The Bench - 2018 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 11

Now playing at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, the 80-minute play IRONBOUND by award-winning playwright Martyna Majok recounts the hard luck life of Polish immigrant Darja and the men she chooses to have in it. Moving between 2014, 1992, and 2006 - but not necessarily in that order - this wry drama points out that sometimes survival is the only measure of success. No doubt the title of her play, though set at a bus stop a quarter of a mile from Elizabeth, NJ, makes sense since that blue-collar town is just like where Darja works in a nearby noisy paper factory and as a maid for a wealthy married woman, and yet still suffers through poverty, abusive husbands who drink too much, single motherhood, and then an adult son who steals her car and abandons her with no way to get to work other than the bus, which of course is always late.

Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East, presents What Do the Women Say?: Dismantling Patriarchy, its annual celebration of International Women's Day. This year's program showcases the work of leading Middle Eastern women artists that are working to expose and eradicate toxic masculinity at home, at work, and on the national stage. The event features a presentation by Yemeni-American visual artist Yasmine Diaz about her collage series, One Way or Another; a dramatic reading by Golden Thread Resident Artist Atosa Melody Babaoff of the short story "White Torture" by Iranian author Farnoosh Moshiri; a performance by Lebanese-American singer Naima Shalhoub featuring music from her debut album Live in San Francisco County Jail; and an excerpt from the documentary film The Judge by Erika Cohn and Sara Maamouri about the Arab world's first woman Sharia judge. After the presentations, Founding Artistic Director Torange Yeghiazarian will facilitate a conversation with the participating artists and the audience. Reem's California will sell food in the lobby starting at 6pm. The full program is 100 minutes without intermission.

Puppets galore descend upon Centaur Theatre as world renowned puppeteer provocateur, Ronnie Burkett, makes his Centaur debut with over 40 hand-crafted marionettes for the Quebec premiere of The Daisy Theatre, playing February 20 to March 24, 2018. Montreal's Festival de Casteliers will include The Daisy Theatre as part of its programming along with a post-show talkback following the March 8th performance.

Martyna Majok wrote IRONBOUND to share the story of the everyday challenges and hurdles of a Polish immigrant surviving in America, basing this theatrical piece on her own mother's experiences. Already in previews, IRONBOUND officially opens February 7, 2018. Martyna took some time out to answer my inquisitive questions in much depth.

A brand new performance space has opened in the downtown theatre scene, the East Village Playhouse (340 East 6th St) now occupies the former music shop Tribal Soundz. A destination for thriving and aspiring musicians and recording artists, the shop shuttered in 2008. Now the once vacant East 6th Street storefront has been revived for the first time in a decade as the East Village Playhouse, an arts destination. Opening on Thursday, February 15, 2018, the New York premiere of A Brooklyn Boy is the debut production, playing alongside the recently announced extension of The Bench.

Urban Stages (Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director), will close its 34th season with the New York Premiere of Sean Christopher Lewis's DOGS OF RWANDA, directed by Frances Hill and Peter Napolitano. This limited engagement at Urban Stages (259 West 30th Street), begins performances on Friday, March 9, opens on Monday, March 12 and will run through Saturday, March 31, 2018. Tickets for are $35 ($25 during previews; $50 on opening and $15 student rush) and may be purchased via OvationTix at www.urbanstages.org or by phone at 1.866.811.4111.

Shakespeare & Company announces its 2018 summer season. Exploring themes of Delight, Deceit, and Desire, the season includes three Shakespeare plays: Macbeth, As You Like It, and Love's Labor's Lost; plus the New England Premiere of Morning After Grace by Carey Crim; Creditors by August Strindberg adapted by David Greig; Heisenberg by Laurence Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens; Mothers and Sons by Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally; and HIR by Pulitzer Prize finalist Taylor Mac.

English Touring Theatre today announces additional tour dates of their production of Conor McPherson's Olivier Award-winning play The Weir, co-produced with Mercury Theatre Colchester.

A twisting tale of friendship, trauma and the need to move on plays out in the comically disturbing TONSILS + TWEEZERS

Game on! The Chicago premiere of Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves, a 'smart, hilarious, delightful meditation on society, sex and soccer' (The Village Voice), directed by Vanessa Stalling, launches Goodman Theatre's 2018 Owen Theatre season. A 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist, The Wolves follows a suburban girls soccer team as they navigate life's big questions and wage their own tiny battles-with all the 'bark and bite' (Vulture.com) of a pack of adolescent warriors. Hailed as 'one of the year's best plays' (The New York Times), The Wolves is DeLappe's break-out play that recently concluded an off-Broadway run at Lincoln Center Theater. Stalling directs the Chicago premiere with an all-Chicago company.

Witness the drama and emotion of an entertaining family dinner fraught with secrets and tension when The Humans begins January 6, 2018, at the Citadel Theatre.

Jef Hall-Flavin will step down later this year as Executive Director of the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival, a four-day international event that will run from September 27-30, 2018.

The Off-Broadway hit The Bench starring Robert Galinsky, directed by Jay O. Sanders, will extend its sold out run at The East Village Playhouse (340 East 6th Street). It will start back up after the holidays beginning January 26 and will run an additional 12 weeks through April 13, 2018, playing Fridayevening at 9pm. Tickets are $29 - $39 and can be purchased by visiting TheBenchPlay.com or by calling866-811-4111. This production is being presented by Golden Globe Nominated Chris Noth, Drama Desk, Obie, Olivier Award winner Barry Shabaka Henley and produced by Tony Award winning producerTerry Schnuck.

Eisemann Center Presents SEEGER, a multimedia solo show written and performed by Randy Noojin at the Eisemann Center, 2351 Performance Drive in Richardson, Texas on Saturday, February 2, 2018 at 7:30 pm. This show is part of Spotlight Artists shows, starring Randy Noojin, who appeared in Hard Travelin' with Woody at the Eisemann Center in 2016.

The Connecticut Cabaret Theatre in Berlin, CT starts the new calendar year strongly with an excellent performance of a romantic comedy called THE LAST ROMANCE that stars three people and a dog. I highly recommend this show that will bring you through a gamut of emotions, all strongly conveyed by this highly talented cast.

Witness the drama and emotion of an entertaining family dinner fraught with secrets and tension when The Humans begins January 6, 2018, at the Citadel Theatre.

The Off-Broadway hit The Bench starring Robert Galinsky, directed by Jay O. Sanders, will extend its sold out run at The East Village Playhouse (340 East 6th Street). It will start back up after the holidays beginning January 26 and will run an additional 12 weeks through April 13, 2018, playing Friday evening at 9pm. Tickets are $29 - $39 and can be purchased by visiting TheBenchPlay.com or by calling 866-811-4111. This production is being presented by Golden Globe Nominated Chris Noth, Drama Desk, Obie, Olivier Award winner Barry Shabaka Henley and produced by Tony Award winning producer Terry Schnuck.

Cleveland Play House (CPH) is proud to bring George Brant's Marie and Rosetta to the Allen Theatre stage. Marie and Rosetta chronicles the story of 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Early Influence Inductee Sister Rosetta Tharpe and her counterpart Marie Knight as they changed the landscape of modern music. Miche Braden will make her return to Cleveland Play House as Sister Rosetta Tharpe alongside CPH newcomer Chaz Hodges as Marie Knight. Directed by Neil Pepe, Marie and Rosetta runs January 20 through February 11, 2018 in the Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square.

Tribe of Fools is bringing back their incredibly popular Holiday Burlesque. Tribe's holiday tradition provides a holiday themed show for adults.

Chrissy Metz, the Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominated star of the NBC drama This Is Us, will make her stage debut in Neil LaBute's critically acclaimed play Fat Pig at the Geffen Playhouse.

English Touring Theatre presents the touring production of Conor McPherson's Olivier Award-winning play The Weir, co-produced with Mercury Theatre Colchester, with exclusive Scottish dates at King's Theatre Edinburgh, Tue 20 to Sat 24 Feb 2018.

Witness the drama and emotion of an entertaining family dinner fraught with secrets and tension when The Humans begins January 6, 2018, at the Citadel Theatre.

The Theatre Company at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) has announced playwrights, dates and details for the 2018 Colorado New Play Summit.

English Touring Theatre today announces additional tour dates of their production of Conor McPherson's Olivier Award-winning play The Weir, co-produced with Mercury Theatre Colchester.

Urban Stages, Frances Hill, Founding Artistic Director, will kick-off its 34th season with the World Premiere of Zhu Yi's A DEAL, directed by John Giampietro. This limited engagement at Urban Stages (259 West 30th Street), begins performances on November 15, opens on Monday, November 20 and will run through December 10, 2017. Tickets for are $35 ($25 during previews; $50 on opening and $15 student rush) and may be purchased via OvationTix at www.urbanstages.org or by phone at 1.866.811.4111.