtual reality training for racial sensitivity — and quickly loses control. What could possibly go wrong? Exactly.

“These plays are alive in the room,” said Hope Villanueva, Bay Street’s literary manager. “They breathe. You can feel the shift when a line lands or a silence stretches too long. The playwright is watching. The actors are listening. The audience becomes part of the rewrite. That’s the electricity of Title Wave: New Works Festival. Everyone is inside it together.”

“Deceived,” the second offering in Bay Street’s mainstage season, is a bold reimagining of “Gaslight” by Patrick Hamilton. The show, adapted by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson, will be directed by Tony Award-nominee Sheryl Kaller and will begin with previews on June 24 and opens June 28. This adaptation breathes contemporary urgency into an established form, inviting audiences into a Victorian home where secrets settle into the walls and shadows linger a beat too long.

As a woman begins to question the foundation of her own memory, the audience is drawn into a tightening spiral of doubt and control. What unfolds is not an explosion but a slow burn.

“This new adaptation is a perfect fit for New Works Month,” says Schwartz. “It honors the original while creating space for something more internal, more personal, and deeply resonant for today’s audience. It is proof that reimagining a classic can be as daring as writing something entirely new.”

June closes with the launch of two new series, each designed to spotlight artists who bring something fresh to the stage. Summer Comedy kicks off on Saturday, June 21, with Ophira Eisenberg, whose sharp storytelling and fearless wit set the tone for a season of smart, intentional laughs. Music Mondays follows on June 30 with Broadway icon Betty Buckley and jazz pianist Christian Jacob in a performance that reimagines the American songbook.

All performances take place at Bay Street Theater; box office and theater located on Long Wharf in Sag Harbor. Call 631-725-9500 or visit baystreet.org for more information.