Sumo Off-Broadway Tickets, News, Info & More
Joseph Papp Public Theater
425 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10003
Entrenched in an elite sumo training facility in Tokyo, six men practice, eat, love, play, and ultimately fight. Step into the sacred world of sumo wrestling, with the New York premiere of Lisa Sanaye Dring’s mesmerizing new drama, SUMO.
Akio arrives as an angry, ambitious 18-year-old with a lot to learn. Expecting validation, dominance, and fame, and desperate to move up the ranks, he slams headlong into his fellow wrestlers. With sponsorship money at stake, their bodies on the line, and their futures at risk, the wrestlers struggle to carve themselves—and one another—into the men they dream of being.
SUMO is a thrilling new play set in an elite and rarely explored world. Obie Award winner Ralph B. Peña directs this powerhouse drama.
Sumo - Off-Broadway Cast
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Sumo
SUMO: Wrestling with Higher Desires
6 / 10
As the story heads into its seemingly inevitable conclusion, the playwright and director, backed by their designers, summon up the spiritual gods of sumo in an attempt to ratchet earthly matters into a higher power of significance. Yet despite the crash course in mythology and sumo wrestling that began the play—or perhaps because such an information overload is hard to recall, let alone appreciate, more than two hours later—the climactic scene proves to be something of a fizzle.
Review: Wrestling With Angels and Demons in ‘Sumo’
6 / 10
Yet when you look for the souls within the clothing you find nothing as precise or vivid. That’s a problem that comes with the play’s virtues. Respect and delicacy, wonderful life values, are less so in drama, and Dring’s framing of the work with ingratiatingly comic narration from three priests, as if her subject would otherwise be too strange for New York theatergoers, has a paradoxical effect. It makes sumo seem like a museum exhibit, trapped behind glass. Better, perhaps, just to throw us into the ring.
Category
by Chloe Rabinowitz - March 12, 2025
The Public Theater and Ma-Yi Theater Company is presenting the New York premiere of SUMO, a new play written by Lisa Sanaye Dring and directed by Obie Award winner Ralph B. Peña. See footage here!
by A.A. Cristi - March 5, 2025
Read reviews for The Public Theater and Ma-Yi Theater Company’s New York premiere of SUMO, a new play written by Lisa Sanaye Dring and directed by Obie Award winner Ralph B. Peña.
by A.A. Cristi - February 27, 2025
Check out new production photos for The Public Theater and Ma-Yi Theater Company’s New York premiere of SUMO, a new play written by Lisa Sanaye Dring and directed by Obie Award winner Ralph B. Peña.
by Chloe Rabinowitz - February 13, 2025
Ma-Yi Theater Company and The Public Theater will begin previews for the New York premiere of SUMO 相撲 with a Joseph Papp Free Performance on Thursday, February 20. The production has been extended. Learn more about the show!
by Nicole Rosky - January 27, 2025
The Public Theater and Ma-Yi Theater Company will soon present the New York premiere of SUMO, a thrilling new play written by Lisa Sanaye Dring and directed by Obie Award winner Ralph B. Peña. Check out photos from rehearsals here!
by A.A. Cristi - November 14, 2024
Ma-Yi Theater Company and The Public Theater announced the cast for SUMO 相撲, featuring a diverse ensemble of performers. The production explores themes of tradition and identity through the lens of sumo wrestling.
Sumo History
Other Productions of Sumo
| 2025 | Off-Broadway |
The Public Theater Off-Broadway Premiere Production Off-Broadway |
Sumo Off-Broadway Awards and Nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Fight Choreography | Chelsea Pace |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Fight Choreography | James Yaegashi |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design of a Pl | Paul Whitaker |
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Wig and Hair Design | Alberto “Albee” Alvarado |
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