Target Margin Theater Hosts World Premiere of MARJANA AND THE FORTY THIEVES

Target Margin Theater presents the world premiere of Marjana and the Forty Thieves, which delves into a new section of The One Thousand and One Nights: the tale of Ali Baba. Directed by Founding Artistic Director David Herskovits, Marjana and the Forty Thieves is scheduled to run at Target Margin Theater's THE DOXSEE (232 52nd Street, Brooklyn) from March 28 through April 20, with an opening night of April 1.

In Marjana and the Forty Thieves, when a simple man, Ali Baba, armed with a powerful phrase, "Open Sesame," stumbles onto a magical cave belonging to forty bloodthirsty thieves, he cannot resist taking some of their extravagant treasure. With murder on their minds, the bloodthirsty thieves want vengeance and quickly come after Ali Baba and his household. Fortunately, Marjana, Ali Baba's smart, quick, and resourceful slave girl, is ready to foil all their plots.

Like many of the popular tales of The One Thousand and One Nights, the story of Ali Baba is one readers think they know, but really know nothing about. At the heart, it's really the story of Marjana, the intelligent slave woman, who gains her freedom against all odds. While maintaining the wonder and pure joy of storytelling associated with The One Thousand and One Nights, Herskovits has chosen to reframe this tale as Marjana and the Forty Thieves. His adaptation intentionally foregrounds issues of equality, agency, and power that are as present now as they were then.

Marjana and the Forty Thieves continues Target Margin Theater's multi-year exploration of The One Thousand and One Nights, a boundless collection of classic Islamic stories. This body of work began with the critically-acclaimed production of Pay No Attention To The Girl, which, in his New York Times critic's pick review, Ben Brantley wrote, "Stories are shape shifters, as mutable and capricious as genies, in 'Pay No Attention to the Girl,' Target Margin Theater's timely gloss on the rich and strange ancient tales known as 'The One Thousand and One Nights.' "

"What I'm discovering in the tale of Ali Baba, is that Marjana is the true hero of this story: with tenacity and intellect and sheer skill she quietly takes control of every situation; she seems to be utterly powerless but actually wields the greatest power. The story of "Marjana/Ali Baba" is obsessed with wealth, property, ownership; after all, Marjana herself is a slave. These tales of The One Thousand and One Nights are about many things beyond gender and power-and yet, the capacity of an infinitely resourceful woman (Scheherazade and her many avatars) to assert herself has been my way into all of the complexities of the Nights.

Moe Yousuf, our Associate Artistic Director, first brought forward The One Thousand and One Nights as potential source material four years ago. With Moe and an extraordinarily diverse team of collaborators, we continue to find the "Nights" endlessly inspiring. Especially here in Sunset Park, layered with so many communities, we feel Marjana and the Forty Thieves has the potential to expand the cultural conversation in a meaningful way."

As part of this multi-year exploration of The One Thousand and One Nights, Target Margin Theater has commissioned "The Poet Says," an original graphic score and musical composition by actor and composer Deepali Gupta, who was featured in Pay No Attention To The Girl. Available for free at targetmargin.org/thepoetsays/, listeners are encouraged to download the graphic score and use it to create their own iteration of the composition.

The cast for Marjana and the Forty Thieves features Caitlin Nasema Cassidy, Sophie Laruelle, Anthony Vaughn Merchant, Anish Roy, and Isuri Wijesundara

The creative team for Marjana and the Forty Thieves includes Carolyn Mraz (scenic design), Kate McGee (lighting design), Dina El-Aziz (costume design), David Herskovits (sound design), Eamon Goodman (sound demon), Will Jennings (Technical Director / Production Manager), Michelle Tuite (Production Stage Manager), Grace Orr (Assistant Stage Manager), and Moe Yousuf (Associate Artistic Director).

Performances of Marjana and the Forty Thieves will take place March 28-April 20 (see above schedule) at Target Margin Theater's THE DOXSEE, located at 232 52nd Street in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn. Critics are welcome as of Thursday, March 28 for an official opening on Monday, April 1. Tickets start at$25, and can be purchased by visiting targetmargin.org or by calling 212-352-3101. A benefit performance will be held on April 11 with tickets starting at $125.

Photo Credit: Kelly Stuart

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