Category Archives: Festival

5th Annual Little Shakespeare Festival

Festival, Off Off Broadway, Shakespeare, streaming August 5, 2025 Leave a comment

Looking for an escape from the heat? the smoke? the world?  I can recommend a bite-sized treat: the 5th Annual Little Shakespeare Festival.  Each year playwrights take stories and themes from The Bard and spin them in a humorous/soul searching/topical direction.  This year’s selection of ten productions was curated by Conor Mullen based on the prompt “Not Your English Teacher’s Shakespeare.”  They include three Hamlet-inspired pieces.  A farcical Hamlet: La Telenovela is adapted by Federico Mallet, translated by Jose Ruano, and presented by Something From Abroad.  Events retold from the prospective of the theatre troupe unfold in The Mousetrap, or Prince Hamlet wrote a dumb play and now we have to do it written by Margaret Rose Caterisano and presented by Broomstick.  And comedian Rachel Resnik begs you not to laugh at her solo performance Hamlet’s Dad: Otherwise Known As The Daddy Issue’s Cycle presented by Serious Play.

The venue at UNDER St. Marks is not fully accessible, so the good folks at FRIGID New York have live streams available for purchase. This is how I was able to giggle from my couch at As You Wish It or The Bride Princess or What You Will.  The feed is supplied by two cameras, one in the back row and one audience right and closer to the stage. The audio is good quality and you can even hear the etherial music that plays as the audience loads in. The hilarious introduction by the house manager is not to be missed. It’s such a small theater that it’s a similar experience to arriving just before curtain and grabbing whatever seat you find.

As You Wish It etc. is billed as a parody, but it struck me as more of a love letter.  Presented by Fork the Odds Productions, the beloved William Goldman book/movie has been transposed into Shakespearean English by Michael Hagins.  Dialogue from Hamlet, MacBeth, Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, and Richard III is comfortably intertwined with all the favorite lines and plot points from Rob Reiner’s classic.  It was wonderful to see that over 30 years later the over-the-top tale of true love still has such loyal fans.  With every long introduction by the revenge-seeking Count and “inconceivable” the audience roared with appreciation.  If it’s been a while since you saw the original, a quick review of the dense character-filled storyline will aid your full enjoyment. 

Rather than covering up the obvious shortcomings of enacting an action film on a tiny stage, the company leans into the insanity of even trying.  A roll down the hill becomes a balletic twilling through curtains, a knock out punch is prefaced by grabbing a small wrestling mat, and a chase on horseback is mimicked with Python style coconut shells.  The sword fights are brilliantly choreographed in slow motion.  The actors physical humor is enhanced by inexpensive, well designed props.  Synchronized sound effects heighten the laughs. Tickets are still available for the August 8 and 9 performances.

As You Wish It is among the offerings at the 2025 Little Shakespeare Festival; Photo by Michele Santomoreno

There is a timelessness to Shakespeare’s themes and relationships that opens his works to seemingly endless variation.  The Little Shakespeare Festival puts a spotlight on particularly clever revisions all presented by independent companies.  The fun continues through August 17.  All live performances take place at UNDER St. Marks (94 St Marks Place) and tickets are $25.  Streaming tickets are $20 for a live feed (so no late seating even at home.) To view the full schedule and to purchase advanced tickets visit www.frigid.nyc.

A Knock on the Roof

Festival, Off-Broadway, Solo performance January 28, 2025 Leave a comment

There are many ways in which the war in the Middle East has been brought into our lives, particularly over the last 15 months.  For a singular account, there is now A Knock on the Roof.  Written and performed by Khawla Ibraheem — a playwright, actor and director from the occupied Golan Heights — the piece avoids politics, focusing instead on the emotional casualties of the conflict.  Her collaborator and director is Oliver Butler, who previously worked with Heidi Schreck on the impassioned What the Constitution Means to Me.

The main character is Mariam, indicating that while the events portrayed are truthful this is not an autobiography.  She is living in Gaza with her husband, Omar, and young son, Nour, just trying to be “the cool mom” when war breaks out.  After Mariam refuses to move into the family building, her mother joins her in her small apartment.  The generational tensions add to the stress of an already fraught situation.

The title refers to the practice used by the enemy of dropping a small bomb on the rooftop to alert the residents that they have five minutes to vacate before their building will be completely destroyed.  Mariam prepares for this horror by packing a bag and practicing her evacuation, acquiring new knowledge, technique, and insight with each run.  Her cycle will be familiar to anyone who has faced a disaster that has the potential to take away “home” and everything that signifies.  The grinding anxious anticipation becomes as painful as the inevitable event.

This is not the type of one person show that makes you marvel at the actor’s ability to portray and interact with multiple characters.  Though she shifts her voice slightly when inhabiting family members, Ibraheem is a true solo performer, primarily sharing Mariam’s inner monologue.  Though the themes are heavy, the script contains moments of levity and Ibraheem makes the most of them.  Her exchanges with the audience feel warm, genuine, and even spontaneous.  She has been feeling “missing” since she gave up her studies to get married.  As she says about halfway through the piece, “I couldn’t share my real thoughts with me.”  She had wanted to move to Europe and get her Masters Degree.  Instead she has brought a sweet boy into a violent world with little hope.  Her words are a private knock on the roof: a warning of impending destruction. Much of what she expresses in her search for meaning, connection and safety is relatable. In addition to a gut-level understanding of the stresses of wartime, what we witness is a soul crushing personal reckoning.

This distinction from many first person plays becomes particularly significant towards the end of the piece when there is a jolting revelation.  The final section is so extreme that several women in the restroom — where much precious audience feedback is shared — said they found it unnecessary and even unrealistic.  While it doesn’t ruin all that came before, it certainly lessens the impact of universality of the other 95%.

Khawla Ibraheem in A KNOCK ON THE ROOF at New York Theatre Workshop;
Photo by Joan Marcus

The play is set against a plain brick wall (Frank J Oliva, scenic design) all the better to focus on Mariam.  Butler’s staging ensures that the entire space is used and no part of the audience is left out.  In cool colored clothes that belie her inner turmoil ( Jeffrey Wallach, costume design), she unfolds her story over the course of 85 minutes. The only prop is an armless chair which Ibraheem brings on stage with her.  The rest of the atmosphere is filled in by this vigorous actress along with lighting by Oona Curley augmented by Hana S. Kim’s effective projections. The high ceiling and lack of acoustical panels give a slight bounce to the sound, which intermittently makes Ibraheem difficult to understand.

The only side presented in the wartime setting of A Knock on the Roof is a human one.  Part of Under the Radar — a curated experimental theater festival that is playing across 30 New York City venues — it continues through February 16.  Tickets are available for as little as $30.  Performances take place at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street between Bowery and Second Avenue. Visit https://www.nytw.org/show/a-knock-on-the-roof/ to purchase and for more information.

FRIGID’s Little Shakespeare Festival

Festival, Live Stream, Off Off Broadway August 18, 2024 Leave a comment

Saturday marked the closing night of FRIGID New York’s 4th annual Little Shakespeare Festival.  Known for their emphasis on creativity, collaboration, and affordability, this year’s line-up included seven original pieces.  Each one act script was built around the theme of Camaraderie and Community using the vast oeuvre of the Bard as a jumping off point.  

Festival curator, Conor D. Mullen, points out that Shakespeare himself was an independent artist whose casts were often composed of close friends who were given too little rehearsal time. Having a stripped down set and costumes “designed” by Goodwill is a fitting way to present productions inspired by his work.  Highlights included Mindy Mawhirter’s and Alyssa Cokinis’s The Lark and the Nightingale, which gave Juliet and Desdemona a second chance at love and happiness, and the bravely improvised As You Will created by Conor D Mullen, David Brummer, and George Hider.

Unfortunately FRIGID’s current home at UNDER St. Marks (94 St Marks Place) is literally “under,” in a basement and not fully accessible.  Aiming to remain truly inclusive, the producers added live-stream performances throughout the run.  This was how I was able to watch Hamlet Isn’t Dead’s utterly delightful When My Cue Comes with my elderly mother.  While I hope it won’t be too long before they find a space that more fully meets their needs, I encourage them to keep this option for those with mobility and caregiving issues and to reach out to audiences beyond New York. 

When My Cue Comes depicts a time when Hamlet’s Reynaldo, As You Like It’s Jaques de Boys, The Tempest’s Boatswain, and a very overworked Messenger find themselves deserted in a Waiting Room.  They had believed themselves to be essential workers.  Instead, they’ve been clipped from many a modern production and slowly bond while awaiting their next cue from The Playwright.  Quick witted and cleverly timed by writer/director B. Carty, the comical work also manages to be touching and relevant to today’s disconnected times.  

Jaques de Boys (Aaron Moore) tries to find himself with support from Reynaldo (Reid Watson), Messenger (Natalie Deboer), and Boatswain (Gabriel Ethridge) in When My Cue Comes.

This off-off-Broadway offering may be low budget, but it’s definitely not low talent.  Much of joy in this production radiates from the exuberant cast.  With perky energy possibility derived from a morning bowl of cookie crunch, Natalie Deboer’s Messenger punches through the fourth wall.  Reid Watson brings warm devotion to the abandoned Reynaldo.  As played by Aaron Moore, Jaques de Boys is profoundly rattled by his exile.  Mining every line for comic gems, Gabriel Ethridge’s Boatswain has never been more at sea.  Grounding them as long as she can is Madeline Parks, whose Playwright isn’t in as much control as she’d like.  The ease of the entire ensemble was palpable even at a distance.

Having (mostly) recovered from lockdown, FRIGID New York recently resumed their resident artists program.  Last week they announced the programming for their very full 27th season. This includes their annual Days of the Dead Festival, a celebration of nothing less than life and death, taking place October 17 to November 2. This will be followed November 3 through 17 by the 12th Gotham Storytelling Festival.  A complete schedule and ticketing information can be found at https://www.frigid.nyc/. 

Manifesting Mrs. Marx

Festival, Off Off Broadway, Play May 16, 2022 Leave a comment

Though you have no doubt heard of economist/revolutionary Karl Marx, his gifted and loyal wife has been all but erased from history.  Encyclopedic entries of her life are usually reduced to her lineage, marriage, and the early death of her children.  You will learn something more of Johanna “Jenny” Von Westphalen Marx by watching Manifesting Mrs. Marx, but that is not its ultimate goal.  Still evolving three years after it was performed at the famous Edinburgh Fringe, the piece is the brainchild of actress/musician/producer Clara Francesca who employs a wide range of techniques to shape the story.  In less than an hour, she puddle jumps from Von Westphalen’s biography to the constrictions of the patriarchy to the struggles of creative process itself. 

Jenny had her own distinct views of social revolution and the suppression of the working class.  But she was also a writer of criticism which makes it particularly fitting to have her character critique parts of her own performance.  The work is unconventional in that Ms. Francesca plays not only herself, Mrs. Marx, and characters in Marx’s world, but also against herself as the unseen writer who is heard over the theater’s speakers creating the script in real time.  This allows the actress to simultaneously narrate and comment on the story.  She is both the center of the work and being controlled by it, an apt metaphor for the constrictions faced by early feminists like Jenny Von Westphalen that continue into present day. 

Laurence Olivier Award winning director Guy Masterson wisely keeps the focus on his talent, placing her in drab shapeless clothing against a dark backdrop.  Ms. Francesca is given only a chair, a microphone and a “bag of tricks,” which suits an actress this playful, expressive, and bright.  Her physical comedy is likely to make you think of another Marx — Harpo — especially in a segment where she brattishly defies her writer who is giving her too many instructions.   She also uses her well-tuned voice to manipulate her audience, poking fun at “the pace of perfection” in measured dulcet tones and then rapidly firing off some of Jenny’s pent up frustrations.

Manifesting Mrs. Marx is a broad rather than deep experience.  But while it’s hard to retain much of the detail, the impact of the performer’s energy and passion lingers.  It is making its New York City debut as part of the The New York Theater Festival at the Teatro Latea at 107 Suffolk Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Three performances have been scheduled: Wednesday, May 18, at 4PM; Friday, May 20, at 6:30 PM; and Sunday, May 22, at 1PM.  It will be paired with a second short play to create an 85 minute event.  Tickets are $25 for advanced purchase general admission, $30 at the door, and $45 for VIP seating (https://innovationtickets.com/product/manifesting-mrs-marx/).   

Project W

Festival, Off Off Broadway, Uncategorized June 7, 2017 Leave a comment

ProjectWAnyone looking to fill an evening this week with good theater that supports a great cause and an even better movement should head over to the Cherry Lane for the Project W Theatre Festival.  Running June 6-10, this series of staged readings turns the spotlight on professional theater women in creative and business roles.  Pay-what-you-wish donations will be given to Planned Parenthood of NYC, which provides reproductive healthcare and educational programs to women and their families throughout the five boroughs.

The opening night selection, The Club written by Amy Fox and directed by Suzanne Agins, was a chuckle-filled meditation on the importance of nurturing friendships over time.  Four women who were roommates in college gather to celebrate one’s long-awaited pregnancy.  Over the course of the evening, they are forced to address the cracks that have developed in their relationships.  While none of the characters resonated with me — likely due to generational differences —  the overall tone and themes rang true.

When done well, staged readings can allow an audience the thrill of filling in the visuals. The rendition of The Club was a terrific example of this performance art.  The ensemble —  Cindy Cheung, Jolie Curtsinger, Emily Donahoe, Melanie Nicholls King, Eileen Rivera and Jason Liebman as the lone compassionate male voice —  had familiarized themselves with the lines well enough to interact with sincerity and listen with intensity.  Their ease made the banter flow, which was essential for this particular offering.

Festival producer InProximity was founded in 2008 by Ms. Curtsinger and Laurie Schaefer Fenton to highlight the candid, deep work of emerging female voices. Even in the year in which luminaries Paula Vogel and Lynn Nottage have finally brought their brilliant works to Broadway, gender disparity in the arts remains.  It is important to cultivate opportunities to shine a light on the talented women of professional theater.

What was missing from a production billed as part of a “festival” was any element of celebration.  No one greeted the audience, welcomed the talent to the stage or delivered a word of thanks.  Even the donation basket sat quietly unattended on a side table.  Given the presence of co-founder Curtsinger in a leading role and her organization’s commitment to the development new works — a process that can take years of workshopping and rewrites —  I had also expected some form of feedback request.   The lack of interaction was a letdown and a lost opportunity to build camaraderie around a critical issue.

The Project W lineup continues the rest of the week with

Halcyon written by Danielle Mohlman and directed by Maureen Monterubio on Wednesday, June 7

Still Life written by Barbara Blumethal-Ehrlich and directed by Shelley Butler on June 8

Honor Killing written by Sarah Bierstock and directed by Pamela Berlin on June 9

The Flora and Fauna written by Alyson Mead and directed by Stefanie Sertich on June 10.

All performances take place 8PM in the smaller house at the Cherry Lane Theater.  For more information visit http://inproximitytheatre.org.