Cheap Chick Weekend Picks, February 27th through March 1, 2009

Friday February 27, 2009
Critical Mass Ride
7 p.m.
Go for a ride, take a spin, or blade with other eco-friendly folks.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Meet at Union Square Park North, between 14th and 17th Streets
Subway: 4,5,6,N,R,W, Q, L to Union Square

Saturday February 28, 2009
National Girls and Women in Sports Day
10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Get in touch with your inner Sporty Spice at this all-day event with activities including arts and crafts, dance and yoga classes, sports clinics, fitness workshops, performances, and more! Prizes will be awarded and refreshments will be served.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Chelsea Recreation Center, 430 West 25th street between 9th and 10th Avenues
Subway: C, E to 23rd Street

Free Apollo Theater Tours
12 p.m. to 5 p.m., also Sunday March 1, 2009 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Jazz up your weekend with a free tour of this historic landmark. Event includes tour, mock Amateur Night show, film screenings, and discussions.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!
Location Info: Apollo Theater, 253 West 125th Street
Between Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd & Frederick Douglass Blvd.
(also known as 7th Avenue & 8th Avenue )
Subway: A,C,D, 2, or 3 train to 125th Street

Sunday March 1, 2009
Morning Gull Walk
10 a.m.
Be the early worm who catches the bird at this bird-watching program held in Prospect Park.
Cheap Chick Info: Free!, for more info email nfo@prospectpark.org
Location Info: Prospect Park Audubon Center
Subway: Q,S,B to Prospect Park Station, F to 7th Avenue and Prospect Park Station, 2,3 to Grand Army Plaza Station

In the Red Room = a Play for the Right Price! Final Performance Feb. 26th, 2009

Gordon Farrell has taken the phrase "everyone has a story tell" literally in his new play "The Red Room/Every Woman Dances for Someone." The most shocking thing about the play is not, as one might think, the chosen setting of a strip club, but the slow realization that the character's tales of rape, abuse, and neglect were not the author's fictional creation, but true stories from real women; this is where the show finds its real power.

The rest of the production is deceptively simple; the set is marked in tape, the women's costumes are a study of black and red, with the only set adornment a set of wooden stools. While I was moved by the stories, which were delivered separately in monologue form, I found a few of the performances slightly exaggerated, the actresses putting on a show rather than actually connecting with the material.

Currently the production is playing on the second floor of a LES lounge. It's an intimate space, which fits the tone of the play, with most seating consisting of squashy couches sometimes cozily shared with one's neighbors. The only drawback of the space was the noise that sometimes filtered up from the first floor; I found its rowdiness an unfortunate contrast to the serious nature of the play.

Cheap Chick Info: $10 a ticket, Curtain rises at 8 p.m. sharp! Get there early because seating is limited.

Location Info: People Lounge, 163 Allen Street between Stanton and Rivington, Take the stairs to the second floor.

Subway: F, V to Second Avenue