Kind Words

How far would you travel to find your way home? The Nephesh Theatre will try to answer this question with One of a Kind at the New Victory Theater, May 2-11, the true story of ten-year-old AndArgay and his family’s 400-mile journey to freedom from Ethiopia to Israel. Also at the New Vic, take a trip into a wordless world of sonic juggling with IJK, May 16-June 1, Compagnie 111’s new show that redefines radical space manipulation with a mixture of whimsy and geometric illusion.

Next door, your children can get a dose of Soviet history, starting at the eve of the First World War in Past Half Remembered at the Duke on 42nd Street, May 9-25. Past and present blur, characters are swept along, and lives are bowed in this modern tale.

Little Orchestra Society will present Peter and the Wolf, May 17-19, Prokofiev’s timeless classic with a child-friendly twist by our animal friends Bang, Bow, Buzz, and Toot at the Kaye Playhouse. Enjoy an old French folk tale of reverse psychology with Stone Soup at the Kingsborough Community College, May 10. In the story, hungry travelers arrive with nothing but a kettle and a stone, and they convince villagers to share the ingredients needed to make soup for the whole town. For a taste of Latin fusion join David Gonzales when he pairs up with Larry Harlow and the Latin Legends Band for Sofrito at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, May 18, a blend of physical storytelling and the savory sounds of Mambo and Salsa played by masters of the style.

American Ballet Theatre’s spring season will open this month with several striking performances, including Le Corsaire, May 20-26, and Swan Lake, May 27-June 2. However, if a crowd of kazoos sounds like the perfect spring treat, take a trip to Morristown, NJ for Rick Hubbard’s The Kazoobie Kazoo Show. For the grand finale, everyone in the audience will receive a free kazoo.

The Galli Theatre Company has a host of fairytale adaptations. Galli’s Little Red Riding Hood, May 2-28, changes the tone of this well-known story with a wolf that is funny and almost likable. Galli’s Caperucita Roja, May 11-June 1, is the Spanish version of Little Red Riding Hood. Galli’s Frog Prince, May 2-31, is a movement inspired adaptation of the Brothers Grimm tale staged with a three person cast and a frog with rubber gloves for ears. Frog Prince will also come in a Spanish version as Galli’s Rey Sapo, May 4-18. In this adaptation, the frog needs the princess to promise to drink from the same cup, eat from the same plate, and sleep in the same bed until she transforms him.

Galli’s Wolf and the 7 Little Goats, May 3-11, takes on another Brothers Grimm tale as the little goats argue in a hilarious way about whether a visitor is their mother or a wolf. Galli’s Rumpelstiltskin, May 4-18, follows the miller’s daughter and her impossible task of spinning straw into gold, complete with dancing straw. Galli’s Rapunzel, May 4-11, is a musical version of this classic story about love. Galli’s Snow White, May 9-June 1, aims to adapt another Grimm’s fairytale with comedy, music, Mr. 7-Dwarf (the all-in-one), and a Wild Boar. Finally, if you’re looking for something new, Galli’s Star-Money, May 10, is a new play by Johannes Galli about a girl whose heart is so pure that she gives away everything she has.