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Showing posts from April, 2019

News: Music-Theater Piece Based on Whitman's "Song of Myself" Performs Around the City [UPDATED 5/30]

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Photo provided by Michelle Tabnick PR International performing artists collective Compagnia dé Colombari will perform music-theater piece More or Less I Am , a work drawn entirely from Walt Whitman's momentously significant poem "Song of Myself," on Saturday, May 18, 2019, to celebrate Whitman's 200th birthday. The first in a series of performances, the one-hour  More or Less I Am is conceived and directed by Karin Coonrod and will feature original music by Colin Jacobsen, Kyle Sanna, Eric Jacobsen, and Alex Sopp along with audience interaction. The performance is free and open to the public and will take place at the Brooklyn Public Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, at 2:30pm. UPDATE [May 30]:  Further performances of  More Or Less I Am  will take place at the following times and locations: Sunday, May 26, 2019 at 7:30 pm at Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn. This performance will feature special guest-poet Jason Koo. Tuesday, May 28, 2019 at 7:30 pm a

News: Blessed Unrest and Teatri ODA of Kosovo present "Refuge," April 29-May 11

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Photo Credit: Maria Baranova Baruch Performing Arts Center, in conjunction with Teatri ODA of Kosovo and the consistently excellent Blessed Unrest present the world premiere of Refuge , a devised physical-theater piece based on events in Albania during the Second World War, a time in which Albanian families, many of them Muslim, took in thousands of Jewish refugees. Refuge  follows the journey of a young Jewish woman to a remote Albanian village, where she discovers truths about her family history. Refuge , with text by Matt Opatrny and Florent Mehmeti and music by the Metropolitan Klezmer, and co-directed by Jessica Burr and Florent Mehmeti ,  plays at Baruch Performing Arts Center (55 Lexington Ave [25th St. between Lexington and Third], Manhattan, NYC) from April 29 through May 11, 2019. Visit  https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/bpac/  for dates and tickets, which range from $16-36.

Review: "Bound" Explores the Bonds of Family, Land, and History from a Native Perspective

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Bound Written and directed by Tara Moses  Presented by AMERINDA at Theatre for the New City 155 First Avenue at 10th Street, Manhattan, NYC April 25 – May 12, 2019 Dylan Carusona and Elizabeth Rolston. Photo credit: Joe Velez Near the end of Bound , the new play from Tara Moses, when activist Marigold Page (Elizabeth Rolston) says, “I think I got my point across. Hopefully they’ll listen…,” she could be articulating the mission of the play itself. Presented by American Indian Artists, Inc. (AMERINDA), a Native arts organization founded in 1987 and the only one of its kind in the United States, Bound focuses on issues of Indigenous tribal sovereignty. Moses, a writer, director, and citizen of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, uses current governmental calls for a border wall and inhumane crackdowns in the name of border security to demonstrate that such developments are not so much ripped-from-the-headlines issues as they are continuations of longstanding, officially

News: In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY Opens April 29

The seventh annual New York-based In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY , presented by Kairos Italy Theater and the Italy-based KIT Italia, will take place April 29-May 13 in all five NYC boroughs. The goal of the festival is to promote greater awareness of Italian theater and Italian artists among New York theatergoers, as well as to build a bridge between the artistic scenes in Italy and New York.  Participating venues will include: The Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance (BAAD! – 2474 Westchester Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461) Goddard Riverside’s Bernie Wohl Center (647 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10024) The Brick Theater (579 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211) Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò at NYU (24 West 12th Street, New York, NY 10011) Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, New York, NY 10014) College of Staten Island (2800 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10314) Italian Cultural Institute (686 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021) La Scuola Guglielmo Marconi (406

News: Immersive, Audience-Driven "Romeo and Juliet: A Party" This Weekend, April 25-28

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This weekend, April 25-28, 2019, NYC company The Woolgatherers presents a limited run of Romeo and Juliet: A Party . Director Grace Herman-Holland describes  Romeo and Juliet  as "play about a teenage girl making radical choices,” and this version of the classic Shakespearean play, set in Gowanus and featuring live original music, asks guests to make their own choices, allowing them to explore the entire performance space and interact with one another and with the performers. These performances, of which no two will be the same, will examine teenage desire and rebellion, gender norms, escapism, and a society immersed in fear and violence in the course of their audience-driven unfolding. Directed by Grace Herman-Holland (Eyes of a Blue Dog, Dixon Place; Genesis 22; Governors Island; Revel’s End: A Tempest Dance Party, Cap 21).  Original Music by Julian Giaimo .  Production and Stage Management by Natalie Jones.  Dramaturgy by Nicholas Orvis.  Costume Design b

News: Inaugural Criminal Queerness Festival, June 13-July 7

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The National Queer Theater,  which fosters and supports LGBTQ+ communities through social justice in the performing arts, produces socially-conscious plays about issues in the community, and raises awareness about LGBTQ rights, has  announced the inaugural Criminal Queerness Festival. The first-of-its-kind festival, sponsored by WorldPride and the Stonewall Community Foundation, will take place from June 13 - July 7, 2019 at IRT Theater. Coinciding with WorldPride 2019 and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the festival explores the criminalization of LGBTQ communities in some 70 countries where same-sex sexual relations are punishable by law and queer artists are otherwise censored.  In its inaugural year, the Criminal Queerness Festival will feature the work of four LGBTQ playwrights originating from Egypt, China, Tanzania, and Pakistan.  The Criminal Queerness Festival is presented as part of IRT Theater’s 3B Development Series, and festival partners include Immigration E

News: "The Day I Became Black" Extended at Soho Playhouse Through May 26

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Bill Posley in "The Day I Became Black." Photo credit: Daniel J. Sliwa Photography The Day I Became Black , an award-nominated solo show by Bill Posley (CBS’s The Neighborhood , Netflix’s GLOW ), opens on the main stage of the Soho Playhouse on April 25, 2019 after a successful run at the Playhouse's downstairs space. The show, which tackles what it means to be biracial in a white-dominated world, will run through May 26. THE DAY I BECAME BLACK 2019 Promo from Bill Posley on Vimeo . The Day I Became Black Written by Bill Posley Directed by Bente Engelstoft April 25-May 26, 2019 Soho Playhouse 15 Vandam Street between 6th Avenue and Varick Street, Manhattan, NYC Thursdays - Saturdays at 9pm Sundays at 5pm and Mondays at 9pm (The Mon 4/29 show is at 7pm.) No performances on 4/21 and 4/22. Post-show talkbacks follow each Sunday show. Ages 16+. Tickets are $39. Purchase at https://www.BillPosley.com or by calling 1-888-596-1027. The running time is

News: "Black Velvet: Architectures and Archetypes" at BAM, May 9-12

BLACK VELVET: Architectures and Archetypes , created by award-winning former Batsheva Dance Company member Shamel Pitts , comes to Brooklyn Academy of Music from May 9th through 12th, 2019, after playing to audiences around the world in 2017. The multimedia-infused Black Velvet , part of the Black Series, is the follow-up to Pitts' autobiographical Black Box and explores the the boundaries of gender, race, love, friendship, and identity through vignette-like solos and duets framed by intense music, evocative lighting, and spoken word complements.  BLACK VELVET Promo Trailer- BAM Fisher Performances May 9-12 from Shamel on Vimeo . Created and performed by Shamel Pitts and Mirelle Martins With lighting design by Lucca Del Carlo Thu, May 9 at 7:30pm (Benefit Gala) Fri, May 10 at 7:30pm Sat, May 11 at 7:30pm – post-show talkback with Nicole Beharie Sun, May 12 at 3:00pm BAM Fisher/ Fishman Space 321 Ashland Place, Brooklyn, NY, 11217 Tickets: May 9: $

News: The Tank's Sweet Sixteen Gala Takes Place May 14

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Non-profit arts presenter and promoter The Tank   (312 W 36th St, Manhattan, NYC) celebrates its sixteenth birthday on May 14, 2019 with a 16th Anniversary Gala.  The Gala will honor Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer;The Tank’s outgoing Co-Artistic Director, Rosalind Grush; and director Ran Xia. Pooja Reddy and Zubi Ahmed of Kutti Gang. Photo credit: Walter Kerry The Tank's mission is to remove economic barriers from the creation of new work for artists launching their careers and experimenting within their art form, and to honor that work, the Gala, hosted by  Meghan Finn and Rosalind Grush ( The Tank’s Co-Artistic Directors and hosts of the podcast  Tanked!) , will feature dinner; drinks; performances by artists including   Jei Osorio , Pooja Reddy and Zubi Ahmed o f   Kutti Gang;  a n afterparty; and a silent auction throughout the evening.  The evening begins with a VIP cocktail hour at 6pm. At 7pm, those purchasing a ticket for the full evening can stay and en

News: Third Annual She NYC Arts Summer Theater Festival

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The third annual She NYC Arts Summer Theater Festival , presented by She NYC Arts , will take place from June 19-30, 2019 at The Connelly Theater , 220 E 4th St., in Manhattan, NYC. The festival will feature work by women playwrights and composers, including eight full-length plays and staged readings of four plays written and produced by high school students. Productions include: Playwright Jen Rudin Beautiful Pasadena Written by Jen Rudin Beautiful Pasadena   tells the story of a marriage in crisis at the start of the economic collapse in 2008. As Will begins an extensive remodel on their apartment at The Castle Green, a historic building in Pasadena, he and his wife, Rachel, up for a promotion at her law firm, clash over politics, family and world values. As they wait for an expensive bathtub to arrive from overseas, their marriage, the economy, and their bathroom begin to crumble around them. Swim Before You Drown Written by Ciara Kay Swim Before You Drown  is a drama

Review: Family, Heritage, and Sexuality Collide in "June is the First Fall"

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June is the First Fall Written by Yilong Liu Directed by Michael Leibenluft Presented by Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America at the New Ohio Theatre March 31-April 20, 2019 L to R: Alton Alburo, Chun Cho, Karsten Otto, and Stefani Kuo in  June is the First Fall . Photo Credit: Maria Baranova One of the first sounds that the audience hears in Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America’s production of Yilong Liu’s June is the First Fall is the engines of a jetliner, as young, gay Chinese man Don (Alton Alburo) returns from New York City to his family home in Hawai’i’s Manoa Valley. Don’s flight stands in for the various cross-cultural and geographical axes that impact the characters in this play; and with June is the First Fall , second-prize winner of the Kennedy Center’s 2017 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, making its New York premier, Yangtze Rep, in its 27th year, “hope[s] to give more prominence to queer Asian and Asian-American narratives” in a year that also marks the

News: New York Thespians Hosts 10th Anniversary Festival for Teens, April 26th and 27th

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This spring break offers exciting opportunities for teen theatre enthusiasts in the NYC area. The Educational Theater Association is hosting their 10th Annual New York Thespian Festival on April 26 and 27th at Long Island University in Brooklyn, NY. The Thespian Society is an educational theater organization for middle and high school theatre students all around the globe. Once a year this organization has state festivals for the members of the society to interact and grow with each other, as well as middle and high school kids who are interested in learning about theatre who may or may not have a program at their school. This year’s Festival features an opening ceremony with keynote Speaker Jared Zirilli (Broadway’s  Summer, Lysistrata Jones, Wicked & We Will Rock You  Tours.) Teens will have the opportunity to attend workshops in various topics such as acting & audition techniques, on camera work, improv, dance, technical theatre, directing, stage management and more wi

News: Fourth Annual Women in Theatre Festival Begins June 5

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Playwright Gena Femia. Photo credit: Jody Christopherson T he fourth annual Women in Theatre Festival , presented by Project Y Theatre Company , will run June 5-30, 2019 at the Jeffrey and Paul Gural Theatre at the A.R.T./New York Theatres , located at 502 W 53rd St. in Manhattan, NY. The Festival will feature ten productions, each with at least fifty-percent female representation among the artists.  Productions include:  Three Musketeers: 1941 A commissioned World Premiere by Megan Monaghan Rivas Co-Directed by Michole Biancosino & Andrew W. Smith June 5-29  Inspired by characters from Alexandre Dumas’ classic adventure novel, this new play is set in the occupied Paris of World War II. The Third Reich has hung every balcony in the City of Light with swastika banners and filled the streets with the tramp of goose-stepping boots. While the French police pander to Nazi occupiers, in a secret room five brave women struggle to keep hope alive for themselves and their