Theater News

Lucky 13

This month, 13 the Musical will bring teenage drama to Broadway, the New Vic presents The Green Sheep, and you can also catch Holes, Gustafer Yellowgold’s Mellow Sensation, Break Out, Nanabozho, Peter & the Wolf, America’s Best Dance Crew Live, and more.

Allie Trim and Graham Phillips in 13 the Musical
(© Justin Borucki)
Allie Trim and Graham Phillips in 13 the Musical
(© Justin Borucki)

Broadway will dive into the high school social scene this month with 13 the Musical, beginning September 16. In this high-energy rock musical from Jason Robert Brown, follow Evan Goldman as his parents divorce and he’s transplanted from New York to a school in a small Indiana town. For younger audiences, New Victory Theater and New 42nd Street Studio have transformed their theater into a picket-fenced meadow with a carpet of grass to sit on in The Green Sheep, September 10-28. Join this imaginative journey as Mem Fox’s puppets come to life when Blue Sheep, Red Sheep, and Bath Sheep go searching for the elusive Green Sheep.

On a darker note, The Atlantic Theater Company will find out what happens to Stanley Yelnets when he is wrongfully accused of stealing a pair of sneakers in Holes, September 20-October 5. Based on Louis Sacher’s best-selling children’s book, Stanley is sent to a bootcamp for wayward youth where prisoners are exploited for the warden’s nefarious goals. Gustafer Yellowgold’s Mellow Sensation will return to the DR2 Theatre, September 20-December 6, with Morgan Taylor’s story of a little yellow friend from the sun who lives in an uncharted wooded area in Minnesota. Also in the Union Square area, Break Out, September 23-October 16, will premiere at the Union Square Theatre with extreme dance comedy from the creators of JUMP.

While the weather is still nice, enjoy an evening in the Garden at St. John the Divine with Ralph Lee’s Mettawee River Theater Company in Nanabozho, September 5-14, the Winnebago creation story. Lee and his company will use masks and puppets to tell this Midwestern tribal tale of how the world began. Allison Gregory’s adaptation of Peter & the Wolf, September 13-November 9, will bring Sergei Prokofiev’s classic tale to the Manhattan Children’s Theatre stage with characters that come to life with the sound of their specific instrument in this beloved story of bravery. Aesop’s Fables, September 6-20, promises entertainment for the whole family as Grimms ‘n’ Giggles fills the Connelly Theater with a gaggle of classic fables. Oscar Wilde’s fairytale,The Selfish Giant, September 6-26, will come to life thanks to Literally Alive with music, dance, storytelling, and puppetry to ask whether a child’s laughter can melt the cold heart of a giant.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival will serve up several family friendly treats such as Max and the Truffle Pig, September 15-23, a culinary tale of longing and adventure by Suzanne Bradbeer, Nancy Leeds, and Bert Draesel at 45th Street Theatre; Chocolate Soup, September 21, a modern day fairy tale that mixes Mia’s ancient Chocolate Soup and polar bears in a pot of middleschool mayhem at the Zipper Factory Theater; and the All-Kids Rock Musical Workshop which will present Generations, at the Nuyorican Poets Café, September 15-23.

For the budding dancers in the family, Randy Jackson’s America’s Best Dance Crew Live has added dates to its 2008 North American Tour, including a stop at the Wamu Theater in Madison Square Garden on September 23. Watch as five dance crews from the MTV show’s first two seasons battle it out on stage each night. New York band Bubble will keep the dancing spirit going at the Highline Ballroom with Bubble Do Beatles: Beatles Music for Kids at Highline Ballroom, September 14, a collection of their best renditions of Beatles classics from albums such as Revolver and Rubber Soul. Introduce your children if they haven’t already heard the sounds of the Fab Four, or just take an evening to enjoy some of the classics played live.

For children in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Art Exchange will be holding Brooklyn’s Best Family Fest, September 27, which will feature a performance by the Bari Koral Family Band, a collection of theater activites in the afternoon, and an Improvisation workshop in the early evening.