LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU, Shows on Cole Porter and Barbra Streisand and More Come to 92YTribeca, May & June

92YTribeca has announced its upcoming theater events this month and in June 2012, including Handbook for an American Revolutionary, Let Me Ascertain You, On Cole Porter and All That Jazz, On the Iconic Barbra Streisand, and Woman of Whimsy. See below for details.

MAY

Wed, May 23, 7:30pm, tickets from $15 adv/$20 day of show

Handbook for an American Revolutionary: Reading and Panel Discussion with Matthew-Lee Erlbach and MarK Wing-Davey and moderated by Allison Kilkenny

Join 92YTribeca for a reading and panel discussion of Handbook for an American Revolutionary, written and performed by actor, playwright, and Puffin Grant recipient Matthew-Lee Erlbach, whose work Rachel Maddow has called “shocking, engaging, funny, and totally original.” From coal power to white power, Handbook for an American Revolutionary introduces us to a diverse breadth of ordinary citizens in extraordinary circumstances whose battles are reshaping this nation. From a busker street drummer to a deaf Mennonite girl; from the mountaintop removal activist in West Virginia to the migrant field worker in California; from an energy lobbyist to a white nationalist; and from the banks of Wall Street to the banks of the Persian Gulf, the twelve characters we meet in the play are the face of America's turbulent present and a hand to our hopeful future—the 99%. Inspired by Matthew-Lee's travels around the country, Handbook is a provocative and funny play about the many Davids versus Goliaths in 21st century America. After the reading, Matthew-Lee will be joined by director MarK Wing-Davey and other special guests for a panel conversation moderated by Allison Kilkenny, co-host of the political podcast Citizen Radio and a reporter for The Nation. Co-presented with Truthout.

JUNE

Wed, Jun 13, 7:30pm, tickets from $15 adv/$20 day of show

LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU: BOGOTA

Let Me Ascertain You: Bogotá is part of The Civilians’ ongoing cabaret series. This special evening explores the annual beauty pageant that takes place in El Buen Pastor, the national women’s prison in Bogotá, Colombia. The never-before-seen performance material is crafted from interviews conducted by Civilians artists on-site in the prison with inmates who include members of the paramilitary, guerrilla fighters, drug smugglers, and more. The pageant - comprised of an evening gown competition, folk-dancing, and floats built from recycled materials - is a recent innovation in the prison system and is indicative of a shift in public policy that increases support of rehabilitation for the incarcerated. Let Me Ascertain You: Bogota offers a unique glimpse into life in a women’s prison and hear the personal stories behind the ongoing political struggles and warfare that the country continues to face. The Civilians is the Center for Investigative Theatre, dedicated to creating new work from a direct examination of real life experience.

Thu, Jun 14, 12-1 pm, tickets from $18

ON Cole Porter AND ALL THAT JAZZ

Perhaps the greatest of all composer/lyricists associated with the Golden Era of American popular song, Cole Porter continues to inspire jazz interpretations of his classics, including “Night and Day,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “In the Still of the Night,” and more. Join Jeffrey Ernstoff and his fellow musicians as they perform and offer insights into what has made Porter irresistible to artists like Frank Sinatra, MiLes Davis and Diana Krall. Ernstoff is the former creative director at Radio City Music Hall, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Arts Education alumnus and presenter of last year’s 92YTribeca Gershwin and Rodgers and Hammerstein programs.

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