Five of the best theatre, concerts, and art events happening in NYC and around LI!
1.) The Burial at Thebes: Antigone – Hofstra University
Hofstra University presents Nobel-prize winner Seamus Heaney’s timeless version of Sophocles’ Antigone, the epic tale of a young woman who speaks out against the authority of the state. Antigone has been hailed as one of the most lasting texts and Heaney’s version has been described as eerily relevant. Burial at Thebes will be running from November 7th through November 16th and tickets are free with your Hofstra ID! For details and show times visit the Hofstra Box Office or Hofstra’s event page.
2.) Pippin – Broadway
The critically acclaimed revival of the classic musical will be closing on January 4th, so see it before it’s too late. Pippin showcases the best of all that musical theatre has to offer. At first you may think that Pippin is a musical about happy-fun-circus-time (and it is with acrobatics, juggling, contortionism, and aerial feats) but you will soon realize that the destructive Leading Player has sinister plans. The show’s messages “about the perils of personal exceptionalism and the lures of empty celebrity” (TimeOutNY) will leave you thinking for days.
3.) Sleep No More – Punchdrunk (Chelsea)
Sleep No More is an experimental Choose Your Own Adventure experience where you can walk through a version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth derived from Hitchcock movies. You can choose to follow a guide or wander aimlessly through the McKittrick Hotel. The New York Times calls it “a merry, macabre chase up and down stairs, and through minimally illuminated, furniture-cluttered rooms and corridors. The creative team here has taken on the duties of messing with your head, which they do just as thoroughly as any artificial stimulant.” For more information or to buy tickets visit http://sleepnomorenyc.com/.
4.) Showboat – Lincoln Center
An all-star cast joins the NY Philharmonic in a semi-staged semi-concert production of Kern and Hammerstein’s classic musical Showboat. “With a cast of musical-theater pros including Vanessa Williams, Lauren Worsham, Julian Ovenden, Norm Lewis, Christopher Fitzgerald, Alli Mauzey and Fred Willard” (TimeOutNY) this show is sure to be a MUST SEE! For tickets and more information, visit: http://nyphil.org/concerts-tickets/1415/show-boat.
5.) Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2, & 3) – The Public Theater
Written by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Suzan-Lori Parks, The Public Theater presents Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2, & 3). This beautiful dramatic work is “the stunning first installment of a new American Odyssey, set over the course of the Civil War. Offered his freedom if he joins his master in the ranks of the Confederacy, Hero, a slave, must choose whether to leave the woman and people he loves for what may be yet another empty promise. As his decision brings him face-to-face with a nation at war with itself, the loved ones Hero left behind debate whether to escape or wait for his return… only to discover that for Hero, free will may have come at a great spiritual cost.” (publictheater.org) Father Comes Home from the War will run until the end of November. For tickets and more information please visit Public Theater.
If you’re doing a show or a concert in the NY metropolitan area feel free to let me know! Email me at dabneyrauh@yahoo.com with the subject “Friday Five.”