RELEASE: Kinderspiel (and Stage Kiss)

Has it been over three years since Kinderspiel last trod the boards? Apparently so; my old review can be found here, but information about the new production, which will be done in repertoire with another Stolen Chair "classic," Stage Kiss, can be found here. I've always found Jon Stancato and company to be at their best when they're dealing with the implications of art itself (they're that kind of company; rambunctiously intellectual), so if you're a fan of Weimar cabaret or Charles Ludlam romps, you might want to check them out.

RELEASE: Dainty Cadaver

When I was in college, I used to play Exquisite Corpse, that game where you continue a piece of art based only on seeing what the person immediately before you has created. When applied to theater, it's becomes a lot like a game of telephone, as you try to communicate a message down the line, as with the annual Electric Pear show, "Synesthesia." Now Piper McKenzie, a most excellent Brooklyn company, is teaming up with the esteemed and always-up-for-an-experiment Brick Theater to do a three-night-only run that creates three new plays from the work of eighteen audacious playwrights. Before I make this sound any more like a press release, I thought I'd mention it to all of you because it's a limited run that I won't be able to cover; hopefully, some of you can check it out and let me know what I've missed. 

TEAM A: Fri 1/28, 8pm: Johnna Adams (The Angel Eaters Trilogy), Eric Bland (Emancipatory Politics: A Romantic Tragedy), Jeff Lewonczyk (Theater of the Arcade), Mac Rogers (Viral), Crystal Skillman (The Vigil or the Guided Cradle), Art Wallace (The Plowman’s Lunch). Directed by Jordana Williams (Viral).

TEAM B: Sat 1/29, 8pm: Danny Bowes (Q&A), Matt Freeman (The Brandywine Distillery Fire), Qui Nguyen (Alice in Slasherland), Carolyn Raship (Antarctica), August Schulenburg (The Lesser Seductions of History), Alexis Sottile (Small Dinner). Directed by Hope Cartelli (Bethlehem or Bust).

TEAM C: Sun 1/30, 3pm: Maggie Cino (Ascending Bodily), James Comtois (The Little One), John DeVore (Tupperware Orgy), Cara Francis (The Soup Show), Rich Lovejoy (A Brief History of Murder), Justin Maxwell (Your Lithopedion). Directed by John Hurley (The Vigil or the Guided Cradle).

RELEASE: Edgewise

I'm bummed that it looks as if I won't be able to check back in with Eliza Clark's Edgewise, especially now that it's in the hands of director Trip Cullman and the well-curated Play Company, but if it's only half as good as I remember, you're still in for a treat! Oh, and did I mention it's at the terrific Walkerspace, one of my favorite locations? Information about the show can be found here, my old notes can be found here.

UPDATE: As Asher points out in the comments below, I somehow neglected to notice that P73 is co-producing, a group that's also had a pretty stellar track record as far as I'm concerned: Creature, Jack's Precious Moment, 1001, and the tremendous Sixty Miles to Silver Lake.

RELEASE: Bring Back Buddy Cop 2

Go and check out The Debate Society's earnest little video plea for the funding they need to bring back the acclaimed Buddy Cop 2 (my review of show's earlier run, here). And then, you know, as long as you're there...

On a broader note, I'm glad that theater companies are starting to use Kickstarter to raise money; it seems like a great way to connect with audiences and to personalize that relationship (more than just a mere mention in a program somewhere). 

RELEASE: Legs and All Redux

I loved this show when it ran as part of the Frigid Festival earlier this year, and I'm excited to let you know that it's back for a limited run. If you like clowning at all, I recommend you grab your tickets now--my original review is here, and additional information is here. Also worth pointing out is that the October 2 and October 10 performances don't have talk-backs -- they have interactive workshops, and given the talent of the two stars, that's a pretty innovative and worthwhile investment!

RELEASE: MilkMilkLemonade Redux

I don't think I'll have the time to see this revived production of MilkMilkLemonade (with new director Jose Zayas), but since essentially the same cast is returning, you should probably make some time to see it yourself. (After all, how often is an off-off-Broadway play revived?) You can read my original review here, and then find out additional information here.

RELEASE: Vampire Cowboy Theatre Company's Saturday Saloon Series

Ever been to a theater party? No, I don't mean a cast party, I mean one of those fund-raising shindigs where you shell out a hundred bucks to see some sort of star-studded performance. Well, that may be how the institutions do it, but I'd much rather throw down with these guys and their free admission, five dollar all-you-can-drink beer, and their own admirably star-studded list of playwrights and scrappy serials. I mean, shit, really? And from what I saw of Crystal Skillman's Hack! earlier this year, their stuff is wild, fun, and really loose with genres and self-referencing humor. Skillman's joined by Mac Rogers, James Comtois, Adam Scott Mazur, Temar Underwood, and Brent Cox, and I can't imagine this being anything less than crazy good. And free. With optional beer goggling. Find out all about it by clicking right here.

RELEASE: The Flea Theater's "Pay What You Can" Tuesdays

Joining the ranks of the neighboring Soho Rep.'s $.99 Sunday performances, the Flea, one of my favorite theaters for seeing up-and-coming actors (resident company, the Bats) and ballsy new plays (Rapp, Bradshaw) is now adding a "pay-what-you-can" Tuesday. This is just in time to catch the latest A. R. Gurney play, if you like that sort of thing--which, for a user-defined price, you almost certainly will. Information about the show is here, but if you want these special Tuesday tickets, you'll have to get them day of show, at the box office--assuming it's not all sold out by then.

[PS. Also intriguing about this production of Office Hours? There are two full rotating casts, so if you really like it, you can double-dip and see different actors do the same show. It's also a great opportunity for the Bats to get more boots-on-stage experience.]

RELEASE: New York Innovative Theater Awards Ceremony

This'll be the third year I'm attending the NYIT Awards, after watching the ceremonies two years ago and live-blogging the whole thing last year. Even if you can't attend in person (Lisa Kron's a great host) or don't have the time and/or bandwidth to watch the livestream online, I recommend that you at least check out the list of winners (which will eventually be posted here), since it's a great starting place when it comes to figuring out what to check out downtown. It all goes down next Monday, September 20th.

RELEASE: Way To Heaven

A remounted production of Way to Heaven, which I covered in May 2009, is being done at the Repertorio Espanol, starting September 28. I was struck by how different this was from the "regular" Holocaust play, mainly because it dealt with one of the more theatrical bits of German propaganda: the establishment of a concentration camp (Theresienstadt) filled with Jewish actors, which could be used to show the "humane" treatment of these prisons. Most of the original cast, if not all, still seems to be with the show, so read my review here, and check out additional information here.

[NB: I recommend against the dual-language option, based on previous experience. It's a neat and unique service, but I find that it pulls me out of the world of the show--I'd almost prefer supertitles.]

RELEASE: Out of Time & Place

For the last few years, I've been generally raving about the programming that goes on at Women's Project, even more so in the light of the complaints you see so often on the theatrosphere about how the majority of theater, especially above 14th Street, happens to be white and male. Well, in light of my interests in seeing a more diverse and thereby interesting range of voices on the stage, I'm happy to point out that Women's Project has just released a two-volume anthology of plays by female artists, called Out of Time & Place. It's print-on-demand right now, so it's $25 for each volume, but you can also download PDF versions for $12 each, so if you're interested in reading some work by Lynn Rosen, Laura Eason, Charity Henson-Ballard, Crystal Skillman, Christine Evans, Nadia Davids, Alexis Clements, Bekah Brunstetter, Kar Manning, Carla Ching, and Andrea Thome--most of whom I'll admit I've never heard of--then check out this link.

RELEASE: Noor Theater's Highlight Reading Series

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I go to and love the theater because it shows me things that I would not otherwise ordinarily experience, even living here in this multicultural and amazing city. So I'm happy to pass on information about Noor Theater's monthly reading series of Middle Eastern plays, which begins this Monday, September 13th, with Sevan Green's Forgotten Bread and culminates on December 13th with a tragicomedy from Betty Shamieh, whose The Black Eyed blew me away at NYTW in 2007. More voices, more views, more theater: reserve your free tickets by clicking through here.

RELEASE: Fireside Chats About Horror Films

Okay, this isn't totally theater-related, but this event's at the very cool Dixon Place, it's hosted by the very talented (and knowledgeable) Clay McLeod Chapman, and has a bunch of great guests, like actors Denis O'Hare and Abe Goldfarb. Oh, did I mention that it's totally free? Click here to get yourself a ticket; the first event of this monthly series is Wednesday, September 22nd at 9:00.

RELEASE: The Wicked Women of Off Broadway

[Part of a new initiative, I'll now be posting the best press releases about theater-related events.]

Do you like Sarah Ruhl, Annie Baker, Theresa Rebeck, and Lisa Kron? More importantly, do you like them more than me--so much so that you'd like to see them just sit around talk about off-Broadway and their developments within that world? If so, and you're free on Sunday afternoon, October 3, then click here to RSVP for the Off Broadway Alliance's free panel discussion with them, moderated by New York Times reporter Patrick Healy.