BACK TO THE FUTURE

“I know it when I see it.” That famed definition of obscenity could also describe almost any 
show by the Talking Band. This nearly 40-year-old company, an offshoot of Joseph Chaikin’s Open Theater, has created 50 original music-theater works. Though the pieces range widely in tone and genre, the company has pioneered a distinct style—passionate, collaborative, observing human life from a perspective as focused as it is hazy. Their latest, Obskene, which draws its title from the Greek word for “offstage” (and the root for our helpful term “obscene”), concerns 
messenger speeches. Some are drawn from classic Greek tragedies. Others are messages from the 
future, composed by Talking Band regulars, as well as guest playwrights such as John Jesurun and David Greenspan. Does that appeal to your prurient interest?

Mondays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Starts: Nov. 1. Continues through Nov. 17, 2012