La MaMa Kids: SweetBeatz

Chase away the winter blues and feel the warm rhythms of the Caribbean! Meredith Wright is thrilled to share her love of Caribbean music through movement exploration, imaginative play, songs and games for families. Come and join her for music and movement that will have you thinking the tropics are right outside E 4th Street! Sweetbeatz is a band for young audiences that keeps little ones on their feet and dancing to the beat!

Listed by blogger Mommy Poppins as one of the top shows to see for kids in NYC, you’re certain to enjoy her original soulful and silly tunes too! 

Meredith Wright is a performer, Early Childhood Educator and dance enthusiast. She studies Afro/Caribbean Dance and traditional dance of Cuba and Haiti. In 2001 Meredith joined the Great Jones Repertory company and the Yara Arts Group and performed with ensemble casts at La Mama ETC and throughout Europe and Asia.

La MaMa presents
La MaMa Kids: SweetBeatz
Interactive Music Show
By Meredith Wright

Saturday, March 1, 2014 at 11am

Tickets: $5

For Tickets and Info: Click Here

6 Questions: Peter Stopschinski

Peter Stopschinski is the composer of BUM PHILLIPS ALL-AMERICAN OPERA opening on March 12th at The Ellen Stewart Theatre. Peter took time out from rehearsals to answer La MaMa's 6 Questions. 

1. How did you become involved with BUM PHILLIPS ALL-AMERICAN OPERA? 
I've been making all kinds of crazy music theater with my good friend the esteemed writer Kirk Lynn. Luke Leonard, the director of Bum Phillips, saw Kirk and my musical with the Rude Mechs, "I've Never Been So Happy" and commissioned us to create this opera. 

2. Are you a football fan? 
I am a football fan and in fact grew up in the 70s in Houston, Texas during the Luv Ya Blue era. As a six-year-old I owned a tiny little Luv Ya Blue T-shirt. I also attended the University of Texas and was a season ticket holder. 

3. How is football like opera? 
Football and Opera are both essentially exhibitions of extreme physical prowess. Watching Earl Campbell rack up 200 rushing yards in a game is not unlike hearing Pavarotti singing nine high C's in Donizetti's La Fille Du Regiment. 

4. What should audience members expect from this show? 
Bum Phillips is a celebration of football and Opera and those special times in human existence where communities come together and feel connected. We are fully aware that trying to re-create a football game on stage with singing is a ridiculous endeavor. But to tell the story of a remarkable man's life on stage is can be poignant and insightful. You will laugh you will cry:) 

5. Who has inspired you? 
I have to say that I was most inspired in the creation of the score by actually meeting Bum Phillips himself. We had the wonderful experience of visiting Bum, his wife Debbie, and their family out at their ranch and Goliad, Texas. We shared lunch (sandwiches, chips and beans) and Bum told us stories about raising horses, retirement, and his amazing career in professional football. They were very generous and wonderful people. He had an entire wall of his trademark white cowboy hats! 

6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you? 
Ellen Stewart's huge body of work involving music and dance is so inspirational. I feel like the unusual subject for this opera and our work with the choreographer Charlotte Griffin fits right in to Ellen's wonderful legacy. La Mama has been very generous with their space and other resources to help bring this ambitious production together. We are so grateful!

La MaMa presents 
Monk Parrots' 

Bum Phillips 

All-American Opera 

Concept, Direction, Production Design by Luke Leonard
Libretto by Kirk Lynn
Music by Peter Stopschinski 

Commissioned and produced by Monk Parrots (New York) 

March 12 – March 30, 2014 

Thursdays – Fridays – Saturdays @ 7:30pm
Sundays @  2:30pm  

Tickets: $25 Adults; $20 Students/Seniors; a limited number of $10 tickets are available IN ADVANCE as part of La MaMa's 10 @ $10 ticketing initiative. But hurry, these tickets are only available in advance and the sell quickly!

A special benefit performance on Thursday, March 20!

For Tickets and Info: Click Here

This Week @ The Club: Karina Casiano's WOMANKIND

On Super Bowl Sunday, during the last day of her life, 

an old lady looks back at what it has meant for her to be a woman. 

...And it hasn't been pretty.

La MaMa presents 
WOMANKIND 
by Karina Casiano 
music by Bryan Wade

A solo play by Karina Casiano with dance, acrobatics and original songs, with music by Bryan Wade.  

This week ONLY!
February 28 – March 2, 2014 

Tickets: $18 Adults; $15 Students/Seniors; a limited number of $10 tickets are available IN ADVANCE as part of La MaMa's 10 @ $10 ticketing initiative. But hurry, these tickets are only available in advance and the sell quickly! 

For tickets and info: Click Here

Video Preview: Kid Lucky for The 4th Annual American Human Beatbox Festival

Kid Lucky shows you how it's done at  The 4th Annual American Human Beatbox Festival  at La MaMa!  
La MaMa presents
4th Annual 
American Human 
Beatbox Festival
Curated and Hosted by Kid Lucky

March 13 - 15, 2014 @ 10pm
at the Club at La MaMa
74 East 4th Street
(between Bowery and 2nd Avenue)

Single Tickets: $15 in advance; $20 Day of Show; Buy 2 tickets and save: pairs of tickets are available (in advance only) for $20.

For Tickets and Info: Click Here

New This Week @ La MaMa: CAPT. JOHN SMITH GOES TO UKRAINE

In 1607 Capt. John Smith founded Jamestown, the first English settlement in America, but in 1603 he was in Kolomyia… It's an epic in an hour!

You know all about Pocahontas, now see the prequel!

La MaMa Presents
Yara Arts Group production of
Capt. John Smith 
Goes to Ukraine
with Bob Holman, Susan Hwang & Julian Kytasty
directed by Virlana Tkacz

February 27 - March 9, 2014
Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays at 7:30; Sundays at 2:30

Tickets: $18 Adults; $13 Students/Seniors; ten tickets prices at $10 are available for every performance, in advance only via web, phone or box office - first come, first served. Not available day of show.

Frist Floor Theatre
74 E 4th Street
Between Bowery and 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003

For Tickets and Info: Click Here

Video: Dance and Movement in Karina Casiano's WOMANKIND

Featurette: Dance and Movement in Karina Casiano's "WOMANKIND" 
from Karina Casiano on Vimeo.

Check out this interview with Karina Casiano and clips from previous works and current rehearsals for her upcoming show at The Club, WOMANKIND.

La MaMa presents 
WOMANKIND 
by Karina Casiano 

On the last day of her life, a bitter, vengeful old lady looks back at the way that being a woman has shaped her life. 

A solo play by Karina Casiano with dance, acrobatics and original songs, with music by Bryan Wade.  

February 28 – March 2, 2014 

Tickets: $18 Adults; $15 Students/Seniors; a limited number of $10 tickets are available IN ADVANCE as part of La MaMa's 10 @ $10 ticketing initiative. But hurry, these tickets are only available in advance and the sell quickly! 

For tickets and info: Click Here

Coming Soon: THE MAIDEN BY The Nerve Tank

Persephone takes a dive. Hades drops some knowledge. Beats are laid. Drinks are drunk. It’s all Greek to us. 

Join The Nerve Tank and composer Admiral Grey for The Maiden, a contemporary reboot of the abduction myth. What does it mean to find yourself in unlikely places? Can power be given or must it be seized from sinister sources? Does pure performance make its own kind of meaning? 

The Maiden explores these questions and more in the context of a trailer park nightclub. We blend found text, choreographed movement, and live music to rip into a kidnapped psyche. And as the lady reaches the point of no return, her man loses all semblance of control.

La Mama presents
THE MAIDEN
by The Nerve Tank

The Club @ La MaMa
74A East 4th Street
(between Bowery and 2nd Avenue)

March 28 - April 13
Fridays and Saturdays at 10pm; Sundays at 5:30pm

For Tickets and Info: Click Here

Last Chance To Catch THE WONG KIDS!

New York TimesCritics' Pick!

 "...exuberantly imaginative adventure for children..." 

- NY Times

"It's likely one of the best shows currently running 

in New York for young theatergoers." 

- Theatermania.com 

"a must see...filled with imagination, spontaneity, comedy, 
and heart. It is both moving and hilarious." 
- Times Square Chrionicles

"an exuberant and wild ride, a space odyssey with lots of laughs...
brilliant and truly hilarious performances bolstered by an inventive script 
and a large dose of stage magic."
 - Exeunt Magazine

Final 4 performances!

La MaMa presents

The Ma-Yi Theater Company production of 

The Wong Kids 

in the Secret of 

the Space Chupacabra 

Go!

by Lloyd Suh

directed by Ralph B. Peña

Co-created by the Children’s Theatre Company

and in partnership with The Ensemble Studio Theatre

NOW – February 23, 2014

Adults: $30 (Previews $25)

Students/Seniors: $20

Children Under 10: $10

For Info and Tickets: Click Here

Coming Soon: LISSABON

Five humans meet in an empty space. Each one individually is determined to escape and be free. The space is the place, the place and time is unknown. The characters are A,B,C,D and a girl. Is this a reality or a game of the mind? Are they going to find out, who they are, what they and why they are? LISSABON is a world premiere by Bulgarian playwright Zachary Karabashliev.

La MaMa presents
LISSABON
by Zachary Karabashliev
directed by Hristo Hristov
in association with New Heritage Theatre Group

March 27 – April 13, 2014 
Thursday thru Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30 

First Floor Theatre @ La MaMa 
74 East 4th Street 
(between Bowery and 2nd Avenue) 

Tickets: $18 Adults; $13 Students/Seniors; Ten tickets are available for every performance as part of La MaMa's 10 @ $10 ticketing initiative. 10 @ $10 Tickets are available ONLY in advance, via web, phone or box office - not available day of show. 

For Tickets and Info: Click Here

Coming Soon: 4th Annual American Human Beatbox Festival

The 4th Annual American Human Beatbox Festival is curated and hosted by Kid Lucky, a renowned beat-MC who has the unique ability to simultaneously create vocal beats and rhyme.  This four-day festival will bring together legendary and emerging beatboxers.

March 13 - 15, 2014

OPENING NIGHT OPEN MIC 
Thursday, March 13th @10 PM  
This night showcases beatboxers from all over America Feat: Kid Lucky, Baba Israel, D-Cross, Yako, Soulatii, MC Beats, and last year’s Beatrhyme Battle champion Kaila Mullady

2nd ANNUAL AMERICAN BEATRHYME CHAMPIONSHIPS 
Friday, March 14th @ 10PM  
Beatrhyme battlers go head to head in a fast paced, no holds barred, battle of beats, flows, and punchlines. Feat: D-Cross, Emcee Grafitti, DECM, Esalaah, Mandibul, Kenny Urban, BBK, Baba, King Homeboy, and more

THE SOUNDS OF COMEDY AND DRAMA 
Saturday, March 15th @ 10 PM  
Beatboxers connect sound and comedy. With influences from Michael Winslow, Darren Robinson, Zero Boy and more, these vocalists set a new bar for comedy, theater, and vocal sound. Featuring Yuri Lane, Shockwave, Phat, Verbal Ase, Baba, and more!

La MaMa presents
4th Annual 
American Human 
Beatbox Festival
Curated and Hosted by Kid Lucky

March 13 - 15, 2014 @ 10pm
at the Club at La MaMa
74 East 4th Street
(between Bowery and 2nd Avenue)

Single Tickets: $15 in advance; $20 Day of Show; Buy 2 tickets and save: pairs of tickets are available (in advance only) for $20.

For Tickets and Info: Click Here

Coming Soon: GUNS, A CABARET

GUNS: The Cabaret is a dark, funny, difficult cabaret/concert that takes on the issue that this country is both addicted to and identified with– guns. Featuring original songs by students and graduates of NYU who also serve as the musicians foe the piece. GUNS examines every aspect of our country’s relationship to the weapons that identify our violent core. The piece is extremely funny, also very scary, and at times tragic but always passionate about expressing what guns do in this country and in other countries. GUNS is a hybrid of  musical theatre and rock concert.  


La MaMa presents
GUNS: The Cabaret 
composed and directed by Elizabeth Swados 
Cast: Anna Bianco, Sam Finn Cutler, Jon Garrity, Alex Gibson, Katie Looney, Elliot Morse, Rachel Music, Jay Reed, Nick Rivera & Jon Sokolow (students and alumni of NYU Tisch Undergraduate Drama Department) 

March 7 – March 9, 2014 
The Club @  La MaMa
74 East 4th Street
(Between Bowery and 2nd Ave)

Tickets: $18 Adults; $13 Students/Seniors; Ten $10 tickets are available, in advance, via phone, web or box office on a first come first served basis - no codes, no hassels.  Not available day of show!

For Tickets and Info: Click Here

Audio Preview: BUM PHILLIPS ALL-AMERICAN OPERA

Get an advance listen to two tracks from the demo recording of the upcoming 

BUM PHILLIPS ALL-AMERICAN OPERA 

music by Peter Stopschinski and libretto by Kirk Lynn.

 



La MaMa presents 
Monk Parrots' 

Bum Phillips 

All-American Opera 

Concept, Direction, Production Design by Luke Leonard
Libretto by Kirk Lynn
Music by Peter Stopschinski 

Commissioned and produced by Monk Parrots (New York) 

March 12 – March 30, 2014 

Thursdays – Fridays – Saturdays @ 7:30pm
Sundays @  2:30pm  

Tickets: $25 Adults; $20 Students/Seniors; a limited number of $10 tickets are available IN ADVANCE as part of La MaMa's 10 @ $10 ticketing initiative. But hurry, these tickets are only available in advance and the sell quickly!

A special benefit performance on Thursday, March 20!

For Tickets and Info: Click Here

Coming Soon: WHAT I LEARNED FROM A DACADE OF FEAR

Toronto based, Aluna Theatre somes to The Frist Floor Theater on March 20th with WHAT I LEARNED FROM A DACADE OF FEAR.

Exploring how to own a decade of repression, war, and security paranoia, WHAT I LEARNED FROM A DACADE OF FEAR asks: Could it be incriminating, to have an average life? What if we believe it, when we are told, “this was done for us?”

Using security cameras and confined spaces as a medium of communication, Aluna Theatre's core team of Beatriz Pizano, Trevor Schwellnus, and Lyon Smith, with choreographer Ame Henderson, is building a set of situations to explore our contradictory need to change the world for the sake of preserving it.

La MaMa presents
What I Learned 
From a Decade of Fear
by Aluna Theatre
Director/Designer: Trevor Schwellnus
Performers: Beatriz Pizano, Lyon Smith
Choreographer: Ame Henderson

March 20 – March 23, 2014
Four Performances Only!

Thursday, Friday & Saturday @ 7:30;  Sunday @ 2:30pm

Tickets: $18 Adults; $13 Students/Seniors; a limited number of 10 tickets are available for every performance, in advance via web, phone or box office.  Not available day of show.

For Tickets and Info: Click Here

New York Critic on NOISE IN THE WATERS

Steve Capra at NewYorkTheatre.Blogspot.com looks at Marco Martinelli's Rumore di acque (Noise in the Waters):

"This is a unique, stunning show with an incredible full-speed-ahead performance. LaMaMa has again presented an extraordinary production."

Read the full review: HERE

La MaMa presents 
Rumore di acque 
(Noise in the Waters) 
By Teatro delle Albe 

Final 3 Performances!Now – February 16, 2014 

Written and Directed by Marco Martinelli 
Devised by Marco Martinelli, Ermanna Montanari 
English translation by Thomas Simpson 
Performed by Alessandro Renda 
Original live music by Fratelli Mancuso 

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30pm 
Sundays @ 2:30pm 

Tickets: $18 Adults; $13 Students/Seniors; a limited number of $10 tickets are available, in advance, as part of La MaMa's 10 @ $10 ticketing initiative. Not available day of show. 

For Tickets and Info: Click Here 

This Weekend @ The Club: DRINK WITH DEATH

Drink with Death features murder ballads as performed by international musicians, a clown show, and countless unexpected twists and turns. Seize the opportunity to break down the walls we put up between ourselves and our mortality and instead find the humor, tragedy, pain and beauty that comes with society’s greatest fear.

Read our 6 QUESTIONS with Romana Soutus: HERE 

La MaMa presents
Drink with Death
A Cabaret Extravaganza curated by Romana Soutus

February 14 – February 16, 2014

Friday February 14th and Saturday February 15th @ 10pm
Sunday February 16th @ 5:30pm

Tickets: $18 Adults; $13 Students/Seniors; A limited number of $10 tickets available, in advance only, for every performance as part of La MaMa's 10 @ $10 ticketing initiative.  Not available day of performance.

For tickets and info: Click Here

Musical Preview: "3 Heads (Is Love)" from Capt. John Smith Goes to Ukraine

"3 Heads (Is Love)" song by Susan Hwang 

recorded by Brian Speaker at SpeakerSonic 

photos & editing by Volodymyr Klyzuko 

Everyone knows about Pocahontas, but did you know that before he went to Virginia he was in Ukraine (in 1603)? This is where he met "other" people first, giving him experience to deal with Native Americans. And before that (and also in the show!), Smith was actually a slave in Turkey who escaped when his Mistress fell in love with him! The original song "3 Heads (Is Love)" just one of many musical interludes in Capt. John Smith Goes to Ukraine.

Based on Smith's The True Travels, Adventures and Observations of Captaine John Smith in Europe, Asia, Affrica and America, from Anno Domini 1593 to 1629, Capt. John Smith Goes to Ukraine is a comedy-musical-historical-epic-in-an hour with three performers: Bob Holman, founder of Bowery Poetry Club in New York as John Smith; Susan Hwang, Korean-American comic/performance artist & accordion player, plays all of Smith's love interests; and Julian Kytasty, legendary Ukrainian traditional musician. Presented in Ukrainian and English.

La MaMa presents
Yara Arts Group's
Capt. John Smith 
Goes to Ukraine
Created and Performed by Bob Holman, Susan Hwang and Julian Kytasty
Conceived & Directed by VirlanaTkacz


Based on John Smith’s own writing about his adventures fighting in the Turkish wars in Eastern Europe before he came to America. Captain John Smith Goes to Ukraine has music including traditional Ukrainian epic songs known as “dumas” and wild new songs written by Susan Hwang which she performs accompanying herself on the accordion, as well as wild love poetry by Bob Holman.


February 27 – March 9, 2014
Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays @ 7:30pm; Sundays @ 2:30pm

Tickets: $18 Adults; $15 Students/Seniors; a limited number of $10 tickets are available IN ADVANCE as part of La MaMa's 10 @ $10 ticketing initiative. But hurry, these tickets are only available in advance and the sell quickly!

For tickets and info: Click Here

THE WONG KIDS is New York Times Critics' Pick!

UPDATE: The Wong Kids has been extended 

through February 23rd!

Tickets now on sale for added performances!

Laura Collins-Hughes loves THE WONG KIDS...:

The Wong Kids... is an "exuberantly imaginative adventure for children".

Read the full review: HERE

---

La MaMa presents
The Ma-Yi Theater Company production of 

The Wong Kids 

in the Secret of 

the Space Chupacabra 

Go!

by Lloyd Suh
directed by Ralph B. Peña

Co-created by the Children’s Theatre Company
and in partnership with The Ensemble Studio Theatre

January 28 – February 16, 2014 now through February 23rd, 2014!

Adults: $30 (Previews $25)
Students/Seniors: $20
Children Under 10: $10
A limited number of $10 tickets are available to everyone, IN ADVANCE for every performance as part of La MaMa's 10 @ $10 ticketing initiative. Not available day of show.

For Info and Tickets: Click Here

Coming Soon: BUM PHILLIPS ALL-AMERICAN OPERA

Colorful football coach Oail Andrew "Bum" Phillips gets the operatic treatment in the world premiere of BUM PHILLIPS ALL-AMERICAN OPERA!

La MaMa presents 
Monk Parrots' 
Bum Phillips 
All-American Opera 

Concept, Direction, Production Design by Luke Leonard
Libretto by Kirk Lynn
Music by Peter Stopschinski 

Commissioned and produced by Monk Parrots (New York) 

March 12 – March 30, 2014 

Thursdays – Fridays – Saturdays @ 7:30pm
Sundays @  2:30pm  

Tickets: $25 Adults; $20 Students/Seniors; a limited number of $10 tickets are available IN ADVANCE as part of La MaMa's 10 @ $10 ticketing initiative. But hurry, these tickets are only available in advance and the sell quickly!

A special benefit performance on Thursday, March 20!

For Tickets and Info: Click Here

Experiments Play Reading Series: SHADOW

George Ferencz curates a festival of concert play readings celebrating Black History Month.

Thursday, February 20th at 7:30pm
SISTER SOLDIER
by Calvin Alexander Ramsey
directed by George Ferencz
Negro Female WACs stationed at Fort Devens outside of Boston Massachuetts during World War II staged a work stoppage strike that caused a national uproar,and the court martial trial that followed.Were these women heroines or traitors to their race and country ? You decide as the country did.

Friday, February, 21st at 7:30pm
SOME OLD BLACK MAN
by James Anthony Tyler
directed by Melissa Maxwell
When Professor Calvin Jones moves his 82-year-old ailing southern father, Donald Jones, into his Harlem penthouse an argument over breakfast food turns into a generational clash over race, opportunity, and a decision that Calvin made years ago.

Saturday, February, 22nd at 7:30pm
MIDDLEMUDDLE
by Leah Maddrie
directed by Melissa Maxwell
Middle age meets middle school in the Midwest in this poignant comedy about memory, change, and bean bag chairs.

Sunday, February, 23rd at 2:30pm
SPARKPLUG & MISS JONNIE MAE
by Owa
directed by George Ferencz
Two men in 1930’s Mississippi during a storm confront the meaning of love and sexuality in a community ultimately defining their fate.

Free Admission

There will be a talkback with the author following each reading.

For information and free reservations: Click Here

Coming Soon: Capt. John Smith Goes to Ukraine

You know about Jamestown and Pocahontas...

now see the prequel!

La MaMa presents
Yara Arts Group's
Capt. John Smith 
Goes to Ukraine
Created and Performed by Bob Holman, Susan Hwang and Julian Kytasty
Conceived & Directed by VirlanaTkacz


Based on John Smith’s own writing about his adventures fighting in the Turkish wars in Eastern Europe before he came to America. Captain John Smith Goes to Ukraine has music including traditional Ukrainian epic songs known as “dumas” and wild new songs written by Susan Hwang which she performs accompanying herself on the accordion, as well as wild love poetry by Bob Holman.


February 27 – March 9, 2014
Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays @ 7:30pm; Sundays @ 2:30pm

Tickets: $18 Adults; $15 Students/Seniors; a limited number of $10 tickets are available IN ADVANCE as part of La MaMa's 10 @ $10 ticketing initiative. But hurry, these tickets are only available in advance and the sell quickly!

For tickets and info: Click Here