On Sundays Gothamist runs opinion pieces relevant to life in New York and reviews of recent books and performances. The judgments expressed below are entirely those of the author. more ›

Bertolt Brecht is having quite a month on New York stages. First there’s the Jean Cocteau Repertory’s production of Mother Courage, in a never-before-seen translation by Marc Blitzstein – see our review of this excellent show, which will jar you in a good way, after the jump. Then there’s Ralph Lee’s adaptation of The Caucasian Chalk Circle, which is playing at the Garden of St. John the Divine. Lee is a puppet artist, so his creations stalking through that beautiful setting, acting out Brecht’s retelling of a folk tale about a peasant girl who raises a baby of noble birth that was abandoned, are likely to make for a striking vision. Finally, the Creative Mechanics company is performing Edward II at the Bank Street Theatre beginning today (photo at right). Like Mother Courage, this play has to do with the effects of war on society, but here it is shown through the never-dull life of the eponymous king of England. The company’s production of Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher got raves last year, so we have high hopes for this one. more ›

- It was draft weekend, and Gothamist Sports will have more tomorrow more ›

Sunday night Gothamist caught the final day of previews of “The Maids”, the last show of the season for the Jean Cocteau Repertory, and came away with mixed feelings. The play was Jean Genet’s first (it premiered in Paris in 1947) and is still frequently performed – just last month another version was playing at the Chocolate Factory. Cocteau’s interpretation of this tale of two maids’ fury at their mistress has a few twists: for one thing, it’s set in Los Angeles in a movie starlet’s home, and for another, the maids are portrayed by women (men are often given their roles, because Genet is supposed to have said once that he wanted it so). more ›