Jonathan Slaff News

The NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, New York City's premier dance awards honoring outstanding creative work in the field, announced today the recipients of two special awards.

Dorothi Fox and Arthur French will star in the premiere of 'Imminently Yours' by Karimah, to be presented by The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) from June 17 to 30 at Theatre 80, 80 St. Marks Place.

In a tale as old as FaceTime, Electronic City pulses with potential as a dynamic dystopian mash-up where LED, KLM, EDM and 'news' of J-Lo's CVS H20 all vie for our short attention spans. Art imitates and pixelates life, and a co-dependency on little screens leads to big problems for Joy (Jeanne Laurent Smith) and Tom (Brandon Lee Olson), a disconnected but determined couple whose relationship status can best be described as 'buffering.'

Fusion Theatre Company's existentialist drama No Exit debuted this month at at The Theater at 244 in New York City.

On Sunday, March 31, Theater for the New City will present a free reading of Goethe's classic 'Urfaust,' translated by Charles E. Passage, directed by Elizabeth Ruf Maldonado, to follow the 3:00 PM production of 'Johannes Dokchtor Faust, a Petrifying Puppet Comedye' by Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre.

On Friday, March 22, Theater for the New City will present a special one-hour, acoustic-punk reading of Christopher Marlowe's classic 'Doctor Faustus' script, directed by Elizabeth Ruf-Maldonado. The reading follows the 8:00 PM production of 'Johannes Dokchtor Faust, a Petrifying Puppet Comedye' by Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre.

On March 23 and 30, Fusion Theatre will present Spinto Soprano Eilin O'Dea and Tenor Byron Holman in 'A Night at the Opera,' an evening of extracts (duets and arias) from 'Aida,' 'Tosca' and 'Madama Butterfly,' at Marc A. Scorca Hall of National Opera Center, 330 Seventh Ave., 7th floor.  Musical direction is by pianist Maestro Brian Holman. 

Woodie King, Jr.'s New Federal Theatre (NFT) has scheduled talk backs to follow five matinee performances of 'Looking for Leroy' by Larry Muhammad, a two-character play that reflects on the legacy of the late Leroi Jones/Amiri Baraka.  Baraka was a leading dramatist the 20th century who defined the role of the Black playwright for our age.  NFT is presenting the world premiere of this play February 28 to March 31 at Castillo Theater, 543 West 42nd Street. 

BWW Review: Thunderbird American Indian Dance Concert and Pow Wow Celebrates Timeless Traditions Today

'Bring it On' meets 'Dreamgirls' in the girl-group musical, 'Betty and the Belrays' by William Electric Black aka Ian Ellis James, which will be presented by Theater for the New City January 31 to February 17. The piece tells the story of three white female singers from Detroit who struggle to change a racially divided society by singing for a black record label. Book and lyrics are by William Electric Black. Music is by Black, Valerie Ghent (arranger/keyboards for Ashford & Simpson) and Gary Schreiner. Choreography is by Jeremy Lardieri. Director is Mr. Black.

'Bring it On' meets 'Dreamgirls' in the girl-group musical, 'Betty and the Belrays' by William Electric Black aka Ian Ellis James, which will be presented by Theater for the New City January 31 to February 17. The piece tells the story of three white female singers from Detroit who struggle to change a racially divided society by singing for a black record label. Book and lyrics are by William Electric Black. Music is by Black, Valerie Ghent (arranger/keyboards for Ashford & Simpson) and Gary Schreiner. Choreography is by Jeremy Lardieri. Director is Mr. Black.

'The Wizard of Oz: A Jazz Musical for All Ages,' presented by Harlem Repertory Theater (HRT) and Yip Harburg Foundation, has been extended through June 8, 2019 due to continuing and steady audience interest. The production has played since October 8, 2016 at Tato Laviera Theatre, 240 East 123rd Street (near 2nd Ave.), Manhattan, and has previously been extended six times.

We live in an age where our leaders convince people that made-up things are really true. That's what witches do.  So the Witches are the preoccupation of First Maria Ensemble's upcoming production of 'Macbeth,' directed by Celeste Moratti, to be presented December 6 to 21 at Teatro Circulo, 64 East 4th Street.  The company made an auspicious debut in 2016 with 'Hamlet,' which Theater Pizazz (JK Clarke) called one of the season's best small-company productions of Shakespeare plays and Front Row Center (Holli Harms) added, 'Here is hoping that Celeste Moratti continues on this trajectory of directorial discoveries.' 

'The Wizard of Oz: A Jazz Musical for All Ages,' presented by Harlem Repertory Theater (HRT) and Yip Harburg Foundation, will not close June 16. It has been extended through November 24, 2018 due to continuing and steady audience interest. The production has played since October 8, 2016 at Tato Laviera Theatre, 240 East 123rd Street (near 2nd Ave.), Manhattan, and has previously been extended five times.

In 'Life Among the Aryans,' an American political satire by Ishmael Reed, directed by Rome Neal, the time is the future and the political pendulum has swung way back.

Jay Michaels discusses indie theatre marketing at Theatre Resources Unlimited (TRU) BOOTCAMP: 2018 Weekend Intensive for Showcase Producing

From May 16 to June 2, August Strindberg Rep will present Strindberg's 'Creditors,' in a new translation by Robert Greer, at Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond Street.  This masterpiece from Strindberg's naturalist period is rarely excelled in its unity of construction, dramatic tension and acute psychological analysis, but it is far less performed and anthologized than 'The Father' or 'Miss Julie.' During an afternoon in a lounge at a seaside resort, a revenge is played out as a credulous artist has his mind poisoned against his wife by her former husband. Mr. Greer directs.

In her newest play, 'A Punk or a Gentleman,' playwright Andrea J. Fulton explores the complex psyche of a Black, middle-aged Don Juan who loves to captivate women but falls victim to physical abuse by the women he loves. The ten-character drama will be directed by Kymbali Craig for its world premiere, which will be presented by Theater for the New City from May 3 to 20.

San Salvador, 2014: Six-year-old Enri is not allowed to go outside because gang leaders live next door and across the street. His family does not venture beyond their own house after six in the evening. Photo by Amy Kaslow.

On February 27 at Paris Blues, 2021 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. (at 121st St.), The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. will hold a comedy benefit to support its production of 'A Soldier's Play,' to be presented February 14 to March 4 at Gene Franbkel Theatre, 24 Bond Street.