In this Travel report, Valarie D’Elia gives us a taste of Italy on stage, with a preview of the upcoming Italian Theater Festival.
It is no secret that Italians can be very dramatic, and nowhere is that more evident than in New York City in May during the Italian Theater Festival.
"On Stage" in Italian translates to "In Scena." For the fourth year, Kairos Italy Theater, the preeminent Italian theater company in New York, is presenting a 15-day festival with that title throughout the five boroughs later this spring.
"There are five companies going all around the city, bringing their shows that are actually shows that are running in Italy here," said "In Scena's" artistic director, Laura Caparrotti. "We bring the theater in the boroughs that are beautiful, and people there are very happy."
There are shows with sober subjects and those that are a bit on the lighter side.
"We have a show called Ocean Terminal, based on the book of a person who was completely paralyzed and wrote about his experience," Caparrotti said. "One show is on 'Pinocchio,' seen through the eyes of Federico Fellini, the director of La Dolce Vita."
"Another one is ‘The Diary of a Serbian Housewife,’ and is the winner of a festival in Italy called Dominio Publico, dedicated to writers under 25," Caparrotti added. "So these are very, very, very young people coming to New York, and they are very excited to show their work."
Most performances are presented in Italian and English, while some have English supertitles.
"In Scena" takes place May 2 through May 16. Tickets for most full productions are $15.