Break

DS is on hiatus.
Maybe until the end of law school. Maybe until the end of the four next bush years (if there are still arts or a city to write about). Maybe until the end of this ridiculous war on terror. No way to be sure...
GTTT...

Amazing Theater Events Part 2: Taymor at the Met

I would accept that the opera is too expensive. I would admit that the opera is about music, not the kind of fringe theatrical event this site is supposed to recommend. I have conceded that the opera is the realm of the weepy, not the transported- (even though I have never endured an opera dry-eyed)-
But that was before Julie Taymor decided to design Die Zauberflote [The Magic Flute] a new backbone.

Julie Taymor is one of the first designers to merit international fame as a single stage designer/ puppeteer/ mask-maker.

Her puppets explore creative and spatial grounds that make other artists feel psychologically quadriplegic (and Lord wasn't Christopher Reeve far too young to go?). Taymor's version of Titus was the first filmed version of Shakespeare to add a dimension his play, rather than Ken Brannagh-style heartless hollywoodisms. She revived Frida Kahlo's aesthetic in the recent film about her life, and she somehow elevated the lion king above Broadway and Disney.

Her full control of Die Zauberflotte's design is a rare event. Unmissable.

And then, there is Mozart, one of the most theatrical of the Operatic theogony.

Good enough? Not quite. Mark Dendy, noted broadway choreographer is on board too.

PRICE
Overpriced. Tix here.

WHEN
October 8, October 11, October 15, October 18, October 21, April 8, 2005, April 13, April 16, 2005, April 20,April 23/

WHERE
The Metropolitan Opera.


Need help with the German? Libretto; Symopsis; Wikipedia details here.

If you do not go, a recommended rent is Titus- but Go To The Theater.

Three Amazing Theater Events: Part One

DS is not promising cheap. Then again, since many of us have saved money staying home to watch Bush and Kerry, we just might be able to afford some more.

1. DESMOND TUTU WAS HERE


Archbishop Tutu, nobel peace prize winner, motivating force and spiritual leader behind the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, is one of the truly good beings of this world. Find him off-broadway- that often beautiful swamp of washed-up ideas, and you've seen a clear sign that this is not a world for good beings.

Tutu is a man of deep dignity and humor, taller than he looks and deeper than his sunny accent. His Gandolfian apperance in the middle of this mess we've made is at once a relief and an embarrassment. An indication that we, in this country, dropped the ball in the human rights department.


Will he get this president to back off his implication, during last night's debate, that the International Criminal Court is just a trend in "certain European capitals" probably not. [hash bars, red light districts, and notions of international justice. Crazy Europeans].


Will he bring our Supreme Court justices back from the belief that the Geneva Conventions on POWs and torture is not self executing- and so technically not enforceable against this government? [O'Connor during the Guantanamo cases, last july], certainly not.

Besides, he is not even visible anymore: he appeared- for only two performances last week, then left.

But it might still be worth seeing the play he decided to grace. If only to absorb some second-hand halo.

PLAY:
Guantanamo: Honor Bound To Defend Freedom , a play based on the testimony of Guantanamo detainees, lawyers and public officials. Review .

WHERE:
45 Bleecker Street, just east of Lafayette.

PRICE:
Is unbearable, at $55-60. Call 212-307-4100 or buy online.

WHEN:
Open run, Tuesday to Saturday at 8 pm, 3pm Matinees Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday. Call: 212-253-9983

Peace.... and go to the theater.

E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle

And so is law school, schedualistically feast or famine, headless chicken or zen master. Readings have dropped to near nil (probably friends or family), but this is an amazing week for theater in NYC, and since DS is home convalescing from the dentist, stripped of all the dental wisdom I had left and looking like the wealthiest of chipmunks, lets do it.... Meanwhile, go to the theater.

[pic, looking much like me at present, is from nature photographer Leo Kulinsky Jr.]

Last Day of Free Outdoor Theater

At least, from the Play Outside festival.
Performances today include the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theater's performance of Hamlet, at 7:00pm, in Washington Market Park (which is on Chambers street, near Greenwhich street). Directions.
Raves of the Czechoslovak American's other workshere.
If you've had it with Hamlet, other plays are scheduled here.
Go!

FREE THEATER OUTSIDE September 24-26

For anyone who wants to pretend summer is still here, play outside is offering F-R-E-E..... O-U-T-D-O-O-R..... T-H-E-A-T-E-R....
and what could be better than the Czechoslovak-American Puppet Theater performing Hamlet, or "A Pack of Idiots" performing Medea?

Whatever your borough, chances are you will find an outside play somewhere near you. Schedule here. Shows are free, so treat yourselves and go to the theater.

Cheap Theater September 16- September 23: In and out of the Cocoon

...is this week's theater theme, for those of us who can't afford the snow show (a consolation: there will be a wintersworth of free snow shows come December). There are so many things one can be ambiguous about, with more or less acceptance, in New York. This week, why not try age?

Theater for Old Times Transitions: Sam Shepard's Chicago and Cowboys #2 and new plays
Sam Shepard , member of the mythical-sounding, mysterious and unheard of Theater Hall of Fame (Its right there, next to the flea circus), is the pop art playwright, and a writer of time and obscured memory. Chicago begins with a bathtub scene- and really does not get much happier.
DS does not know what Cowboys #2 Involves, but we do know that Shepard loved the theme of the old, romanticized and forgotten "true west." The "transitions" festival also includes new works, such as "the discomposers" (W.C. Meny) and "Disintegration," (M. Allen).
Either way, this is old-soul theater- you've been warned.
Price
$16
When
Until September 26, all shows at 8pm, and schedule here.
Where
Common Basis Theater,
750 8th Avenue, (btw 46 and 47th- little tiny door and rickety elevator).

Theater for Young'ens : The Striking Viking Story Pirates
Which is one of the best ideas in theater since they got rid of the Zeus machine: A group of actors presents a number of stories imagined and written by children. These stories include "It's Raining Fishes," "The Day My Head Got Stuck in a Barstool," "Cookie to All of Us" and more. Raves are here, here and here.
Price
Well, it is $15 dollars if you're a kid, $20 if you can't convince them. Probably worth it, though. Tix.
When
Tuesday 7:00pm / Saturday 12:00pm & 3:00pm... or more here.
Where
Arthur Seelen Theater: 250 W. 40th Street, in The Drama Book Shop, between 7th and 8th Avenue.

Theater for Permanent Young'ens and recidivist 7 year olds: Straight On Til' Morning
If the name sounds familiar, you may remember it as part of the directions to Never-never land in Peter Pan (Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning. But the lost boys in this play didn't quite make it beyond williamsburg....
Price
$15. More info here.
When
Wednesday-Saturday 8:00pm. Closes September 28.
Where
78th Street Theatre Lab, 236 West 78th Street, between Amsterdam and Broadway 3rd Floor.

Another thing. I know that every self-respecting blogger posts every DAY, and not every few weeks, but every self-respecting blogger does not attend law school. I will bust out of there sometime next summer- and I am relatively sure I will be more alien than butterfly. . Until then,
Go to the theater.