Public Theater Launches UNDER THE RADAR Festival, 1/9

The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham; UTR Festival Director, Mark Russell) will begin performances for the 2013 UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL on Wednesday, January 9. Now in its ninth year, this acclaimed downtown festival committed to tracking new theater from across the U.S. and around the world will run for 12 days through January 20 at The Public Theater at Astor Place. Excluding Life and Times, all single tickets to UTR shows are $20; Member tickets are $15.

The UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL will again offer the "UTR Pack," which grants admission to any five shows (except Taylor Mac and Life and Times) for only $75. Discounted tickets to Life and Times will also be available for Public Theater Members and "UTR Pack" holders. Single tickets may be purchased at The Public Theater Box Office at 425 Lafayette Street; online at www.publictheater.org or by phone at 212-967-7555.

For the first time, this acclaimed annual festival will take place entirely at The Public Theater's home on Lafayette Street. A late night Festival Lounge in The Public's lobby and Shiva Theater for artists and audiences to gather after performances will also be offered. During the festival, where more than 90 performances will be presented in a 12-day marathon of theater, The Library at The Public will also be open nightly for food and drink, beginning at 5:30 p.m., and Joe's Pub will continue to offer some of the best music in the city.

The Festival Lounge, located in The Public's Shiva Theater and newly revitalized lobby, will offer a place for patrons and artists of the festival to come together, create new connections, and exchange ideas. The lounge will also feature DJs and a cash bar beginning Thursday, January 10 at 9:30 p.m. to late night. Dates of the lounge are January 10-14 and 17-20, 9:30 p.m. to late night.

COMPLETE LINE-UP FOR UNDER THE RADAR (JANUARY 9 - 20, 2013):

Hollow Roots
January 10-20 (Running Time: 55 minutes)
Christina Anderson and Lileana Blain-Cruz (USA)

Written by Christina Anderson
Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz
Performed by April Matthis
$20 Tickets

Thurs. Jan 10th 6:30pm| Fri. Jan 11th 9pm| Sat. Jan 12th 3:30pm| Sun. Jan 13th 8pm |
Wed. Jan 16th 9:30pm| Fri. Jan 18th 7pm| Sun. Jan 20th 2:30pm|

In Hollow Roots, a woman traverses a nameless urban landscape plagued by a question: can a person of color have a "neutral narrative"? A spare and intimate setting evolves into a vivid world painted in detailed observations and marked by memories, music, maps, and circumstance. Tapping into the rich and complicated genre of one person plays by writers such as Wallace Shawn and Spalding Gray, Hollow Roots asks the question - can someone live a life unaffected by one's race or gender?

Ganesh Versus the Third Reich
January 9-14 (Running Time: 105 minutes)
Back to Back Theatre (Australia)
Directed by Bruce Gladwin
Devised by Mark Deans, Marcia Ferguson, Bruce Gladwin, Simon Laherty, Scott Price, Kate Sulan, Brian Tilley, and David Woods
$20 Tickets

Wed. Jan 9th 8pm| Thurs. Jan 10th 8pm| Sat. Jan 12th 8pm| Sun. Jan 13th 1pm| Mon. Jan 14th 7pm

Last seen at UTR in 2008 with small metal objects, Back to Back returns with a beautiful and disarming production, full of vulnerability. Ganesh Versus the Third Reich begins with the elephant-headed god Ganesh traveling through Nazi Germany to reclaim the Swastika, an ancient Hindu symbol. As this intrepid hero embarks on his journey, a second narrative is revealed: the actors themselves begin to feel the weighty responsibility of storytellers and question the ethics of cultural appropriation.