Mars has been in the news lately and, soon, ‘the fourth rock from the sun’ will take to the stage, as live theater makes a rare return to Judson Memorial Church, with eight socially-distanced, masked performances, with limited seating, of playwright Andi Lee Carter and composer Henco Espag’s short new musical play “OPPY: A Mars Rover Story,” starring DeShawn Jenkins, from March 17 to 21. “Oppy” promises to be an unearthly experience.
Espag, at the piano, plays a rumbling, evocative prelude—and, later, ethereal ‘music of the spheres’—as DeShawn as OPPY (Opportunity), silvery, glittering, androgynous, and on a NASA mission, takes in the dusty and colorful Martian landscape and sends photos back to Earth. As a personal quest, OPPY also makes remote contact with sister Spirit, who preceded OPPY there on her own Martian assignment.
After a frustrating encounter, OPPY has a tour-de-force, climactic outpouring—what bel canto opera called a ‘mad scene’ two centuries ago—emoting, dancing, stripping, and pondering gender and more.
See “OPPY” live on March 17, 19, 20, or 21 at 7 pm, or live or livestreamed at 8 pm. Performances, with live audiences limited to an audience of 25, are in the Judson Memorial Church meeting room, at 243 Thompson Street, across the street from Washington Square Park. Note: there will be some nudity during the 7 pm shows. Tickets, priced at $20 each, are available from Brown Paper Tickets. Go to https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4811467 for tickets for the in-person shows or https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4825403 for the livestream online shows.