The father of Theatre of the Absurd will get a lengthy tribute in New York this fall, as 27 Off and Off-Off-Broadway theatres join forces for the Ionesco Festival, Sept. 6-Dec. 1, 2001.

A combination of 39 of the Romanian playwright’s most famous and lesser-known works are on the agenda, including 20 full-length productions.

Highlights include: Rhinoceros (produced by Untitled Theater Company #61); Exit the Kind (Pearl Theatre); a return engagement of Sanctuary Theater’s The Picture; Israel Horovitz’s adaptation of Man With Bags (Looking Glass Theater); Spanish-language productions of The Future Is in Eggs and Jack, or the Submission (Mexico’s Investigadores del Arte); and The New Tenant and a new translation of The Viscount (Gemini CollisionWorks).

Prior to each performance, one of 12 short plays will be staged on a rotating basis, including a translation of Conversation Exercises, a French textbook Ionesco wrote for American students.

Born in Romania, Eugene Ionesco (1912-1994) moved to Paris in 1938. His work focused on the struggle of people to survive in a society that he thought created barriers between them. Performances will be spread out across 13 Manhattan theatres. Tickets are $15, except for Exit the King ($28-35). For more information and a complete schedule, call (212) 387-2043 or visit www.ionescofestival.com.

— by Diane Snyder