Last chance at PS tonight to catch the closing of Okwui Okpokwasili’s Pent Up: A Revenge Dance.  Also, this weekend is the opening of National Theater of the United States of America’s piece CHAUTAUQUA!

I first saw Okwui when she was working in residency with Ralph Lemon on Come Home Charley Patton. She is one of the most ferocious performers I have ever seen. Although Pent Up‘s script has some weaknesses and the direction is stagnant at times, the opportunity to see Okpokwasili in such an intimate setting is not to be missed. Each of her movements is charged with a deep history, which she places into a contemporary context. In Pent Up, Okwui bears in her body the messy narratives of a superstitious mother, the agony of naming a child, and violence of a community polluting their water table.  If you’re free this evening pre-red carpet, it’s worth seeing this Bessie-award winning performer.