Alex Tatarsky: Sad Boys in Harpy Land

  • September 26 - 27, 2025
  • PS21 "Open Air " Pavilion Theater

    2980 New York 66
    Chatham, New York 12037
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Description

“A thrilling and frenetic mental breakdown of a show.” — New York Times

 

Sad Boys in Harpy Land is a clown play about wanting to die. A falling apart coming-of-age tale from playwright and self-proclaimed “experimental clown artist” Alex Tatarsky (“outrageous and profane,” New York Times), the one-person show is a semi-autobiographical tour-de-force that takes place in the hellscape of the mind. 

 

A “blistering, brilliant show, relentless in its invention, humor, and inquiry” (New York Theatre Guide), the piece is a deranged adaptation of Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister’s Theatrical Mission, a novel about a little boy who wants to be a theater artist but isn’t very good at it.

 

Tatarsky ushers audiences through a series of existential vignettes—and through multiple physical locations within the PS21 theater—to examine how depression often masquerades as individual malady, when it might be better thought of as a shared sadness.

 

“Tremendous…superb” — New Yorker (This Year’s Best Theatre, 2023)

Date & Time

Sep 26 - 27, 2025

Venue Details

PS21 "Open Air " Pavilion Theater

2980 New York 66
Chatham, New York 12037 PS21 "Open Air " Pavilion Theater
PS/21 Inc

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Even in the best of times, ticket sales cover only a fraction of PS21’s costs; therefore, we rely on you to continue supporting our endeavors. Please consider making a donation today.

 

About PS21

A vibrant center for contemporary performance in the Hudson Valley, PS21 “presents work that challenges and invites” (The New York Times): adventurous productions by leading and emerging American and international artists in music, dance, and theater, and visionaries creating entirely new genres. On our open-air Pavilion Theater stage, across our expansive, unspoiled grounds, and in the diverse surrounding communities, PS21 cultivates and presents productions that transcend aesthetic boundaries and revitalize existing artistic languages and grammars. Throughout the year, we host developmental residencies for dancers, musicians, actors, and creators of original, even unclassifiable new work. Rooted in community collaboration, PS21’s programming engages creatively with critical global and social issues. It is a mecca for innovative and original artistic voices, a destination for performance that can be experienced nowhere else in the region. PS21’s Pavilion Theater is a green-energy marvel surrounded by 100 acres of unspoiled meadows, trails, and woodlands that are a haven to wildlife and visitors across the region.  Integrated into our unspoiled campus, the theater embodies our commitments to the public: open, inviting, and optimized for their enjoyment and encouraging citizen expression and participation.

 

Photography
PS21 will take photos of this event for use in social media and on our website. The photos sometimes include audiences. Your attendance at this performance indicates you consent to appear in PS21 photography. If you would prefer not to appear in any photos, please let a staff member know, and we will be glad to accommodate your request.


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