This summer marks the 14th season of Piper Theatre‘s free, outdoor schedule of productions at The Old Stone House/Washington Park (3rd Street between 4th and 5th Aves), and there is definitely something for everyone to enjoy. The season kicks of on Thursday, July 3 Saturday, July 5 (due to weather) with a very appropriate choice for the Fourth of July: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, a sort of punk rock musical about our seventh president.
But that’s only the beginning! Their second stage productions, which represent a fun range of shows, will be presented rain or shine under a new theater tent, and their youth workshop performances are, as always, definitely worth a look. Here’s the full lineup:
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
Thursdays through Saturdays at 8pm
July 3 (cancelled due to weather), 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19 (no show July 4)
The main stage production at The Old Stone House this year is all about history — just kicked up a few notches with dirty deeds, punk rock rawness, and some sharp parallels between the rough-and-ready U.S. of the early 1800s and our red-and-blue modern age. Directed and choreographed by Nigel Williams, who puts an emphasis on physicality and perpetual motion to deliver an added jolt of adrenaline.
Note: This production features profanity and violent themes; for adults and mature children.
Mr. Splitfoot
Wednesdays, July 9 and 16 at 7:30pm
Sundays, July 6, 13, and 20 at 9pm
Written and directed by John McEneny with original music by Brazilian composer Dario Eskenazi, Mr. Splitfoot is a work of physical theatre inspired by the Fox sisters from upstate NY, who as young girls in the 1850s literally conjured the spiritualist movement into being — a suspenseful tale replete with mystics, hucksters, and fantastic-but-true twists of fate.
Note: For adults and mature children.
Buffalo Nickels Medicine Show
Wednesdays and Sundays July 9, 13, 16, and 20 at 7:30pm
Created and performed by Mike Shapiro and Kate Prascher, it’s a hybrid of bluegrass gig, vaudevillian scripted comedy, and lowbrow pageantry. The Buffalo Nickels Medicine Show sings and picks its way through the on- and off-stage exploits of its itinerant company, as they pine for and plot against each other and the audience that gathers each evening around their traveling wagons.
Note: Appropriate for all ages.
Youth Workshop Performances
July 22 through July 26, various times
Children ages 7-17 spend the month of July creating worlds of imagination in Piper’s education program, and then share the culmination of their work with the community. This year’s musical is Hair, and you can also see a production of Pericles, Prince of Tyre; Amadeus; Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead; and more.
Note: Appropriate for all ages.
Photo credit: Peter James Zielinski
