A roving band of seafaring entertainers has dropped anchor in Red Hook.
The Caravan Stage Company has embarked on a string of performances of its show “Hacked: The Treasure of the Empire” at Gowanus Bay Terminal — aboard a 98-feet-long tall ship. The company describes the piece, which runs through Sept. 28, as “an operatic theatre fantasy featuring a band of virtual pirate hackers who have ‘revoked’ the ‘Treasure of the Empire.’ ” The play is meant to shine a light on the dangerous shoals lurking below the surface of modern-day capitalism, one of its producers said.
“We use poetry, aerial dance, and art to show the hold surveillance and corporations have on our lives,” said Adriana Keldor, a longtime member of the Caravan Stage Company.
The troupe’s ship and stage, the Amara Zee, hosted its opening show just off of the terminal, which sits at the mouth of the Gowanus Canal near the end of Columbia Street, on Sept. 17. Terminal owner and cement tycoon John Quadrozzi, Jr. was impressed.
“They’re flying through the air and singing at the same time,” Quadrozzi said. “It’s pretty remarkable they can do both.”
The Caravan Stage Company has been touring on the Amara Zee since 1997, first setting sail from Canada’s Ontario province, then traveling up and down the East Coast, spending most winters in Florida. From 2005 to 2013, the crew cruised around Europe, bringing its unique blend of aerial dance and opera to audiences from Belgium to Turkey.
The company developed the current show in Florida and performed it in New Jersey and on the Hudson River before tying up in Red Hook. When the sailors’ Brooklyn deployment is through, they are shipping out for sunny Jacksonville, Florida.
“Hacked: The Treasure of the Empire” at Gowanus Bay Terminal [699 Columbia St. between Ikea and the end of the road in Red Hook, www.eventbrite.com/e/hacked-the-treasure-of-the-empire-tickets-12961481139, (904) 944–3698]. Sept. 18–21 and 24–28 at 8:30 pm. $10.
