La MaMa, New York City's Tony-winning downtown theatre company, has unveiled its 2019 winter and spring lineup. Highlights include Ping Chong's Generation NYZ, seen last year at the New Victory Theater; The Talking Band's City of No Illusions; and three U.S. premieres from China as part of the China Fringe Theater Festival.
Beginning January 31, La MaMa will remount the critically acclaimed Generation NYZ. Directed by Sara Zatz and Kirya Traber, the production is also written by Zatz and Traber in conjunction with the play’s cast of eight international performers as they bravely speak their truths about coming of age in New York City. The show, which will run through February 3, is part of Ping Chong + Company’s Undesirable Elements series.
Also in January, La MaMa will present LILAC Co.'s Magic Agency / Chapter 6: Behind the Red Curtain. In this new work written and directed by Sean Edward Lewis, a group performs psychic recoveries of fragmented people as party entertainment, helping people rescue their “lost selves.” Performances run January 31–February 3.
The China Fringe Theater Festival will run February 8–16. One of the three shows on offer is one of mainland China's most popular plays, Meng Jinghui's Two Dogs (Opinions on Life). Physical comedy and improvisation combined with a grunge-punk rock aesthetic tell the story of two dogs journeying to the big city to pursue their dreams. Completing the festival lineup are the Physical Guerrillas' The Dictionary of Soul, directed by Ll Ning; and Shanghai Huidiji Public Psychological Care Center's The Story of Xiaoyi, directed by Sun Xinlan.
The February lineup also includes the world premiere of Linda Faigao-Hall's Dying in Boulder, about a dying Caucasian-American Buddhist woman who enlists her reluctant mixed-Filipino family in micro-managing her impending Buddhist funeral rites (Ian Morgan directs; February 28–March 17).
March highlights include the world premiere of Jeton Neziraj's 55 Shades of Gay, about the first (fictional) gay marriage in Kosovo (March 7–17); and Jean-Claude van Itallie's The Fat Lady Sings, a loud, no-holds barred, in-depth exploration of the hidden myths that have brought current America to its knees (directed by David Schweizer; March 21–April 7).
In April, 600 Highway Men bring The Fever to La MaMa as part of the Onassis Festival 2019: Democracy Is Coming (return engagement: April 11 – 28); in May, Nia O. Witherspoon debuts her world-premiere new play, Messiah, about a teenager on the trans-spectrum whose world comes crashing down (May 23–June 2).
For the complete lineup, visit LaMaMa.org.
