Thinking Theater NYC

After an amazing run in Edinburgh, 10 performances at UNDER St. Marks, and 15 at the Court Square Theater, Mike Lemme's Before the Drugs Kick In , performed by NYC comedian and actress  Maria DeCotis , will be extending for a third time in New York City.  In our review of this excellent show , which takes the outward form of a stand-up set, we described it as inviting "us inside the mind of one woman for a riveting, empathetic, and darkly funny exploration of mental health and its (mis)treatments and stigmas, especially where women are concerned; the oppressiveness and isolation of the suburbs; and what Betty Friedan termed the feminine mystique." Before the Drugs Kick In will be coming to Theaterlab in Manhattan for 8 performances starting on Friday, March 15th at 7pm. Run time: 70 minutes, no intermission Check out a short clip here: Performances Dates/Times: Friday, 3/15 – 7pm Saturday, 3/16 – 7pm Sunday, 3/17 – 4pm Friday, 3/22 – 7pm Saturday, 3/23 – 7pm Sunday, 3/24

This is not a time of peace Written by Deb Margolin Directed by Jerry Heymann Presented by New Light Theater Project at Theatre Row 410 W 42nd Street, Manhattan, NYC February 20-March 16, 2024 Charlotte Cohn as Alina, Roger Hendricks Simon as Hillel. Photo by Steven Pisano. The title of Deb Margolin's new play, This is not a time of peace , is spoken twice in the course of the performance, each time in reference to a different era. This doubling not only draws attention to historical correspondences but also evokes the play's emphasis on memory and experience–every part of which, we are told, "is still happening" "somewhere in time"–as fluid and malleable and exceeding boundaries, a conception echoed in the form of the play itself. Based in part on autobiographical connections to Margolin's actual father during the Cold War and making its world premiere at Midtown's Theatre Row, This is not a time of peace sketches parallels between the personal and

The Immersive Coffee Cantata Experience Music by Johann Sebastian Bach New English Libretto and orchestration by Geoffrey McDonald Presented by On Site Opera at The Lost Draft Coffee Shop 398 Broome Street, Manhattan, NYC February 14-24, 2024 Image from osopera.org Presenting a new English libretto and orchestration of Bach’s secular cantata BWV 211 Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (Be still, stop chattering), more commonly known as the Coffee Cantata, On Site Opera’s The Immersive Coffee Cantata Experience was a true delight from beginning to end. Its skillful adaptation to a modern context and outstanding musical performances, like the delicious coffee served throughout the performance, left the audience wanting more. Likely first performed in a coffee house in Leipzig, Germany, Bach’s cantata couples light-hearted jabs at the newly emerging coffee culture of his own time (and its critics) with his characteristically masterful blend of vocal and instrumental music. On Site Opera’s a

Photo by Valerie Terranova Thirdwing , a hybrid theater company that has been presenting bold new works both live and streaming under a subscription model (like Hulu or Netflix) since January 2020, will present an encore production of its critically acclaimed Disney unionization drama Burbank , by Cameron Darwin Bossert, beginning March 12 at the wild project (you can read our review of an earlier production here ).   As part of its push for a new and affordable way to engage theatergoers, Thirdwing won’t be selling regular tickets to  Burbank . Instead, Thirdwing members can reserve a complimentary ticket after subscribing to its streaming platform for $4.99, which is the subscription's monthly fee. Membership includes tickets to all live performances and events year-round plus hours of original streaming theatrical and film content. Burban  tells the personal story of a 39-year-old Walt Disney fighting against Art Babbitt, the womanizing genius young animator and creator of Goof

The Good Soldier Švejk and His Fortunes in the First World War Adapted and directed by Vít Hořejš Based on the novel by Jaroslav Hašek Presented by Theater for the New City , produced in cooperation with GOH Productions , at Theater for the New City 155 First Ave., Manhattan, NYC February 1-18, 2024 Michelle Beshaw, Deborah Beshaw, Rocco George. Photo by Jonathan Slaff. Published between 1921 and 1923, Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek's unfinished, multivolume satirical novel The Good Soldier Švejk and His Fortunes in the World War , commonly shortened to The Good Soldier Švejk , holds the distinction of being the most translated novel in Czech literature and has had a cultural impact of which its probable Influence on Joseph Heller, author of seminal World War II satire Catch-22 (1961), and its definite influence on Bertolt Brecht, who wrote a sequel titled Schweyk in the Second World (1943), represent only two examples. Now, adding a sadly necessary modifier to the title, the Czec

  Drinks with Dead Poets Adapted by Glyn Maxwell from his novel of the same name Directed by Attilio Rigotti Presented by Phoenix Theatre Ensemble at A.R.T./New York Theatres 502 West 53rd St., Manhattan, NYC February 2-11, 2024 Elise Stone as Ashling, John Lenartz as Max, Antonio Edwards Suárez as Zach. Photo by Jonathan Slaff. Timely in our current era of book banning, the dystopian world presented in Phoenix Theatre Ensemble’s Drinks with Dead Poets , an adaptation of Glyn Maxwell’s novel of the same name, is both entirely different from and eerily similar to our own. Set in the pub on the Hudson River in Nyack, NY, where it was originally performed, the play shows us traveler Max’s (John Lenartz) encounters with barkeepers Ashling (Elise Stone) and Zack (Antonio Edwards Suárez), who represent two classes of people, the Rags and the Flags respectively, in this parallel universe where books are blacked out and buried. The Rags are fettered women who are not just complicit in the ne

Aberdeen Written and performed by Cassie Workman Presented at SoHo Playhouse 15 Vandam Street, Manhattan, NYC January 30-February 11, 2024 Cassie Workman. Photo by Brett Boardman.  In early December of 1993, I (Leah) drove from San Antonio to Houston, Texas, to see Nirvana. Rather than bopping around a pit full of frat boys singing along to "Rape Me" without a hint of irony, I chose to worm my way up front, maybe 10 feet from the stage, and I spent most of the show watching Kurt Cobain. At several points during the latter part of the show, we made eye contact. We both loathed the frat boys and arena shows and flower-sniffin, kitty-pettin, baby-kissin corporate rock whores. There were several thousand people in the Astroarena, but he was doing the show for me because we connected. I believed it that night, on the long drive back to San Antonio; I believed it 4 months later on April 8, 1994, and I kind of still believe it today, even though I know better. Aberdeen , a poignant