On The Fly!

Written and performed by NYC high school students!

December 15th at West Side Theater Downstairs, 407 W. 43rd St., at 7 pm. What do New York teenagers have to say? Check out MCC Youth Company’s first production of the year!

NOTHING is off limits! Company members have ONLY three hours to write and rehearse a show...can they finish in time?

Free!

For more info visit www.mcctheater.org/youthcompany

Home

by Delvin Marte

What if…you needed a place to belong?

Where is your home? For Cephus Miles, a man from Crossroads, North Carolina, home turns out to be exactly where he knew it was.

Cephus is eager for love and adventure. He travels to New York City to make money, but finds the city’s parasitic way of life a little too strenuous. Cephus tries to better himself, but ends up hastily throwing his chances away. His life falls apart because he can’t stop running from his problems.

Many of us do that. We look for the easy way out and then wonder why things don’t turn out differently. We try to compensate for our flaws and mistakes, further burying us in our own graves.

Cephus’ journey shows that though life isn’t always easy, with perseverance and passion, the good life will find you. Cephus finds his way home because he stays focused on what’s important. In the end, Cephus and I both realized that in order to know where you’re going, you first have to know where you’re from.

Home by Samm-Art Williams.

$20 tickets - visit www.signaturetheatre.org for more information.

Spring Awakening

By Nat Marcus

Spring Awakening is a musical about confused teenagers who are unsure of their role in a world that won’t speak to them honestly. Melchior, Wendla and Moritz are three adolescents who deal with conflicts still common to young adults today. Melchior wants to push everything to the limits and experiment, Wendla wonders about becoming an adult and Moritz is haunted by expectations.

The characters in Spring Awakening are forced to hold in what they need to say and do. The actors play their characters to the extremes, showing us the moody, fervent and very hormonal side of teenagers. These are characters that we can relate to. After all, aren’t we moody, fervent and very hormonal?

Spring Awakening is very relevant to young people today. Although there are fewer limitations on our free speech, our feelings, and our ideas today, there are still many teenagers who feel oppressed and downtrodden.

Spring Awakening is pure passion onstage. See this show to learn about yourself.

$27 Student Rush Tickets at the O’Neill Theatre, 230 W. 49th Street. For schedule and more info visit www.springawakening.com

Prayer for My Enemy

By Derick Sherrier

What if…it was time to speak the truth?

Prayer for My Enemy is a complicated and captivating play that intertwines many stories and characters. The first two characters we meet are Billy and Tad, childhood friends, who are reconnecting after years apart. The two are in different places: Tad is still stuck in the past, while Billy is trying to move forward with his life. Billy’s step forward is to serve in Iraq, a decision that affects everyone in his life.

Billy’s family is full of secrets. The relationship between Billy’s mother and sister, Marianne, was very realistic. Billy’s mom is always trying to hold the family together, despite the anger and resentment building within. Initially, Marianne also covers her true feelings to hold the family together, but as the play progressed she spoke more honestly.

The young people (Billy, Tad and Marianne) portrayed on stage represented broader generalizations of what it means to be a young person in a family and in society. These characters were affective because they could reach out to audience members of all ages.

Prayer for My Enemy made me think about the different people in my life with whom I am connected. You never know who might be your enemy and who might be your friend.

Prayer for My Enemy by Craig Lucas.

How to See the Show: $15 student rush • Playwrights Horizons, 416 W. 42nd St. Visit www.playwrightshorizons.com for schedule and more information.

Equus

By Chris Ramirez

What if…you were scared of your passion?

Daniel Radcliffe has been placed in a mental institution for blinding six horses.

Confused? Don’t be. That’s just the beginning of Equus and Radcliffe is playing the role of disturbed teenager Alan Strang. Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon from the Harry Potter movies) joins Radcliffe as a child psychiatrist who is determined to help Alan deal with his issues.

At first, I felt total disgust for Alan’s actions, but as his story unraveled I began to understand what led to his vicious crime. The use of flashbacks to show moments from Alan’s childhood helped me to put Alan’s actions in context.

The actors who played the horses were extraordinary. From the moment they put on their metal horse masks and began to elegantly prance around the stage, I forgot they were people wearing flesh-colored outfits and metal hoof boots and was lost in the illusion. The use of white halogen lights in the place of their eyes was really creepy.

As an aspiring actor myself, I have to give Daniel Radcliffe credit for taking on such a difficult role and nailing it. I highly recommend seeing this show, whether or not you are a Harry Potter fan.

Equus by Peter Shaffer.

How to See the Show: $31.50 student rush • Broadhurst Theatre, 235 W. 44 St. Visit www.equusonbroadway.com for schedule and more information.