On Friday, March 22, Theater for the New City will present a special 90-minute, acoustic-punk reading of Christopher Marlowe's classic "Doctor Faustus," directed by Elizabeth Ruf Maldonado. The reading follows the 8:00 PM production of "Johannes Dokchtor Faust, a Petrifying Puppet Comedye" by Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre.

Crystal Field, Artistic Director of Theater for the New City, will portray Faust. The Czech/British/U.S. cast also includes: Jonathan Slaff, Briana Bartenieff, Emily Pezzella, Robert (Moe) Maloney, Elizabeth Ruf Maldonado, Matt Roper, Vit Horejs, Bonnie Stein, Kerry Milliron, Michelle Beshaw, Deborah Beshaw-Farrell and Ben Watts. Soundscape is by Karl Bateman.

Refreshments will be served. Admission is free but donations will be gratefully accepted. The reading will start around 9:20 PM. No RSVP is required.

The reading is a special event to accompany the marionette theater production, "Johannes Dokchtor Faust, a Petrifying Puppet Comedye," which is translated and directed by Vit Horejs. In it, the story of the learned Johannes Faust, who sold his soul to the devil for ultimate knowledge, is staged with age-old technical tricks of Czech puppetry, including fire and thunder, hellish gargoyles and underwater creatures.

The producers thought it would be fun to also give a nod to Marlowe's version, and that's how this reading got dreamed up.

Theater for the New City is located at 155 First Ave., at E. 10th Street. For more Info, call 212-254-1109 or go to www.theaterforthenewcity.net.

For press info on "Johannes Dokchtor Faust, a Petrifying Puppet Comedye," including info on the Faustian canon in Czech puppetry, a history of the Czech marionette genre and the production history of Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre, go to: www.jsnyc.com/season/vitfaust2019.htm.  Photos are available at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PQQsLQeFg2jqYKsx7.

For info on Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus," go to Wikipedia.

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