Sumo
Closing: March 30, 2025Sumo - 2025 Off-Broadway History , 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 - 2025 - 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.
Sumo Is a Subculture Story That Goes Big
7 / 10
More compelling is the play’s main subplot, which follows the relationship between Fumio (Red Concepción), a middle-ranking wrestler at the heya, and Ren (an imposing Ahmad Kamal), the hardest worker in the stable, top in the rankings underneath Mitsuo and an infinitely more humane soul. Some of Dring’s finest work happens in her exploration of the love between these two men — secretly romantic in nature — and of the wider, platonic yet intensely physical love shared by all the rikishi. As an implicit celebration of big bodies and of varying, deeply feeling masculinities, Sumo is at its most beautiful.
Video: SUMO The Public Theater and Ma-Yi Theater Company’s New York Premiere
by Chloe Rabinowitz - March 12, 2025
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!
Review Roundup: SUMO Opens At The Public Theater
by A.A. Cristi - March 5, 2025
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.
Photos: SUMO at The Public Theater
by A.A. Cristi - February 27, 2025
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.
SUMO Extended at The Public Theater Through Late March
by Chloe Rabinowitz - February 13, 2025
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!
Photos: In Rehearsals for Public Theater and Ma-Yi Theater Company's SUMO
by Nicole Rosky - January 27, 2025
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!
Cast Announced For Ma-Yi Theater Company's SUMO 相' At The Public Theater
by A.A. Cristi - November 14, 2024
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 - 2025 Off-Broadway Awards and Nominations
Note: Award winners will appear on a background
| 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 |
Videos