Photo Flash: Company XIV & Brave New World Presents HALLOWEEN PLAYS, 10/21-31

Two of Brooklyn's most prestigious repertory companies - Brave New World Repertory Theatre and Company XIV - have announced their first-ever collaboration on The Halloween Plays, three spooky and original one-act plays suitable for both adults and young adults. The Halloween Plays runs from October 21 - 31, 2010 at Company XIV's theatre space, located at 303 Bond Street, between Union & Sackett in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.

The Halloween Plays, a co-production of Brave New World Repertory Theatre and Company XIV, features three world premieres:

Dénouement-A Murderous Masquerade, a Neo-Baroque murder mystery extravaganza that asks: Who will be the last character left alive?! Choreographed, conceived and directed by Austin McCormick, Company XIV founder.

Too Much Candy, a spooky fairy tale confection spiked with a twist of Freud. By Cynthia Babak, Brave New World Associate Artistic Director and playwright.

Salsa, a psycho noir comedy that turns up the heat on our taste for devilishly spicy hot sauce. By Greg Kotis, two-time Tony Award winner and Obie winner for Urinetown.

Performances are Thursdays - Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased online at http://www.bravenewworldrep.org or by calling 917-285-8911.

The collaboration between the two Brooklyn companies came about when Claire Beckman, Producing Artistic Director of Brave New World says she "instantly fell in love" with the work of Company XIV founder Austin McCormick. "It is highly theatrical and story-based and he's not afraid to crack tradition wide open while still honoring, and exploiting his classical training. It immediately felt right to collaborate with him and his wonderful company because they are creating fantastic, accessible theatre for Brooklyn, which is exactly what Brave New World has always strived to do. BNW uses music and dance in our work, and Austin uses actors and narrative, so it just feels completely right."

Coming off Brave New World's highly acclaimed two-week run of The Crucible last March in The Old Stone House (lit entirely by candlelight), The Halloween Plays mark a continuation of the company's desire to expand into full productions indoors in winter months. Over the past five years around the borough, BNW has presented To Kill a Mockingbird on the front porches of a tree-lined Ditmas Park street, On The Waterfront on a Brooklyn barge that toured the waterfronts of New York Bay, and The Tempest on the beach and boardwalk in Coney Island. In addition, this past summer they inaugurated Brave New World Shakespeare Festival at The Prospect Park Pavilion with free staged readings of As You Like It. Based in Brooklyn, Brave New World Repertory has been a featured favorite of Celebrate Brooklyn at the Prospect Park band shell, presenting acclaimed productions of Fahrenheit 451, The Great White Hope and Crossing Brooklyn Ferry, based on Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass.

Company XIV and Artistic Director Austin McCormick continue to garner critical acclaim. The New York Times calls Austin McCormick's work "inventive and brainy, a high-entertainment mix of music-hall, cabaret, theater and dance" and they praised Le Serpent Rouge as a "sensuous marvel." Flavorpill hailed Rouge a "glittery triumph." The Judgment of Paris was "deliciously excessive" declared Back Stage and Metro NY called Le Cirque Feerique "an appealing fantasia" with a cast "displaying world-class talent." "McCormick has a gift for understanding what captivates an audience," says Dance Magazine and The British Theatre Guide proclaimed, "Here is a company with something to say and the brains, eloquence, and goddamn balls with which to say it."

About Brave New World Repertory Theatre
Brave New World Repertory Theatre is a company of Brooklyn-based theatre professionals dedicated to creating Dynamic Productions of classic plays, as well as new works by Brooklyn writers. The company performs in unique and historic Brooklyn venues, reaching out to under-served audiences to promote a love of theatre.
http://www.bravenewworldrep.org

 Photo Credit: Holger Thoss

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