OVER DEZE AFLEVERING
Double Bill: Witches and Aliens, a comedic, entertaining and otherworldly evening of two hysterical theatrical works directed and choreographed by Jen Wineman. Three performances of Zena Wood’s ENCOUNTER: A Space Cabaret, and Kit Goldstein Grant’s CHRISTMAS EVE IN DIKANKA: A Musical In-Concert will be staged June 12, 13, and 14, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre, 61 Christopher Street, New York, NY 10014.
About Encounter: A Space Cabaret
They come in peace…and for the eggs. A comedy-driven space cabaret that lands somewhere between a late-night weather show and a cosmic fever dream where nothing is linear. Live from New York, it’s Space Weather Girl! What if an alien encounter was more human condition and less lasers? Add some old-time Hollywood charm, a historical “mating program,” and you’ve got yourself a show! As a studio audience, you will witness the mysterious broadcast sparking an interplanetary moment. You’ll wonder at a spectacular alien dance performance and you’ll do all of this in a fraction of a second (60 minutes). It’s a science thing. Come for the facts, the songs and the comedy, and find yourself unexpectedly heart-warmed. Featuring Brandon Weber as Greg.
Loosely based on a pilot episode script of a similar theme written by Zena Wood for screen, Encounter also borrows inspiration from various projects Zena has created since 2018 as the fictional character Space Weather Girl, including on YouTube, two music videos filmed and recorded: Space Christmas, and All I Want for ChristMars is Mars, a Christmas solo show performed at the Drama Factory in South Africa - Space Weather Girl Christmas Extravaganza, and multiple comedy open mics and videos performed as the character.
About Christmas Eve in Dikanka: A Musical In-Concert
A new musical based on the story by Ukrainian novelist Nikolai Gogol. It’s Christmas Eve in Dikanka, and a blacksmith must find fancy shoes like those worn by the Czarina in the next few hours or lose the heart of his lady love. But when the Devil comes to town, will he give up his soul for a sole? And what will he do about his mother, who is a promiscuous witch? No really, an actual witch. This loosely adapted take on Nikolai Gogol’s story sets the show in a meta-theatrical universe which combines a Ukrainian 19th-century absurdist tone and a modern sensibility, plus a lotta slapstick.
Playwright Kit Goldstein Grant shares, “I first read CHRISTMAS EVE by Nikolai Gogol when doing research for another musical based on a Gogol story. That show went on to productions in NYC and South Africa, but I couldn’t shake my memory of CHRISTMAS EVE, and the sheer exuberant fun of the piece. Yes, there was a love story, but most intriguing to me was the relationship between the blacksmith and his mother, a promiscuous witch. Now, this, THIS was interesting! Not to mention, funny. Is it relevant that I was mom to a fairly-new son myself when I started writing this piece? Possibly. Relevant that I was approaching the 40-year mark when women suddenly become irrelevant, and I had something to say about that? Possibly. But probably not. Probably I just wanted to write a fun show."
The writers Kit & Zena are here to tell us all about it! Do not miss a moment!
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