"Little Death" won't die. The provocative new musical performance that reveals the erotic intersections between sex and death, will have an afterlife after all. The well-received two-part performance starring Karen Kohler, who is backed by a delicious 5-piece band led by Doug Oberhamer, adds three performances through Tuesday November 18. "Little Death," which is directed byJohn-Richard Thompson, completes its four-week world premiere engagement at the Zipper Factory, 336 West 37th Street, this Wednesday, October 29 at 8pm. Comprised of two distinct shows -- one the Sex Act, the other the Death Act - "Little Death" performs Wednesday November 5 at 10pm (Sex), Thursday November 6 at 10pm (Death) and Tuesday November 18 at 9pm when both acts will be performed in tantric tandem. Tickets are $25 and $40 and are available by phone at 212/352-3101, or online at www.thezipperfactory.com or at the Zipper Factory box office. (There is no increase in ticket price for the combined shows. Kohler will combine the two acts for the first time this Wednesday, October 29 at 8pm.)
In "Little Death" the Nightlife, MAC and Bistro Award-winning singer and actress crossbreeds a decadent range of theatrical and musical styles, everything from jazz, Delta blues, and rock-folk, to classical and cabaret. Taking us in and out of pain and pleasure, obsession and foreplay, creation and destruction, and using the words and music of composers as varied as Purcell, Tom Waits, Schubert, Cole Porter, Astor Piazzola, Jacques Brel and Leonard Cohen, Kohler shows us how sex and death are distinct, the same and totally inevitable.
Little death, or la petite mort in French, refers to the post-orgasmic sensation of release, or ecstasy, that poets and eroticists have likened variously to a living death or window into another world. Kohler's exploration is as intellectually penetrating as it is sensual and provocative.
The iconoclastic Kohler, who is known for bridging distinctly different sensibilities and songbooks, is the founder of the Kabarett Kollektif (an ensemble devoted to European cabaret in its many forms), as well as the founding producer of Kabarett Fête, a widely praised festival that debuted in 2007 and immersed audiences in a daring habitat of international styles.
The "Little Death" musical ensemble includes music director Doug Oberhamer on piano (he and Tom Nazziola and Kohler are responsible for the arrangements) Sean Harkness on guitar, violinist Meg Okura, Scott Thornton on bass, and Dave Anthony on percussion.
"Little Death" performs on Wednesday November 5 at 10pm (Sex), Thursday November 6 at 10pm (Death) and Tuesday November 18 at 9pm (Sex and Death combined). Tickets, which are $25 and $40, can be purchased by phone at (212) 352-3101 or online at www.thezipperfactory.com. The Zipper Factory is at 336 West 37th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues. The Zipper Factory Tavern serves dinner and drinks before or after the show. For more show information visit www.karenkohler.com
Photo by Genevieve Rafter Keddy
