Kafka Classic METAMORPHOSIS Comes to Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Now thru 9/21

Fresh from their popular and critically acclaimed presentation of The Václav Havel Project in Washington, DC and The Prague Fringe Festival, Alliance for New Music-Theatre presents a dark and comical interpretation of Franz Kafka's iconic work through the lens of this season's complex theme, The Outsider's Outsider. Kafka, the son of a German-speaking, Jewish family living as outsiders in Czech-speaking Prague, imaginatively creates an alter-ego figure, Gregor, also the son of a dogmatic father and otherwise claustrophobic family, who inexplicably wakes up to find himself transformed into a giant insect, and is further ostracized as an outsider living in the midst of his family.

Director Susan Galbraith brings together this highly collaborative and eclectic performance, combining movement, singing, and speech to explore Kafka's relevance to today's American audiences. The musical world of this music-theatre adaptation of Metamorphosis includes soundscapes by composer and cellist, Hugh Livingston, traditional Jewish melodies, and vocal improvisations developed by the ensemble and live cello. Designer Joey Wade creates a complementary stage world combining animation, inspired by Kafka's drawings, that interacts with the performers' highly physicalized style to convey the importance of the writer's artistic imagination. The central role of Gregor will be played by Ari Jacobson, and his other family members include David Millstone (Father), Pamela Bierly Jusino (Mother), and Lily Kerrigan (Sister Greta).

Ten performances, between September 10th and 21st, are presented in partnership with the Embassy of the Czech Republic's Mutual Inspirations Festival, an annual initiative focusing on seminal artistic cross-fertilizations between Czech and American cultures. Also presented under this festival's umbrella is Apeman, by Alliance for New Music-Theatre's company member, Drew Valins (star of The Václav Havel Project). The solo performance is an adaptation of Kafka's short story. Apeman will debut on September 09, 2014, 6:30 PM at the Czech Embassy.

More information on the Czech Embasssy's Mutual Inspirations Festival at www.mutualinspirations.org.

After Metamorphosis, Alliance for New Music-Theatre will continue their Outsider's Outsider themed-season with The Samaritan in early 2015 followed by The Civil War Project: Standing Down. For tickets, visit www.newmusictheatre.org.