Medicine Show Theatre Ensemble's UBU IN CHAINS Begins Tonight

Medicine Show Theatre Ensemble, one of New York's longest-running experimental theatres, next month will stage a production of Ubu in Chains by Alfred Jarry, using an original translation by Obie-winning Medicine Show artistic director Barbara Vann.

Preview performances are set for tongiht, June 10 and Thursday, June 11 at 8 p.m. Opening night is Friday, June 12 at 8 p.m. and the show closes on Sunday, June 28 at 6 p.m. Performances are scheduled for Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. Running time is one hour and 40 minutes with one 15 minute intermission. The theatre is located at 549 W. 52nd Street, 3rd Floor, near 11th Ave., subway C/E 50th St.

The plot follows the fictional ex-King Ubu of Poland, a tyrant who gives up his worldly pleasures to become a slave and have the state take care of him. It was one of three Ubu plays Jarry wrote near the turn of the 20th century that were precursors to the Theatre of the Absurd. When they first premiered in France they were considered wild, comic plays for the way they overturned society's conventions. This version is no less wild, comedic or relevant today, as tyranny and the role of the state in our lives is ever-topical and still can be absurd. The production showcases ballroom dancing and big battles while it seeks to re-defines freedom.

The cast includes Amie Amis, Bill Blechingburg, John Cencio Burgos, Dan Burkharth, Oliver
Conant, David Elyha, Beth Griffith, Richard Gross, Richard Keyser, Cameron McIntosh, Lynda Rodolitz and Elizabeth Wine. Vann will direct. Additional text and songs are by Howard Pflanzer, Gary Heidt, Stephen Phillip Policoff and Chris Brandt. Fight choreography is by Nelson Howe. The set designer is Mike Shannon. Costumes are being designed by Paata Bekaia.

Tickets are $18.00 for general admission, $15.00 for seniors and students. They are available from Smarttix at www.Smarttix.com or (212) 868-4444. For more information, log onto the company's website at www.MedicineShowTheatre.org.