Theater News

Busking Bonanza Offers Free Look at What Off-Off Broadway Has to Offer

For movies, there are trailers; for music, there are listening stations at record stores and audio clips on the internet; and you can just thumb through a book before you buy it. But have you ever wished that there was a way to preview a play before you decide to purchase a ticket? If so, then get yourself down to Tompkins Square Park on Saturday, June 8, and check out the Busking Bonanza.

The Public Works Project, a service organization dedicated to Off-Off Broadway’s artists and audiences, is presenting an afternoon of free previews of 10 Off-Off Broadway shows. Borrowing the Elizabethan idea of enticing passersby with street corner performances, or “busking”, the various companies will take turns offering live excerpts from their current productions. The theatrics will be presided over by a ringmaster, who will introduce each “act.”

The show begins at 2pm and goes till 5pm. Tompkins Square Park is located in Manhattan in the East Village between Avenues A and B, running from 7th to 10th streets. The Busking Bonanza will be offered as a monthly event from May until October; upcoming dates are June 8, July 27, August 17, September 21, and October 12. Visit www.publicworksproject.net for further information.