Photo Flash: Milk Can Theatre Co's GALILEO

The Milk Can Theatre Company presents its spring 2009 season: Galileo, written by Bertolt Brecht and directed by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, and The Science Plays, six short plays inspired by the history of science. Galileo and The Science Plays will run in repertory through May 17. All performances take place at Urban Stages, 259 West 30th Street.

Bertolt Brecht's Galileo, written over 70 years ago, chronicles the life and tragic fall from grace of seventeenth century Italian philosopher and mathematician Galileo Galilei. Forced to choose between his scientific discoveries and the beliefs of the Catholic Church, Galileo recants his teachings to spare himself from physical torture. As new scientific discoveries and teachings are constantly under attack, even today, watching Galileo's inevitable fall from grace is a gentle reminder of the dangerous balance that still exists between new ideas and old ones. Julie Fei-Fan Balzer directs a cast of eight--Matt Biagini, Natalie Caruncho, James Caulfield, Ryan Clardy, Robert A. Felbinger, Alex Herrald, Jed Peterson, and Maria Silverman--portraying over 50 roles.

Beginning with an egomaniacal-and frustrating dawdling-Archimedes and ending with a couple selecting its genetically perfect baby, each of The Science Plays, written by Milk Can playwrights, tells the story of a different moment in the history of science. These original, ten-minute plays address the intellectual complexities and ethical uncertainties of the constantly changing and ever wondrous world of science.

Founded in 2003, The Milk Can Theatre Company is a collective of playwrights and directors with a focus on development. The company develops new plays, new ideas for classic texts, emerging artists, and works of all levels, but the focus always remains on development. Milk Can takes innovative approaches and views on developing new work, and finds inventive ways to tackle older more established works and classics.

The Milk Can Theatre Company is home to Scene Herd Uddered, SHU, where artists are given a seven-week workshop to grow and mold a project that they are currently working on. Milk Can provides the artists with a no-pressure (money, space, and time are provided) environment where the artists have the freedom to experiment and try new and unfamiliar genres and forms. Over the past five-and-a-half seasons, they have worked with almost 300 actors, more than 50 artistic professionals (designers, directors, playwrights, stage managers) and produced almost 30 world premieres in either workshop or main stage form. The Milk Can Theatre Company is Julie Fei-Fan Balzer (Artistic Director), Bethany Larsen (Managing Director), Cheryl L. Davis, ML Kinney, and Riv Massey (Artistic Associates).

Galileo and The Science Plays run in repertory at Urban Stages located at 259 West 30th Street. Galileo runs Thursday, April 30 - Saturday, May 16 on the following schedule: Thursday and Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2pm; Sunday at 6pm. The Science Plays run Saturday, May 2 - Sunday, May 17 on the following schedule: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7pm; Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are $18.00, $15.00 (students/seniors) and may be purchased online through Smart Tix at www.smarttix.com. Group Sale pricing available at info@milkcantheatre.org.

For more information about The Milk Can Theatre Company, visit www.milkcantheatre.org.

Photos by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

Natalie Caruncho and James Caulfield

Ryan Clardy, Robert A. Felbinger, and Maria Silverman

Matt Biagini, James Caulfield, and Alex Herrald

The cast of Galileo

James Caulfield, Matt Biagini, and Alex Herrald