La MaMa ETC to Begin 2024 With HUMANISMO PROJECT

La MaMa ETC will begin 2024 with the debut of its HUMANISMO PROJECT – a two-part series featuring new, contemporary adaptations of Aristotle and Euripides’ Medea – this winter and spring, it has been announced by Mia Yoo, La MaMa’s Artistic Director.  These new works are presented by La MaMa, having been developed as part of the company’s resident Great Jones Repertory’s ANCIENT FUTURES SERIES.

January 25-Febraury 4, 2024, ARISTOTLE THINKS AGAIN – with original text by Chuck Mee, directed by Dan Safer (Witness Relocation) – will play at the Downstairs Theatre (66 E. 4 St.) with a cast including La MaMa’s Great Jones Repertory (GJRC) members Maura Nguyen, John Maria Guttierrez, Valois Mickens and Kim Savarino, along with guest artist Marcus McGregor. 

The following dates are offered for review:

Thursday Jan 25 at 8 pm

Friday Jan 26 at   8 pm -- PRESS OPENING

Saturday Jan 27 at 8 pm

Sunday, Jan 28 at 4 at 8 pm

Monday Jan 29 at at 8 pm

(Please let me know at your earliest convenience which performance you will attend – plus one, of course.

A beloved dancer in NYC for many years (Dance Theatre of Harlem), Mr. McGregor collaborated last season with Mr. Safer on the premiere of THE HISTORY OF EMPIRES at La MaMa. 

ARISTOTLE THINKS AGAIN is described as an exploration of Greek tragedies, post-apocalyptic possibilities, how awful people are, and how awesome it can be to exist on the planet. 

According to Ms. Yoo, “The Great Jones Repertory Company has a history of working with classical texts and myths. As La MaMa's intergenerational repertory company, this exploration of our history is integral to the artistic practice and culture of the group. The Humanismo Project examines our current era of uncertainty, isolation and public unrest by looking to ancient stories to imagine more vibrant futures. In GJRC's tradition, these two experiments call on the audience to experience the extremities and the possibilities of our humanity.” humanity. 

Chuck Mee is the author of numerous plays – BIG LOVE, UTOPIA, GONE – and is known, as well, for his adaptations of Greek classics including THE BACCHAE, TROJAN WOMEN and IPHEGENIA.  Dan Safer is the founder and artistic director of Witness Relocation, and has directed a wide range of original works including HEAVEN ON EARTH, UBU SINGS UBU, BLUE BIRD, HAGGADAH, and THIS RING OF FIRE.

HUMANISMO PROJECT will continue this spring when Zishan Ugurlu directs a contemporary adaptation of MEDEA, set during a refugee crisis. 

ARISTOTLE THINKS AGAIN will perform Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 4 p.m., with an added performance on Monday, Jan. 29 at 8 pm.

For performance and ticket information, visit www.lamama.org

About La MaMa

La Mama Experimental Theatre Club is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. La MaMa's 62nd Radical Access Season comes on the heels of our 61st season when we re-opened our newly renovated, original theater at 74 E. 4th St. The building's $24 million makeover provides the return of the fully accessible Club, a new Community Arts Space for neighboring groups in the East Village, and an expanded public lobby and galleries. As an experimental theatre, La MaMa is always adapting to the needs of its community. In this time of deep division in our society and around the world, La MaMa felt an urgency to create a way for artists to respond. The Radical Access Initiative (RAI) was born out of this need. RAI connects local artists and audiences to people and communities around the world in shared artistic experiences to spark creativity and human understanding that wasn’t possible before.

La MaMa has been honored with 30+ Obie Awards, dozens of Drama Desk, Bessie Awards, Villager Awards, the 2018 Regional Theatre Tony Award, and most recently a 2023 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Special Citation. We are a creative home to artists and resident companies from around the world, many of whom have made lasting contributions to the arts, including Blue Man Group, Bette Midler, Ed Bullins, Ping Chong, Jackie Curtis, André De Shields, Adrienne Kennedy, Harvey Fierstein, Diane Lane, Playhouse of the Ridiculous, Estelle Parsons, Tom Eyen, Sam Shepard,  Pan Asian Rep, Spiderwoman Theater, Tadeusz Kantor, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, Mabou Mines, Meredith Monk, Peter Brook, David and Amy Sedaris, Julie Taymor, Kazuo Ohno, Tom O'Horgan, Andrei Serban, Liz Swados, and Andy Warhol. La MaMa's vision of nurturing new artists and new work from all nations, cultures, races and identities remains as strong today as it was when Ellen Stewart first opened the doors in 1961.

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