Compiled by scott stiffler
THEATER: MOTHER OF GOD!
You don’t have to be Jewish to be Christian — but it wouldn’t hurt! That seemingly contradictory conundrum is our own boiled down essence of the play “Mother of God!” — so direct your angry missives to us, not the producers. Jewish mother and playwright Michele A. Miller’s world premiere production positions the conception and birth of Jesus Christ as a Jewish tale. Explains Miller, “There were no Christians before Christ was born. Mary, Joseph, Hannah (Mary’s mother), Joaquim (her father) and Elizabeth (mother of John the Baptist) — characters in my play — were all Jews living in the Jewish homeland, and this is their story, their dilemma, as Jews.” Discuss amongst yourselves. March 10-26, at the Richmond Shepard Theatre (309 E. 26th St.). Wed.-Sat. at 8pm, Sun. at 3pm. For tickets ($18, $15 for students/seniors), theatermania.com or 866-811-4111.
HUDSON GUILD THEATRE COMPANY
Justice is blind…and deaf, and dumb and more than a little stupid. Hudson Guild Theatre Company explores this downside to our legal system with two plays, in repertory, about the miscarriage of justice. Set in colonial Malaysia in the 1930s, Somerset Maugham’s “The Letter” tells the story of a woman who is tried for murder and acquitted because her lawyer purchases a piece of incriminating evidence in order to prevent the prosecution from seeing it. Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s “The Exonerated” is a docudrama which shifts between first-person monologues and prison/courtroom scenes to tell the story of six people sent to Death Row for crimes they did not commit. March 18 through April 3 at the Hudson Guild Theatre (441 W. 26th St., btw. 9th and 10th Aves.). Admission: Pay what you wish (suggested donation: $10). For reservations: 212-760-9817. For info, visit hudsonguild.org.
THE NY POPS HONOR JUDY GARLAND
Fifty years after her Carnegie Hall debut almost immediately became the stuff of legend — and 67 years after she sang “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart” on a trolley car while anticipating a memorable trip to St. Louis — The New York Pops fondly (fawningly?) recall Judy Garland with a song-for-song re-creation of the 1961 performance referred to by so many as “the greatest night in show business history.” That’s a high bar indeed for the performing artists on this bill — but they’ll be given able assistance from Music Director Steven Reineke, who’ll be wielding the baton. Among the promising talent likely to make this a night to remember in its own right: Lorna Luft; Broadway luminary Ashley Brown; Grammy Award winner Heather Headley; and “West Side Story” star Karen Olivo. Among the selections you just may know by heart: “Over the Rainbow,” that above-mentioned trolley song, “Come Rain or Come Shine” and “The Man That Got Away.” Fri., March 11, 8pm, at Carnegie Hall (57th St. & 7th Ave.). Tickets are $33 to $106. Subscriptions to the 2010-2011 Carnegie Hall are $145, $165, $210, $350, $460, $510. Visit the Carnegie Hall Box Office or call 212-247-7800. For more info, carnegiehall.org.
