Best Theatre, Dance & Comedy Spring 2018

admin Posted OnFebruary 15, 2018

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Theatre, Dance & Comedy Spring 2018: Here’s the best of the performing arts in & around town and beyond. We’ve got everything from I Hate Hamlet to Fabulous Fems of Comedy, Forbidden Broadway to Andy Horowitz’s Make America Not Embarrassing Again Tour.

March

Hot ticket alert! Shen Yun, Palace Stamford – Thurs-Sun, 3/1-4: six shows: This “awe-inspiring sensation” (ABC) has drawn praise from the likes of Cate Blanchett, Donna Karan, Siegfried & Roy and Kenn Wells of the English National Ballet. The New York Times called it “5,000 years of Chinese music and dance, in one night.” With original orchestral works and graphic scenography. (61 Atlantic Ave., Stamford; www.palacestamford)

Hamlet haters Alert! I Hate Hamlet, Lyndhurst Mansion – Sat, 2/10 – Sun, 3/4: 7pm & 2pm on Sun: M&M Performing Arts Company presents Paul Rudnick’s I Hat Hamlet about an actor with a crazy girlfriend, a haunted apartment whose TV series has just been cancelled. Good news, he just landed a part to play Hamlet in Central Park. Bad news, he hates Hamlet. The play was originally produced on Broadway in 1991. (635 South Broadway, Tarrytown; www.lyndhurst.org)

Hamlet lovers Alert! Hamlet, Lyndhurst Mansion – Say, 2/17 – Sun, 3/4: 7pm & 2pm on Sun: Red Monkey Theater Group and M&M Performing Arts Company present Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy in a fast-paced, 90-minute adaptation presented with intimate staging. The energetic, scaled-down production aims to remove as many barriers as possible between the Bard’s words and the audience. (635 South Broadway, Tarrytown; www.lyndhurst.org)

A Chorus Line, Westchester Broadway Theatre – Wed-Sat, 1/11-4/1: check times: The Pulitzer Prize winning song and dance musical and winner of nine Tony Awards comes to Westchester for this extended run. Featuring the memorable musical numbers such as “I Can Do That”, “One (Singular Sensation” and “What I Did for Love”. (One Broadway Plaza, Elmsford; www.broadwaytheatre.com)

Best Winter Dance! L.A. Dance Project, Performing Arts Center – Fri-Sat, 3/2-3: 8pm: Led by choreographer Benjamin Millipied, a former principal dancer for the New York City Ballet, who is also the husband of Natalie Portman and the choreographer of the film Black Swan, LADP brings a contemporary approach to art and movement. Millepied along with composer Nico Muhly and art consultant Matthieu Humery join forces to bring multi-disciplinary talents to the dance platform. (735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase; www.artscenter.org)

Ladies of Laughter, Emelin Theatre – Fri, 3/2: 8pm: For over 10 years the Ladies of Laughter competition has served as a launching pad for female comedians such as Amy Schumer and Melissa Rauch. This show at the Emelin features past LOL winners Patty Rosborough and Robin Fox and 2016 finalist Mina Hartong. (153 Library Ln., Mamaroneck; www.emelin.org)

Local! Oklahoma, Byram Hills Varley Players – Thurs-Fri, 3/8-9: 7pm & Sat, 3/10: 2 & 7pm: Byram Hills’ Varley Players take on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Pulitzer Prize-winning musical based on the 1931 play Green Grow the Lilacs. The original Broadway production, with songs like “Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin”, “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top”, “Kansas City”, “I Cain’t Say No”, “Many a New Day” and “People Will Say We’re in Love”, was a 1943 box office smash and was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film in 1955. (BHHS, 12 Tripp Ln., Armonk)

Chad Prather, Ridgefield Playhouse – Fri, 3/9: 8pm: Often referred to as “the modern day Will Rogers”, Chad Prather’s armchair philosopher humor has garnered hundreds of millions of video views on social media. A fast-talking combination of Lewis Grizzard and Jeff Foxworthy, CNN labeled him the “pick-up pundit.” (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

Hot Ticket Alert! Ron White, Palace Stamford – Fri, 3/9: 8pm: Comedian Ron “Tater Salad” White rose to fame as the cigar-smoking, scotch swilling funnyman from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Now a Grammy-nominated stand-up, all four of his comedy albums have reached #1 on the Billboard TM Comedy Charts and he is one of the top three grossing comedians on tour in America. (61 Atlantic Ave., Stamford; www.palacestamford)

Hot Ticket Alert! Andy Borowitz – Make America Not Embarrassing Again, Tarrytown Music Hall – Sati, 3/10: 8pm: The New York Times best-selling author, comedian and writer for The New Yorker since takes his satirical news column on the road for an intimate conversation hosted by Brian Lehrer and audience Q&A. Borowitz has been called “America’s satire king” (Daily Beast), “the funniest human on Twitter” (NY Times), and “one of the funniest people in America” (CBS News’ Sunday Morning). In 2001, he created the Borowitz Report, a satirical news column that has millions of readers around the world, for which he won the first-ever National Press Club award for humor. (13 Main St, Tarrytown; www.tarrytownmusichall.org)

Dance Off The Grid, Emelin Theatre – Sat, 3/10: 8pm: Part 1 in a 3 part series curated by New York State DanceForce, DOTG presents three dance companies including Adam Weinert who recreates classic dances from the 1920s & 30s. The Bang Group will perform three works including Song and Dancefeaturing soloist David Parker singing and tapping Mozart’s Turkish March and the duet Two Left Feet – yes it’s funny. (153 Library Ln., Mamaroneck; www.emelin.org)

Rhythm in the Night, Westchester Community College – Sun, 3/11: 3pm: A tale of good and evil, love and salvation is told through Irish step dancing with a world-class troupe. This 90-minute epic features amazing footwork, rhythms and battle scenes. Academic Arts Bldg., WCC, 75 Grasslands Rd., Valhalla; www.sunywcc.edu)

Kilts & Leprechaun alert! The Irish Comedy Tour, Paramount Hudson Valley – Fri, 3/16: 8pm: Kilts and leprechauns, Irish fiddle music and laughs from four comedians whose ancestors hail from the Emerald Isle. Individually they have appeared on Comedy Central and Showtime, and won the All Ireland Talent Competition with their songs and tales about their mom’s dog, the holidays and dating a stripper. (1008 Brown St., Peekskill; www.paramounthudsonvalley.com)

The New Shanghai Circus, Acrobats of China, Ridgefield Playhouse – Sun, 3/18: 4pm: Take a break from Western culture to see Chinese circus traditions that date back 2000 years. Including jugglers, comic knife throwers and the bicyclist who piles 10 on his bike. (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

Forbidden Broadway, White Plains Performing Arts Center – Thurs, 3/23: 8pm: The 35th Anniversary tour of Forbidden Broadway comes to WPPAC! This satirical roast of over 30 Broadway hits from Annie to Phantom, Wicked and Hamilton won a Tony, an Obie and the Drama Desk Award for Best Off Broadway Musical. (White Plains Performing Arts Center, 11 City Place, 3rd Floor, White Plains; www.wppac.com)

Candice Guardino’s Italian Bred, Tarrytown Music Hall – Sat, 3/24: 8pm: Candice Gaurdino brings her (mostly one-woman) Off-Broadway show to Tarrytown. In Italian Bred, based on her life growing up in Staten Island, Guardino She slips in and out of multiple family characters and shares the stage with virtual cameos from Steve Schirripa (Blue Bloods), Mario Cantone (Sex & the City), Leslie Jordan (Will and Grace), and Vic DiBitetto (Mall Cop 2.) Off-Broadway she often had celebrity guests including Vincent Pastore (Sopranos) a Westchester local. (13 Main St, Tarrytown; www.tarrytownmusichall.org)

Hot Ticket Alert! RUBBERBANDance Group, Performing Arts Center – Sat, 3/31: 8pm: Hip-hop meets the ballet in choreographer and dancer Victor Quijada and dancer and co-director Anne Plamondon’s RUBBERBANDance Group. Quijada, who began his career as a street dancer at the age of 8 went on to work with Twyla Tharp. Both influences can be seen in his contemporary works. (735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase; www.artscenter.org)

Nick Di Paolo, The Nick Is Right Tour – Tarrytown Music Hall – Sat, 3/31: 8pm: Stand up from the “right” side of the political spectrum. Twice Emmy-nommed for writing for The Chris Rock Show, Nick has appeared on all the late night talk shows, has recorded three Comedy Central specials, starred in Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and has had acting roles on Inside Amy Schumer, The Sopranos and Horace and Pete. (13 Main St, Tarrytown; www.tarrytownmusichall.org)

April

Sister Act, Westchester Broadway Theatre – Thurs, 4/5-Sun, 7/1: The big glitzy musical Sister Act fared better than the original movie. It received four Olivier Award nominations for its original stage production at London’s West End Theatre. It moved to Broadway in 2011 where it received five Tony and five Drama Desk Award nominations. The musical features music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. Menken has won eight Academy Awards for his Disney Scores that include The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Pocahontas. His stage hits include Little Shop of Horrors and Sister Act. Glenn Slater is his frequent collaborator. (One Broadway Plaza, Elmsford; www.broadwaytheatre.com)

Local! LoHud Comedy, The Schoolhouse Theatre – Fri, 4/6: 8pm: Comics from Letterman, Comedy Central and The Tonight Show take the stage at the intimate 99 seat Schoolhouse theatre. Including Adam Oliensis (winner of 2013 Parmount Theatre Standup Star Search) who wrote and starred in the movie The Pompatus of Love, Frank Vignola (Just for Laughs Comedy Festival with Bill Maher) and Cynthia Kaplan (Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same). (3 Owens Rd., Croton Falls; www.schoohousetheatre.org)

Best Theatre, Dance & Comedy Spring 2018

An Evening With David Sedaris, Tarrytown Music Hall – Sun, 4/8: 7pm: Best-selling author of Naked, and Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk:A Modest Bestiary, David Sedaris mines material from his peculiar childhood in North Carolina, his bizarre career path and his life in Paris for his stage appearances. He is well known for his unique and sophisticated observations on neuroses and drugs. The audio version of his book Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls is a 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominee for Best Spoken Word Album. (13 Main St, Tarrytown; www.tarrytownmusichall.org)

Eleanor Roosevelt, Her Secret Journey, Schoolhouse Theatre – Thurs-Sun, 4/12-29: 8pm, Sun @3pm: FDR has died. Truman is calling and Eleanor isn’t responding. A study in the psychology of what we do after the ball is over… A revival of Rhoda Lerman’s play, based on her novel Eleanor, takes place in 1945 when she declines Truman’s invitation join him in the Paris Peace Talks. She reflects on her time in Paris with her husband after WWI – then accepts Truman’s offer after all. (3 Owens Rd., Croton Falls; www.schoolhousetheatre.org)

Local! Switzerland, Hudson Stage Company, Armonk – Fri, 4/20 – Sat, 5/5: Hudson Stage Company presents the NY premiere of Joanna Murray-Smith’s original thriller inspired by Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley murder mysteries (The Talented Mr. Ripley). In Switzerland, Murray-Smith turns Highsmith, herself, into a character in a psychological cat and mouse game of her own making – a dance to the death with a literary agent summoned to entice her to write one more thriller in her self-appointed exile in Switzerland. (Whippoorwill Hall, NCPL, 19 Whippoorwill Rd. E., Armonk, 914.271.2811; www.hudsonstage.com)

Hot Ticket Alert! Cheech and Chong, Capitol Theatre – Fri, 4/20:5:30pm: The comedy duo, Cheech and Chong recorded six gold comedy albums, receiving four Grammy-noms and won the 1973 Grammy for Best Comedy Recording with their seminal work Los Cochinos. Since then each has gone on to star in TV and movies as actors and writers. They reunited in 2009 for their Lights Out Tour. (149 Westchester Ave., Port Chester; www.thecapitoltheatre.com)

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Stamford Palace – Fri, 4/20:8pm: With over 300 million YouTube views and sell-out performances at Madison Square and The Microsoft Arena, “Fluffy” (I’m not fat… I’m fluffy and Hot and Fluffy) is a stand-up comedian with broad audience appeal. A character voice in the animated comedy The Nut Job, Fluffy’s routine is a mix of storytelling, parodies, characters and sound effects. (61 Atlantic Street, Stamford, CT; www.palacestamford.org)

Fabulously Funny Females of Comedy, Ridgefield Playhouse – Fri, 4/20: 8pm: Three fab fems do stand up, including: Cory Kahan, a finalist on Last Comic Standing, late night show regular and her own Comedy Central special; Karen Bergreen, who has appeared on Comedy Central, and Jane Condon the Greenwich mom who the AP dubbed “an upper crust Roseann.” (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

Dance Off The Grid, Emelin Theatre – Sat, 4/21: 8pm: Part 2 in a 3 part series curated by New York State DanceForce, DOTG presents three Bessie Ward-winning choreographers in an evening of contemporary dance. Including Beth Gill whose work has been commissioned by The Chocolate Factor and Dance Theatre Workshop; Pam Tanowitz – recognized in the NY Times Best of Dance Series 2013, 14 & 15, and Eiko Otake a 2X Bessie winner, Guggenheim grant winner and Lifetime Achievement Award-winner from Dance Magazine. (153 Library Ln., Mamaroneck; www.emelin.org)

May

The Illusionists – Live From Broadway, Stamford Palace – Thurs, 5/3: 8pm: The Times of London called this Vegas-style touring revue “the Cirque du Soleil of magic.” This variety spectacular assembles seven magicians on stage complete with rock music, dancers and plenty of dry ice for modern and campy variations of stunts from sawing a body in half and escaping a strait jacket after being turned upside down and lit on fire to sleight of hand card tricks. Don’t give them your cellphone or else it will wind up in a blender. (61 Atlantic Street, Stamford, CT; www.palacestamford.org)

Upright Citizens Brigade, Ridgefield Playhouse – Fri, 5/4: 8pm: Founded by Amy Poehler (and others), UCB presents 90 minutes of unscripted improvisation. Here they team up with a UCB alum for this evening. UCB cast members have gone on to write and perform on SNL, The Daily Show, Inside Amy Schemer and more. (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

PAC Gala, Jessica Lang Dance, Performing Arts Center, Sat, 5/5: 8pm: Former Twyla Tharp dancer, Jessica Lang’s dance company received a Joyce Theater Artist Residency in 2011. Here they perform the world premiere of a new work set to the music of Tony Bennett. The evening begins with PAC’s annual Gala featuring cocktails and dinner before the show and dessert and drinks after. (735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase; www.artscenter.org)

Tap! Tap! Tap! Leonardo Saldoval, ChappPac, Fir, 5/11: 8pm: Brazilian tap dancer Leonardo Sandoval, described by the Chicago Sun-Times as” strong yet fine-boned, capable of authority and nuance”, and praised by the New York Times for his rousing choreography, has established a reputation in the tap world and beyond for his musicality and for adding his own Brazilian flavor to the American art of tap dancing. (480 Bedford Road, Chappaqua; 914.458-5143) TKTS

Dance Off The Grid, Emelin Theatre – Sat, 5/12: 8pm: Concluding DOTG event curated by New York State DanceForce. DOTG presents Felipe Galganni, a Brazilian tap dance and choreographer who has performed at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, The Cotton club & more; Nelida Tirado, a Dance Magazine 25 To Watch who has performed her Flamenco and Latin dance pieces on Broadway, and Gaspard & Dancers, Gaspard danced with Pilobulus for ten years. (153 Library Ln., Mamaroneck; www.emelin.org)

Hot Ticket Alert! Andy Borowitz – Make America Not Embarrassing Again, Palace Stamford – Fri, 5/18: 8pm: The New York Times best-selling author, comedian and writer for The New Yorker since takes his satirical news column on the road for an intimate conversation hosted by Brian Lehrer and audience Q&A. Borowitz has been called “America’s satire king” (Daily Beast), “the funniest human on Twitter” (NY Times), and “one of the funniest people in America” (CBS News’ Sunday Morning). In 2001, he created the Borowitz Report, a satirical news column that has millions of readers around the world, for which he won the first-ever National Press Club award for humor. (61 Atlantic Street, Stamford, CT; www.palacestamford.org)

Randy Rainbow, Ridgefield Playhouse – Sat, 5/19: 8pm: Political satirist and internet sensation, Randy Rainbow is best known for his musical tribute to the first presidential debate of 2016, Braggadocious, that received 28 million views on YouTube in its first two days. (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)