This weekend in theater: April 4th to 6th

The cast of "The Most Deserving:" Daniel Pearce, Jennifer Lim, playwright Catherine Trieschmann, Veanne Cox, Ray Anthony Thomas (seated), Adam LeFevre, and director Shelly Butler. Photo by Carol Rosegg

Edie Falco is one of the stars performing plays by ten-year olds this weekend. Consider the hash that some grown playwrights put forth (some not all), and maybe these youngsters will have a fresh perspective. The (very) young playwrighters project is called "Out on a Limb" from The 52nd Street Project’s Five Angels Theater.

Where: 52nd Street Project’s Five Angels Theater, 789 Tenth Avenue, 2nd floor
When: April 4th throgh 6th, Friday – Sunday at 7:30pm, and Saturday at 3pm
Visit www.52project.org for reservatons and more information.

The Women's Project tackles an exciting new play by Catherine Trieschmann; "The Most Deserving" looks at small town culture wars from Ms. Treischmann's satirical pov. "The Most Deserving" features a superb cast including but not limited to Veanne Cox, Jennifer Lim and Adam LeFevre under the direction of Shelly Butler.

Where: City Center Stage II
When: through May 4th
Visit www.womensproject.org for more information and tickets.

On a stakeout for their mark are from left to right Stephanie Hsu, Mia Katigbak and Chris Larkin in a scene from
"Fast Company." Photo by Gerry Goodstein

Grifting is a family affair in Carla Ching's "Fast Company." Well, almost a family affair, since the older siblings want to shield Blue (Stephanie Hsu) from their line of work. Blue, however, has plans of her own for a large payday.

Where: Ensemble Studio Theatre, 549 West 52nd Street
When: through April 6th
Visit https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/134 for tickets.

"The Architecture of Becoming" -- Is It Too Many Chefs?

L-to-R Christopher Livingsont, Vanessa Kai, Jon Norman Schneider and Claudia Acosta. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

In Sarah Ruhl's brilliant "Stage Kiss," the character named He disparages a play that required more than
two collaborators-- "Isn’t a bad sign when three people wrote a play? I mean if two people wrote it, it’s
one thing, but three, come on, three?"

So it's probably not a good sign that there are five named playwrights on "The Architecture of Becoming," at City Center Stage II through March 23rd. The enterprise, penned by Kara Lee Corthron, Sarah Gancher, Virginia Grise, Dipika Guha and Lauren Yee is represented by Siempre Norteada (Claudia Acosta), a writer who has a commission on the City Center.  By the way, not only are there 5 writers, there are 3 directors for this hour and a half interlude.

L-to-R Christopher Livingston, Danielle Skraastad, Vanessa Kai and Claudia Acosts. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

There are other storytellers enacted in the vignettes that comprise this "play," including Vanessa Kai's
Tomomi Nakamura, a 1940 Japanese housewife who wants only to tell her own story. "I only want to play
myself I only want to tell my story. I only want to tell my story. Does that mean I am not an actress?"
Siempre Norteada merely connects the pieces, or does her best to do so.

Vanessa Kai as Tomomi and Danielle Skraastad as Virginia, the fishmonger. Photo by Carol Rosegg.

"The Architecture..." is meant to be a paean to the building, in which the Women's Project has found its 

home. There are references to the City Center's rich history. It is also an ode to artists who come to New York to seek inspiration.

The actors, Danielle Skraastad, Jon Norman Schneider, Christopher Livingston, and the aforementioned

Vanessa Kai and Claudia Acosta, all fine, are ill-served by this hodgepodge. 

City Center, the glorious recently restored 90 year old landmark which started life as a Masonic Temple,

and now is home to theater and ballet from around the world, deserves better too.

To find out more about "The Architecture of Becoming," visit http://wptheater.org/