The Brooklyn Navy Yard has seen a lot in its history, from shipbuilding to movie-making, but tonight experimental theater company Polybe + Seats opens the shipyard’s first-ever theatrical performance. Created especially for the Navy Yard’s new exhibition and visitor’s center BLDG 92, A History of Launching Ships (Somewhat After Washington Irving) is inspired by a little-known heroine of American history, Elizabeth Burgin, who helped to smuggle over 200 Patriot soldiers off British prison ships anchored in Wallabout Bay during the winter of 1779, and by Irving’s gothic tales. Audiences will join the performers on a journey through the four-story museum, and through time. Polybe + Seats (full disclosure, I worked with the company for many years) has a long track record of inhabiting unusual and historical spaces in the borough, and their love for Brooklyn and its history makes them the perfect match for BLDG 92’s mission to celebrate the Navy Yard’s past, present and future. If you’ve been meaning to make it to BLDG 92, now is the moment. The show runs through Oct. 28, Thursdays through Sundays at 8pm. Tickets are $18, available at smarttix.com or by calling 212.868.4444.–Katya Schapiro
