Tonight’s the night!
The Compania de’ Colombari’s experimental production of King Lear opens tonight, 1/23, at LaMaMa Theater in the East Village. The curtain comes up at 7 pm!
I’ve been watching Colombari productions for years, including their amazing Merchant of Venice that premiered in the Venice Ghetto in 2016. I didn’t see it in Italy, but I caught a resonant restaging in the courtyard of Yale Law School in 2018. I later brought their Whitman on Walls production to the St. John’s campus in October 2024, featuring original poetry by students and faculty as well as short films created by the company. Last summer, some of our SJU graduate students joined me in New Haven to see apreview production of the Lear that will open tonight in Manhattan. (I also joined the board of the company last summer – to give full disclosure!)
Tonight the company starts a three-week run off-Broadway at LaMaMa. I’ll be hosting a talkback, “Fathom and Half: Floodwaters in New York City and King Lear” after the 2 pm matinee on Sunday 2/1. I’ll also be bringing my English/Honors 3140 students wto the play on Thursday Feb 5th.
Come join me for any of those three nights! It should be great!