The show began at the Blue Heron on Sept. 2 and will stay there until Sept. 12. The Blue Heron Arts Center is located at 123 E. 24th Street. Tickets are $15. Call (212) 868-4444.
Without earning a Fatwa—an Islamic death edict—Salman Rushdie was a somewhat well-known, duly respected author. With a Fatwa (which he earned from Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for his book The Satanic Verses), Rushdie became an internationally famous—if hunted—literary superstar. That is, at least, the thinking of two aging, sad sack novelists in Fatwa. These two very un-famous non-entities, who are saddled with the names Michael Jordon and Mohammed Ali, long for notoriety and fear they will never achieve it before they die. In desperation, Jordan writes a blasphemous book intended to stir up Islam's ire. Unfortunately, the Muslim world fails to take notice, spurring Jordan to enlist his friend Ali in an even more foolhardy plan.
Pal is considered one of the leading playwrights in New York City's South Asian theatre community.
The show, a production of Alter Ego Productions, is directed by Michael Barakiva.
Alter Ego, a two-year-old company, previously made news by landing the New York City premiere of Tom Stoppard's 1991 play Indian Ink. The show was mounted in a small Tribeca space for two weeks only. Stoppard was particularly interested in the troupe due to the predominantly South Asian makeup of the ensemble. The company’s previous productions include Girish Karnad’s Hayvadana in June 2002 and Pal's own Chaos Theory in October 2002.