SWEENEY TODD, CHRISTMAS DONKEY and More Coming Up at OBERON This Winter

OBERON, the American Repertory Theater's (A.R.T.) Second Stage and club-theater venue on the fringe of Harvard Square, announces events to be presented at OBERON during December 2017 and January 2018 - including Live @ OBERON, OBERON Presents, Glowberon, and usual suspects.

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SWEENEY TODD

Thursday, December 7 at 7PM and Friday, December 8 at 4PM & 9PM

Tickets $15 - $35

Stephen Sondheim's deliciously daring musical masterpiece invites audiences to attend the tale of a father's delightful descent into darkness as he seeks to set right the wrongs that wrecked his life. Along the way, they will meet the many shifting residents of Victorian London who all want their own slice of life's pie. This Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club student production will turn the award-winning musical inward, looking at it through the lens of Sweeney's psyche as OBERON becomes Fleet Street and various London locales, and a projection of Sweeney Todd's mind. Audience members, as figments of Sweeney's imagination, will be first-hand witnesses to the splendor of his carnage.

THE SWEETBACK SISTERS' COUNTRY CHRISTMAS SINGING SPECTACULAR

Live @ OBERON

Saturday, December 9 and Sunday, December 10 at 7PM

Tickets $25

For nine years running, The Sweetback Sisters have been selling out theaters across the Northeast with their signature take on the holiday sing-along: The Sweetback Sisters' Country Christmas Singalong Spectacular. This wildly popular show, back for its second year at OBERON, requires a bit of audience participation and a love for all genres of holiday music (Fear not! Songbooks are provided). Add in a healthy dose of trivia, prizes, and matching outfits and we think it's safe to say you've got yourself a bona fide spectacular!

CHRISTMAS DONKEY

Presented by A.R.T.

Saturday, December 9 at 10:30PM

Tickets from $25

Is that Dominick the Donkey on the dance floor? Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus' celebrated smash hit celebrates Christmas with the ultimate disco experience - a crazy circus of mirror balls, tinsel, and feathered divas, of roller skaters, balls of holly, and hustle queens inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The festive party rages on the dance floor to all the best '70s hits as the show unfolds around the audience. After the show, the party continues into the night so you can live out your own disco fever fantasy!

THE BUTTCRACKER

Wednesday, December 13 at 8PM

Tickets $20

It's the most bum-derful time of the year! Join Madge of Honor and Johnny Blazes at the holey-day clASSic you've come to love: The Buttcracker VIII! The Buttcracker will have you bent over with laughter for the whole night, delivering enough booty-shaking and butt puns to get your cheeks rosy and your ass clapping. Featuring your favorite anal all-stars along with some virgin Buttcracker contributors, come prepared for drag, burlesque, storytelling, comedy, music, and interactive games. It only comes butt once a year - don't miss out!

RUN AMOC! FESTIVAL: CAGE MATCH

Presented by A.R.T.

Saturday, December 16 at 7PM

Tickets from $25

Pairs of AMOC artists from various disciplines face off against one another in three rounds of virtuosity.

ROUND 1: Miranda Cuckson ("one of the most sensitive and electric interpreters of new music," Downbeat) and Keir GoGwilt (Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts, Harvard '13) in a spectacle of violin duets by Georg Friedrich Telemann, Franco Donatoni, and Christian Wolff

ROUND 2: Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo (winner of Plácido Domingo's international competition Operalia in 2012) and dancer Zack Winokur (creator of La Calisto, "one of the most elegant and imaginative shows seen in New York [last] season," Opera News) in Claudio Monteverdi's Poppea

ROUND 3: Pianists Matthew Aucoin (Crossing, Artist-in-Residence at Los Angeles Opera, Harvard '12) and Conor Hanick (a pianist that "defies human description," Concerto Net; "a true champion of contemporary music," NPR) in two pieces for two pianos: John Adams' classic Hallelujah Junction, and Aucoin's recent piece, Finery Forge

Marga Gomez: LATIN STANDARDS

Glowberon

Thursday, December 14 at 8PM

Tickets $25

Directed by David Schweizer and a New York Times Critic's Pick from the Under the Radar Festival, Gomez's new solo piece is a loving, funny, and true story of perseverance and creative addiction passed down from immigrant father to lesbian daughter. Mixing nostalgia, urgency, and comic edge Marga Gomez (2017 GLOW FEST) portrays herself and a collection of vivid portraits of characters from 1960s Manhattan to present-day San Francisco as she ponders the ballads (or Latin standards) penned by her late father, comedian, producer, entrepreneur, and songwriter Willy Chevalier.

BANBOCHE 2017: CELEBRATION & CABARET

Friday, December 15 at 8PM

Tickets $15 - $50

Come together to experience Haitian contemporary dance and culture as Jean Appolon Expressions (JAE) shares its latest interpretation of the immigrant experience. The evening will include a dance performance, live Haitian music, media from JAE's 2017 Haiti summer Institute, and an opportunity for everyone to let loose on the dance floor with a DJ.

CLUB DROSSELMEYER 1940

Sunday, December 17, Wednesday, December 20, and Thursday, December 21 at 7:30PM

Tickets $45 - $80

It's 1940 and you're on the list for the hottest nightclub in town: Club Drosselmeyer 1940! Immersive theater meets escape room in this swing time spectacular with performances, craft cocktails, and plenty of dancing to our original swing time version of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite performed by a live 8-piece swing band. Guests will choose to follow characters Dr. Clara Stahlbaum, Rhett "the Rat" King, or Project Nutcracker down the rabbit hole to discover secret backstories, mystery, intrigue, and lots of puzzles. Others will dress to impress and spend an evening with the swell set of Boston. Join us for a fabulous evening of living, breathing, occasionally chaotic mystery and mayhem at Club Drosselmeyer 1940!

THE MOTH

Usual Suspect

Tuesday, December 19 at 8PM (tickets available December 12 at 3PM)

Tuesday, January 16 at 8PM (tickets available December 9 at 3PM)

Tickets $10

The Moth StorySLAMs are steadily spreading all over the map, gathering people and stories from all over the country. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston have multiple shows each month. The Moth is open to anyone with a five-minute story to share on the night's posted theme. The brave of heart, or those with stories they're aching to tell, prepare personal, true tales. When the doors open, storyteller hopefuls put their names in The Moth Hat. A half-hour later, names are picked, and one by one, storytellers take the stage. Each person has just five minutes! The ten featured stories are scored by teams of judges selected from the audience. Each StorySLAM generates a StorySLAM winner. After ten SLAMs, the winners face off in our GrandSLAM Championships. Come sign up to tell a story, or just enjoy the show!

December's theme is Dirt. Squalor, smut, filth, muck, and mire! Dig it, dish it, spread it, hose it off. Dirt cheap, dirt poor, treated like dirt. Listen as gardeners and gossips share dirty tidbits and share all the filthy details. Talk dirty to us.

January's theme is TBA.

SAILOR MOON SHOUJO SPECTACULAR! 2017

Friday, December 29 at 8PM

Tickets $10 - $15

Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight ~ the Sailor Moon Shoujo Spectacular is BACK for its fifth sugoi year! Join kawaii curators Mx Macabre and Jade Sylvan for an evening of performance dedicated to one of the most influential and long-lasting shoujo animes of all time--Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon! This event is 18+.

SHAMELESS: NEW YEAR'S EVE EVE

Saturday, December 30 at 9PM

Tickets $10 - $35

New Year's Eve EVE is a fabulously glitter-crusted star-studded affair worthy of NYE without the surge pricing! All the New Year's classics you expect: dancing, midnight count down, glitter drops, PLUS interactive music videos AND drag queen performances! Shameless: New Year's Eve EVE is everything you LOVE about NYE AND MORE... just 24 hours early! Come indulge in everything you hate to love! Creative / black tie / glitter optional-(choose at least one). This event is 21+.

THE DONKEY SHOW NEW YEAR'S EVE 2018

Presented by A.R.T.

Sunday, December 31, Doors at 9PM | Performance at 10PM | Toast at Midnight | Party until 2AM

Early Bird Pricing: $45 (Dance Floor), $75 (VIP Table Seat)

After December 12: $55 (Dance Floor), $95 (VIP Table Seat)

The Donkey Show is once again opening its doors for a special late night New Year's Eve celebration. Named "Boston's Best Dance Party" by Boston Magazine and currently playing at OBERON every Saturday night, The Donkey Show brings you the ultimate disco experience-a crazy circus of mirror balls and feathered divas, of roller skaters and hustle queens. The Donkey Show tells the story of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream through the great '70s anthems. The enchanted forest of Shakespeare's classic comedy becomes the glittered world of retro disco as the lovers escape from their real lives to experience a night of dream, abandon, and fantasy.

EXIT, PURSUED BARE: A SHAKESPEAREAN BURLESQUE & VARIETY SPECTACULAR

Sunday, January 21, 2018 at 8PM

Tickets from $15

Shakespeare and burlesque? Such a mad marriage was never had before! This show is such stuff as dreams are made on: a burlesque and variety spectacular featuring dance, circus arts, music, spoken word, and more in celebration of the works of William Shakespeare. Behold the Bard's most beloved lords, lovers, sprites, and scoundrels in a fashion you've never witnessed before.

Lady Bunny: TRANS-JESTER!

Glowberon

Thursday, January 25 and Friday, January 26 at 8PM

Second date added due to popular demand!

Tickets from $25

Foul-mouthed drag legend Lady Bunny usually shies away from politics-because it's one hell of a train wreck right now. But she doesn't shy away from gender politics. From the new pronoun we're forced to learn every time Will Smith's son puts on a dress, to Caitlyn Jenner reaching out to Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz to become his 'trans ambassador', Bunny feels that it's time for the gloves to come off.

Featuring new parodies of Adele, RENT, and Bruno Mars punctuated by some actually insightful social commentary (well, she thinks so anyway) and trashing the current overemphasis on political correctness, Bunny breaks down some of the latest buzzwords that we're all supposed to remember for every occasion. The self-proclaimed 'pig in wig' brings her trademark huge hair to astound and offend-prepare to be challenged.

PALESTINIANS, LIVE!

Sunday, January 28 5PM and 8PM

Tickets $13

Palestinians, Live! is an evening of true and compelling stories told by Palestinians from all over the world, live on stage and in their own words. These stories, all told in English, are based on real life experiences and involve universal themes of love, loss, identity, and overcoming adversity. Come enjoy authentic Palestinian voices and a drink in a cabaret setting for a unique and memorable evening!

THE STORY COLLIDER

Usual Suspect

Tuesday, January 30 at 8PM

Tickets from $10

Join The Story Collider for an evening of true, personal stories about science. From finding awe in Hubble images to visiting the doctor, science is everywhere in our lives. Whether we wear a white lab coat or haven't seen a test tube since eighth grade, science affects and changes us. We all have a story about science, and at The Story Collider, we want to hear those stories.

THE DONKEY SHOW

The Long-Running Hit

Presented by A.R.T.

Every Saturday night

Tickets from $25

Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus' celebrated smash hit continues its ninth Season at OBERON every Saturday night, bringing you the ultimate disco experience - a crazy circus of mirror balls and feathered divas, of roller skaters and hustle queens inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The party rages on the dance floor to all the best '70s hits as the show unfolds around the audience. After the show, the party continues into the night so you can live out your own disco fever fantasy!

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OBERON is located at 2 Arrow Street at the corner of Mass Ave. in Harvard Square, Cambridge. For more info and tickets visit cluboberon.com.

OBERON is the American Repertory Theater's Second Stage, a destination for theater and nightlife on the fringe of Harvard Square. In addition to offering work from the A.R.T's main season, OBERON is also a thriving incubator for emerging artists to imagine new projects that could only exist in this exciting club-theater environment. Thousands of artists and performance groups bring work to the space each year. OBERON regularly features a wide variety of local performers including aerialists, beat poets, musicians, tap dancers, gender-bending sketch troupes, comedians, burlesque performers, and aerialists.

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