Staff Picks No. 99
New Dance Alliance's Performance Mix Festival : Travis Amiel, Cosimo Pori, Arzu Salman, and Nina Lucia Rodriguez
Abrons Arts Center
June 5th-8th 2025
Das Besties are das best and they are das back! Behold rigorous tom foolery in this sample from a larger work that may be cooking. New Dance Alliance brings together 40 experimental dance and film artists over 4 days, so come enjoy this choreographic box of chocolates.
Staffer: Billy McEntee
Mysteriosa : Evan Silver / Tiresias, Daphne / Violenza, Eli Rose, Jarrett Key, Mizuho Kappa, Caratoes, Mizu, Alfonso Ordosgoitia, Jessica Müller, Luiza, Asato Kitamura, Mextly Couzin, Nora Chellew, Cassiel Fawcett
Domino Park
Thursday June 5th 2025
Massive bias alert #2! I also curated this night! Evan Silver/Tiresias is the genius who brings it all together, so inviting them meant opening wide a door to the incredible people with whom they weave worlds. I never feel so transported as I do when experiencing a Tiresias event, whether it takes the form of resting on pillows and gently roaming the skies via Cryptochrome or deliriously sweating the night away at a Bacchanal. What will this sunset show bring? I truly look forward to finding out.
*As noted in the Nile/Lena/Lisa Pick - This is a free show for audiences AND the artists are being paid. RSVP and do not miss this night!
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister
LOVE YOU MORE : Nikhil Mahapatra, N // Nicky Maggio
The Tank
May 29th-June 19th 2025
Bias alert, Nicky is a friend, peer and former cohort-mate, but nothing will stop me from encouraging YOU, dear reader, to see what they and Nik have come up with. I caught their really brilliant collaboration (deep breath) “WE INVITE YOU TO AN OPEN REHEARSAL OF A NEW PRODUCTION OF ACTORS ACTING AN ILLEGAL AND REWRITTEN PRODUCTION OF A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, PERHAPS IN GRAD SCHOOL OR IN HELL OR IN A COUNTRY VERY SIMILAR TO HELL” at ?! New Works last year and anything these two work up, you must see. And this time, a play about sisterhood! And featuring a blood-dripped knife above a grave for the poster art! Go, before you regret it!
Staffer : Reuven Glezer
Untitled (Theresa Buchheister) and This Could Be You: Nile Harris, Lisa Fagan/Lena Engelstein
Domino Park
Wednesday June 4th 2025
Massive bias alert #1 - I curated this night and it is a dream split bill. 3 of the most thrilling artists I have ever experienced over the years... and I'm just going to say it - Dancers make the best theater. They all (these three... not all dancers), in ways distinct and varied, summon something greater than this reality with their performances. No matter the container of the opportunity, these artists make things that overflow it in juuuuuust the most beautiful and risky ways. ALSO! This is a free show for audiences AND the artists are being paid. RSVP and do not miss this night!
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister
Prince Faggot : Jordan Tannahill, Shayok Misha Chowdhury, David Greenspan, N'yomi Allure Stewart, Mihir Kumar, John McCrea, Rachel Crowl, K. Todd Freeman, David Zinn, Isabella Byrd, Cookie Jordan, Sarah Lunnie, Jack Serio, Ryan Gohsman, Lee Kenney, Montana Levi Blanco, UnkleDave's Fight-House
Playwrights Horizons
May 30th-July 6th 2025
You may have read Tannahill’s Theatre of the Unimpressed, a Talmud for those who discovered theatre doesn’t have to be boring, but he’s also an accomplished playwright in his own right and we’re finally getting what I am pretty sure is his New York debut? I always suggest going in blind regarding what it’s about but read up on some of his astounding playwriting first, including CONCORD FLORAL and BOTTICELLI IN THE FIRE. And that cast? That design team? Swoon.
Staffer: Reuven Glezer
CLOSING RECEPTION for Duae Lingua Exhibition : Alex Wolkowicz, Daniela Holban, Adina Andrus, Lilian Shtereva, Katya Grokhovsky
Romanian Cultural Institute
Thursday May 29th 2025
I was lucky to see this beautiful group show in March because my friend, Alex Wolkowicz, is one of the artists. Time has flown and it closes this week! The reception is Thursday, so I highly suggest going to check it out. The artists all created evocative, textural, vibrant pieces in wildly different mediums and they resonate together in a stunning harmony. Plus, the space has the coolest bathrooms I have seen in ages.
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister