La MaMa Has Announced Winter/Spring 2020 Season
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jan. 03, 2020
La MaMa's 58th Season continues to celebrate the centennial of La MaMa's celebrated founder, the late Ellen Stewart with the announcement of its Winter/Spring lineup in its 58th season. The season features dozens of artists, playwrights, choreographers, directors, and award-winning theater companies and composers, including Elizabeth Swados, Anne Bogart, Noche Flamencia, Culture Hub, Hideki Noda/Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Nick Payne, En Garde Arts, Split Britches, and more.
THE WINTER/SPRING 2020 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
The World Premiere of
THE TRANSFIGURATION OF BENJAMIN BANNEKER
Directed by Theodora Skipitares
Music by The Soul Tigers Marching Band
January 23 - February 2, 2020
The Ellen Stewart Theatre
This multi-disciplinary spectacle celebrates the life of Benjamin Banneker, a free black man living in Maryland from 1731 to 1806, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, and made groundbreaking scientific discoveries. It features dance, live music, the Soul Tigers Marching Band, puppetry, and a multi-generational cast of Brooklynites.
Skysaver Productions is an award-winning theatre group based in New York. Under the direction of Theodora Skipitares, the company has created 30 performance works.
FANDANGO FOR BUTTERFLIES (AND COYOTES)
An En Garde Arts Production
Written by Andrea Thome
Directed by José Zayas
Music by Sinuhé Padilla
February 6 - 15, 2020
The Ellen Stewart Theatre
On the eve of city-wide ICE raids, a group of immigrants gather in an undisclosed community center in NYC for a fandango. As fear encroaches - fear for family left behind in their home countries, fear for loved ones in the middle of their dangerous journey to New York, fear of leaving the sanctuary of the community center simply just to get a bag of ice - a sense of camaraderie builds between the participants. Strangers become friends, friends become family, and the fandango plays on. Inspired by interviews with undocumented immigrants from Latin America.
En Garde Arts produces bold theatre experiences that reach across artistic, physical and social boundaries, illuminating nuanced perspectives and unspoken truths behind the salient issues of our time.
ANTIGONA
Conceived, Adapted & Directed by Martín Santangelo
Choreographed by Soledad Barrio & Martín Santangelo
March 19 - April 5, 2020
The Ellen Stewart Theatre
Antigona is an evening-length flamenco performance adapted from Sophocles' classic play. The story resonates with the roots of flamenco, which is based not on any one culture or religion, but on the strength of family. Soledad Barrio embodies Antigone's strength, pain, and passion in a tour-de-force performance.
Formed in 1993 by Martín Santangelo and his Bessie Award-winning wife, Soledad Barrio, Noche Flamenca has been hailed by critics everywhere for its transcendent and deeply emotional performances. Noche Flamenca is noted for creating a diverse theatrical body of work that expresses the rigorous, spellbinding aesthetic of flamenco that exceeds the highest artistic expectations.
The New York Premiere of
THE BEAUTIFUL LADY
Music By Elizabeth Swados
Book by Paul Schmidt
Directed by Anne Bogart
April 30 - May 17, 2020
Ellen Stewart Theatre
The Beautiful Lady by Elizabeth Swados is a powerful work of musical theatre that dramatizes with pressing urgency the necessity of free speech and the enduring power of art. Set in an artists' café during the Russian Revolution, The Beautiful Lady sings the words of radical poets of the time, translated by Helen Hayes Award-winner Paul Schmidt. As the revolution turns and begins to persecute its own, the poets advocate for a free and just society, seeking meaning and purpose in their resistance.
This special presentation by La MaMa honors Ellen Stewart's centennial. Ellen, who nurtured Elizabeth Swados as a young artist, frequently collaborated with Liz.
Bessie and Obie Award-winning director Anne Bogart directs.
LAST GASP
By Split Britches
Written & Performed by Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver
Directed by Lois Weaver
April 23 - May 10, 2020
The Downstairs
Set against a backdrop of climate catastrophe and political heartbreak, Last Gasp is a call and response to the precarities of aging and of our age. Poised at the edge of a new decade, Last Gasp is two separate but interdependent solo performances, woven together through the timeless pairing of Echo and Narcissus. Last Gasp, written and performed by Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver of Split Britches, looks for ways we might catch our breath in these times of great global uncertainty, considering our 'last acts,' whether personal, political or environmental.
Founded in New York in 1980, Split Britches continues with the duo and solo work of Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw.
THE WINTER/SPRING 2020 SEASON WILL ALSO INCLUDE:
reflections of native voices
La MaMa Indigenous Initiative & Safe Harbors Indigenous Collective
January 8 - 12, 2020
The Downstairs & Great Jones Street Studios
A series of events featuring work by artists in the Indigenous community.
Plays include Amal by Combat Hippies, a provocative piece that delves into the societal impact of war; and Don't Feed the Indians- A Divine Comedy Pageant, a raucous political satire by Murielle Borst-Tarrant (Kuna/Rappahannock Nations) that takes a comedic Native-Aesthetic look at the marginalization of Indigenous Peoples. Western Arts Alliance - Native Launchpad Artists - features five artists from the Western Arts Alliance Native Launchpad program: ritualist Timothy White Eagle, folk singer Thea Hopkins, dance artist Maura Garcia, drag clown Anthony Hudson, and hip-hop sensation DDAT.
Safe Harbors Indigenous Collective is dedicated to creating a new paradigm with regards to the presentation of Indigenous arts and culture within the broader American theatre to combat stereotypes and support vibrant Native American communities. Murielle Borst Tarrant, Artistic Director/Coordinator, Safe Harbors Kevin Tarrant, Executive Director/Coordinator, Safe Harbors.
AMAL
Part of Reflections of Native Voices
Direction and Dramaturgy by Teo Castellanos
Written and Performed by Combat Hippies
January 9 - 10, 2020
The Downstairs
Amal examines the impact of war with equal parts humor and urgency. It explores the quest for meaning, purpose and identity sought through enlisting in the military and shares the unifying experiences of combatants and noncombatants as people of color. Tough and tender, Amal relays stories of veterans', refugees', and civilians' adjustment to life after war.
This all-Puerto Rican theater company places Puerto Rico's colonial status, cultural and military heritage centerstage. With a head bangin' original AfroRican Punk soundtrack, produced by DJ Brimstone 127 and live percussion by Angel Ruben Rodriguez Sr.
CONSTELLATIONS
By Théâtre du Rêve Expérimental (China)
Written by Nick Payne
Directed by Wang Chong
Co-Presented by La MaMa and The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival
January 9 - 12, 2020
The Ellen Stewart Theatre
Nick Payne's play Constellations has been well-received on Broadway with Jake Gyllenhaal and in the West End with Sally Hawkins, but the award-winning Chinese production has its own special charm. Director Wang Chong adds live video and a live hamster to the work to create a unique experience that is contemporary, complex, and intimate.
Wang Chong is the founder and artistic director of Beijing-based performance group Théâtre du Rêve Expérimental. Wang's works have been invited to festivals in 16 countries. At the start of 2016, Wang stopped using cellphones and social networks. He currently lives in The De-electrified Territory (TDT, or Ting Dian Ting), a self-designed Beijing apartment that has no electricity and no electronics. Constellations is made possible with the generous support of the Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation.
The Us Premiere of
CEZARY GOES TO WAR
Directed by Cezary Tomaszewski
By Komuna Warszawa
January 16 - 19, 2020
The Ellen Stewart Theatre
This musically driven queer fantasia on masculinity and war lays bare the xenophobic heart of modern-day patriotism. With archaic military text, songs from the father of Polish opera, and absurd physical performances, Cezary Goes to War subverts gender norms and exposes the fragility of the patriarchy.
Cezary Tomaszewski, a rising star of the Eastern European avant-garde, directs for Komuna//Warszawa, one of the most vital independent theaters in Poland.
The Us Premiere of
ICH KANN NICHT ANDERS
Conceived and Directed by Beton Ltd.
Music by Dead Tongues
January 16 - 19, 2020
The Downstairs
Ich kann nicht anders (I cannot help it) is an arena where the audience peeks like voyeurs into selected intimate moments of three people. It erases the boundaries between the fictitious and the private, between the politically incorrect and objective, between the world outside and the world of intimacy.
Beton Ltd. is one of the leading Slovenian collectives in the field of contemporary performing arts, established in 2010 by three renowned actors: Katarina Stegnar, Primož Bezjak, and Branko Jordan.
MAGIC AGENCY CHAPTER 4: BRO-TOX BY LILAC CO
Directed By Sean Lewis
Written by Jonas Kyle and Sean Lewis
January 17 - 19, 2020
47 Great Jones Studios
After long estrangement, an emergency pushes two middle-aged brothers into a reunion, during which the profound perversion of white male America - spoken through bravado, sexual insecurity and violence - emerges with terrifying clarity. Featuring Jim Fletcher and Sean Lewis. Magic Agency Chapter 4 returns after a sold-out run at La MaMa in September.
Lilac Co. is a Brooklyn-based experimental theatre founded in 2007 by Sean Lewis. Lilac has developed five chapters of the Magic Agency cycle since the spring of 2017.
The World Premiere of
YOU ARE UNDER OUR SPACE CONTROL
By Object Collection
Written & Directed by Kara Feely
Composed by Travis Just
January 23 - February 2, 2020
The Downstairs
You Are Under Our Space Control is a utopian space-opera, a homing signal cast into an empty universe, a beacon for an aesthetically radical future. Drawing on space travel, transhumanism, astronautics and the resurrection of the dead, the piece rehearses a progressive politics through a total re-envisioning of everyday life. Charged with a burning, engrossing physicality-this is a life-giving work, deep in the mess of futuristic fervor.
Object Collection is a Brooklyn-based performance group that operates within the intersecting practices of performance, experimental music and theatre.
GENERATOR: PESTILENCE PART 1
Conceived, Written & Directed by Jack Waters
Production Design by Peter Cramer
February 20 - March 1, 2020
The Downstairs
A meditation on the AIDS epidemic as cultural phenomenon, Generator: Pestilence Part 1 is about how a virus can infect and affect us all. A cycle of beginnings and endings, expressionistic and experimental. The narrative begins with a spark of energy triggering life on our planet in a collectively generated intervention where art, social practice, and technology are activated as a living, breathing Venn diagram with performance, moving image, light, sound, choreography, immersive interactive media and even fragrance.
This is the first of a three-part cycle in collaboration with John Michael Swartz and Mike Cacciatore of the queer skinned "kitchen band" NYOBS, and the nearly 40-year partnership of Jack Waters and Peter Cramer. Known for their challenging and innovative interventions in art and politics, Generator is a homecoming - a return to Cramer and Waters' theatrical roots at La MaMa where their early performance works premiered in 1987.
ONE GREEN BOTTLE
Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre in association with NODA ・ MAP
Written & Directed by Hideki Noda
February 29 - March 8, 2020
The Ellen Stewart Theatre
Bo, Boo and Pickle all have plans, but someone must stay home to care for their pregnant dog, Princess. Trivial disputes and slapstick mischief quickly morph into family feuds and also, possibly, to the end of the world. An absurdist gender-bending farce, One Green Bottle artfully illustrates our current selfie society's relationship with consumerism and modern technology through one night in the life of a disordered family on the road to ruin.
One Green Bottle stars Hideki Noda - renowned Japanese playwright, director and performer, also Artistic Director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre with Lilo Baur and Glyn Pritchard. The English translation is adapted by Will Sharpe and features music based on Japanese Noh and Kabuki traditions, performed by Genichiro Tanaka. Supported by The Japan Foundation and Official Airline: ANA.
PANANADEM (REMEMBERING)
By Kinding Sindaw
Conceived & Directed by Potri Ranka Manis
March 12 - 15, 2020
The Ellen Stewart Theatre
Pananadem means "remembering" in the language of the Meranao people of southern Philippines. It is a way of looking back across time, to gain inspiration and perspective from one's ancestors. In this tale, old and new align as refugees and displaced tradition bearers recall the legends of Derangen, an epic from the indigenous Meranao, People of Lake Lanao.
For 27 years, Kinding Sindaw has performed dance theater productions throughout NYC to shed light on the history and indigenous traditions of the Southern Philippines.
RE-FEST
By CultureHub
March 12 - 14, 2020
The Downstairs
Re-Fest is an annual festival that brings artists, activists, and technologists together to explore our role in re-shaping the future. CultureHub was founded by La MaMa and the Seoul Institute of the Arts to foster sustainable models for cross-cultural creativity and understanding.
The theme of Re-Fest 2020 is Regeneration, a forum for intergenerational collaboration that examines our roots and opens new modes of participation in search of new futures. CultureHub partners with organizations that focus on creative technology, social justice, and arts and culture to make new connections that expand our understanding of the world around us. Presented in an open and interactive format, Re-Fest is a space where new ideas intersect.
SPOILED
By The Hess Collective
Written & Directed by Elizabeth Hess
March 19 - 29, 2020
The Downstairs
Spoiled rips open secrets of gender-based violence from the male point of view, revealed by an ensemble of women. The performers weave together a tapestry of stories from around the globe in an attempt to understand what drives such destructive behavior. In taking back the narrative, the ensemble breaks through taboos that silence women's voices.
The Hess Collective generates original work that addresses issues of social urgency through heightened realism, cross-cultural collaboration and interdisciplinary creation. Through embodied exploration, diverse artists create theatrical events that transcend language barriers. By diving into the inner landscape, the work releases psychic contents that lead to the immediacy of a shared transformative experience.
EXPERIMENTS IN DIGITAL STORYTELLING
By CultureHub
April 9 - 19, 2020
The Downstairs
Experiments in Digital Storytelling marks the launch of a new initiative between La MaMa and CultureHub. Over the course of two weekends in The Downstairs, writers, creative coders, game designers, directors, and performers will share new approaches, techniques, and findings. Four teams will present story sketches across hybrid venues that blur the lines between on and off line.
THE WAITRESS & THE ROBBER
By Concrete Temple Theatre in association with Playfactory Mabangzen (Korea)
April 9 - 26, 2020
The Ellen Stewart Theatre
Set in a dystopian society, The Waitress & The Robber explores themes of technological isolation and aging with humor and frivolity, while telling the story of a particular Waitress and Robber. The Waitress hates to see her older customers lonely, so she begins kidnapping them. Meanwhile, the Second Son, to avenge himself and liberate the people, becomes a robber and begins stealing cellular devices.
Concrete Temple Theatre is a multi-disciplinary, internationally acclaimed company, committed to the creation of compelling new theatrical works, incorporating drama, dance, puppetry, music and the visual arts. Playfactory Mabangzen, founded by playwright/director Koh Sun-Woong, explores magical realism and the strange realities and characters of the world.
SEUCY AND BOTO ON THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY TRAIL
By Loco7 Dance Puppet Theatre Company
Directed by Federico Restrepo and Denise Greber
April 18 - May 3, 2020
The Downstairs
The Adventures of Seucy and Boto is an episodic series for kids about Seucy, a brave little girl who battles any obstacle in order to keep the environment safe! Join Seucy and friends as they fight to safe-keep a butterfly sanctuary as the Monarch butterflies make their way towards New York City. For ages 4+
Under the direction and vision of Federico Restrepo, Loco7 has been active since 1985. Restrepo creates animated movement in an ever-changing and surreal stage environment to address themes of South American culture and history, the immigrant experience, and urban life.
MY HEART
Created & Directed by Antonio Marras
Choreographed by Marco Angelilli
In association with 369gradi (Valeria Orani)
May 14 - 17, 2020
The Downstairs
A site-specific performance involving actors and dancers under the guidance of Antonio Marras' vision. Through the stages of life, personal stories, and the search for one's own identity, this experiment will transform and contaminate popular culture and the storytelling of memory. Since 1987, when he designed his first collection, Antonio Marras has stood out for his experimentations; his ability to 'feel' different realities around him, interrogating art, music, dance, theatre, cinema. To him, fashion provides the link with other languages. In 2003, he was appointed as Kenzo art director.
LA MAMA MOVES! DANCE FESTIVAL
Curated By Nicky Paraiso
May 21 - June 7, 2020
The Downstairs and The Ellen Stewart Theatre
The 15th season of La MaMa Moves brings choreographers from around the world including: Kari Hoaas (Norway) Be Like Water (May 22-24 ), Kevin Augustine Body Concert (May 22-24 ), Tamar Rogoff Two Lies and A Truth (May 29-31), SHARED EVENINGS with works by: John Scott (Ireland) (May 29-31) and Anabella Lenzu, Pele Bauch, and Sugar Vendil (June 4-7) and SECRET JOURNEY: STOP CALLING THEM DANGEROUS #3 a Long Table Discussion with Yoshiko Chuma in partnership with Movement Research Concept.
GARJANA
By Food Tank
Created by Bernard Pollack and Jeff Solomon
Music by Rocky Dawuni
Directed by Whitney Mosery
June 2020 - September 13, 2020
The Ellen Stewart Theatre
Garjana is the first ever fully interactive theatrical off-Broadway musical experience that stars you, as you explore an unknown planet filled with fun-loving aliens, political infighting, and giant cats! Led by a young, diverse cast of Broadway performers and international talent, the show is an emotional rollercoaster that will leave you feeling inspired, joyful, and sweaty from dancing so much!
Featuring original music and lyrics by Grammy-nominated musician and United Nations celebrity ambassador Rocky Dawuni and David Peterson (HBO's "Game of Thrones"). Developed by an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award-winning artistic and creative team.
COFFEE HOUSE CHRONICLES
Michal Gamily, Curator/Director
Presented Monthly
Personal accounts of the history and development of the experimental, international, and Off-Off Broadway theatre scenes. Winter/Spring 2020, Coffeehouse Chronicles will continue to highlight the work of women artists including Estelle Parsons, Penny Arcade with Sarah Schulman, and Anne Bogart.
LA MAMA KIDS
February 15-16, 2020
Folktales of Asia and Africa by Jane Catherine Shaw: A puppet show. Ages 4+
March 14, 2020
A Filipino Indigenous Dance Workshop with Kindling Sindaw. Ages 4+
April 18 - May 3, 2020
Seucy and Boto Take on The Giants by Loco7 Dance Puppet Theatre: Seucy and Boto Take on The Giants, is a children's theatrical show that teaches children to be mindful about the environment through South American interpreted stories. Ages 4+
May 2020
La MaMa Moves! Dance Workshop: participants explore the basics of dance improvisation.
Ages 8+
June 7, 2020
La MaMa Family Play Date: Hosted by Slant Performance Group: their 6th Annual La MaMa's Family Play Date - a fun-filled cabaret performance embracing dance, music, and theatre. Ages 4+
LA GALLERIA
47 Great Jones Street, between Bowery and Lafayette Street
Open Wednesday-Sunday: 1pm - 7:00pm
Founded in 1984, La MaMa La Galleria is a nonprofit gallery committed to nurturing artistic experimentation.
March 5 - 28, 2020
Mark Tambella: Paintings
New oil paintings from Mark Tambella cull from a variety of sources and techniques, acquired from the artist's later landscape, still life, and portrait works.
June 3 - July 13, 2020
Adriana Farmiga, Rune Olsen, & Daphne Fitzpatrick: Mixed Media
A three-person exhibition organized by and featuring Adriana Farmiga alongside works from Rune Olsen and Daphne Fitzpatrick. Through reinforcement and challenge, this exhibition calls into question ideas of domesticity and celebrates the quotidian.
La MaMa's ongoing Poetry Electric and Experiments Play Reading Series continue throughout the season. Poetry Electric (series director: William Electric Black) fuses music, movement, sound, and dance with the spoken word and presents artists working in a wide range of styles including beatboxing, jazz and hip-hop theatre. Experiments Play Reading Series (series director: Matt Nasser), now in its 20th year, presents readings of new works by emerging playwrights.
Once again, La MaMa will offer Seasonal Memberships starting at $58 allowing members to access $10 tickets to all shows during the 2019-2020 season along with other Membership benefits.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT: HTTP://LAMAMA.ORG
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