A Streepshow, a Neutral Milk Hotelier, and More Performance Picks

THURSDAY

Inside Out Upside Down
Thursday, June 1 at C’mon Everybody, 8 pm: FREE

Movement Research shows typically happen in places formally designated for performance, where people gather in chairs and observe dance pieces and exit when they are done. Tonight, they’re switching it up. As part of their annual Spring Festival, curated by Laurie Berg, Monstah Black, and Amy Khoshbin, dancers and movers and beyond will be congregating at Bed-Stuy bar C’mon Everybody. There, the night will shift in between performance and party, as a variety of movement artists, DJs, MCs and more explore the question: “What is the role of the club in activating a community and creating a cross-cultural blend?”

The night’s performers include Richard Kennedy, Tendayi Kuumba, and Larissa Velez-Jackson of the group Yackez. In addition to dancers and DJ sets, there will also be a special MC workshop led by producers from “nightclub hybrid” Jackie 60.

FRIDAY

Streepshow!
June 2-24 at The Connelly Theater, various times: $15-35

Year after year, a name that stays on everybody’s lips in some way or another is Meryl. Whether its Oscar speeches, starring roles, or that one meme on Instagram that photoshops her into culinary scenes, Streep is everywhere. Starting June 2, she’ll explode onto the stage in her most multifaceted showcase yet.

Streepshow! is not a show starring dear Meryl (at least, not her physical body), but a wild and wacky theatrical experience by Jay Stull, serving as an assemblage of the many memorable characters she has played over the years. You’ll be graced with the presence of Miranda Priestly, Madeline Ashton, Julia Child, Sophie Zawistowski, and Clarissa Vaughn, just to name a few. The drag-cabaret-parody-tribute show is divided into two episodes, so you’ll have to attend more than once to soak it all up. However, a select number of days will allow you to “binge watch” the whole dang thing, with the help of mimosas and brunch.

SATURDAY

Mary V
June 1-14 at Theater For The New City, 8 pm (various performances at 3 pm): $15

If Meryl isn’t your thing, why not try another name that begins with M. Though it may be wedding season (or so I hear, I have not been invited to any), this is not the kind of Mary that will be all smiles and kisses and rice being flung into the air. At least, I don’t think. Mary V is a new play by Rebekah Carrow that follows a school attempting to stage an all-female production of Shakespeare’s Henry V. Though such a venture is relatively commonplace these days, the women find that they’ve been denied the ability to do the show, and the Bard’s work will instead be staged with a more “traditional” cast.

To quote a queer performer I know, tradition can be toxic. And the women of Mary V agree. They don’t allow the conventionally-cast production to merely go on unquestioned, and assert their creative vision. The result may be even more Shakespearean than they anticipated, and there may even be some blood.

SUNDAY

The Orbiting Human Circus Featuring The Music Tapes
Sunday, June 4 at Brooklyn Bazaar, 8 pm: $18+

Part concert, part interactive musical theater experience, part live podcast, The Orbiting Human Circus brings you into the world of Julian Koster (of Neutral Milk Hotel) and the soft-spoken janitor character he has created. You’ll accompany him on his nightly routine, where he spends time in a room alone (well, with an audience) and finds much to distract him from his task of cleaning, from birds to magic to music and more.

I have seen The Orbiting Human Circus before, and it is exceedingly charming and heartwarming. If you need some escapist fun in the midst of the planet steadily burning more and more each day (RIP Paris climate agreement), this could be a good choice.