Part theater, part circus, part haunted house, and fully immersive re-telling of classic fairy tale premieres.
February 14 - March 10, 2024 at the cell theatre
“Clever, clever, and cleverer... Spectacular acrobatics that seemingly come out of nowhere, a set design that includes four floors of furniture, intrigue, games, mystery, and secrets. This is, only a preview of the beautiful voices, haunting music, and surprises that are in store in what is truly immersive theatre done to perfection.“ – Ronni Burns, Eectronick Link Journey
“With its macabre theme, cozy setting, unique music, and a sincere and enthusiastic cast, The Tiger’s Bride is an intriguing romp through the darker side of fairy tales.” – Austin Fimmano, Plays To See
“I had a fun time and would recommend the show to anyone who likes fairy tale retellings, circus-inspired shows, or is just looking for something kinda weird to do on a cold winter night.” – Cheyenne Ligon, No Proscenium
Theatre Uzume and Nancy Manocherian’s the cell theatre invite you to the world premiere of THE TIGER’S BRIDE, an immersive theater experience based on the novella by Angela Carter, a feminist retelling of the classic Bluebeard’s Castle fairy tale. It features book by Suzanne Karpinski and music by Lily Desmond. Directed by Suzanne Karpinski, performances begin February 14 at the cell theatre.
Part theater, part circus, part haunted house, and fully immersive, THE TIGER’S BRIDE invites you to be a guest at the wedding night of Gilles de Rais, aka Bluebeard. For the big event, the entire building at the cell has been transformed into Chateau de Rais — Bluebeard’s castle. His 4-story, foreboding home is open to explore and discover while guests help the new bride unlock his secrets and are entertained by his mysterious staff.
THE TIGER'S BRIDE is filled with death-defying acts of valor, sensual supplications, and around every corner: intrigue. THE TIGER'S BRIDE illuminates classic fairy tales through the eyes of maligned protagonists as they rewrite their own stories, dragging our darkest desires into the light. Guests should come prepared to immerse themselves in a different world, from a different time, but be ready for a devilish dance with lovers and friends in a haunted realm of evil deeds.
THE TIGER'S BRIDE runs February 14 - March 10, Thursday - Saturday at 8pm with a special Valentine's Day preview on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 8pm. Nancy Manocherian’s the cell theatre is located at 338 W. 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011. It is performed for 40 guests each night. Running time is 90 minutes. Please note that this immersive experience involves standing, walking, and climbing stairs. Tickets are $75 - $95, available at www.thecelltheatre.org.
THE TIGER'S BRIDE stars Lily Desmond, Danie Kohn, Sammy Marsh, Maggie McMuffin, Heather Meyer, Tara Quinn, Molly Siskin, Maks Turner, Will Watt, and Rob Williams with sound design by Will Watt and projection design by Liquid Light Lab/Steve Pavlovsky. It is produced by Suzanne Karpinski & Anton Nickel. It was developed at Nancy Manocherian's the cell theatre as part of their 2024 artist-in-residency program.
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Suzanne Karpinski (Director/Author/Choreographer). In 2014, Suzanne founded Theatre Uzume, a project-based company that fosters the development of hybrid theatre. She served as co-artistic director for Sacred Fools Theatre Company in Los Angeles where she received the Critics Circle Polly Warfield Award. She received her MFA in Directing from The New School for Drama where she wrote and developed her original adaptation In the Hand of Dreams, based on Japanese folk tales. Her work has been presented at HERE Arts, Dixon Place, The Flea, Fringe NYC, The Tank, The Muse Brooklyn, The Davenport, Access Theater, and The Living Theatre. In addition, she has worked regionally at HERE Arts, La Mama, Pasadena Playhouse, The Old Globe, and South Coast Repertory. She completed her training as an aerialist at Circus Warehouse in NYC.
Lily Desmond (Composer/Maestro). Lily is a screaming violinist who wants to make sure that everyone has a good time. They compose themself into layers using their 5-string violin, loop pedal, voice, and sometimes their band, Lily + The Goddamns.
Theatre Uzume is a platform for emerging artists to work collaboratively on the development of multidisciplinary and immersive performance. Theatre Uzume works on a project by project basis.Theatre Uzume creates opportunities for emerging artists to collaborate on innovative, boundary-breaking projects, as well as to reinterpret classic stories from new perspectives. We bring together media from live rock music, dance, visual art and puppetry to circus. This rehearsal-intensive, devised manner of working empowers artists to explore fresh manners of expressing their ideas.
www.TheatreUzume.com
Nancy Manocherian's the cell theatre (Artistic Director Kira Simring) is a not-for-profit dedicated to the incubation and presentation of new work across all artistic disciplines. Founded in 2006, the cell has provided a developmental home in the heart of Chelsea for works in progress by artists ranging from early career to established staples. Originally established as a 21st century salon, the cell has evolved into a cultural hub for the performing arts, food artists, musicians, installation artists, choreographers and more. Past performances include I'm Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire, The Final Veil, the revival of Elizabeth Swados’ Nightclub Cantata, Fruma-Sarah (starring Jackie Hoffman), The Evolution of Mann, Bastard Jones (a Drama-Desk Award nominee), Crackskull Row, Rady & Bloom's Peter/Wendy, The McGowan Trilogy, Horse Girls, Hard Times: An American Musical (which became the Tony-nominated Paradise Square). New work developed at the cell has been seen on Broadway, Irish Rep, MCC, Rattlestick, New World Stages, Cherry Lane, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Portland Stage, Toyohashi Arts Theatre, Kino Theater, Edinburgh Fringe, Carnegie Stage, Carnegie Museum of Art, and Art Basel Miami. www.thecelltheatre.org / @thecelltheatre.