this week in theater

SHAKESPEARE’S BIRTHDAY BASH: SHAKESPEARE AND THE LANGUAGE THAT SHAPED A WORLD

Who: Shakespeare & Company
What: Virtual celebration of William Shakespeare’s birthday
Where: Online
When: Friday, April 23, free with RSVP, 7:00
Why: Massachusetts-based Shakespeare & Company is paying tribute to the Bard with “Shakespeare’s Birthday Bash,” taking place online April 23 at 7:00. The virtual party will feature a performance of Shakespeare and the Language that Shaped a World by the troupe’s Northeast Regional Tour of Shakespeare, which includes Courtney Bryan Devon, Devante Owens, Eliana Rowe, Emily Díaz, Kirsten Peacock, Madeleine Rose Maggio, and Nick Nudler. Written by Kevin G. Coleman in collaboration with the cast and reimagined for online viewing, the show is a fast-paced, family-friendly trip through the world of Shakespeare, delving into his life while presenting various scenes from his plays. This summer, Shakespeare & Company will be staging King Lear at the outdoors New Spruce Theatre, starring Christopher Lloyd as the troubled ruler, overlapping with Debra Ann Byrd’s Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey at the outdoor Roman Garden Theatre, followed by a workshop production of Measure for Measure, also at the Roman Garden.

SHAKESPEARE HOUR LIVE! ROMEO & JULIET PRESHOW CELEBRATION

Who: Claire Danes
What: Shakespeare Hour Live! discussion about Romeo + Juliet
Where: Facebook Live and YouTube Live
When: Friday, April 23, free, 8:00
Why: Twenty-five years ago, Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes starred as the title lovers in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy, pitting two business empires against each other, the Montagues and the Capulets, while using the the Bard’s original dialogue. On the night that PBS’s Great Performances presentation of the National Theatre’s Romeo & Juliet, which was filmed following Covid-19 protocols, is making its US premiere, Danes will talk about the movies and the play in the latest Shakespeare Hour Live!, the ongoing series hosted by DC’s Shakespeare Theatre Company, whose artistic director, Simon Godwin, directed the National Theatre production. Luhrmann’s 1999 movie features Brian Dennehy and Christina Pickles as Romeo’s parents, Paul Sorvino and Diane Venora as Juliet’s folks, John Leguizamo as Tybalt, Dash Mihok as Benvolio, and Miriam Margolyes as the nurse, while Godwin’s version, which makes full use of the National Theatre space, stars Jessie Buckley as Juliet and Josh O’Connor as Romeo, with Tamsin Greig as Lady Capulet, Lloyd Hutchinson as Lord Capulet, Colin Tierney as Lord Montague, David Judge as Tybalt, Alex Mugnaioni as Paris, Shubham Saraf as Benvolio, Adrian Lester as the prince, Fisayo Akinade as Mercutio, and Deborah Findlay as the nurse.

SHAKESPEARE SONNET SLAM

Who: Gingold Theatrical Group
What: Virtual open mic Shakespeare birthday celebration
Where: Gingold Zoom and Facebook
When: Friday, April 23, free with RSVP, 6:00
Why: This month marks William Shakespeare’s 457th birthday as well as the 405th anniversary of his death, and New York City’s Gingold Theatrical Group, which specializes in works by George Bernard Shaw, will be paying tribute to the Bard with a free, virtual Shakespeare Sonnet Slam open mic on April 23 at 6:00. Among those who will be reading from Shakespeare’s writings are Stephen Brown-Fried, Robert Cuccioli, Tyne Daly, George Dvorsky, Melissa Errico, Alison Fraser, Tom Hewitt, Daniel Jenkins, John-Andrew Morrison, Patrick Page, Maryann Plunkett, Tonya Pinkins, Laila Robins, Jay O. Sanders, Renee Taylor, and Jon Patrick Walker — and the general public, who is invited to offer their own favorite pieces either by or inspired by Will, kept to less than three minutes. “We’re eager to celebrate as much as we can with whatever we can these days,” GTG artistic director David Staller said in a statement. “And since nobody has contributed more to the world of the theater than William Shakespeare, we’re going to celebrate like mad. He wrote more than 150 magnificent sonnets and I doubt we’ll get through them all but we’ll give it our best shot.” In order to be part of the interactive festivities, you must register by April 22 at 4:00.

YIDDISH WOMEN PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL: THE BIRD OF THE GHETTO (DER FOYGL FUN GETO)

NYTF’s Yiddish Women Playwrights Festival gets under way with The Bird of the Ghetto

Who: Rachel Botchan, Rebecca Brudner, Spencer Chandler, Motl Didner, Kirk Geritano, Avi Hoffman, Maya Jacobson, Daniel Kahn, Lea Kalisch, Rebecca Keren, Avram Mlotek, Lauren Schaffel, Dylan Seders Hoffman, Tatiana Wechsler, Hy Wolfe, Mikhl Yashinsky
What: Inaugural production in NYTF’s Yiddish Women Playwrights Festival
Where: Folksbiene Live!
When: April 18-22, free
Why: At one point in The Bird of the Ghetto (Der Foygl fun Geto), a bird has fallen from a bathhouse roof. “A bird! Look, we found a bird, ” Falke exclaims. When she looks closer, she adds, “I think it’s sick.” Picking up the bird, Sholemke says, “It has broken wings. Look how it trembles. It’s frightened. Do you know how to heal sick birds, Yoyne?” Yoyne responds, “Ask Borukh, he might know.” Falke: “Do you know how to heal sick birds?” Shlemke: “Look, it can’t fly.” Yoyne: “You see, mister? A ghetto bird. You ought to pin the Star of David on it.” Borukh finally chimes in, “A real bird could fly in the ghetto too.” Sholemke: “You mean this is not a real bird? It’s alive. Look, it moves.” Borukh: “A bird should be able to fly. If it can’t fly, it’s not alive even if it lives.” Sholemke: “It’s sick.” Borukh: “So it is.” Falke: “Tell us what to do.” Borukh: “There isn’t much you can do. Be kind to itself, let it help itself.”

Written in 1958 by Holocaust survivor Chava Rosenfarb, The Bird of the Ghetto tells the true story of Jewish resistance fighter Itsik Vitenberg and the 1943 Vilna uprising. Although the play was written in Yiddish, it has never been performed in that language until now, in a virtual reading by the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, directed by Suzanne Toren and translated by Goldie Morgentaler. The two-hour work is streaming for free April 18-22, in conjunction with the seventy-eighth anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It features Rachel Botchan as Edzshe, Rebecca Brudner as Ester, Spencer Chandler as Vitenberg (commander of the United Partisan Organization, known as the FPO), Motl Didner as Shloyme, Kirk Geritano as Yoyne, Avi Hoffman as Judenrat head Yakov Gens, Maya Jacobson as Freydke, Lea Kalisch as Tea, Rebecca Keren as Dine, Avram Mlotek as Borukh, Lauren Schaffel as Falke, Dylan Seders Hoffman as Sholemke, Tatiana Wechsler as Sorke, Hy Wolfe as the doctor, and Mikhl Yashinsky as Yehude. Nearly all the characters wear a large yellow star on their clothing, identifying them as Jewish. The production kicks off NYTF’s Yiddish Women Playwrights Festival, which celebrates Yiddish plays by women writers. “As we commemorate the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the true story behind The Bird of the Ghetto is a moving testament to the bravery and resilience of the Jewish resistance during the Holocaust,” NYTF artistic director Zalmen Mlotek said in a statement.

WE PERSIST! I CAN’T REMEMBER ANYTHING

Who: Penny Fuller, Bob Dishy, James Naughton, Susan Charlotte
What: In-person and livestreamed play reading
Where: Theatre 80 St. Marks and Zoom
When: Monday, April 19, live and on Zoom, 2:00 (available on demand April 24-25, 646-366-9340 / info@foodforthoughtproductions.com)
Why: Food for Thought Productions is now in its twenty-first season of presenting all-star readings of little-known and classic one-act plays by major writers. Its current series, “We Persist!,” kicked off with Christopher Durang’s For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls and Tennessee Williams’s Life Boat Drill, presented live at Theatre 80 St. Marks to a limited, masked audience. The award-winning company is now back for Arthur Miller’s I Can’t Remember Anything, directed by Antony Marsellis and starring Penny Fuller and Bob Dishy as an elderly widow and her late husband’s best friend, respectively; FFTP previously presented the play two decades ago with Elaine Stritch and Dishy, with Miller in attendance. (Miller would later go on to direct shows for the troupe.) The play will be followed by a Q&A with the cast, moderated by FFTP founder Susan Charlotte, with a special appearance by James Naughton, who directed Dishy in Miller’s The Price at the 1999 Williamstown Theatre Festival. In addition, FFTP regular Tony Roberts will read from his 2015 memoir, Do You Know Me? Free tickets to see the show in person are first come, first served, for those who agree to be part of a documentary being made about the company; the recording will be available for a small fee April 24-25. Next up for FFTP is Charlotte’s The Hairdresser on May 24.

TICKET ALERT: A DOZEN DREAMS

A DOZEN DREAMS
Winter Garden at Brookfield Place
230 Vesey St.
Wednesday – Saturday, May 13-30, 2:00 – 8:00, free with RSVP beginning April 19
www.engardearts.org

Site-specific specialists En Garde Arts return to the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place, where they previously staged Harbored, with the immersive performance installation A Dozen Dreams. Free tickets become available on April 19 to experience the fifty-five-minute work at the Winter Garden Wednesdays through Sundays from May 13 to 30. En Garde asked twelve New York City–based women playwrights, “What are you dreaming about right now?” Each one — Sam Chanse, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Emily Mann, Martyna Majok, Mona Mansour, Rehana Mirza, Ellen McLaughlin, Liza Jessie Peterson, Ren Dara Santiago, Caridad Svich, Lucy Thurber, and Andrea Thome — will give their answer in separate rooms, with visual and environment design by Irina Kruzhilina, projection and video by Brittany Bland, lighting by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, and sound by Rena Anakwe. Attendees, who go through the labyrinthine multimedia installation one at a time or in pod pairs, are invited to share their own pandemic dreams in a thirteenth room. The project, which follows all Covid-19 precautions, was conceived by dramaturg John Clinton Eisner, Kruzhilina, and En Garde Arts artistic director Anne Hamburger, who founded the organization in 1985 and relaunched it in 2014. So far, in-person theatrical works, whether free or not, have sold out fast, so get ready to book your visit on April 19 when reservation lines open up.

THE WANDERING

THE WANDERING
April 15 – May 15, $24.99 – $29.99
experiencethewandering.com

Every spring for more than forty years, the Schubertiade has celebrated the work of Austrian composer Franz Schubert through concerts, exhibitions, lectures, and discussion. Overlapping with the 2021 Schubertiade, which runs April 28 to May 2, is an unusual, immersive hybrid production called The Wandering, available online April 15 through May 15. The multimedia presentation uses film, music, props, postcards, and photography to explore Schubert’s creativity and sexual orientation.

In his 1992 New York Times article “Critic’s Notebook: Was Schubert Gay? If He Was, So What? Debate Turns Testy” about a 92nd St. Y symposium on the composer, Edward Rothstein wrote, “As for the issue of homosexuality, Mr. [Maynard] Solomon’s case is compellingly argued, but I defer to scholars for a final verdict. The most vexing problems arise in judging the musical importance of the composer’s sexuality. Mr. Solomon asserts, for example, that Schubert’s homosexuality demonstrated a ‘resistance to compulsion’ and that it revealed a ‘heroic region in Schubert’s personality.’ But while Schubert obviously possessed a profound knowledge of suffering and isolation, heroism seems alien to his compositions, imported from some contemporary views of sexual ‘unorthodoxy.’”

Conceived by actor and curator Calista Small, baritone and actor Jeremy Weiss, designer Charlotte McCurdy, theater artist Christine Shaw, filmmaker Lara Panah-Izadi, and animator Zach Bell, The Wandering, which delves into Schubert’s suffering, isolation, heroism, and sexuality in abstract ways, is meant to take place over four days, although you can proceed at your own pace. Each day features a short film starring Weiss as the Wanderer, a curious man traversing a strange landscape, with music by Schubert played by pianist Marika Yasuda and German lyrics sung by Weiss. (English translations by Julian Manresa are available.)

Jeremy Weiss portrays the Wanderer in hybrid immersive production about Franz Schubert

In the Matthew Barney–like films, which can be viewed only once — there’s no going back after you start each one — cinematographer Frank Sun follows the Wanderer as he encounters a series of mysterious characters out on the road, in a forest, in the historic Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove, Illinois, and at the landmark Wright in Kankakee home in the Illinois woods: Bambi Banks Couleé as the Performer, Ethan Kirschbaum as the Doppelgänger, Daria Harper as the Crow, Small as the Crystallography Denizen, and Josh Romero as the Gardener Denizen. Directed by Panah-Izadi, the films, ranging between six and ten minutes apiece, are beautifully shot tone poems incorporating music, theater, and dance, with choreography by Craig Black, sound by Jared O’Brien, costumes by Casey Wood (the Doppelgänger outfit is particularly impressive), sets by Rachel Cole, and hair and makeup by Erica Martens.

After watching each individual film, you open a packet you received in the mail (well worth the additional $5 cost) containing an object for you to interact with, poetry, letters, pre-addressed stamped postcards you can fill with drawings and/or words and send, QR codes for augmented reality (by Sahil Gupta), and various prompts surrounding your personal “wunderlich,” which can mean “wondrous,” “queer,” “odd,” “fantastical,” or “whimsical.” Several tasks involve going outside, taking a photo, and posting it to the gallery on the main site, known as the Prism (the web design is by TanTan Wang), which features a perennial meditative soundscape. There’s also a page where you can listen separately to the songs, which include “Wandrers Nachtlied,” “Die Krähe,” “Die Gebüsche,” “Nacht Und Träume,” and “Ganymed.”

Schubert was born in Vienna in 1797 and died there at the age of thirty-one, having produced more than 1,500 works, from orchestral overtures, operas, and symphonies to lieder, cantatas, and song cycles. In an 1822 letter the composer sent to his friend and maybe lover, Austrian actor, poet, and librettist Franz von Schober (and which is excerpted in the show’s packet), he describes a dream he had, explaining, “I wandered into a distant land. . . . For long, long years, I sang songs. When I wanted to sing about love, it turned to pain. When I wanted to sing of pain, it turned to love. Thus, love and pain divided me.”

Weiss responds with his own letter to Schubert, writing, “Your music was the first thing I turned to in a moment of crisis during a pandemic. Thank you for writing of your pain, and of your love. Did you ever learn not to let them divide you? Might we?” It’s a question a lot of us have been asking, especially during this last, tumultuous year.