Karen Finley to Premiere UNICORN GRATITUDE MYSTERY at Laurie Beechman Theater

Karen Finley, a name synonymous with Performance Art, will present the World premiere of her new work UNICORN GRATITUDE MYSTERY. This evening of three related short works will be presented July 31 to August 21 at The Laurie Beechman Theater (inside West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42nd Street -- at Ninth Avenue, accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,V,F,1,2,3 trains at 42nd Street). Performances are Sundays at 7pm. Tickets are $25, with a $20 food/drink minimum. To purchase tickets, call 212-352-3101 or visit www.SpinCycleNYC.com.

In UNICORN, Finley humorously explores America's obsession with the imagined, unattainable white-horned mythical creature. Armed with a healthy does of cynicism, GRATITUDE finds Finley obsessing on the narcissistic tendencies that fuel contemporary gentrification. And with MYSTERY, Finley dives deep into the language, emotion, and the loss of control that can happen when we give in to our fear of the unknown.

Since her first performances in the early 1980's, Karen Finley has become synonymous with performance art. A performer, artist, writer, musician, poet, teacher and lecturer, she is the recipient of two Obies, two Bessies, and multiple grants from the NEA and NYSCA. She has toured internationally with pieces including Make Love, George & Martha, The Jackie Look, The American Chestnut, A Certain Level of Denial and The Return of The Chocolate Smeared Woman and Written in the Sand. In 1990, Finley became an unwilling symbol for the NEA when she, along with Tim Miller, Holly Hughes & John Fleck, sued the NEA for withdrawing grants on the grounds of indecency; the controversial case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Among Finley's books include Shock Treatment, Enough Is Enough: Weekly Meditations for Living Dysfunctionally, the Martha Stewart satire Living It Up: Humorous Adventures in Hyperdomesticity, Pooh Unplugged, and A Different Kind of Intimacy.