LU! LU! LU! LU! 
An Evening Celebrating Spiderwoman Theater’s 40 Years 

Celebrate 40 years of a beloved stalwart of New York’s downtown scene. A gala theatrical evening of tributes by stellar admirers internationally honors Spiderwoman Theater's contributions to Native, feminist, and avant-garde theatre. Samples of the collective’s unforgettable “storyweaving” will manifest the magical spell that can be summoned, with everything climaxing in a rousing dance party by First Nations electronic group - A Tribe Called Red.

Tuesday, September 19th

Ellen Stewart Theatre
66 East 4th Street
(between Bowery and Second Avenue)
New York, NY 10003

Tickets starting at $20!

For Tickets and Info: CLICK HERE

David Sedaris Spoke with PBS Newshour in the La MaMa Archive

Humorist David Sedaris plumbs his own diaries for his latest book showcasing life's idiosyncrasies. Jeffrey Brown of PBS sat down with Sedaris at La MaMa, one of the stages where Sedaris first told stories, for a special interview where the 60 year old, hugely successful writer looked back at his younger self. 

The La MaMa Archives contain photographs, videos and more from his many Off Off Broadway plays and performances in the 1990s. Among many other talents, David is a playwright, having written several plays with his sister, actress Amy Sedaris. They have collaborated under the name “The Talent Family” and have written half-a-dozen original plays which have been produced at La Mama, Lincoln Center, and The Drama Department in New York City. 

These plays include Stump the Host, Stitches, One Woman Shoe, which received an Obie Award, Incident at Cobbler’s Knob, and The Book of Liz, which was published in book form by Dramatists Play Service. Meryl Vladimer produced and presented their plays at La MaMa when she was the artistic director of The Club. Read Ben Brantley's review of David & Amy Sedaris' 1995 production of 'Stitches' in the New York Times.

Artistic Director Mia Yoo on La MaMa's 56th Season

Dear Friends, 

There is an urgent need for the voices of the artists of our 56th Season to be shared.

Throughout the season the histories and narratives of marginalized voices in America and around the world are explored.

I have been inspired by the writings of American philosopher Richard Rorty, who I learned about while working on the upcoming Great Jones Rep/Motus collaboration. In Rorty’s utopia, personal narratives build solidarity “by increasing our sensitivity to the particular details of the pain and humiliation of other, unfamiliar sorts of people.”

Storytelling is powerful. Reality is often too complicated and stories give us a way to process, question, and shape how we think about each other.

I hope that you will join us at La MaMa as we bear witness to these stories.

Love,

Mia

Artistic Director

View the 56th Season Brochure

Browse the Upcoming Season & Purchase Tickets

About The Cover 

Our 56th Season celebrates the creative and collective histories of La MaMa with the publication of Ellen Stewart Presents: Fifty Years ofLa MaMa Experimental Theatre by Cindy Rosenthal which traces the evolution of La MaMa through its poster art. Throughout the season we will be investigating this history by creating new designs inspired by La MaMa’s past.

This fall our cover was inspired by the poster (below) for the 1967 production of Futz by Rochelle Owens, directed by Tom O’Horgan, poster design by Conrad Ward.

Cover Photo Montage of Belarus Free Theatre Burning Doors

Photos by Alex Brenner and Nicolai Khalezin

Video Preview: Belarus Free Theater's BURNING DOORS

  Belarus Free Theatre presents Burning Doors from La MaMa on Vimeo.

Where do you belong when your government suppresses your basic right to expression? 

What do you do when your government imprisons you for making art? 

How would you survive one of the most brutal prison systems in the world? 

Belarus Free Theatre combines forces with Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina, who makes her New York stage debut, in a searing performance on how art persists under oppression. Through the prism of persecuted artists who will not be silenced, Burning Doors reveals how artists living under dictatorship illuminate the knife-edge of complacency in democratic societies reminding us of the true cost of freedom and dangers of inertia.

"Visceral. A brutally physical production. An analogue for the ritualised humiliation by Russian authorities."
– Time Out

"Savage political satire. Performed with blazing energy and commitment."
– Financial Times

"An extraordinary show. Noisy, taboo-busting and brutal to behold."
- A Younger Theatre

"A fiery work of protest theatre that fuses brutality and poetry, philosophy and irreverent satire."

~The Age (Australia)

_____

La MaMa presents

BURNING 

DOORS

Devised and performed by Belarus Free Theatre
Directed by Nicolai Khalezin and Natalia Kaliada
With Maria Alyokhina from Pussy Riot

October 13 - 22, 2017

10 Performances Only!

Ellen Stewart Theatre 

66 East 4th Street

(between Bowery & Second Avenue)

New York, NY 10003

Tickets: $30 Adults; $25 Students/Seniors

For Tickets & Info: CLICK HERE