this week in theater

TICKET GIVEAWAY: SWEET

sweet

SWEET
Dr. Barbara Ann Teer’s National Black Theatre
2031 Fifth Ave. between 125th & 126th Sts.
October 19-21 previews, $20
October 23 – November 20, $35-$40 ($25 with code RISE through November 13)
212-352-3101
www.nationalblacktheatre.org

The National Black Theatre’s forty-eighth season, whose theme is “In Pursuit of Black Joy,” gets under way this month with the world premiere of Harrison David Rivers’s Sweet, a story of two sisters whose relationship is tested when their mother passes away suddenly and a neighbor returns home from college. The coming-of-age tale, set in rural Kansas, stars Maechi Aharanwa (An Octoroon, Macbeth) as Retha Baker, Renika Williams (Antigone, Race) as Nina Baker, and Tré Davis (Zooman and the Sign, Carnaval) as George. Curator, performance artist, and producer Raelle Myrick-Hodges, a cofounder of Philadelphia’s Azuka Theatre, will be making her New York City directorial debut. “The 1960s conjure images of young Black voices emerging as leaders in our social consciousness, daring to live the lives they imagined,” Obie-winning NBT director of theatre arts Jonathan McCrory said in a statement. “Sweet offers a glimpse of an alternative perspective on Black lifestyle in the Midwest during that time period, of Black youth also in pursuit of joy against all odds.” The scenic design is by Matt McAdon, with lighting by Xavier Pierce, sound by Justin Hicks, and costumes by Ari Fulton.

Harrison David Rivers, Justin Hicks, Abisola Faison, and Raelle Myrick-Hodges discuss SWEET on the first day of rehearsals (photo by James Reynolds)

TICKET GIVEAWAY: Sweet begins previews October 19 and opens October 23 at the National Black Theatre, and twi-ny has three pairs of tickets to give away for free. Just send your name, daytime phone number, and favorite play or movie that has the word “sweet” in the title to contest@twi-ny.com by Friday, October 14, at 3:00 to be eligible. All entrants must be twenty-one years of age or older; three winners will be selected at random.

BAM NEXT WAVE FESTIVAL: BATTLEFIELD

Sean O’Callaghan, Carole Karemera, Ery Nzaramba, Jared McNeill, and Toshi Tsuchitori in BATTLEFIELD (photo by Richard Termine)

Sean O’Callaghan, Carole Karemera, Ery Nzaramba, Jared McNeill, and Toshi Tsuchitori appear in BATTLEFIELD at BAM (photo by Richard Termine)

Next Wave Festival
Brooklyn Academy of Music
BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton St.
Through October 9, $30-$110
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.bouffesdunord.com

“To hell with the state of humanity,” the blind king Dritarashtra (Sean O’Callaghan) says at the beginning of Battlefield, Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne’s return to their international triumph, The Mahabharata. It’s also a return home for the ancient Sanskrit epic to the BAM Harvey, previously an abandoned movie house that was renovated back in the late 1980s specifically for the nine-hour Mahabharata. In Battlefield, codirectors Brook and Estienne and their C.I.C.T. — Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord company explore a central section of The Mahabharata, focusing on the aftermath of the bloody battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, which left millions dead. The sparse stage is littered with bamboo sticks that represent the victims of the fierce war; there is also a small black rectangular block where various characters sit, mournfully understanding that there is little difference between victory and defeat. The new king, Yudhishthira (Jared McNeill), seeks advice from a soothsayer (Ery Nzaramba, who also plays several victims) and learns a devastating secret from his mother, Kunti (Carole Karemera), while Toshi Tsuchitori, who also performed in the original Mahabharata, sits in a chair off to the side, playing powerfully moving percussion on his African drum. The play evokes both Shakespeare and Brook and Estienne’s adaptation of The Suit, but it is too often flat and lackluster. There are some wonderful moments, particularly the use of colored scarves to identify the characters (the costumes are by Oria Puppo) in addition to sticks that represent various objects, but the stripped-down seventy-minute production feels like it’s all middle, with no beginning or end, existing in its own unclear time and space, even as it makes relevant connections to what is going on in the world today. Brook will participate in a discussion following the October 6 performance. The play runs through October 9, after which BAMcinématek will present the series “Peter Brook: Behind the Camera,” consisting of nine of the Paris-based English director’s films, beginning October 10 at 7:00 with his five-and-a-half-hour adaptation of The Mahabharata, which he will introduce, and continuing through October 20 with such works as The Beggar’s Opera, Lord of the Flies, Swann in Love, King Lear (starring Paul Scofield), and a week-long run of 1968’s Tell Me Lies (A Film About London).

A TASTE OF HONEY

Helen (Rachel Botchan) and Jo (Rebekah Brockman) hold nothing back in Pearl revival of A TASTE OF HONEY (photo by Russ Rowland)

The Pearl Theatre
555 West 42nd St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Tuesday – Sunday through October 30, $59-$79
212-563-9261
www.pearltheatre.org

The Pearl Theatre revival of Shelagh Delaney’s first play, A Taste of Honey, a British breakthrough written when she was eighteen, is a thoroughly engaging, bittersweet coming-of-age tale about a working-class mother and her peculiar daughter in dank, depressing postwar Britain — late-1950s Manchester, to be precise. Single mom Helen (Rachel Botchan) and her teenage daughter, Jo (Rebekah Brockman), are on the move again, settling into their new flat in a factory town. It’s a dreary, bleak apartment with a bathroom down the hall and a fine view of the gasworks. The two constantly bicker over just about everything, from money to men, furniture to booze. At one point Jo, who calls her mother “Helen,” notes, “You should prepare my meals like a proper mother,” to which Helen responds, “Have I ever laid claim to being a proper mother?” When one of Helen’s many male friends, Peter (Bradford Cover), a one-eyed playboy, starts talking marriage, Jo quickly falls for Jimmy (Ade Otukoya), a black male nurse and sailor who is about to ship out. In the second act, Jo finds herself in trouble and turns to the effeminate Geoffrey (John Evans Reese), creating a strange simulacrum of family after her mother has taken off with Peter. Through it all, the trio of trumpeter Max Boiko, guitarist Phil Faconti, and bassist Walter Stinson plays jazz and music-hall numbers, wandering around the set and even sitting on the couch with the actors, each acknowledging the others’ presence. Helen and Jo are also both aware of the audience, addressing them directly several times, trying to get the crowd on their side. “She’d lose her head if it was loose,” Jo says early on, while Helen asks, “Wouldn’t she get on your nerves?”

A Taste of Honey has quite a history. It debuted in London in 1958, where it caused a stir as a reaction to the Angry Young Men movement led by John Osborne and Kingsley Amis. (“I don’t like a too-knowledgeable woman,” Osborne said at the time. “I feel it is against her sex.”) The show moved to Broadway two years later, with Angela Lansbury as Helen, Joan Plowright as Jo, Nigel Davenport as Peter, Billy Dee Williams as Jimmy, and Andrew Ray as Geoffrey; a 1981 Great White Way revival featured Valerie French as Helen and Amanda Plummer as Jo. The story was also made into a 1961 movie by Tony Richardson, written by Delaney and starring Rita Tushingham in her first film. (The famous title song was written for the movie and is played at the start of this revival; Williams recorded his own take for a 1961 album.) The faithful Pearl version is directed by Austin Pendleton, whose fine A Day by the Sea has been extended at the Mint. Harry Feiner’s cluttered set captures the feel of a dingy working-class flat, while the large background charcoal drawing of the company town is a reminder of what might be Jo’s only real skill. “I thought you said you weren’t good at anything,” Helen says after finding Jo’s sketchbook. Jo answers, “It’s only a drawing.” Helen adds, “I didn’t realize I had such a talented daughter,” to which Jo boasts, “I’m not just talented, I’m geniused.” Pearl veteran Botchan and Brockman are naturals as Helen and Jo, fighting the way only mothers and daughters can; it’s a thrill watching them go for each other’s throats even as a little care and love trickle through.

Jo (Rebekah Brockman) hold nothing back in Pearl revival of A TASTE OF HONEY (photo by Russ Rowland)

Jo (Rebekah Brockman) seeks solace from Geoffrey (John Evans Reese) in Shelagh Delaney’s A TASTE OF HONEY (photo by Russ Rowland)

There’s a timeless quality about Delaney’s writing that keeps A Taste of Honey fresh and poignantly funny, dealing with such issues as the economy, race, homosexuality, and broken families, led by two strong female characters who speak their mind. Delaney, who was immortalized on the covers of the Smiths’ Louder than Bombs compilation and “Girlfriend in a Coma” single — in 1986, Smiths leader Morrissey told NME, “I’ve never made any secret of the fact that at least fifty percent of my reason for writing can be blamed on Shelagh Delaney”; Morrissey also incorporated two lines from the play into the song “Reel around the Fountain” — went on to write several other plays and screenplays but never again achieved the critical success her debut work brought her; she passed away in 2011 at the age of seventy-two. But as the working class in America continues its own decline amid hard-fought struggles for economic equality for women, gay rights, increases in the minimum wage, an end to racism, and affordable housing, A Taste of Honey feels as relevant as ever.

BAM NEXT WAVE FESTIVAL: BATTLEFIELD

Peter Brook revisits THE MAHABHARATA with BATTLEFIELD at the BAM Harvey (photo by Caroline Moreau)

Brooklyn Academy of Music
BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton St.
September 28 – October 9, $30-$110
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.bouffesdunord.com

In 1985, BAM president and executive director Harvey Lichtenstein was looking for a special space where he could present Peter Brook’s extraordinary nine-hour epic, The Mahabharata, in Brooklyn. Two days after giving up, he suddenly saw the abandoned Majestic movie house, which he passed by on his way to BAM every day, and immediately summoned Brook. The two men climbed a ladder and got inside through a window, and they instantly knew they had found a home for the epic theater piece, which ran at what would become the BAM Harvey as part of the 1987 Next Wave Festival. Brook, who has also staged such works as The Cherry Orchard, The Man Who, and The Suit at BAM, will be back at the Harvey with Battlefield, a seventy-minute exploration of the central story of The Mahabharata. The collaboration with Marie-Hélène Estienne for their C.I.C.T. — Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord troupe runs September 28 through October 9, featuring music by Toshi Tsuchitori, lighting by Philippe Vialatte, and costumes by Oria Puppo. The ninety-one-year-old Brook will participate in a discussion following the October 6 performance. Based on the ancient Sanskrit text and the 1989 play written by Jean-Claude Carrière, the production is also part of the Paris-New York Tandem cultural initiative that highlights film, music, theater, dance, education, and more in the two cities.

HAMLET: PUBLIC THEATER MOBILE UNIT

Hamlet (Chukwudi Iwuji) is back home at the Public Theater after Mobile Unit road trip across the five boroughs (photo by Joan Marcus)

The Shiva Theater at the Public Theater
425 Lafayette St.
Tuesday – Sunday through October 9, $20
212-539-8500
publictheater.org

After making stops at such locations as Rikers Island, the Brownsville Recreation Center, the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, the Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center, and the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House’s Women’s Mental Health Shelter at the Park Avenue Armory, the Public Theater’s Mobile Unit has come home to the Shiva Theater, where it will be presenting its stirring adaptation of Hamlet through October 9. The 105-minute streamlined version of the classic Bard tragedy is performed just as it was during its five-borough road trip, on a small center stage with very few props. The audience is seated on all four sides of the action, and costume changes are made in full view just behind the seats; the only concession to the more traditional theater setup at the Shiva is that the three rows of seating are on risers. Olivier Award winner and Royal Shakespeare Company associate artist Chukwudi Iwuji is both inspired and inspiring as Hamlet, the depressed son of the recently murdered king who is told by his father’s ghost (Timothy D. Stickney) that he was killed by his brother, Claudius (Stickney), who has since married Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude (Orlagh Cassidy), and assumed the throne. As Hamlet considers what a rogue and peasant slave he is, contemplates the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, opines on what a piece of work is man, and decides that the play’s the thing that will catch the conscience of the king, Claudius sends Hamlet’s school friends Rosencrantz (Natalie Woolams-Torres) and Guildenstern (Christian DeMarais) to spy on him. Meanwhile, Hamlet also reevaluates his relationship with Ophelia (Kristolyn Lloyd), the sister of the brave Laertes (DeMarais) and daughter of the king’s right-hand man, Polonius (Daniel Pearce).

hamlet-mobile-unit

Director Patricia McGregor (Hurt Village, The Mountaintop) takes fun liberties with the staging, infusing it with modern-day humor that works not only for an audience of underserved youth and adults who might never have seen a live Shakespeare play before but also for a more experienced crowd of regular theatergoers at the Public. DeMarais is a hoot as a white hip-hopper, Pearce is extremely funny as the stalwart Polonius (and the gravedigger), and Christopher Ryan Grant (the player king) provides an appropriately foreboding percussive soundtrack. Not everything works; the character of Ophelia nearly gets lost in all the drama, save for Lloyd’s overemotional singing of music by Imani Uzuri. Stickney is a bold, confident Claudius, Cassidy is a poignant queen, but this Hamlet, as the work requires, belongs to the lead, and Iwuji, who has never played the role before, jumps in feet first, giving his all, often making direct eye contact with the audience to bring them further into the story. He does a lot of shouting, but he balances that with beautifully rendered soliloquies that (almost) feel like they could have been written today. That feeling is enhanced by some of Montana Levi Blanco’s contemporary costume choices, including a hoodie worn by Hamlet. Other fresh touches include, yes, a cell phone. Katherine Akiko Day’s set is just about as basic as they come, a small square area about the size of a boxing ring, where characters bring chairs and roll multipurpose boxes on- and offstage, creating an intimate atmosphere. The Mobile Unit production of Hamlet is a must-see for both newbies as well as Bard enthusiasts, a playful adaptation highlighted by a superior performance by Iwuji.

LUNGS HARVEST ARTS FESTIVAL

lungs-harvest-arts-festival

Multiple community gardens on the Lower East Side
Saturday, September 24, and Sunday, September 25, free
www.lungsnyc.org

More than fifty community gardens on the Lower East Side are participating in the fifth annual LUNGS (Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens) Harvest Festival, a weekend of free special events, including music, dance, film screenings, walking tours, workshops, art, poetry, karaoke, meditation, and more. Below are only some of the recommended events for Saturday and Sunday; there are also activities at the M’Finda Kalunga Garden, Fireman’s Garden, Liz Christy Garden, Secret Garden, El Sol Brillante, Doroty Strelsin Suffolk St. Garden, East Side Outside Garden, Umbrella House Rooftop Garden, Creative Little Garden, Lower East Side People Care Garden, Kenkeleba House Garden, Children’s Magical Garden, Green Oasis, Elizabeth St. Garden, Toyota Children’s Garden, Sam & Sadie Koenig Garden, and many others. The festival is a great way to become familiar with and support these small gems that can be found all over the Lower East Side.

Saturday, September 24

Permaculture tour with Ross Martin and Marga Snyder, La Plaza Cultural, Ave. C at Ninth St., 12 noon

Live music with Elizabeth Ruf, Ben Cauley, Avon Faire, Tammy Faye Starlight, Witch Camp with Amber Martin & Nath-Ann Carrera, Salley May, and Val Kinzler, DeColores Garden, East Eighth St. between Aves. B & C, 1:00 – 5:00

Guided meditation, with Matthew Caban and Jaquay Saintil, the Lower East Side People Care Garden, Rutgers St. between Henry and Madison Sts., 2:00

Collaborative poetry workshop with Rhoma Mostel, La Guardia Corner Gardens, Bleecker & Houston Sts., 3:00

“The Bride” performance piece by Theresa Byrnes, La Plaza Cultural, Ave. C at Ninth St., 4:00

Dance performance with Heidi Henderson and students from Connecticut College, Kizuna Dance, John Gutierrez, Sheep Meadow Dance Theater, Rina Espiritu, Lauren Kravitz, and Shantel Prado, Cornfield Dance, Rod Rodgers Teen Dancers, El Jardín del Paraíso, Fourth St. between Aves. C & D, 4:00

Dimensions of Ecology panel discussion, with Stuart Losee, Felicia Young, Anna Fitzgerald, and Chloe Rosetti, La Plaza Cultural, Ave. C at Ninth St., 5:00

Sunday, September 25

Pysanky workshop: How to Make Ukrainian Easter Eggs, with Anna Sawaryn, 6B Garden, Ave. B at Sixth St., 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

“Garbagia Island” Creatures Performance and Fashion Show, El Jardín del Paraíso, Fourth St. between Aves. C & D, 1:00

Vangeline Theater’s “Wake Up and Smell the Coffee,” contemporary Butoh dance, El Jardín del Paraíso, Fourth St. between Aves. C & D, 2:00

“Garden to Table Nutrition,” with Vanessa Berenstein, La Guardia Corner Gardens, Bleecker & Houston Sts., 3:00

Fountain installation: “Jeux d’Eaux” by Nicholas Vargelis, Le Petit Versailles, Second St. between Aves. B & C, 4:00

Laughter Yoga, with Sara Jones, La Guardia Corner Gardens, Bleecker & Houston Sts., 5:00

Photography show: George Hirose’s “Midnight in the Garden,” Campos Garden, Twelfth St. between Aves. B & C, 6:30

Dance party with Ray Santiago Band, Campos Garden, Twelfth St. between Aves. B & C, 7:30-9:30

CROSSING THE LINE 2016

Jérôme Bel’s THE SHOW MUST GO ON will go on at the Joyce as part of FIAF’s tenth annual Crossing the Line festival

French Institute Alliance Française and other locations
Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th St. between Madison & Park Aves.
FIAF Gallery, 22 East 60th St. between Madison & Park Aves.
September 22 – November 3, free – $55
212-355-6160
crossingthelinefestival.org
www.fiaf.org

We can’t help but get excited for FIAF’s annual multidisciplinary fall festival, Crossing the Line, now celebrating its tenth anniversary. Every summer, we eagerly await the advance announcement of what they’ll be presenting, then scour the lineup for the most unusual events to make sure we see them. This year is another stellar collection of cutting-edge international dance and theater, beginning September 22 and 24 with screenings of concluding episodes seven, eight, and nine of Nature Theater of Oklahoma’s epic Life and Times at Anthology Film Archives ($11), along with a Thursday night party in FIAF’s Florence Gould Hall ($10) that begins with a screening of the eighth chapter of Kristin Worrall’s rather ordinary life, with the artists themselves serving up PB&Js. The festival features a special focus on French choreographer Jérôme Bel, who will be involved in four programs, beginning October 17 (free with RSVP) with a screening of his short biographical film on Paris Opera dancer Véronique Doisneau, followed by a discussion with Bel and Ana Janevski. Bel’s award-winning The Show Must Go On will go on at the Joyce October 20-22 ($36-$46), with Bel hanging around for a Curtain Chat after the 2:00 show on October 22. Bel will present the New York premiere of his controversial eponymous 1995 signature work at the Kitchen October 27-29 ($20) while also moving over to the Museum of Modern Art October 27-31 (free with museum admission) for Artist’s Choice: MoMA Dance Company, a site-specific piece for MoMA’s Marron Atrium that will be performed by members of the MoMA staff.

Tenth annual Crossing the Line festival features special focus on breakdance world champion Anne Nguyen, including AUTARCIE (….): A SEARCH FOR SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Tenth annual Crossing the Line festival features special focus on breakdance world champion Anne Nguyen, including U.S. premiere of AUTARCIE (….): A SEARCH FOR SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Breakdance world champion Anne Nguyen is making her U.S. debut with a pair of works: the free Graphic Cyphers will take place September 23 at Roberto Clemente Plaza in the Bronx at 2:00 and in Times Square September 25 at 2:30 and 4:30, while Autarcie (….): a search for self-sufficiency has its American debut September 29 to October 1 ($20) at Gibney Dance. “I seek to reconcile the peculiarities of hip-hop with demanding theatrical performance to question the place of human beings in the modern-day world,” Nguyen says; you can hear more from her at the October 1 artist talk “Towards Cultural Equity: The Artist’s Perspective” (free with RSVP) with fellow panelists David Thomson, Mohamed El Khatib, and Rokafella, moderated by George Emilio Sanchez. The UK’s Forced Entertainment, which is “interested in confusion as well as laughter,” will likely dish out a healthy portion of both at the New York premiere of Tomorrow’s Parties in Florence Gould Hall September 28 and 30 and October 1 ($20). From September 30 to October 2 ($35-$55), Venice Biennale lifetime achievement award winner Romeo Castellucci will deliver the one-man show Julius Caesar. Spared Parts, making the most of Federal Hall’s marble columns. This past June, dancer-choreographer Maria Hassabi gave an informal preview of her latest work, Staged, on the High Line; she will now bring the final piece down to the Kitchen, below the High Line, where it will be performed by Simon Courchel, Jessie Gold, Hristoula Harakas, and Oisín Monaghan October 4-8 ($20).

Romeo Castellucci will make his New York City debut channeling Julius Caesar at Federal Hall

On October 6-8 and 13-15 ($35), drag fabulist Dickie Beau will conjure up Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, and Richard Meryman at Abrons Arts Center for Blackouts. [Ed. note: All performances of Blackouts have been canceled because of unexpected travel circumstances.] Also on October 13-15 ($20), Lora Juodkaite and Annie Hanaeur will perform the U.S. premiere of Rachid Ouramdane’s Tordre (Wrought) at Baryshnikov Arts Center; CTL veteran Ouramdane will take part in the October 15 artist talk “Towards Cultural Equity: The Institutional Perspective” (free with RSVP) with keynote speaker Patrick Weil, panelists Firoz Ladak and Zeyba Rahman, and moderator Thomas Lax. On October 25 (free with RSVP), Aaron Landsman will host Perfect City, in which a group of young people from the Lower East Side will gather at Abrons Arts Center and discuss what the future holds in store for them, particularly in their neighborhood. The festival ends on November 3 with My Barbarian’s Post-Party Dream State Caucus at the New Museum (free with RSVP), held in conjunction with the exhibition “The Audience Is Always Right.” Throughout the festival, you can check out Mathieu Bernard-Reymond’s “Transform” art exhibit in the FIAF Gallery, and Tim Etchells’s multichannel video installation “Eyes Looking” will be projected at 11:59 each night in Times Square as October’s Midnight Moment.