Good news: if Columbians are willing to venture outside the borough of Manhattan, they just might discover Brooklyn’s rich theater scene at an inexpensive price.
At the heart of the Brooklyn theater scene is BAM—Brooklyn Academy of Music. BAM is a superstore of entertainment. You want theater? Dance? Cinema? Culture? BAM has it. All you have to do to tap into this reservoir is venture down to Fort Greene on the red line.
Primarily known for its avant-garde style, BAM will be showing an all-male production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice opening May 6. Like many of BAM’s performances, this cast is of international origin, hailing from the U.K.’s Propeller company.
BAM’s latest epic undertaking, The Bridge Project, builds upon those international ideals with a transatlantic, two-year partnership joining BAM with The Old Vic and Neal Street Productions in London. The project, which kicked off in January, involves the production of classic works in repertory, such as this year’s The Cherry Orchard and The Winter’s Tale, performed both at BAM and at The Old Vic.
Also in Brooklyn is the lesser known Target Margin Theater, an experimental theater company located just five blocks away from BAM. The venue’s latest show—Tennessee Williams’ Ten Blocks on the Camino Real—received praise from The New York Times, among other reputed publications, for being energetic, charming, authentic, and visceral.
This summer, the Target Margin Theater welcomes an array of productions including Gertrude Stein’s A Family of Perhaps Three, Eugene O’Neill’s Thirst, and a less traditional performance called Blue Piano, described as a jazz “talk-and-play.”
For something a little more traditional, you may want to try The Gallery Players in Park Slope, a company that dedicates itself to quality theater at affordable prices. Next up in their current season is The Who’s Tommy, which opens May 2. Tickets are cheap, but they frequently sell out so be sure to call ahead.
Also showing in Brooklyn are original contemporary plays such as The Nosemaker’s Apprentice, a fantastical play about the first plastic surgeons, which is currently playing at The Brick Theater until May 23. Running alongside The Nosemaker’s Apprentice at The Brick Theater is The Colonists, a “lyrical visual fantasy” which explores the world of a bee using electrified puppets.
Though Brooklyn is a little farther than students may be used to traveling for a night on the town, it offers exciting new options for exciting low prices. And who knows? Columbians might just like what they find.
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