MTC Extends Ruined and Humor Abuse

Lynn Nottage’s Ruined and Lorenzo Pisoni’s Humor Abuse, the two productions Manhattan Theatre Club is presenting at New York City Center, are enjoying extended runs. Previously scheduled to close on April 16, Nottage’s intense topical drama will now run through May 3, the show's third extension. Pisoni’s one-man show, detailing his years as a young circus star, was originally set to close on April 12, but will now run through April 19.

Originally presented in Chicago last fall, Ruined follows Mama Nadi Ekulona, a shrewd businesswoman who runs a bar/brothel in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where rebel and government soldiers pay hard-earned money for music, beer and good times, while the land outside is torn apart by civil war. Is Mama a war profiteer, exploiting the women she shelters? And how far will she go to survive? Kate Whoriskey directs.

The cast features Quincy Tyler Bernstine The Misanthrope at NYTW, Cherise Boothe King Hedley II at Signature, Chris Chalk MTC’s Defiance, Saidah Arrika Ekulona Well, Nottage’s Fabulation William Jackson Harper Queens Boulevard, Chiké Johnson The Crucible at Steppenwolf, Russell G. Jones Our Lady of 121st Street, Simon Shabantu Kashama Ruined at the Goodman, Kevin Mambo The Guiding Light, Tom Mardirosian Wonderful Town, HBO’s Oz, Ron McBee The Colored Museum and Condola Rashad Pearl at The Kennedy Center.

Straight from performing opposite Daniel Radcliffe as Nugget in the Broadway revival of Equus, Pisoni turns that old romantic myth about “running away to join the circus” inside out with Humor Abuse, his debut solo show directed by Erica Schmidt. Having actually grown up starring and traveling in his family’s circus, the guy knows that life under the big top can be strange. How are you supposed to take your father seriously when he orders you to clean your bedroom while wearing big floppy shoes and a red nose?