'Fabrik,' with Puppets, Premieres at Urban Stages Jan.17

Wakka Wakka Productions will present the New York premiere of its latest original theatre piece entitled Fabrik, featuring expressive hand-and-rod puppets created by Wakka Wakka member Kirjan Waage. Fabrik will begin performances on January 17 and will officially open on Wednesday, January 23 at 7PM at Urban Stages Theatre, 259 West 30th Street (between 7th & 8th Aves). Performances will run through February 17.

"Fabrik tells the exceptional story of Moritz Rabinowitz, a successful, immigrant, Norwegian Jew who "built a factory from a button" only to watch his life be swept away by the Holocaust. Originally from Poland, he immigrated to Norway in 1911 to escape pogroms and persecution. In Haugesund, a small fishing village, he discovered a land rich with opportunity. He called it home. Poor but determined, he eventually built one of the largest clothing empires in the country, with department stores in several cities and his own factory. Although wealthy and a leading employer and large presence in the town, he experienced a good deal of anti-Semitism. The only Jews in Haugesend, he and his family were treated as outsiders, rarely invited to social events or people's homes. In his time alone in the apartment above his store, Rabinowitz avidly wrote columns for local and national newspapers, expressing his socioeconomic ideas about commerce in Europe and Norway's natural resources. In time, the primary focus of his columns became warnings to his countrymen about the rise of Hitler and the Nazis," explain press notes.
 
Inspired by Nordic and Yiddish folktales, Fabrik has been written, directed, and designed by the Wakka Wakka ensemble (David Arkema, Gabrielle Brechner, Kirjan Waage, Gwendolyn Warnock), informed by research of the time period, the writings and life of Moritz Rabinowitz, his family, workers and countrymen. Original sound design and music composed by the ensemble has been combined with a score created by Lars Peter Hagen from a palette of industrial noise, period and folk music. Danny Goldstein (Walmartopia) serves as a directing consultant.

The complete schedule for Fabrik (January 17 – February 17) will be: Tuesdays through Sundays at 8PM. The Opening Night Curtain on Wednesday, January 23 will be at 7PM. There will be one additional performance on Monday, January 21 at 8PM.

Tickets: $25.00. Students and seniors:  $17.50. TDF vouchers accepted. Tickets for all performances are available at 212-352-3101 (or online at www.theatermania.com).  This production is appropriate for those 10 years of age and older, but it should also be noted that this is not a childrens' show - it's a theatre piece with puppets.

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