Ellen Stewart News

SIX CHARACTERS - a new puppet and multi-media work created by the renowned writer-director Theodora Skipitares, and inspired by Luigi Pirandello's classic play SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR - will be given its world premiere production this spring, presented by La MaMa in association with Skysaver Productions at the Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 E. 4 St.), with performances March 31 to April 16.  Press opening is April 3.  SIX CHARACTERS is directed, designed and adapted by Theodora Skipitares and marks a milestone as the 25th play she's created in 30 years on stage.

Kitchen Table Works announces the New York revival of Leonard Melfi's BIRDBATH. Set in 1960s Manhattan, the story centers around a young woman and man who are closing up a late night diner on Valentine's Eve.

Two Colombian theater artists -- Bernard Rey and Nube Sandoval -- are the recipients of the first-ever Ellen Stewart International Award, it has been announced by La MaMa, the world-renowned experimental theater company founded by the late Ellen Stewart and now in its 54th season on East 4th Street in New York City. 

LA MaMa presents COFFEEHOUSE CHRONICLES #132 'TALKING BAND' -- Saturday March 12, 2016 at 3 to 5 p.m. -- Located at, La MaMa, Downstairs (66 East 4th Street, NYC).

Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company will host a post-show discussion centered on the later work of Tennessee Williams following the March 5, 3pm performance of Tennessee Williams 1982. The participants include Tony-winning playwright John Guare, scholar and writer David Savran, scholar and current Tennessee Williams' editor Thomas Keith, and professor and writer Annette J. Saddik.

Kitchen Table Works announces the New York revival of Leonard Melfi's BIRDBATH. Set in 1960s Manhattan, the story centers around a young woman and man who are closing up a late night diner on Valentine's Eve.

'The New World Symphony: Dvorak in America' is a puppet and object theater work examining the influence of African-American and Native American music upon the great 19th-century Czech composer Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904). The piece is written and directed by Vit Horejš and performed by Czechoslovak American Marionette Theatre. It traces how Dvorak helped America accept its beautiful multicultural musical traditions by his enthusiasm for African-American and Native American music during his short but influential time in the USA. La MaMa Theatre will present the play's world premiere run March 10 to 27, 2016 in its Ellen Stewart Theatre, 66 East 4th Street (East Village). Composer and Musical Director is saxophonist James Brandon Lewis.

The production team of JUPITER (A PLAY ABOUT POWER) installed a solar panel February 8, 2016 on the roof of La MaMa, 74A East Fourth Street, for a green design experiment conceived by Superhero Clubhouse, a NYC-based eco-theater company. Scroll down for a look at the solar panel installation!

The 6th annual BEAT BOX FESTIVAL - featuring a wealth of the country's top beatbox performers working in a variety of styles - will be presented by La MaMa Feb. 25-28 at The Club (74 E. 4 St.) and Funkadelic Studios (209 west 40th street 5th floor) in New York City.   The 4-day event includes performances, open mic, beat rhythm battles and vocal standoffs with a lineup of beatbox artists.  BEAT BOX FESTIVAL is curated for La MaMa by the legendary beatbox master Kid Lucky.

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club will present the World Premiere of Romana Soutus' solo show HYENA, directed by Rachel Levens for a limited engagementMarch 18-27 at The Club at La MaMa (74A East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery) with performances on Friday and Saturday at 10pm and Sunday at 6pm.

Director/producer/actor Charles Haid's latest theatrical directorial project ALTMAN'S LAST STAND opens February 6 at the Zephyr Theatre. In this one-man show, Michael Laskin portrays the Viennese-born Franz Altman who refused to sell his mid-town Manhattan second hand shop to corporate developers.

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, celebrating its 39th Season, presents the New York world premiere of A DREAM OF RED PAVILIONS, China's greatest and most beloved novel, running now through February 14, 2016 at the Clubman Theatre (Theatre Row). The production opens tonight, January 28, 2016.

Since its founding in 1974 by Paul Zimet and Ellen Maddow -- former members of Joseph Chaikin's seminal Open Theater -- the Talking Band has remained a cornerstone of New York City's avant-garde theater community. La MaMa in association with Talking Band presents the world premiere of its latest work, BURNISHED BY GRIEF, a sinister, music infused romantic comedy, at La MaMa's first floor theater, opening tonight, January 27, and running through February 7, 2016.

Since its founding in 1974 by Paul Zimet and Ellen Maddow -- former members of Joseph Chaikin's seminal Open Theater -- the Talking Band has remained a cornerstone of New York City's avant-garde theater community. La MaMa in association with Talking Band will present the world premiere of its latest work, BURNISHED BY GRIEF, a sinister, music infused romantic comedy, at La MaMa's first floor theater from tonight, January 22, through February 7.

A classic Mabou Mines feat is to take a theatrical classic, reimagine it from top to bottom, then turn it inside out; the result is a production so spanking new that the original gleams with fresh and unexpected relevance. The tradition continues in a collaboration with Trick Saddle and the 45-year old company. The two companies combine forces in the world premiere of 'Imagining the Imaginary Invalid,' inspired by 'The Imaginary Invalid,' Moliere's piercing satiric take on the pretension, gullibility and vulnerability of we poor mortals. Presented by La MaMa, a production of Mabou Mines and Trick Saddle, the play runs January 21-February 7 at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre.

New York's avant-garde Faux-Real Theatre, which specializes in staging the classics of Greek theatre with an immersive abandon that closely approximates how these plays were first experienced thousands of years ago, is pulling out the stops with Euripides "The Bacchae."  Returning to La MaMa, 74A East 4th Street, where it staged "Oedipus Rex XX/XY" in 2013, Faux-Real juices "The Bacchae" with music, dancing, masks, and titillating gender and costume malfunctions galore.   La MaMa, in association with The Faux-Real Theatre, presents "The Bacchae" by Euripides, beginning Thursday March 3 at 7:30pm, and running through Sunday March 20 at 2pm.  Directed by Faux-Real Artistic Director Mark Greenfield, "The Bacchae" features masks by Lynda White, musical direction by Tony Naumovski, and costumes by Irina Getz.

'JUPITER (a play about power)' by Superhero Clubhouse and Kaimera Productions is an argument of soaring irony and logic between humanity and a dude with one-time magic who has made all fossil fuels disappear permanently from the Earth. That's not such an unbelievable premise, when you think about it, because in terms of our global history, we are on the brink of an energy systems overhaul. Some 'man at the switch' could at any time begin shutting our industrial civilization down. Oh, we'll be indignant then. Now imagine a philosophical debate between this overlord and a woman who represents all of humankind. That is the one-act 'dream play' that will be offered to us by playwright Jeremy Pickard, director Simon Adinia Hanukai and musician/energy policy specialist Jonathan Camuzeaux, presented by La Mama from February 11-28, 2016.

Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre (CAMT) has created 'The New World Symphony: Dvorak in America,' a play chronicling the American years (1892-1895) of Czech composer Antonin Dvorak, during which he produced a flurry of 'American' works. This puppet theater work is rich in classical and original music (played live!) and dramatizes one of the most significant cultural exchanges in American history. GOH Productions and Dvorak-American Heritage Association (DAHA) will present the piece as a work in progress January 30 and 31, 2016 at Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street (Upper East Side). This production is preparatory to the play's upcoming world premiere run, which will be presented by La Mama Experimental Theatre, 66 East 4th Street (East Village), six weeks later: from March 10 to 27, 2016 (see more info below). The play is conceived and directed by Vit Horejs. Composer and Musical Director is saxophonist James Brandon Lewis.

A classic Mabou Mines feat is to take a theatrical classic, reimagine it from top to bottom, then turn it inside out; the result is a production so spanking new that the original gleams with fresh and unexpected relevance. The tradition continues in a collaboration with Trick Saddle and the 45-year old company. The two companies combine forces in the world premiere of 'Imagining the Imaginary Invalid,' inspired by 'The Imaginary Invalid,' Moliere's piercing satiric take on the pretension, gullibility and vulnerability of we poor mortals. Presented by La MaMa, a production of Mabou Mines and Trick Saddle, the play runs January 21-February 7 at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre.

Since its founding in 1974 by Paul Zimet, Ellen Maddow and Tina Shepard-former members of Joseph Chaikin's seminal Open Theater-the Talking Band has remained a cornerstone of New York City's avant-garde theater community. Ben Brantley of The New York Times recently called them 'one of the boldest and most venerable politically minded companies in New York experimental theater.' American Theater magazine has deemed them 'one of the most exceptional theater companies in the country.' The Talking Band will present in association with La MaMa the world premiere of its latest work, Burnished by Grief, a sinister, music infused romantic comedy, at La MaMa'sfirst floor theater from January 22-February 7.