Gelber Stars in Macbeth-Ubu Roi 'Polish Play,' Jan. 13

Avenue Q's Jordan Gelber will star in the Katharsis Theater Company's World Premiere production of The Polish Play: A Conflation of Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry, devised and directed by 2004 Drama Desk-nominee Henry Wishcamper (Pullman Car Hiawatha).

Polish Play begins previews on Saturday, January 13 for a limited engagement through Saturday, February 3.  Opening night is Friday, January 19 at 8 PM.  The performance schedule is Wednesday – Saturday at 8 PM and  Sunday at 7 PM.  Performances are at Walker Space (46 Walker Street, between Church and Broadway).

In The Polish Play, "the idiot-tyrant Père Ubu, encouraged by his wife and the Three Weird Sisters, ascends the throne of Poland by slaughtering the meek King Wenceslas.  Simultaneously a dark tragedy, a broad satire, and an absurdly gruesome Grand Guignol, The Polish Play presents one of Western theater's greatest stories in a spectacularly original production," state notes.

"With the use of puppets ranging from marionettes to grotesque Grand Guignol, The Polish Play features over-the-top graphic violence, including a large scale puppet massacre, choreographed by Qui Nguyen, one of New York City's most innovative and inspired fight choreographers."

The cast features Gelber as Père Ubu and Dana Smith-Croll as Mère Ubu. With James Bentley, Jeff Biehl (Hell House), Torsten Hillhouse, Jacob H. Knoll, Lucas Caleb Rooney (Creation: A Clown Show), RYAN WARD (Pullman Car Hiawatha) and Eunice Wong (The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow).

The design team for The Polish Play includes sets by Takeshi Kata (Birth and Afterbirth, Orson's Shadow), lights by Matthew Richards (A Small Melodramatic Story, Dark Matters), costumes by Jenny Mannis (Dog Sees God, Heddatron), and sound by Bart Fasbender (Hell House at St. Ann's, Swimming in the Shallows).  Puppets designed and constructed by Aleksandra Maslik (2006 MFA in Design, Yale University).

Tickets are $18 and are available bycalling SmartTix at 212-868-4444 or at www.smarttix.com