Captives of purgatory navigate Hurricane Katrina, sin and temptation, in Rebel Theater Company’s adaptation of “Salome.”
SALOME: DA VOODOO PRINCESS OF NAWLINS | A worthy successor to February’s ethnically diverse and relentlessly intense Black Panther Party version of “Othello,” Rebel Theater Company returns to The Nuyorican Poets Cafe with a similarly ambitious adaptation. Director and playwright Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, the man with the “Panther” plan, sets his “Salome” in New Orleans during the violent height of Hurricane Katrina. Primarily concerned with the devilish deals we make in order to survive, rather than the gross indecency of Oscar Wilde’s original, there’s still enough sin and skin on display to merit that “Adults Only” disclaimer (Salome’s Dance of the Seven Veils was so steamy, it set off the smoke detector at last Saturday’s performance).
The opening scene finds an elderly man in Holt Cemetery, surrounded by advancing waters and showing signs of a heart attack. Accepting a challenge from the soul-collecting Papa Ga, Noah vows to save himself by listening to the tale of Salome, and resisting her siren pull. It’s a great framing device that ups the stakes of every test of faith and battle of wills to follow. Even better is how the children of Israel are reimagined as zombies trapped in purgatory, each doomed to repeat the particular hell of their own creation. Haunting all sides of the stage for much of the play, and intensely committed throughout, the torment they generate spills into the tension between the deeply conflicted main players. Apart from the occasional pop reference (Salome dances to “When Doves Cry”), the use of a cappella spirituals as a plot-advancing device effectively hammers home the notion that floods may kill flesh, but faith saves souls.
Through May 24: Thurs. & Fri. at 6:30 pm, Sat. & Sun. at 6 pm. On May 25, 2 & 6:30 pm. (2 pm matinee, May 25). At Nuyorican Poets Cafe (236 E. Third St., btw. Aves. B & C). Tickets: $25 online, $30 at the door. $20 for students, with ID (door & online). To order, visit nuyorican.org.
THE 19th ANNUAL LOWER EAST SIDE FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS | “Art Stands Up to Power. Corporations Are Not People, Green vs. Greed” is the 2014 theme of Theater for the New City’s annual cross-cultural, multi-generational, family-and-hyphen-friendly, totally free Memorial Day Weekend hodgepodge of performance, music, dance, theater, film and comedy. The event takes place on stages located throughout Theater for the New City, and outdoors during the Saturday afternoon Block Party.
The dozens of performers include Academy Award-winner F. Murray Abraham, Le Squeezebox Cabaret, NY Lyric Circus (with juggler and bubblemeister John Grimaldi), the aerial dance Constellation Moving Company, Burning City Orchestra, comedienne Penny Arcade, The Rod Rodgers Dance Company and legendary TV pioneer Joe Franklin — plus theater pieces by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz, Eduardo Machado, Barbara Kahn and others. A lobby art exhibit features paintings, photographs and sculptures from Lower East Side and East Village artists. If you appreciate the consistent — and decidedly offbeat — tone to the proceedings, seek out Theater for the New City Artistic Director Crystal Field, and congratulate her on recently winning an “Acker Award” — given annually for “Achievement in the Avant-Garde.”
Free. May 23-May 25. On Fri., performances from 6 pm-1 am. The Sat. Block Party is noon-5 pm, with films from noon-midnight and youth programming from 2-5 pm. On Sun., performances from 6 pm-midnight and poetry readings from 4-7 pm. At Theater for the New City (155 First Ave., btw. 9th & 10th Sts.). For a performance schedule, call 212-254-1109 or visit theaterforthenewcity.net.
–BY SCOTT STIFFLER
