Theater: New Shows (October 26)

"OR,"

Personally, after weeks of seeing straight-up, well-made drama, I'm thrilled that this week features a ton of the weird, the risky, and the avant-garde! Out in Brooklyn, St. Ann's Warehouse plays host to Irish madman Enda Walsh and his "New Electric Ballroom" (what a great title!). Here in Manhattan, the Ohio Theater offers a visionary medieval drama, "Creature". And the more traditionally-minded can still enjoy "Or", a tempting period adventure.

But my Pick of the Week this Halloween is a bit of a trick as well as a treat: "Idiot Savant" at the Public. It stars Willem Dafoe, returning to his roots in a downtown experimental theater. He's working with Richard Foreman, whose shows seem designed specifically to bruise your brain. Expect bafflement and confusion, and explore the true edge of New York theater!

Antigone
Where: Dance Theater Workshop
First night: Wednesday, Oct. 28
Closing night: Sunday, Nov. 1
URL: SITI.org
This week only! Anne Bogart's SITI Company is one of those avant-garde companies who earn the moniker  "cool": they're more cerebral than emotional, and leave some viewers cold. This dance adaptation of Sophocles' classic tells the myth of Oedipus' daughter, whose principled stand against authority has inspired dissidents and revolutionaries for millennia.

Creature
Where: The Ohio Theater
First night: Tuesday, Oct. 27
Opening night: Monday, Nov. 2
Closing night: Saturday, Nov. 21
URL: P73.org
The multi-talented Heidi Schreck doesn't just break hearts in "Circle Mirror Transformation" (at Playwrights Horizons - see it!), she also authors "Creature" for P73. This show sounds intense: a medieval Englishwoman struggles with demonic visions before a visitation from JC Himself. The talented cast receives its direction from Leigh Silverman, one of Off-B'way's go-to directors for visionary subjects.

Idiot Savant
Where: The Public Theater
First night: Tuesday, Oct. 27
Opening night: Wednesday, Nov. 4
Closing night: Sunday, Dec. 13
URL: PublicTheater.org
Because "Idiot Savant" stars Willem Dafoe ("Spider-Man"), we'd love to recommend this show to everyone. But he's working with Richard Foreman, the godfather of Gotham's experimental theater, who's not for everyone-unless you're looking to get your mind blown by an acid trip of theatrical weirdness. Seriously: someone plays a round of golf with a giant duck in this show.

The Late Christopher Bean
Where: Theatre Row
First night: Sunday, Nov. 1
Opening night: Wednesday, Nov. 11
Closing night: Saturday, Dec. 5
URL: TactNYC.org
The Actors' Company Theater (or TACT) revives a zippy comic drama from the 1930s. If you know the name of playwright Sidney Howard, it's probably for his Oscar-winning script for "Gone with the Wind". His "Christopher Bean" mines mistaken identity, art forgery, and legal shennanigans for a sardonic look at small-town America.

The Long Count
Where: BAM Harvey Theater
First night: Wednesday, Oct. 28
Closing night: Saturday, Oct. 31
URL: BAM.org
This week only! "The Long Count" isn't *quite* theater, but it's some sort of awesome performance, so it deserves our attention. Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the National (the rock band) collaborate with visionary artist Matthew Ritchie to create a "song-filled myth about the beginning of time." Not tempted yet? Vocalists include Kim and Kelly Deal (of the Breeders)!

The Misunderstanding
Where: The Flea Theater
First night: Thursday, Oct. 29
Opening night: Monday, Nov. 2
Closing night: Sunday, Nov. 22
URL: TheFlea.org
Albert Camus, unlike most philosophers, had a bit of talent when he turned to fiction. And the Flea Theater has a strong track record for making heady drama accessible and humane. Just don't see "The Misunderstanding" expecting a laugh riot: existentialism isn't the happiest of outlooks.

The New Electric Ballroom
Where: St. Ann's Warehouse
First night: Tuesday, Oct. 27
Closing night: Sunday, Nov. 22
URL: StAnnsWarehouse.org
Enda Walsh is one of Ireland's most radical and thrilling new voices: he works in that same wordsmithy that James Joyce forged, but Walsh also has the poet Yeats' sense of theater as a primal, Celtic ritual. If you missed "The Walworth Farce" at St. Ann's in spring '08 (like I did, shamefully), or if you want to hear some of the most vital new work from the Emerald Isle, you'll want to check this show out!

OR,
Where: Julia Miles Theater
First night: Thursday, Oct. 29
Opening night: Tuesday, Nov. 3
Closing night: Sunday, Nov. 22
URL: WomensProject.org
Aphra Behn wasn't just the first female playwright in Britain, she was also... a spy! Set in the late 1600s, this period thriller involves theater, espionage, and free love-a few of my favorite things. It also stars Maggie Siff, whose rep is rising after her awesome turn as Rachel Menken in "Mad Men". She's got stage chops too, so this sounds like a show worth checking out!

Last chance!
A BOY AND HIS SOUL
Where: Vineyard Theater
URL: VineyardTheatre.org

GHOST LIGHT
Where: 59E59
URL: 59e59.org

INVENTING AVI
Where: Abingdon Theatre
URL: AbingdonTheatre.org

KEEP YOUR PANTHEON/SCHOOL
Where: Atlantic Theater
URL: AtlanticTheater.org

MIDDLEMEN
Where: Soho Rep
URL: MiddlemenThePlay.org

THE NIGHT WATCHER
Where: 59E59
URL: PrimaryStages.org

STILL LIFE
Where: Lucille Lortel Theater
URL: MCCTheater.org

THE PUMPKIN PIE SHOW: COMMENCEMENT
Where: Under St. Marks
URL: PumpkinPieShow.com