Theater
Rail Recs: April on Track-Current and Coming Events
Classic Stage Co. continues with Fragment, Kelly Copper’s assemblage of pieces of the lost plays of Sophocles and Euripides into a tale for our time. Pavol Liska directs. With Juliana Francis. Tue.-Fri., 8pm; Sat., 2 & 8pm; Sun., 3pm. Ticket prices vary; discounts available. Thru Apr. 9. 136 E. 13th St., East Village. Tix: 212.279.4200. www.classicstage.org.
Urban Stages continues with Eisa Davis’ Bulrusher, set amongst the slang-slinging locals of Mendocino County, CA in 1955. With Zabryna Guevara. Tue-Fri., 8pm; Sat., 2 & 8pm; Sun., 2pm. $40. Thru Apr. 9. 259 W. 30th St., Manhattan. Tix: 212.868.4444. www.urbanstages.org.
Desipina & Co. continues with its fourth annual seriocomic look at immigrant life in America with the seven new 11-minute plays that make up Seven.11 Convenience Theatre (2006) at the Kraine. Thu.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 2pm. $17/$11. Thru Apr. 16. 85 E. 4th St., East Village. Tix: 212.868.4444. www.desipina.org.
HERE Arts Center continues with Lake Simons and John Dyer’s new adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, featuring a mix of bunraku, shadow and handheld puppetry. Tue.-Sat., 8:30pm; contact theater for additional weekend matinee dates & times. $20. Thru Apr. 22. 145 Sixth Ave., SoHo. Tix: 212.868.4444. www.here.org.
The Flea continues with Yussef El Guindi’s Homeland Security satire, Back of the Throat. Fri. & Sat., 9pm. $20. Thru Apr. 22. 41 White St., Tribeca. Tix: 212.352.3101. www.theflea.org.
The Players Theatre has extended the NY premiere of Bay Area playwright David Barth’s Hard Right, a darkly comic and “shockingly violent” look at a new role for college counselors in this Age of Terror. Wed.-Sat., 8pm. $25/$15. Thru Apr. 22. 115 MacDougal St., West Village. Tix: 212.352.3101 or www.theatermania.com.
The Vortex Theater Co. continues with In Delirium: after the sorrows of young werther, Gisela Cardenas and Joshua Randall’s adaptation of the Goethe at the Sanford Meisner. Thu.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 5pm. Additional performance: Mon., Apr. 3 @ 8pm. $15. Thru Apr. 23. 164 11th Ave., Chelsea. Tix: 212.352.3101. www.vortextheater.com.
Apr.1: HERE Arts Center opens The Adventures of Charcoal Boy, where “organic and industrial objects” are brought to life through the magic of Eric Novak and Sarah Provost’s puppetry and Elyas Khan’s original score. Part of HERE’s Dream Music Puppetry Program. Performance dates and times vary. $20; see HERE’s website for details, hear? Thru Apr. 17. 145 Sixth Ave., SoHo. Tix: 212.868.4444. www.here.org. www.charcoalboy.com.
Apr. 6: Like Minded Productions in association with Rude Mechanicals opens Little Willy, Mark Kassen’s tale of Adolf Hitler’s skirt-chasing, party-hearty car salesman nephew, William Patrick Hitler. John Gould Rubin directs at the Ohio. Performance schedule varies. $15. Thru Apr. 30. Tix: 212.279.4200.
Apr. 7: The Themantics Group opens Cupid and Psyche, Joseph Fisher’s contemporary take on those wacky Greek ancients. Alex Lippard directs at Altered Stages. Part of the Themantics seasonal theme of, “A Sacrifice for Love.” Mon., Thu.-Sat., 8pm; Sun., 3pm; Apr 22 & 29, 2pm. $20. Thru Apr. 30. Tix: 212.868.4444. www.themantics.org.
Apr. 14: The Immediate Theater Co. opens Grinch at Urban Stages,Desi Moreno-Penson’s Goth tale of twisted family ties in a Bronx basement. José Zayas directs. Thu.-Mon., 8pm; Sat., 2 & 8pm; Sun., May 7 @ 2pm; no perfs Apr. 15 &27. $25. Thru May 7. Tix: 212.868.4444. www.theimmediatetheater.org.
Apr. 17: Billyburg’s Radiohole opens its latest exercise in barely-controlled chaos with Fluke (Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order) or Dick Dick Dick at PS122. This time out, the Hole will attempt to contain the ocean in the strangest tale ever conceived by man. Or woman. Created with the stunning new Peek-A-BooTM technology. Wed.-Fri., 8:30pm; Sat., 4:30 & 8:30pm; Sun. 4:30pm. $20/$10. Thru May 7. 150 First Ave., East Village. Tix: www.theatermania.com. 212.477.5288. www.radiohole.com. www.ps122.org.
Etc.: The Stolen Chair Theatre Co. will present “Performing Gender” as the latest installment in its ongoing Masterclass & Workshop series Apr. 1. Drawing upon burlesque, camp and Elizabethan performance as well as the work of Charles Ludlam, Laurence Senelick, and Judith Butler for inspiration, the Stolen Ones promise to get you on your feet and wrestling around with issues of gender on stage. Limited to 15 participants only. 3-6pm. $60. Call for location. Reservations: www.stolenchair.org/gender. 212.410.2830.
Apr. 7: The Evolve Theater Series continues at Galapagos Art Space Friday nights in April with Desiree Burch, Michael Cyril Creighton, Brian Mullen & Kyle Jarrow’s wise-cracking, pulse-pounding, psychosexually gender-flipping mystery, Rip Me Open. Also Apr. 14, 21 & 28. 8:00pm. $12/$10. 70 N. 6th St., Williamsburg. Tix: 212.868.4444. Cash only at the door. www.galapagosartspace.com.
Apr. 10: The CUNY Graduate Center continues its play reading series, “Dis-Location and Re-Invention: International Plays about the Experience of Immigration” with two events in April: Ian Morgan directs Amy Evans’ Achidi’ J’s Final Hours Apr. 10 (Code: 6791) and Henry Akona directs Cristian Panaite’s Trash Apr. 25. (Code: 6792). 6:30pm. Free. 365 Fifth Ave., Manhattan. Call 212.817.8215 and enter the 4-digit code or visit http://web.gc.cuny.edu/MESTC.
Apr. 18: Albany’s Theatre 88 drops in on La MaMa’s Annex for a reading of What I Heard About Iraq (A Cry for 5 Voices). John Benitz directs Rich Brown, Mahmood Karimi-Hakak, Lary Opitz, Jacquelyn Roberts & Yvonne Perry in Simon Levy’s stage adaptation. 8:00pm. $15. 74A E. 4th St., East Village. 212.475.7710. www.lamama.org.
Apr. 29: Around the Block and Al Doblar La Esquina will host the 2006 Raymond J. Flores Short Play Reading Series featuring new works by Allen III Davis, Tevia Abrams, Tom Lavagnino, Stephen Levi, Nelville Mur, Edith Tarbescu and Derek Lively. 2pm. Free. Muhlenberg Library, 209 W. 23rd St., Chelsea. More info: 212.673.9187.
On Censorship and Freedom
The “indefinite postponement” in late February by the New York Theatre Workshop of the Royal Court Theatre import, My Name is Rachel Corrie has sparked an international firestorm of response that refuses to burn itself out. Two events in town this month will address issues raised by the NYTW’s action, examining issues of censorship, artistic freedom and the true purpose of theater within the larger context of the current culture of fear. On April 11, NoPassport, the Pan-American theater coalition founded by playwright-editor Caridad Svich, will present a pen & swill event, “Out of Silence,” a panel on writing, censorship, funding, and access in the arts. Scheduled to participate in the panel are Marcy Arlin, Catherine Coray, Migdalia Cruz, Christine Evans, Randy Gener, Jonathan Kalb, Matthew Maguire, Glyn O’Malley, Nina Mankin, Thaddeus Phillips, and Saviana Stanescu. Ms. Svich will moderate at New Dramatists, 424 West 44th St., Manhattan beginning at 7pm. Free. Please RSVP to: 212.757.6960. On April 17, Rail co-theater editor Jason Grote will moderate a Patriots’ Day Town Hall meeting at Culture Project that will include readings and discussion on censorship issues. Free. 45 Bleecker St., SoHo. More info: 212.253.9983.
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