POETRY FOUND

By Sarah Kricheff March 5, 2004

When renowned Forward cartoonist Ben Katchor’s telephone fell off his desk and smashed open, he discovered that the plastic shell of the phone was practically empty, with the exception of several small lead weights. These weights were the inspiration for his tragicomedy musical theater production “The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island, or The Friends of Dr. Rushower.”

In the show, the titular island is a tropical factory-island where workers live and work in terrible conditions. A group of philanthropists and an aficionado of modern “found” poetry set out on a mission to educate the exploited workers of the island. The aficionado, who finds poetry in the instruction manuals of appliances manufactured on the island, attempts to share his passion for this poetry with the laborers

The Kitchen, 512 W. 19th St.; gala performance and reception for company, March 19, 8 p.m.; $120; March 20, 2 p.m., 8 p.m., March 23-March 27, 8 p.m; $20, advance ticket purchase recommended. (212-255-5793 ext. 11 or www.ticketweb.com)

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