Ellen Stewart News

LA MAMA announces its Puppet Festival, (November 1 - 25, 2018), featuring the New York and World premiere of works by artists from around the world including Germany, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Colombia, China, Belgium, and the USA taking place at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre and The Downstairs (66 E. 4 St.), in the East Village throughout the month of November.

At a ceremony in Tokyo today, His Imperial Highnesses Prince Hitachi, honorary patron of the Japan Art Association, and Princess Hitachi paid homage to the winners of the organization's 2018 Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award. They are Pierre Alechinsky, Painting (Belgium/France); Fujiko Nakaya, Sculpture (Japan); Christian de Portzamparc, Architecture (France); Riccardo Muti, Music (Italy); and Catherine Deneuve, Theatre/Film (France).

The Japan Art Association has appointed Caroline Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, as International Advisor to Praemium Imperiale. Starting in November 2018, she will preside over the U.S. Nomination Committee, recommending candidates for the Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award. Ms. Kennedy will succeed, Ambassador William Luers, former President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, who served in this role for 18 years and will become an Honorary Advisor.

La MaMa celebrates its 2018 Regional Theatre Tony Award at its 57th Season Gala on Thursday, October 25 at 6 pm in the Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 E. 4 St.). The Gala evening will honor the Tony Award-winning playwright Lisa Kron (FUN HOME) and will feature performances by downtown icons Taylor Mac and Erin Markey, rising star Gunnar Montana and a musical ensemble of Broadway and Off-Broadway performers singing A Change Will Come by the late La MaMa artist Elizabeth Swados. Mia Yoo is Artistic Director of La MaMa.

Playwright/director Elia Schneider--born in Israel, raised in Venezuela and now an American citizen--is known for hauntingly visual productions that transcend language with strong imagery and a dreamlike fresco of movement and design. Her newest work, 'Citizens of the Gray or the Dark Thing that Sleeps Inside Me,' deals with the war of the sexes in the age of the #MeToo Movement. Hitherto, her theatrical productions have mostly emerged from ideas derived from Kafka. Now she is channeling Strindberg for a new work of ensemble creation with her Teatro Dramma. Theater for the New City will present the world premiere of the piece November 9 to 25.  It will be Schneider's Theater for the New City debut.

La MaMa presents the World Premiere of Slanty Eyed Mama's newest show, Zombie Asian Moms with monologue, comedy and spoken word by Kate Rigg and electric violin fueled songs by Slanty Eyed Mama (the duo of Kate Rigg and Lyris Hung) at The Downstairs at La MaMa

LA MAMA, the 2018 Tony Award winning theater in NYC, in association with Howl Arts Inc., announce performance extension of KINK HAÜS. Created by and starring Philadelphia fringe performance artist, Gunnar Montana, in his New York City stage debut. KINK HAÜS, having previously been scheduled through October 6th, will now play through October 14th.

One of the oldest theaters in NYC - 74 E. 4 St., home to the 2018 Tony Award-winning La MaMa in the East Village - will mark the start of its first-ever restoration and renovation since the building was constructed in 1873 with a GROUNDBREAKING EVENT attended by Tony winning composer and longtime La MaMa company member SCOTT WITTMAN (Hairspray, the upcoming remake of Mary Poppins), NYC Deputy Mayor ALICIA GLEN, TOM FINKELPEARL (Commissioner of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs), BRAD HOYLMAN (NY State Senator), NYC Council Member CARLINA RIVERA, the world-renowned National Medal of Arts recipient PING CHONG, La MaMa Artistic Direct MIA YOO and Board President FRANK CARUCCI, along with performers from the SPIDERWOMAN THEATRE and THE SILVER CLOUD SINGERS.

'The Rest I Make Up', a film about Maria Irene Fornes by Michelle Memran Presented by RealTime Interventions and Women Make Movies Monday, October 8th, 7-9 PMScreening and panel moderated by playwright Molly Rice, featuring Michelle Memran, co-producer Katie Pearl, Broadway/ TV/ film performer Michael Cerveris, & others.

LA MAMA, the 2018 Tony Award winning theater presents, COFFEEHOUSE CHRONICLES #149 "ANDREI SERBAN" - Saturday, September 29th at 3:00pm?at The Ellen Stewart Theater (66 East 4th Street), in the Manhattan.

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre (Tisa Chang, Artistic Producing Director) will host a one-night only special event celebrating the upcoming season with the 2018 Arts & Action Gala Dinner on Thursday evening, October 18, 2018 at The Golden Unicorn Restaurant in Chinatown (18 East Broadway at Catherine Street).

From October 6 to 27 at the Upper East Side's Bohemian National Hall and Jan Hus Church, GOH Productions will present a Centennial Heritage Festival, featuring mainstage marionette theater productions for adults and kids and musical concerts for audiences of all ages. The festival celebrates two auspicious anniversaries: the Centennial Anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia (1918) and the Millennial Anniversary of the unification of the Lands of the Czech Crown, under Duke Oldrich (1018).

THE ARTS -- a new docu-drama by Kevin Doyle/ Sponsored By Nobody about the checkered history of public funding for the arts in the U.S. -- will be given its world-premiere production by LA MAMA, the 2018 Tony Award-winning theatre company, with preview performances beginning September 13 prior to the play's official opening September 16 at the Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 E. 4 St.) in Manhattan.  This debut of THE ARTS marks the start of the 57th season at La MaMa, led by artistic director Mia Yoo. 

THE DRAGON GRISWYND, a new play by Carrie Robbins - the playwright and Tony-nominated costume designer - will be presented at Theatre for the New City (155 First Ave.) in the East Village this summer, with performances scheduled September 6-16 as part of TNC's Dream Up Festival.

La MaMa, the newly-minted recipient of the 2018 Regional Theatre Tony Award, now in its 57th season, will be featured on this week's THEATER TALK, as producer/co-host Susan Haskins-Doloff pays a visit to the La MaMa Archive.

KINK HAÜS, an experimental work created by and starring performance artist Gunnar Montana with an ensemble cast of six, will open at La MaMa, the 2018 Tony Award winning theatre in association with Howl! Arts Inc. Previews begin September 20. 

Hailed for its 'compelling and innovative programming (WQXR Radio)," dell'Arte Opera Ensemble today announced its 2018 summer festival dedicated to works by Mozart and Salieri. Starting on August 11, 2018, and running until August 26, the festival features 13 performances of two fully-staged operas, a scenes program, and an intimate recital to be presented in the intimate black-box space of La MaMa Theatre. Currently in its 16th season, dell'Arte has filled the summer lull with fresh productions of well-known classics and rarities, performed by the developmental company's cast of young singers, supported by a fine musical ensemble.

LA MAMA announces its Puppet Festival, (November 1 - 25, 2018), featuring the New York and World premiere of works by artists from around the world including Germany, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Colombia, China, Belgium, and the USA taking place at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre and The Downstairs (66 E. 4 St.), in the East Village throughout the month of November.

PROTOTYPE: Opera/Theatre/Now is pleased to announce programming for the seventh annual festival of fresh opera-theatre & music-theatre running January 5-13, 2019, featuring eight presentations that "shift the whole paradigm of what opera is and can be" (New York Observer).

After playing the old school Italian father, the all American not-so-good boy next door, and many more international roles, Galata' comes back on the New York stage as Alvares, the Spanish Governor of the Happycurean Island with the world Premiere of CAPTAIN FILTHY FRED, opening June 21st at La MaMa Ellen Stewart Theatre