Thinking Theater NYC

A Venomous Color: Burbank (Act 1) Written and directed by Cameron Darwin Bossert Presented by Thirdwing via its streaming service In an in-person run at the wild project earlier this fall, Thirdwing's terrific A Venomous Color: The Fairest explored Disney's "Nunnery," its sex-segregated department of women painters and inkers, as they worked to complete Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (you can read our review here ). Thirdwing is dedicated to a hybrid model that embraces both live and streaming theater productions; and the entire first act of A Venomous Color: Burbank , which functions as sequel and companion piece to The Fairest but does not require having seen the earlier play to be enjoyed, is now available on Thirdwing's streaming service (starting at $4.99 per month or $49 per year, subscriptions include access to the streaming platform and tickets to live shows; see Thirdwing's site for details of available membership packages). Written and directe

The Slave Who Loved Caviar Written by Ishmael Reed Directed by Carla Blank Presented by Theater for the New City 155 1st Ave., Manhattan, NYC December 23, 2021-January 9, 2022 L-R: vampire Baron De Whit (Raul Diaz) and the Baron's agent, Antonio Wolfe (Jesse Bueno). Photo by Jonathan Slaff. Karl Marx famously compared the workings of capitalism to vampirism, and The Slave Who Loved Caviar , bringing the metaphor of vampirism to bear specifically on the capitalism of the art world, and even more specifically, on the relationship between artists Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Making its world premiere at Theater for the New City, The Slave Who Loved Caviar is the latest play from storied novelist, essayist, critic, playwright, musician, songwriter, professor, publisher, and more Ishmael Reed. Directed by frequent Reed collaborator Carla Blank, herself a director, dramaturge, writer, and editor, and featuring original music composed and performed by Reed, The Slave Who Loved C

  Absurdist sci-fi drama Alma Baya , written and directed by Edward Einhorn, is now available on demand until February 15, 2022. In the play, Alma and Baya live on a hostile planet in a pod designed to sustain just them. When a refugee arrives from another pod, they have to balance survival versus compassion. Watch Cast A or Cast B, or both - when you choose one cast's performance, you will get a discount code for the other show when you order. You can read the writer's note here and our review of the in-person performance here . Tickets are $25 $15 tickets available with code UTC61 until January 31 Running time is 75 minutes. (NOTE: There is nudity in the show.) GET A TICKET FOR ALMA BAYA   There will also be a free panel on Zoom about science fiction theater on Monday January 31 at 7:00 pm. The panel is a discussion of science fiction theater, moderated by Anne Morgan, Programs Director for the National New Play Network. It will feature Mac Rogers ( The Honeycomb Trilogy at

  Social Alchemix (Live!) , an intoxicating hybrid of intimate game night, storytelling, and aligned serendipity, conceived, designed, and hosted by cocktail guru and performer Wil Petre, returns to live performances in 2022. Originally called A Cocktail Party Social Experiment (you can read our review here ), the show inspires audiences to join conversations prompted by a deck of alchemical cards and enjoy tasty libations while going deeper into meaningful exchange of thoughts. In 2022,  Social Alchemix (Live!)  resurfaces after the pandemic isolation and brings more interactive fun, plus a deck of cards the viewers can purchase at the show or online. The upcoming presentations (with more dates to be announced) will take place on Monday nights at two intimate venues: Threes Franklin (113 Franklin Street, Brooklyn, NY – February 14 and March 14, 2022) and Caveat (21 A Clinton Street, Manhattan – February 21, 2022). Times vary; visit the website for details. Tickets are $18 online/$22 a

  Photo courtesy Party Claw Productions New Ohio Theatre for Young Minds invites families to its historic Greenwich Village theater for Party Claw Productions’ Petunia's Playhouse Live!: Petunia's Big Day – a new musical puppetry experience based on the award-winning web series Petunia’s Playhouse , conceived during the COVID lockdown as a tool to help children cope with the mental health challenges of our new reality. With a brand-new book and story by Laura Kay Clark, directed by Christina Rose Ashby, the interactive show follows the titular character on her first day of school and weaves together puppetry, original songs by Billy Recce, and participatory activities designed to introduce young audiences to the crucial practice of self-care in times of stress and uncertainty. The show, suitable for young theatergoers aged 6-12, will be presented at New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street, NYC) from December 22, 2021 to January 1, 2022. Tickets ($25; $18 for groups of four o

Updated Jan. 6, 2022: Due to the recent resurgence of Covid-19, FRIGID New York will regrettably be postponing the 13th Annual The Fire This Time Festival until July 2022. Information on the new performance dates will be announced in the coming months. "Sadly, due to the recent surge of the Covid-19 virus and out of an abundance of caution and an unwavering desire to protect the health and safety of our cast and crew, we are postponing this year's festival,” said Artistic Director, Cezar Williams. “It is our intention to remount the festival this summer. Please stand by for more details as they become available.” Original post:  FRIGID New York will present the 13th Annual The Fire This Time Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery), January 17-February 6, 2022. Performances will also be available to livestream from home. Tickets ($20) are available for advance purchase at www.frigid.nyc . The festival will kick-off on Monday, January 1

And What Happens if I Don't Written by Iva Brdar Translated by Ana Brdar Presented by The Cherry Artists' Collective at The Cherry Artspace 102 Cherry St., Ithaca, NY December 3-12, 2021 Clockwise from farthest left: Adar aAlston, RJ Lavine, Elizabeth Mozer, Elizah Knight, Amoreena Wade, and Barbara Geary Cherry Arts' production of And What Happens if I Don't marks not only the world premiere of the play itself but also the premiere of the theater company's Hybrid Show System, which provides live streaming in addition to in-person seating (as non-driving NYC-folk, we attended via the former option). The play, by Berlin-based Serbian playwright Iva Brdar and winner of the 2021 Eurodram English-language Award, uses maternal advice as a series of windows onto life as a woman, vignettes that are at once fascinatingly particular in their details and widely relatable in their broader contours. Barbara Geary, Elizah Knight, RJ Lavine, and Naandi Jamison Staged in the rou

Candlelight Written by John Patrick Shanley Directed by Lori Kee Presented by Nylon Fusion at New Ohio Theatre 154 Christopher St., Manhattan, NYC November 27-December 19, 2021 Ivette Dumeng And Christina Toth. Photo by Al Foote III Candlelight, from which the new play by Pulitzer Prize winner and Bronx native John Patrick Shanley takes its name, can create a flickering, twilight liminality, and, indeed, dreams, reality, and imagination bleed fluidly into one another in this world-premiere production at the New Ohio Theatre. Such illumination also, in Candlelight , is associated with love, which in the play is, if not many-splendored, then certainly multifarious—transformative love; parental love; lost love; unrequited love; dangerous love; a link, or in some cases a tether, to the past and a hope, however well-founded, for the future. Centering the perspectives of two ten-year-old Nuyoricans from Brooklyn, Candlelight entangles whimsy with melancholy, hilarity with heartache, and won