(photo: Nick McManus)
WEDNESDAY
Circus of Dreams
At Bizarre Bushwick, 12 Jefferson Street, Bushwick. 10pm. $7 suggested donation. More info here.
This monthly performance art variety show has been going on for a couple years now and still never fails to surprise me. Though it’s impossible to predict or even properly describe what shenanigans will occur, there will be gender-blurred burlesque, shocking circus stunts, a senior citizen contortionist who has had several hip surgeries and is still going strong, dominatrix performance art, and zany audience participation. And that’s just a sampling. This month is glam-themed, so I’m sure there will be sparkles and over-the-top outfits everywhere the eye can see. Get there early to beat the inevitable crowd, it’ll make getting a drink in a timely manner much more feasible and you can see some nice preshow go-go dancing.
THURSDAY
(photo via La MaMa)
Continues through June 12 at La MaMa, 66 E 4th Street, East Village. 7pm (Sundays at 4pm), tickets are $35 ($30 for students/seniors). More info here.
Classic experimental theater hub La MaMa isn’t exactly known for churning out toe-touching tunes and sweeping glitzy dance routines. But it is known for bringing surprises, so I guess it has made a wise choice in its new production of musical Cherchez La Femme. Written by August Darnell, Bronx-bred leader of 1980s Latin-Caribbean-disco music group Kid Creole and the Coconuts, and NYU professor of punk and reggae Vivien Goldman, this show places King Creole songs of yore and new compositions alongside infectious dancing and a story that alternates between New York and the Caribbean. It sure sounds like a lot of fun.
FRIDAY
(photo via The Experiment)
At The Experiment Comedy Gallery, 272 Grand Street basement, Williamsburg. 9pm. $5. More info here.
This show really does have a straightforward title. With good sense like that, how could you not attend? This monthly comedy show is brash and fun, featuring a lineup of lady comics who have done cool stuff for Reductress, The New Yorker, The Hairpin, and more that will certainly show you a good time. Or at least a funny time. And the show’s co-host Eve Peyser was recently named one of the 50 Funniest People in Brooklyn by Brooklyn Magazine, so you know it’s real.
SATURDAY
(photo: Emily Poole)
At Grace Exhibition Space, 840 Broadway, Bushwick. 11am-11pm. $10 donation. More info here.
Those thrown off by the twelve hour run time of this performance, yes, you did read that right. But do not despair. This performance art piece is durational, which means you can enter and exit as you please. Performance artist Sarah H. Paulson (no, not the actress) is going to lie on a pile of salt, all the while burning ritualistic holes in an entire book’s worth of 100-plus-year-old papers. While this is happening, another performer attempts to arrange a collection of saxophone reeds (collected by Paulson from her partner, musician Travis Laplante) in a perfect circle, and other performers move around the space in various ways. Whether you stay the full twelve hours or just pop in on your way to lunch, Ms. Paulson’s piece seems like it will be intriguing and entrancing either way.
SUNDAY
(photo via The PIT Loft)
Stories
At The PIT Loft, 154 W 29th St, Chelsea. 9:30pm. $5. Also on Tuesday 6/7 at 9pm. More info here.
Evenings of short works are nice. If you don’t like one, you might like the next one. Or, you might like all of them. Regardless, the format keeps you on your toes. This Sunday at The PIT Loft you can see six short plays, all dark comedies, presented by Gregor Collins. I don’t know what they’re about, so you may just have to find out for yourself. Will you laugh, chuckle, be frightened, be uncomfortable, or all of the above?