Monday, January 16, 2012

Theater: New Shows (January 17-23)

The Gob Squad make like Anna Karina
at the Public in Kitchen

Despite the day off, it's a working week for the theater. I enjoyed the Gob Squad a few weeks ago in Super Night Shot, so I'm curious to see more from them. But I'm more excited about the audacious five-hour epic These Seven Sicknesses. The Flea Theater stages all seven masterpieces by the great Sophocles, inventor of the three-actor drama!


Russian Transport
where: Theater Row
first night: Tuesday, Jan. 17
'90s comic star Janeane Garofalo makes her legit stage debut in this family drama. A family of hard-working Russian immigrants, settled in Sheepshead Bay, reckons with a charismatic uncle from the old country. It's a rare appearance by the under-represented side of the modern Brooklyn experience.

Yosemite
where: Rattlestick Theater
first night: Wednesday, Jan. 18
It's hard to capture the grandeur of the American West inside a theater, but this show might have the right angle. It sounds like a crime thriller as well as a family drama: three brothers head into the snowy mountain night to bury a secret. Oddly, though titled Yosemite, it's set in the Sierra Nevadas...

Gob Squad's Kitchen
where: The Public Theater
first night: Thursday, Jan. 19
The Gob Squad, a puckish troupe of German and British performance artists, revives their 2011 look at Andy Warhol. With the provocative subtitle You've Never Had It So Good, this whimsical show reconstructs the raw films that the white-haired guru of pop made when his Factory was the hottest spot in New York's art scene.

A Hole in His Heart
where: Atlantic Stage 2
first night: Thursday, Jan. 19
Written by a young actor, Hole tackles the drive for fame and those who get left behind as success beckons. A charged reunion leads a young couple to re-examine the choices they've made and desires that drive them. Theatergoers interested in small, independent plays might be interested in this drama.

Menders
where: The Gym at Judson Memorial Church
first night: Thursday, Jan. 19
The two sides of a wall―protection vs. incarceration―is the theme of this futuristic-sounding drama. Two young men are “menders”, repairing the wall that keeps their city safe. They also enjoy the strange tales of the world beyond, until one is inspired to hop the fence.

Psycho Therapy
where: Cherry Lane Theater
first night: Thursday, Jan. 19
Lily's fiancé blows off couples therapy, so she brings an ex instead. Naturally, all three end up on the couch, in one permutation or another. Hopefully, the show's approach is more in the screwball style than squeaky clean like a modern romcom.

These Seven Sicknesses
where: The Flea Theater
first night: Thursday, Jan. 19
All seven of Sophocles' tragedies in one long, fun night. See Oedipus gouge his eyes out, hold your breath as Antigone get buried alive, and squirm as Odysseus refuses to bandage the suppurating wound of Philoctetes. Dinner is provided for this 5+ hour event―if you've still got your appetite!

Culturemart 2012
where: Here Arts Center
first night: Monday, Jan. 23
Here annually curates this festival of multidisciplinary performance. The selection, by its very design, is impossible to pigeonhole, so check out the full list and bravely select a piece that strikes a chord with you. I'm putting time aside for City Council Meeting, Keep Your Electric Eye on Me, and The Strangest.


Last chance!
Follies
where: Marquis Theater

Miranda
where: Here Arts Center

Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot Wars
where: The New Ohio Theater
 
where: Jacobs Theater

World of Wires
where: The Kitchen

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photo credit: David Baltzer

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