Pinto's pearl. (New York Notebook).

Part Petrouchka, part Alwin Nikolais, and part Coney Island, Oyster, created by Israeli choreographer Inbal Pinto in collaboration with theater director Avshalom Pollak, comes to The Joyce April 22-27. The carnival-like scenery evokes Fokine's classic; the exquisite costumes and coordinated movement suggest Nikolais; and the playful, acrobatic maneuvers recall funhouse antics. Oyster, cited as the best performing-arts event during the 1999-2000 season by the Israel Theater Awards, showcases Pinto's stellar sense of design. "Israel is a hard country in which to live and to create," she has said. "We want to let the audience forget." But beneath the bizarre trappings and gestures, Oyster's eleven-member cast conjures human emotions: pity, intrigue, humor.