La MaMa & PALISSIMO Company to Present World Premiere of HEBEL This Fall

La MaMa in association with PALISSIMO Company will present HEBEL, a world-premiere and NYU Skirball commission choreographed by Slovak-American director Pavel Zuštiak, director of the New York-based PALISSIMO Company, on Thursday, October 19 through Saturday, October 21 at 7pm and Sunday, October 22 at 2pm. 

As Zuštiak enters a pivotal phase in his career, HEBEL offers an enticing exploration of life's everyday moments. The work’s title "HEBEL" comes from the ancient Book of Ecclesiastes and resonates with themes of vanity, futility, and ephemerality, reminiscent of the phrase: "vanity of vanities; all is vanity." The term has been interpreted as "futile" and "meaningless" but also as "breath," "vapor," and "mist"—a paradox that encapsulates Zuštiak’s retrospection at this junction after two decades of artmaking in NYC. HEBEL features Christine Bonansea, Wendell Gray II, Emma, Judkins and Doug LeCours and delves deep into the transient nature of human endeavors, life, and the ephemeral essence of live art.

Originally set to debut at NYU Skirball in April 2020, HEBEL's journey has been as unpredictable as the themes it embodies. Following previews at the Baryshnikov Arts Center and MIT, the global onset of the Covid pandemic brought the world to a standstill, mere weeks before its premiere. After numerous rescheduling attempts and eventual cancellation, including all NYU Skirball shows affected by the pandemic, HEBEL found its new home for its premiere at La MaMa.

HEBEL is the result of a collaborative effort between Zuštiak and renowned designers: scenographer Keith Skretch, composer Christian Frederickson and lighting designer Masha Tsimring. Pushing the boundaries of traditional dance, HEBEL, presented in three captivating scenes, showcases Skretch's original performative scenography. The centerpiece, a large-scale programmable kinetic object, blurs the lines between choreography, sculpture, and machine art, encapsulating the fleeting beauty of live performance in its “dance” that is at once familiar and otherworldly.

Similarly to Zuštiak’s previous works HEBEL stands out as interdisciplinary, rich in visuals and brimming with surprises. It challenges the audience to ponder human aspirations and the transient nature of life and achievements. What remains eternal, and what fades away?

La MaMa is set to host only four exclusive performances of HEBEL. An experience not to be missed. Secure your seats now.

ABOUT PAVEL ZUŠTIAK

Pavel Zuštiak is a Slovak-American creative director, choreographer, and performer. Born in communist Czechoslovakia, he left for Amsterdam shortly after the Velvet Revolution and resides in New York City since 1999. His works include Custodians of Beauty, Endangered Pieces and The Painted Bird trilogy. Zuštiak’s many awards include Guggenheim Fellowship, Princeton Arts Fellowship, several Princess Grace Awards and the Juried Bessie Award for his “poetic layering of movement and visual imagery, conceiving the stage as a decentralized world in which the corporeal body is the focus and canvas for a wide range of human expression.” His five-hour trilogy The Painted Bird presented by La MaMa received a 2013 Bessie nomination for Outstanding Production. 

ABOUT PALISSIMO

PALISSIMO Company, a contemporary performance company founded and led since 2003 by Pavel Zuštiak, is an interdisciplinary platform for research, development and production of live performances. Palissimo is innovative in its approach to contemporary performance practices and has facilitated diverse artistic collaborations since its inception. Often described as both human and humane, its works merges the abstract aspects of dance with the nonlinear qualities of “theatre of images” into multidisciplinary works that are rich in evocative imagery, piercing emotional resonance, and non-narrative/nonverbal content. Palissimo strives to provide original, transformative insight into the human condition while reaching spectators as multi-sensory theatrical experiences.  www.palissimo.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. Our "Radical Access" initiative builds an infrastructure of opportunity that supports new ways of connecting us to people and communities around the world, expanding our means of connectivity and providing space where artists and digital tools converge from multiple points of entry.  

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, Tom Eyen, 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.

ABOUT NYU SKIRBALL

NYU Skirball, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, is one of New York City’s major presenters of international work, and has been the premier venue for cultural and performing arts events in lower Manhattan since 2003. The 800-seat theater, led by Director Jay Wegman, provides a home for internationally renowned artists, innovators andthinkers. NYU Skirball hosts over 300 events annually, from re-inventions of the classics to cutting-edge premieres, in genres ranging from dance, theater and performance arts to comedy, music and  film. NYU Skirball’s unique position within with New York University enables it to draw on the University’s intellectual riches and resources to enhance its programming with dialogues, public forums and conversations with artists, philosophers, scientists, Nobel Laureates and journalists. nyuskirball.org.

TICKETS

Tickets are $30. $25 for students and seniors.  Visit LaMaMa.org.

Photo credit: Maria Baranova

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!