Enlarge image (© The Shades of Gray) The German Consulate General Recommends:

Based on a short fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm collection, first published exactly 200 years ago, Sterntaler- The Star Money tells the story of an orphan girl who was so poor, she had nothing left besides her clothing and a piece of bread. One day, while walking down a path, she gives the bread to an old hungry man, her jacket to a freezing child, and her cap, her dress and her last shirt to other begging children. As she stands in a dark forest with nothing left, the stars turn into golden pennies and fall down from heaven.

Sterntaler – The Star Money is directed by Miriam Ibrahim, Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of The Shades of Gray. This is her second movement theater production in New York City, after she moved to the city from Germany two years ago. Growing up with fairy tales, it is important to her to keep these oral folk tales alive and share it with others, young and old.

Nao Dobashi performs the orphan who tries to find her path after her parents die. She jumps into all characters she meets on her journey: an old hungry man, a freezing little boy, and a poor little girl. Sometimes softly, sometimes very impulsively, we see her transforming and telling the story from different point of views. The audience travels with her through realism and abstractness, through joy and pain and through gains and losses.

Quite in the tradition of telling a fairy tale, the atmosphere is cosy and communal, there is a smell of orange and cinnamon in the air, everybody drinks warm tea and sits in a circle. The actress uses the full space between and behind the audience. Accompanied by a violinist, the magic of story-telling is a unique experience, especially with the voice of a narrator who interacts vocally with the actress.

The Shades of Gray places great value on vast diversity of humankind, and to celebrate this fortune, there is the use of different languages (English, Japanese, German) in the performance.

The creation of this adaption was formed by a collaboration between actress, musician and director. Rehearsals began with improvisation and exercises, to create new and inspirational work.

The Shades of Gray was founded October 2011 by Heidi Mueller Smith and Miriam Ibrahim. On March 11, 2012 at Stella Adler Studios NYC was the launch and the official beginning of the multi arts organization with the mission of exploring and honoring the “in between” of the common human experience.

Location and time:
Space On White
81 White Street, New York, NY 10013

Saturday, March 24 at 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 25 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Tickets: 15$ (10$) RSVP at: theshadesofgray%27%org,sterntaler

For information and tickets visit the official website or email to: theshadesofgray%27%org,mail
This play contains brief nudity.