3 Concerts, 2 Musicals and 1 Festival You Won't Want to Miss This April

Stay Woke

Donald Byrd’s SHOT

Nate Watters, Courtesy Spectrum Dance Theater

SEATTLE
The violence of racism has long been a subject for Donald Byrd, artistic director of Spectrum Dance Theater. His new Wokeness Festival comprises three segments: 2017’s SHOT, about the persistence of police brutality toward black men; Dance, Dance, Dance #2, which includes a nod to Merce Cunningham’s centennial in the form of his 1960 work Crises and a new Cunningham-inspired work by Byrd; and the premiere of Byrd’s Strange Fruit, which reflects his responses to the Jim Crow Era. The festival also includes community dialogue around issues of racism, gender and justice. April 10–28. spectrumdance.org. —Wendy Perron

Only If for a Night

Ashwini Ramaswamy’s Nocturne

Sally Cohn, Courtesy Ragamala

ST. PAUL, MN String quartet Brooklyn Rider and acclaimed bharatanatyam troupe Ragamala Dance Company share an evening for the latest Women of Substance event at The O’Shaughnessy. The former opens with their “Healing Modes” and a quintet of commissions from women composers; the latter presents Ashwini Ramaswamy’s Nocturne, an homage to the enigma of night. April 12. oshag.stkate.edu. —Courtney Escoyne

Separation, Suspended

Flyaway Productions
RJ Muna, Courtesy John Hill PR

SAN FRANCISCO AND RICHMOND, CA One of the forms of family separation that rarely gets aired in the media is the estrangement between inmates and the women who love them. Jo Kreiter, artistic director of Flyaway Productions, premieres The Wait Room, a site-specific work for six women that explores the emotional toll of these heart-wrenching circumstances. This is a personal piece for Kreiter, who endured “secondary incarceration” for years. Partnering with Oakland-based Essie Justice Group, an organization of women with incarcerated loved ones, Kreiter enlists the help of set designer Sean Riley and composer Pamela Z. San Francisco, April 19–27; Richmond, CA, May 17–18. flyawayproductions.com. —WP

When Ancient Was Avant-Garde

Reid Bartelme in Gwen Welliver’s Couple Riding at Works & Process

Robert Altman/Works & Process at the Guggenheim, Courtesy Michelle Tabnick Public Relations

NEW YORK CITY Dance’s favorite design duo, Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung, are back at Works & Process at the Guggenheim. This time, they’re collaborating with New York University’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World for a costume and dance commission responding to ISAW’s exhibition “Hymn to Apollo: The Ancient World and the Ballets Russes” (through June 2), using original costumes and designs from Sergei Diaghilev’s company as a leaping-off point. April 28–29. guggenheim.org. —CE

Not Your Usual Song and Dance

Contemporary choreographers take on the Great White Way

Oklahoma!

Oklahoma! at St. Ann’s Warehouse

Teddy Wolff, Courtesy DKC/O&M

NEW YORK CITY Will this fresh revival, direct from its run at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn last fall, manage to retain its charming, disarming intimacy as it scales up to Broadway? John Heginbotham’s choreography (inspired by Agnes de Mille’s) will make the transfer, but we have to wonder whether the cast members will still be sharing bowls of chili with the audience at intermission. Opens April 7. oklahomabroadway.com. —CE

Hadestown

Hadestown at London’s National Theatre

Helen Maybanks, Courtesy DKC/O&M

NEW YORK CITY Hades is a factory owner and Persephone is (still) his bitter wife; Eurydice is looking for stability and Orpheus is (still) a talented, if unfor­tu­nate, musician. Greek mythology is scrambled and set to a slinky, soulful score in Hadestown. The David Neumann–choreographed musical opens on Broadway April 17 after its run at London’s National Theatre. Whatever you do, don’t look back. hadestown.com. —CE