La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club presents My Beatnik Youth: A Solo Riff, written and performed by Justin Elizabeth Sayre from Thursday, March 14 to Sunday, March 24. Evening performances are at 7:30 PM and matinees at 3:30 PM. The show is directed by Fempath. Music director is Tracy Stark, leading a jazz trio.
Fashioned after a Beat Era poetry reading, this play with music features a different guest poet for every performance. Sayre tells the tale of a teenager obsessed with the Beat Generation named Jay. After a serious drunk driving accident, Jay is placed in the psyche ward to avoid charges and contemplate what brought them towards this brush with death. During this month-long hospitalization, Jay will face their own demons and the demons of those suffering around them. Throughout this time, Jay draws upon the world of the Beat Generation, from works of Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg to the music of Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk.
The show is roughly 90 minutes. Tickets are $30 for adults; $25 for students and seniors; first ten tickets for every performance $10 each (online, advance sale only; first come, first served). Tickets available at www.lamama.org or (646) 430-5374.
The Club at La MaMa, located at 74 East 4th Street, New York, NY
