NEW YORK – In late December, Yara Arts Group got together with Nova Opera, from Kyiv, and the Koliadnyky, from the Carpathians, to produce “Winter Songs on Mars.” The result was a fun and surprising performance that took place at La MaMa Experimental Theater Company in New York City’s East Village and was directed by Virlana Tkacz, with musical direction by Julian Kytasty.
Setting the traditional Koliada and Vertep nativity play on Mars led to a playful and imaginative show for the audiences. The performance on December 21, 2019, was enjoyed by both the hundreds of students of three Ukrainian studies schools that watched the show in the afternoon, and that evening’s audience, which was a more typical mix of downtown hipsters and the local Ukrainian community members Yara’s shows usually attract.