Jonathan Slaff News

I longed to see more. One would love to see the Martha Graham Dance Company commission a new from Ms. Zall. Unlike their usual fare, she clearly understands stagecraft and is able to communicate in the language of their founder. It seems to me that all she needs is the opportunity. Denise Vale, the Graham company's Artistic Associate was in the audience. Perhaps she will communicate what a boon it would be to work with Ms. Zall to her colleagues.

You can't understand a man, the proverb goes, until you've walked a mile in his shoes. But who, among us, has tasted the paranoia, dread and loss from gun violence that is, shockingly, common to urban high schoolers and their families? 'The Death of a Black Man (A Walk By)' by William Electric Black suggests the experience poetically, using using hip hop verse, chanting, songs and poetry. The audience walks through a variety of uniquely-designed theater spaces and environments suggesting the events before and after a shooting in an urban playground. It's like a day lived with urban gun violence, complete with a candle lit memorial service, police investigations, protests and the actual shootings. This is the third in a series of five plays by William Electric Black, collectively called 'GUNPLAYS,' that address inner city violence and guns. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave (East Village), will present the work June 2 to 19, 2016 directed by the author.  The piece was scheduled for June to support Gun Awareness Month.

VOTES by Jacqueline S. Salit and Fred Newman, composed by leading pop/country tunesmith Annie Roboff, is an 'outsider' musical with a canny view of the Clintons as a political couple. Castillo Theatre, 543 West 42nd Street, will present the work's world premiere tonight, April 1, to May 8, directed by Gabrielle L. Kurlander.

On a bright autumn night in Manchester, a woman named Harper Regan walks away from her job, her home, her husband and her daughter.  The play named after her, 'Harper Regan' by English playwright Simon Stephens, stunningly reveals life on the cusp of the working class in modern British society. The author is the 2015 TONY Award-winner for best play ('The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time').  This 2008 play is a dramatic Odyssey navigating family, love and redemption.  T. Schreiber Theatre, 151 West 26th Street, will present the piece May 4 to June 4, directed by Terry Schreiber.

VOTES by Jacqueline S. Salit and Fred Newman, composed by leading pop/country tunesmith Annie Roboff, is an 'outsider' musical with a canny view of the Clintons as a political couple. Castillo Theatre, 543 West 42nd Street, will present the work's world premiere April 1 to May 8, directed by Gabrielle L. Kurlander.

Tonight, December 1, The Aviva Players will conclude its 40th Anniversary three-part concert series at The National Opera America Center, 330 Seventh Ave. (at 29th Street), Manhattan with THAT CERTAIN AGE: SHORT OPERAS ABOUT AGING WITH HUMOR AND GRACE. The evening is presented by Aviva Players and Kindred Spirits. Director is Rina W. Elisha and musical director is Barbara Ames. The evening will feature works composed by Anne Phillips, Alice Shields, Mira j Spektor, Haim Elisha and Seymour Barab. Scroll down for a sneak peek at some of the shorts!

On November 30 at 8:00, Theater for the New City will present a tribute to director/actor Norman Glick (1946-2015) and the book launch of Ronald Tavel's last book, 'Andy Warhol's Ridiculous Screenplays' (which has a forward by Marc Siegel). The evening will include video of noted performances of Tavel plays and a medley of 'Gorilla Queen' and other Theater of the Ridiculous tunes by Norman Marshall. The evening will be hosted by Chris Kapp, who was the long-time director of 'Coffeehouse Chronicles' at La Mama.

On December 1, The Aviva Players will conclude its 40th Anniversary three-part concert series at The National Opera America Center, 330 Seventh Ave. (at 29th Street), Manhattan with THAT CERTAIN AGE: SHORT OPERAS ABOUT AGING WITH HUMOR AND GRACE. The evening is presented by Aviva Players and Kindred Spirits. Director is Rina W. Elisha and musical director is Barbara Ames. The evening will feature works composed by Anne Phillips, Alice Shields, Mira j Spektor, Haim Elisha and Seymour Barab. Scroll down for a sneak peek at some of the shorts!

Nonstop theater, a costume competition and ballroom dancing will bewitch the East Village in Theater for the New City's 38th annual Village Halloween Costume Ball tonight, October 31 at TNC, 155 First Avenue.

Nonstop theater, a costume competition and ballroom dancing will bewitch the East Village in Theater for the New City's 38th annual Village Halloween Costume Ball on Saturday, October 31 at TNC, 155 First Avenue. This unique festival continues as a grand coming-together for everyday New Yorkers and artists alike. A carefree fall tradition, it celebrates the creativity that comes with the season.

A HAPPY END by Israeli playwright Iddo Netanyahu is the story of a well-to-do, well-integrated Jewish couple in 1932 Berlin deciding whether to remain in Germany or to flee to America.  The production dramatizes a dilemma -- whether to leave home, family and friends for an uncertain future in a foreign land, or stay, hoping the situation will improve -- that has been shared and faced by thousands of emigres. 

A HAPPY END by Israeli playwright Iddo Netanyahu is the story of a well-to-do, well-integrated Jewish couple in 1932 Berlin deciding whether to remain in Germany or to flee to America.  The production dramatizes a dilemma -- whether to leave home, family and friends for an uncertain future in a foreign land, or stay, hoping the situation will improve -- that has been shared and faced by thousands of emigres. 

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) in association with their new partner The Playroom Theatre, present the June panel, Marketing Your Show on a Budget: Starting the Buzz with Limited Bucks, tonight, June 25, 2015 at 7:30pm at a **NEW LOCATION: The Playroom Theater, 151 W. 46th Street, 8th floor, NYC 10036.** Doors open at 7pm for networking and refreshments; roundtable introductions of everyone in the room will start at 7:30pm.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) in association with their new partner The Playroom Theatre, present the June panel, Marketing Your Show on a Budget: Starting the Buzz with Limited Bucks, on Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 7:30pm at a **NEW LOCATION: The Playroom Theater, 151 W. 46th Street, 8th floor, NYC 10036.** Doors open at 7pm for networking and refreshments; roundtable introductions of everyone in the room will start at 7:30pm.

The Drilling Company's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot (www.shakespeareintheparkinglot.com) has found a new home in the Parking Lot behind The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center (CSV), 114 Norfolk Street between Delancey and Rivington Streets.  The troupe will kick off the third decade of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot there July 9 to 26 with 'As You Like It,' directed by Artistic Director Hamilton Clancy.  The production will offer delightful lessons of love, starting off in a stately English Victorian world and moving into a Steampunk paradise when the scene shifts from a conventional Duchy to the mythical Forest of Arden.

From tonight, May 28 to June 14, Theater for the New City will present the U.S. premiere of 'Maximum Security,' a new play by Piedad Bonnett, the internationally acclaimed Colombian writer, performed in English translation (world premiere) by Lucia della Paolera and acted by a cast of Latino actors.

From May 28 to June 14, Theater for the New City will present the U.S. premiere of 'Maximum Security,' a new play by Piedad Bonnett, the internationally acclaimed Colombian writer, performed in English translation (world premiere) by Lucia della Paolera and acted by a cast of Latino actors.

'Great Kills' by Tom Diriwachter is a darkly comic tale of a get-rich-quick scheme in Staten Island that goes awry. Theater for the New City (TNC) will present the play's debut run tonight, March 26 to April 12, featuring Joe Pantoliano (who is noted for his starring roles on Broadway, film and TV), Robert Homeyer and Peter Welch. Jonathan Weber directs.

'Martyrs Street,' a realistic drama by Misha Shulman, is a gripping tale of two houses in the historical city of Hebron, in the Occupied West Bank.

Twenty- and thirty-somethings confront the confusion of technology with identity in 'My Technology,' a new play of ensemble creation conceived and directed by Deena Levy, which premieres tonight, March 24 to 29 at 3LD Art & Technology Center, 80 Greenwich Street.