As Broadway undergoes its wintertime lull, the electrifying “Under the Radar Festival” and the more rigorous “COIL Festival” spread out across the East Village. These two superb festivals curate galleries of up-to-the-moment performance from around the world. Either could be a Pick of the Week, but instead we choose the scrappy local indie, “Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War.”
“It's Always Right Now, Until It's Later”
where: St. Ann's Warehouse
first night: Tuesday, Jan. 3
Daniel Kitson provided 2011 with one of its underground hits at St. Ann's Warehouse. The monologuist returns to DUMBO with his new piece with a curious title. This show about “everything and nothing” sent British critics into raptures with its humorous, philosophical tone and spellbinding performance.
(StAnnsWarehouse.org)
“Under the Radar Festival 2012”
where: various locations
first night: Wednesday, Jan. 4
Tracking down theater from around the world and bringing it home to you, the Under the Radar Festival makes New York City feel open and exciting in its darkest month. Shows from Japan, Greece, and Poland join local cult acts like Gob Squad. Our pick: “Goodbar”, a punk-glam opera by the electrifying Waterwell.
(UnderTheRadar.org)
“Chimera”
where: Here Arts Center
first night: Thursday, Jan. 5
Inspired by a true story, a woman discovers that she is her own twin―that, in the womb, she had absorbed her sister's DNA. This conceptually rich piece explores what it means to be human in the 21st century, partly by looking back at ancient myth and partly by applying modern theatrical technology.
(Here.org)
“Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War”
where: The New Ohio Theater
first night: Thursday, Jan. 5
A star is rising over the Mad Ones. This young company broadcasts a sci-fi radio show set in an alternate reality where the Cold War was won neither by America nor the Soviets but by killer robots! It's a strange approach to American nostalgia, one that had critics abuzz in a brief festival run in 2010.
(MadOne.wordpress.com)
“The COIL Festival 2012”
where: various locations
first night: Thursday, Jan. 5
The edgiest festival in town scratches your itch for out-there performance, offering a state-of-the-art overview with a focus on politics, technology, and experimentation. Our pick: “Mission Drift,” a tour of American's collective unconscious that's hosted by Miss Atomic, a '50s bombshell chanteuse.
(PS122.org)
“Wit”
where: Samuel Friedman Theater
first night: Thursday, Jan. 5
Cynthia Nixon takes the lead in the Broadway debut of one of the 1990's finest plays. She plays a professor who has devoted her life to studying the death-obsessed ironies of a Renaissance poet but finds herself unprepared to face her own mortality. Despite the subject, “Wit” is a warm, humane drama.
(ManhattanTheatreClub.com)
“Working on a Special Day”
where: The Flea Theater
first night: Thursday, Jan. 5
Based on an Oscar-winning 1970s Italian film, this drama strips away the décor and design for a rough-theater style, focusing attention on the two actors. They play a bachelor and a housewife whose intimate meeting reverberates strongly in the potent political landscape of Mussolini's Rome.
(PlayCo.org)
“World of Wires”
where: The Kitchen
first night: Friday, Jan. 6
If you liked the ideas in “The Matrix”, check this drama out. “Wires” is based on one of those heavy 1970s European sci-fi films which parses out the philosophical implications of living inside a computer simulation. The director, Jay Scheib, is acclaimed for his visionary stage designs & cool, antiseptic tone.
(TheKitchen.org)
“LEO”
where: Theater Row
first night: Friday, Jan. 6
A one-man acrobatic comedy direct from Germany via the Edinburgh Fringe, where it won a 'Best of the Fringe' award. “LEO” takes a flexible approach to gravity and perspective, using stage illusions and graphic projections to aid its performer in depicting a whimsical adventure.
(TheatreRow.org)
Last chance!
“Anything Goes”
where: Sondheim Theater
“Billy Elliot the Musical”
where: Imperial Theater
“Blood and Gifts”
where: Mitzi Newhouse Theater
“The Canterbury Tales Remixed”
where: Soho Playhouse
“The Cherry Orchard”
where: Classic Stage
