I’m usually pretty leery of shows at Manhattan Theatre Source – and I haven’t seen this one – but I love the play from a historical perspective and I’ve heard good things about the production. Plus this interview with actor Jason Howard is interesting,  so I’m going to try and check this out before it closes.

Universal Robots

February 12 – March 7, 2009,

Manhattan Theatre Source, 177 MacDougal St.

Wed – Sat at 7:30 pm

Sat, Feb 28, at 2pm

The Great War has just ended. Czechoslovakia is a republic with an elected president and a thriving artistic community that includes celebrated playwright Karel Capek. But history cracks wide open when a young woman walks into Karel’s life with a strange mannequin in a wheelchair… a mannequin that gets up and moves all by itself.

A science fiction thriller, love story, political allegory, redemptive tragedy and fast-paced entertainment, Universal Robots offers a compelling, alternate history of the Twentieth Century, starting with the invention of the robot in 1921 and chronicling the extraordinary consequences of that invention, which changes the world forever.

Mac Rogers freely adapted Czech playwright Karel Capek’s seminal 1921 play R.U.R., which introduced the word “robot” to the world. Universal Robots departs significantly from Capek’s script, offering a meaty and riveting story of war, love, faith, technology and the power of art to change the world, for both good and ill.

Tickets: $18 at www.theatermania.com or (212) 352-3101.

Director: Rosemary Andress

Starring: Esther Barlow, Jason Howard, David Ian Lee, Michelle O’Connor, Ridley Parson, Nancy Sirianni, Tarantino Smith, Ben Sulzbach & Jennifer Gordon Thomas

Production Mgr: Saundra Yaklin

Set Designer: Raul Abrego

Lighting Designer: Kia Rogers

Sound Designer: Andrew Bellware

more information at:  www.universalrobots.net