Poetry Electric: ELECTRIC’S WEST SIDE STORY (ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE) – September 15 CANCELED
This performance has been canceled. If you’ve purchased tickets, you will receive a full refund.
ABOUT
The show is a one-man act, with William Electric Black portraying multiple characters from the musical, with Gary Schreiner on piano. The show often incorporates audience participation (costume wearing, call and response moments, sing-along time, trivia questions, flag waving, twinkie and candy cigarette giveaways, etc.) making it a dynamic Electric Black Experience. Electric’s show goes beyond a simple retelling, examining the original musical’s themes and its significance within today’s American society and culture. There have been different versions and productions of “Electric’s West Side Story,” including a recent summer performance at The Open Eye Theater (Catskills) and premiering 2021, at Theater for the New City, demonstrating its ongoing relevance and popularity. The concept for Electric’s solo work was inspired by the innovative one-man shows of comedian John Leguizamo. Come early and catch a West Side Story score remix by DJs Tommy and Josh. Contact for Soc. Media – Sofia Zucker – AnElectricBlackExperience
BIO
Nickelodeon’s “Allegra’s Window” and Lancit Media’s “Backyard Safari.” (2022-2023) his children’s television show – “Rap-U-Cation” was optioned by FarView Entertainment. He also developed an original TV show for FarView called Dragon Clouds. In a series of multimedia projects with Doug E. Fresh, Chuck D, and Artie
Gary recently composed original music with Alison Larkin and performed in her show, “Grief,… a Comedy” at The Great Barrington Public Theatre as well as The Soho Theatre in London and The Fringe Festival in Edinburgh. Previously Gary composed the music for Alison Larkin’s one-woman show “The English American”, featured in the The Edinburgh Festival and The London Comedy Festival (with other performances in New York City and Los Angeles), which inspired Alison to write the bestselling novel by the same name.
CREDITS
CREDITS (STAGE PRODUCTIONS) (2025) Can You Hear The Pigeons Writer/Director – Theater For The New City, NYC , NY (2024) Betty & The Belrays – Writer/Director – La MaMa ETC, NYC, NY (2024) Fly To Tomorrow – Additional Book Writer – Jooda Culture – South Korea –(2024) The Frankenstein Project – Writer/Director – TNC, NY, NY — (2023) Romeo & Juliet: Tribal Rock Musical -Writer/Director, TNC, NY, NY (2022) Romeo & Juliet: Tribal Rock Musical – La MaMa ETC, NY, NY
AWARDS INCLUDE: La MaMa Regional Theater Tony Award, 2018. NY State Assembly Citation – Charles D. Lavine, Member of Assembly, 2018. He has received a Bronze Apple (National Educational Video Award) for directing. He has also received several Best Play Awards and has been published by Benchmark Education, The Dramatic Publishing Co. and Smith & Krauss. He has been a faculty member at NYU’s Tisch School (Dept. of Dramatic Writing and NYU’s Summer High School Program) for over 20 years.
Poetry Electric
La MaMa Program
The Poetry Electric fuses music, movement, sound, and dance with the spoken word and presents artists working in a wide range of styles including beatboxing, jazz and hip-hop theatre. This series has presented over 200 emerging poets from diverse cultural backgrounds.
