NEXT AT THE ARMORY

Love

february 25 – march 25

LOVE makes its North American premiere and marks the New York debut of writer and director Alexander Zeldin. This powerful piece of drama, written after years of community collaboration and immersion, personal interviews, and firsthand accounts, draws attention to the cracks in the welfare system when several families are brought together in a shelter in the lead up to Christmas. The audience bears witness to the touching, humorous, and profoundly human instances of their combined existence. Played with the house lights up and the audience seated amongst the company, the production reveals the cast seeming to live rather than act. The result is a story for our times highlighting the link between homelessness, mental health, and austerity politics, but also the yearning for, and power of, love.

SALON: JUKE JOINT

march 31 & april 1

Poet, writer, performer, and activist Pamela Sneed leads a celebration of the role of the women and femme architects of R’n’B and rock n’ roll. Joined by her band, she gives a tribute to Big Mama Thornton and other female legends on Friday evening. Saturday opens with a performance by singersongwriter and playwright Stew, who premieres a new cabaret piece that explores the role of an audience as a collaborator to the storyteller drawn from his experiences as a Black artist in punk clubs, on Broadway, and now in Ivy league universities. This is followed by a roundtable discussion with Sneed, Stew, and Daphne Brooks exploring the significance and legacy of Juke Joint and how its rebel spirit lives on.