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US Premiere of Komuna Warszawa’s „CEZARY GOES TO WAR” in New York

December 24, 2019

La MaMa in association with the Polish Cultural Institute and Komuna Warszawa presents US Premiere of Komuna Warszawa’s, directed by Cezary Tomaszewski, „CEZARY GOES TO WAR”

Conceived and directed by Cezary Tomaszewski, a rising star of the Eastern European avant-garde, Cezary Goes to War draws on Tomaszewski's personal experiences with Poland's military draft and its archaic system of male classification. Weaving text from military evaluations of manliness, choreography inspired by army drills, and the patriotic songs by Stanislaw Moniuszko, the father of Polish national opera, Cezary Goes to War offers a witty critique of military recruitment and the vulnerability of male identity. Using elements of music by Moniuszko and Schostakovich, as well as Nijinsky’s ballet Afternoon of a Faun, the director engages the audience in a series of subversive identity games that turn the military ethos on its head.

Cezary Tomaszewski, born in Warsaw in 1976, choreographer, director, and performer , studied theater at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw and choreography at Bruckner ConservatoryLinz in Austria. He directed Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow in 2009 in Vienna, which earned critics' picks in the magazines „Theater Heute” and „Falter” for Best Young Director and the Best Off Production in 2009 in Vienna. Two of his early projects, The Last Temptation of Saint Bernardette and Dance Tetralogy, were presented at theatres in Austria and Switzerland.
He directed musical productions by Capella Cracoviensis: the stage production of Monteverdi’s madrigals Baroque feast in a milk bar in Kraków, and operas, including Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice, Handel’s Amadigi di Gaula and Moniuszko’s Halka. In Polish dramatical theatres he directed Wedding Based on a Wedding, after Stanislaw Wyspianski. In 2017 Tomaszewski directed It Pina Hadn't Smoked She'd Be Alive at the Jerzy Szaniawski Drama Theatre in Walbrzych and Cezary Goes to War at Komuna Warszawa.

Komuna Warszawa explores key issues of the contemporary world, ceaselessly seeking new forms and means of expression. Since 2007, Komuna has been an important venue for theatre performances, as well as performance art pieces, lectures, film and video-art screenings, concerts and discussions. Komuna Warszawa has taken part in some of the most prestigious festivals in Poland and the world, performing at such venues as La MaMa in New York City, HAU in Berlin or 104Centquatre in Paris.

Conceived and directed by: Cezary Tomaszewski,
Costumes by Bracia (Agnieszka Klepacka, Maciej Chorazy)
Lighting by Antoni Gralek
Dramaturgy by Justyna Wasik, Klaudia Hartung-Wójciak
Music by: Claude Debussy, Georg Friedrich Handel, Stanislaw Moniuszko, Dimitry Schostakovich
Cast: Michal Dembinski, Oskar Malinowski, Bartosz Ostrowski, Lukasz Stawarczyk, Weronika Krowka (pianist)
The production will be performed in Polish with English subtitles.

Thursday, January 16, 2020 - Sunday, January 19, 2020
Thursday to Saturday at 7PM; Sunday at 3PM

La Mama Theater
Ellen Stewart Theatre (2nd Floor)
66 East 4th Street, NYC
Tickets: Adults $26, Student/Senior $21