Jonathan Slaff News

Nonstop theater, a costume competition and ballroom dancing will bewitch the East Village in Theater for the New City's 37th annual Village Halloween Costume Ball tonight, October 31 at TNC, 155 First Avenue. This unique festival continues as a grand coming-together for everyday New Yorkers and artists alike. A carefree fall tradition, it celebrates the creativity that comes with the season.

Phoebe Legere, the renowned singer, author, composer and multi-format artist, has written a full-length musical comedy, 'Shakespeare and Elizabeth I: The Reality Show.' The musical is about love, war, espionage and creative genius, and includes music written by Legere, who heads the cast of ten as Queen Elizabeth I. Director David Zen Mansley plays the Bard and trumpeter Rhys Tivey plays Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, the Queen's noble heartthrob. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., will present this world premiere November 29 to December 15.

In Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre's 'The Republic, or My Dinner with Socrates,' playwright/director Vit Horejs dramatizes the historic role of the renowned philosopher with toga-clad puppets, shadow figures and live music. The play's world premiere will be presented by La MaMa E.T.C. in association with GOH Productions from November 29 to December 15 in its First Floor Theater at 74A East Fourth Street.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) announces the October panel Marketing for Indie Theater: Banding Together for a Stronger Presence today, October 22, 2013 at 7:30pm at The Playroom Theater, 151 W. 46th Street, 8th floor, NYC. Doors open at 7pmfor networking and refreshments, presentations and roundtable introductions start at 7:30pm.

When Lynnea Benson stages 'Hamlet' with Frog and Peach Theatre Company, it'll be as a face-off between Scandinavian cultures. Bloodthirsty old Scandinavia confronts sleek, modern Scandinavia in a beautifully costumed, paranoid thriller that lets 'Hamlet' live up to its reputation as Shakespeare's most suspenseful play. The production will be tonight, October 17 to November 10 at West End Theater, 263 West 86th Street.

'An American Family Takes a Lover' by Amina Henry is a dark, dark comedy that peeks into the household comprised of an upscale American couple, Richard David and Lady Anne, and their 'other person,' a young Black woman named Justine who is their slave. The arrival of a handyman to fix a hole in the wall sets off a series of developments that tear this cockeyed family apart in an absurd parable that explores The Stockholm Syndrome through a sexual and racial lens. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., will present The Cell Theatre Company's production of the play November 7 to 17. It's a premiere run, directed by Kira Simring, Artistic Director of The Cell Theatre Company (founding Artistic Director Nancy Manocherian), where the piece was originally incubated.

The Drilling Company has extended its Off-Broadway production of 'The Norwegians' by C. Denby Swanson, directed by Elowyn Castle, through November 24. Performances will continue at The Drilling Company Theatre, 236 West 78th Street. That's where the show began Off-off Broadway last season and where it was re-mounted as The Drilling Company's first Off-Broadway production. Originally scheduled for October 3 to 28, the Off-Broadway run has been extended through November 24 due to hearty audience response.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) announces the October panel Marketing for Indie Theater: Banding Together for a Stronger Presence on Tuesday, October 22, 2013 at 7:30pm at The Playroom Theater, 151 W. 46th Street, 8th floor, NYC. Doors open at 7pmfor networking and refreshments, presentations and roundtable introductions start at 7:30pm.

A contemporary riff on an Andean myth, 'A Girl Without Wings' by Jason Williamson, directed by Kathleen Amshoff, is an object theater piece telling the story of a lonely condor who falls in love with a spirited shepherd girl. The play is based on a folktale of the Quechua speaking communities of Ecuador and Peru. IATI Theater and Dramatic Adventure Theatre will present the piece today, October 4 to 27, 2013 as the first production in IATI's newly-renovated facility at 64 East Fourth Street. The story is a fable for all ages and is recommended for ages 8 to 108. This play is presented with support from the Jim Henson Foundation.

In 'The Vatican Knows (about the kidnapping of that young woman),' a new play by Mario Fratti, a young girl's fantasies about being fathered by the Pope lead to a brutal kidnapping. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., will present the work tonight, October 3 to 20, directed by Stephan Morrow.

Nonstop theater, a costume competition and ballroom dancing will bewitch the East Village in Theater for the New City's 37th annual Village Halloween Costume Ball on Thursday, October 31 at TNC, 155 First Avenue. This unique festival continues as a grand coming-together for everyday New Yorkers and artists alike. A carefree fall tradition, it celebrates the creativity that comes with the season.

To share an exceptional production with a wider audience, Theater for the New City has extended the American premiere run of 'Playing Sinatra' by England's Bernard Kops by one week; it will now play through October 13. The powerful drama opened September 15 and was originally scheduled to close October 6. In the play, grown up siblings in Streatham, London, resist their lonely future by idolizing ol' Blue Eyes. Norman can't leave their family nest; his sister, Sandra, knows she must try. Her new friend, Philip, is drawn into their trap to escape his painful past. This American premiere is performed by Austin Pendleton, Katharine Cullison and Richard McElvain. Kelly Morgan directs.

'Possibility Junkie' is a new musical theater work by David Ippolito (music, lyrics, book) and directed by Gretchen Cryer ('I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road'), who co-authored the book. The story is based loosely on the career of David Ippolito, who is known to hundreds of thousands of people across the country and around the world as 'That Guitar Man from Central Park.' Part singer/songwriter, part storyteller, part social-commentator and humorist, Ippolito has become famous for his simple catch phrase, 'It's just us,' and his ability to turn a large crowd of strangers into a group of friends. Theater for the New City will present the world premiere tonight, September 28 to October 20, 2013.

When Lynnea Benson stages 'Hamlet' with Frog and Peach Theatre Company, it'll be as a face-off between Scandinavian cultures. Bloodthirsty old Scandinavia confronts sleek, modern Scandinavia in a beautifully costumed, paranoid thriller that lets 'Hamlet' live up to its reputation as Shakespeare's most suspenseful play. The production will be October 17 to November 10 at West End Theater, 263 West 86th Street.

A contemporary riff on an Andean myth, 'A Girl Without Wings' by Jason Williamson, directed by Kathleen Amshoff, is an object theater piece telling the story of a lonely condor who falls in love with a spirited shepherd girl. The play is based on a folktale of the Quechua speaking communities of Ecuador and Peru. IATI Theater and Dramatic Adventure Theatre will present the piece October 4 to 27, 2013 as the first production in IATI's newly-renovated facility at 64 East Fourth Street. The story is a fable for all ages and is recommended for ages 8 to 108.

Theater for a New Generation will present 'Freefall' by the highly celebrated Chicago playwright Charles Smith, directed by Mel Williams, at The Drilling Company Theatre, 238 West 78th Street, tonight, September 11 to 28. The play is a drama of two brothers who grew up in inner-city Chicago and have followed divergent paths into adulthood: one as a thief, the other as a policeman.

In 'The Vatican Knows (about the kidnapping of that young woman),' a new play by Mario Fratti, a young girl's fantasies about being fathered by the Pope lead to a brutal kidnapping. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave., will present the work October 3 to 20, directed by Stephan Morrow.

'Possibility Junkie' is a new musical theater work by David Ippolito (music, lyrics, book) and directed by Gretchen Cryer ('I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road'), who co-authored the book. The story is based loosely on the career of David Ippolito, who is known to hundreds of thousands of people across the country and around the world as 'That Guitar Man from Central Park.' Part singer/songwriter, part storyteller, part social-commentator and humorist, Ippolito has become famous for his simple catch phrase, 'It's just us,' and his ability to turn a large crowd of strangers into a group of friends. Theater for the New City will present the world premiere September 28 to October 20, 2013.

As the political races throughout New York City reach their peak, candidates, thought leaders, businesses, organizations, and prominent New Yorkers are showing their support for the One Percent for Culture campaign that seeks to increase funding to the city's 1,300-plus non-profit cultural organizations.

The NYC-ARTS Top Five is your cheat sheet to what's hot before it hits the radar.