An American Tragedy: 'Antigone In New York'  By John Quinn  In
"Antigone," the 5th century BCE tragedy by Greek playwright
Sophocles, the title character buries her brother Polynices,
who, killed in a civil war, had been declared an enemy of the
State. In choosing morality over legality, Antigone earns a
death sentence. New York City, circa 1993, is a far cry from
Royal Thebes, but Janusz Glowacki probes parallel themes in
"Antigone in New York," which Time magazine named one of the Ten
Best Plays of that year. Here homeless, Puerto Rican-born Anita
enlists the aid of two "neighbors" to snatch the body of her
dead boyfriend, Pauly, before it's consigned to an unmarked
grave. Her plan is to bury it in Tompkins Square Park, where the
homeless congregate - at least that way he'll be among friends.
This dark tragi-comedy transforms the Elizabeth Theater into an
unpolished bite of the Big Apple.  Sarah Switanowski plays the
sad, deranged Anita and, as costume designer, fleshes out the
character with a total mismat