Press release
Time & Location
Feb 21, 2025, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
New York, 200 E 38th St, New York, NY 10016, USA
About The Event
Did you know Brâncuși once went head-to-head with U.S. Customs officials over whether his works were “art” or “industrial objects”? Adapted by Amanda L. Andrei and Codin Andrei from Tatiana Niculescu’s acclaimed book, Brancusi v. United States dramatizes the moment the great Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși sued the United States after his iconic sculpture, “Bird in Space”, was denied recognition as art. The outcome of the trial, held in 1928, forever changed the legal definition of art in America and signaled the dawn of modern art. Join us for an evening where art, history, and theater converge to celebrate one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century.
Brancusi v. United States
Written by: Tatiana Niculescu
Adapted for stage by: Amanda L. Andrei
Directed by: Dina Vovsi
Cast: A.J. Ditty, Ethan Dubin, Lennox Duong, Vas Eli, Elijah Guo, Jasmine Sharma, Sarah Shin
Duration: 1h30min
Language: English
Free entry, RSVP required (seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis).
Tatiana Niculescu was born in Bucharest, Romania, and is the best-selling author of more than ten novels and biographies. She was the editor for the Romanian section of the BBC World Service in London from 1995–2004 and headed the World Service’s Bucharest Bureau from 2004–2008. In 2006, she published Romania’s first nonfiction novel, Spovedanie la Tanacu (The Confession; Humanitas), which was followed, in 2007, by Cartea Judecătorilor (The Book of Judges; Humanitas). Cristian Mungiu’s film Beyond the Hills, which won the Award for Best Screenplay at Cannes in 2012, was closely inspired by Niculescu’s pair of nonfiction novels. Other titles include În Țara lui Dumnezeu (In the Land of God; Polirom), a novel published in 2012, and two plays. Deadly Confession (directly inspired by the events recounted in The Confession and The Book of Judges) was directed by Andrei Șerban and premiered in New York at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club in 2007.
Amanda L. Andrei is a playwright, literary translator, and theater critic/journalist residing in Los Angeles by way of Virginia/Washington DC. She writes epic, irreverent plays that center the concealed, wounded places of history from the perspectives of diasporic Filipina women, and she co-translates from Romanian to English with her father. Her plays have been produced by Relative Theatrics and developed with Boston Court, NY Classical Theater, La MaMa, Echo Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Artists at Play, Circle X, Chalk Rep, the Vagrancy, and more. Her play Mama, I wish I were silver won the 2022 Jane Chambers Award for Feminist Playwriting, and her other work has received finalist status with the Princess Grace Award, Eugene O’Neill Conference, Playwrights Realm, and Ashland Festival. Her critique and articles can be found in American Theatre Magazine, Stage Raw, Howl Round, Rappler, and more. Her translations have received support from the Bread Loaf Translators Conference and have appeared in Asymptote Journal, Another Chicago Magazine, and Lunch Ticket. She is an alum of the National Critics Institute, a member of the 2024-25 BIPOC Critics Lab, and a Theatre Communications Group Rising Leaders of Color (2023). MFA: University of Southern California. www.amandalandrei.com
