Eighth Ave. congestion: Port Authority Throw Down

Teatro Paraguas, a local theater company founded in 2004, usually presents plays written by contemporary Hispanic and Latino playwrights and other works that are relevant to the Northern New Mexico and the Southwest border region. With Port Authority Throw

Down, written by Mike Batistick and directed by Rick Vargas, that mission is stretched to include an international refugee story about two brothers, Pakistani immigrants to New York City, set in 2003. One has been detained by the FBI, while the other sells newspapers to make ends meet and interacts with a homeless man who has taken over a nearby pay phone, and an evangelical Christian missionary’s faith is tested by her inability to give away her daily quota of Bibles. Though the play deals with serious themes of religion, cultural identity, and national security, humor shines through in the characters’ awkward attempts at connection. Port Authority Throw Down runs from Friday, Jan. 29, through Feb. 14 at Teatro Paraguas Studio (3205 Calle Marie). Performances on Thursdays, Fr i days, and Saturdays are at 7:30 p.m; Sundays are at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 with discounts available. On Saturday, Jan. 30, a gala reception follows the performance; tickets are $20. The Feb. 4 performance is by donation. Tickets can be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com; for reservations call 505- 424-1601.

— Jennifer Levin