Theatre Knights (& Daze): News & Reviews

Mortal Folly’s Macbeth is Bloody, Bold, and Resolute

2010-12-06T14:04:00.000-08:00

Mortal Folly does it again with their sophomore production, a fairly faithful adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. After the success of A Midsummer Night’s Dream earlier this year (one of the best productions I’ve ever seen of Midsummer), Mortal Folly chose to follow it up with one of Shakespeare’s darker dramas. Director Katherine Harte-DeCoux has “been thinking about Macbeth for years”, and it shows; although she says it wasn’t exactly the version she has envisioned in her head, this production has some stunning moments, and shows off the talents of both the director, the actors, and the creative team quite nicely.

It’s apparent that Ms. Harte-DeCoux has a keen understanding of the text; the actors seem well at ease with the language, exhibiting traits of good training, intelligent and visceral acting choices, and informed direction on their leader’s part. It’s easy to chalk off this play as an overdone melodrama about a weak-willed man pushed into making bad choices by an over-grasping wife, but the tweaks made in this adaptation bring moments to the surface that illuminate the story in a completely new way. Rather than rolling in his grave, I suspect Mr. Shakespeare would rather claw his way up to applaud the choices made here, choices that at last lend credence to Lady Macbeth’s descent into madness (a powerful performance by Liz Sklar), as well as cementing lesser known character relationships (Brandon Smith pulls off some amazingly understated acting as Macbeth’s lieutenant, Seyton). I was particularly impressed by the fact that Macbeth (Matthew Rini) did not come across as a character so blinded by ambition he allows himself to be manipulated by those around him (Lady M and the witches). Not even Fate could truly be blamed for this Macbeth’s actions, although his belief in Fate definitely has an effect on his downfall.

The rest of the ensemble are pros: Hannah Sloat, after catching my eye as Puck earlier this year, continues to amaze me with her total commitment and inhabitation of her characters (here she plays one of the witches, Macduff’s son, and Yound Seyward). Mark August as Macduff has beautiful moments onstage, particularly between himself and John Short as Malcolm. Bryant Martin as Ross shares a tender scene with Alyssa Borg as Lady Macduff, both again exhibiting some very subtle yet nuanced acting. Erik Cheski does double duty as King Duncan and King Seyward, doing an excellent job of distinguishing between the two men. Robert Lee Taylor has a good time with the Doctor, as does Melanie Stroh with her Gentlewoman part, delivering plenty of laughs during the Porter of Hellsgate scene. Joesy Nicole Housley is frightening as a murderer, together with the afore-mentioned Robert Taylor. Sam Eggers plays Fleance and Donalbain well, important roles each. Rounding out the cast is David Ellis as Banquo, who gets to look good onstage both swinging his sword and shaking his gory locks.

The play particularly shines in the action sequences, choreographed by fight director Nathan DeCoux. As the chosen tagline for this production states, “Blood will have Blood,” and once it starts flowing it doesn’t cease till the bloody climax. Both the martial style and the weapons and armor were all created by Mr. DeCoux, setting the action firmly in a pseudo-fantasy medieval world that is both exciting and supportive of the cinematic feel of this production.

Where the production had problems was in the technical delivery of the play. On opening night there were some awkward pauses accompanied by cursing from the tech booth. The lighting was fairly basic, with some odd moments that could easily have been mistakes rather than choices. While the music that accompanied some of the scenes was good, the levels were inconsistent, and the rest of the sound design suffered a bit. The overall feeling was that the technical resources available to the company weren’t able to match the aspirations of the company. As Macbeth says to Lennox in the aftermath of the King’s murder, “’Twas a rough night.” Ultimately, my feeling was that the technical kinks will work themselves out, allowing the brightness of the play to shine through.

Macbeth is a classic play, performed by a company that has a passion and a hunger for presenting classic work in a way that is exciting to contemporary audiences, and that excitement really shines through. This production is well worth attending, and shows great promise for a young company that will hopefully be with us for years to come.

Macbeth continues through December 19th at the Gene Frankel Theater, visit www.mortalfollytheatre.org for more info, showtimes and tickets.

Look Back In Anger, and Forgive

2010-10-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

The Seeing Place Theater’s production of John Osborne’s Look Back In Anger is well worth the price of admission, offering a solid take on a twentieth-century classic. It is not without its flaws: the play gets off to a slow start, opening with an interminable moment that comes off as a bit of acting self-indulgence, as Jimmy Porter (Brandon Walker) and Cliff Lewis (Adam Reich) lounge about the stage reading their papers while Alison Porter (Anna Marie Sell) irons a poor shirt to tatters; the actors (or the director, Reesa Graham) haven’t quite learned the nuances of pace and timing that allow moments like this to linger effectively. Conversely, the final moment of the play, which is quite nice, is rushed into a sloppy curtain call and post-show announcement that takes away from the impact of the two hours preceding them.

But those flaws are slight, and easily forgiven.

Once the dialogue in the first scene starts, the play picks up an unceasing momentum that builds right up to the final moments of the play. Brandon Walker and Anna Marie Sell as Jimmy and Alison Porter have crafted a realistic and tension fraught relationship on-stage, and Adam Reich’s portrayal of best friend Cliff Lewis is flawless, down to his lilting Welsh accent. The appearance of professional stage-actress Helena Charles in scene two (played more charmingly than haughtily by Adrian Wyatt, who stepped into the role mere days before the performance I witnessed) ramps up the tension considerably. Rick Delaney is delightfully convincing as Alison’s father, the mild-mannered Colonel Redfern.

The one lost opportunity in this particular production is that of the economic-sociopolitical message. Osborne crafted this piece to bring attention to and explode the notions of class in an English society overburdened by those notions. It’s an idea that is more topical today in America than ever, with an ever growing divide between the rich and the poor; in Osborne’s play the character of Helena epitomizes this disparity, an actress who bridges the classes by having found some measure of success, now deigning to lower herself to the level of the struggling Porters (who survive off of Jimmy’s salary at a sweetshop). Possibly because she is just stepping into the role, Adrian Wyatt’s Helena lacks the haughty holier-than-thou class attitude that is at the root of Jimmy and Helena’s mutual loathing, and which ultimately fuels Helena’s actions towards the end of the play. In fact, the notions of class are largely ignored by everyone in this production, and Jimmy’s anger seems to be more wrapped up in his relationships with his family and the other characters than in any self-righteous indignation at the absurdity of society. He still gets his jabs in at the other characters, but those characters don’t seem to represent anything larger, as Osborne intended. Instead, this production treats everyone as merely human, which, while a refreshing attitude, dilutes the stronger intention and meaning of the play.

I’ve now gotten a chance to see a solid season of this spunky young companies shows, and my feeling is that if they stay at it, and with the help of a good dramaturg, they can become a theatrical force. Choosing plays with a certain pedigree, notably for challenging acting material that tends to garner praise for the actor’s abilities if it is done well, Seeing Place focuses its energy on the craft of acting over production value. This is probably because Artistic Director Brandon Walker and Managing Director Lillian Wright are themselves actors above and beyond anything else, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s also not to say that the production values are terrible in a Seeing Place show. The costumes, lights, sound and sets in every piece I’ve seen may not win awards, but they are more than up to the task of supporting the actors in their goal to present the stories as truthfully as possible.

As with the other Seeing Place shows I’ve seen, I recommend Look Back In Anger as a chance to catch a classic play performed with gusto by a talented ensemble of energetic young performers. These first-season productions are the building blocks for a foundation that will only make the members of the Seeing Place stronger with each successive production, and I’m excited to have been there at the beginning.

Look Back In Anger continues through October 30^th, 2010, at the ATA’s Sargent Theater. For tickets and more information, visit seeingplacetheater.com

Submitted for your approval…The Pumpkin Pie Show: Amber Alert

2010-10-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

Looking over the press quotes for Clay McLeod Chapman’s Pumpkin Pie Show (pumpkinpieshow.com/press-quotes) after seeing it last Thursday (Oct. 14^th, 2010), I found myself agreeing with every last one of them. How something so brilliantly disturbing, so disturbingly creepy, and so creepily macabre has eluded my radar for the bizarrely weird surprises me. And by weird I don’t mean there are Satanic blood-letting rituals or fetishistic sex acts being performed in front of my eyes, or any of the other boring, mundane tenets that have become more and more prescribed over recent years to the horror genre. Oh no, my friend, this is pure storytelling at it’s spine-tingling finest.

The best way I can describe it is performance art that at its bloody, dripping heart revolves around story and character. Not a drop of real or pretend blood will stain the pure white vestments of the three performers over the course of the evening, but when all is said and done, you will exit the theater feeling a chill that seeps its way down into the darkest recesses of your soul, and the small hairs at the nape of your neck will take much soothing before they are convinced to lay down once more.

Together with his accomplices in crime, performers Hanna Cheek and Hannah Timmons, with sound and musical support from on-stage sound operator Wes Shippee (playing an original score by Radiotheatre), Clay and company transform themselves into characters so completely different, yet so hauntingly familiar that they could have been summoned from our own lives. Maybe they are the people we pass everyday on the street, or who come in to our bookstore every week on the pretext of buying a book just to say hello, or they could be that friendly waitress who serves us at our favorite restaurant. Whatever the case may be, the beauty of this presentation lies in how absolutely committed these solo performers are to transforming into these other human beings who have a story so powerful to tell, they will rip it out of their deepest innards just to get it out of their bodies and cast it into the dark void of the theater house. Just don’t mind that sticky stuff dripping onto the floor and pooling about your feet…

Run, don’t walk to The Pumpkin Pie Show: Amber Alert, continuing its run October 21st - 30th — Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 8 PM at the Red Room, 85 East 4th Street (btn 2nd and 3rd Ave).  

Tickets are available at SmartTix: (212) 868-444 or online at: http://www.horsetrade.info/Season12/ThePumpkinPieShow.html

Tix $18 (general). $15 (students/seniors) PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN THURSDAYS. Special discount code through SmartTix — “amber” for $15 tix! 

Visit www.pumpkinpieshow.com for more information.

Don't you just hate it when fan-boys start ranting?

2010-06-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

Holy 1980’s pop culture references, Batman! HACK! an I.T. Spaghetti Western, part of the Too Soon Festival at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn, contained a veritable smorgasbord of adult childish fun. Did this play really quote Lawrence Lasker’s & Walter F. Parkes's 1983 classic video-game film War Games featuring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy in its opening few minutes? And yes, Spaghetti Westerns certainly were around earlier, but by the late 1970’s-early 1980’s it was standard practice to include For A Fistful of Dollars or High Plains Drifter in the rotation on every local network’s Saturday Cinema, along with a good old kung-fu flick featuring the likes of Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee.

So darn it all if this show wasn’t a walk down geek memory lane. Crystal Skillman has managed to weave together so many references and in-jokes to those of us who grew up in the Star Wars generation (the one with Lando, not that poser Jar Jar) that it seems like a daunting task for me to find anything to dislike about this show.

I’ll spare you, gentle reader, the details of the story, as I wouldn’t want to give anything away, but suffice it to say that the actors are brilliant, from Joseph Mathers’ channeling of Mister Eastwood to Kate Kenney’s brilliant turn as… well, giving away who she plays would be a Crying Game… crying shame, I mean… I loved all these performers, and John Hurley’s direction was perfectly campy. I should also mention that the set and lights were designed by the extraordinary Ben Kato, but then I would be betraying my true fan-boy nature, as Kato is only one of the greatest designers living, sort of to lighting design what Neil Gaiman is to fantasy writing, or James Jean is to comic book cover art, or Tara McPherson to rock band posters.

I should also mention that this show was originally presented through the Vampire Cowboys Saturday Night Saloon Series. It seems these guys know a good thing when they see it, as they have asked Miss Skillman to craft another epic for them, and I for one can’t wait to see what they come up with. If it’s anything like their recent instant classic “Ninjas suck balls” presented by Clubbed Thumb last week, it will really be something to see.

I guess all this really begs the question: would this be an interesting and engaging piece of theater to someone who isn’t a part of that particular cross-section of society, those boys and girls who grew up rolling dice with more than six sides, or somehow managed to talk their parents out of the thirty bucks it took to buy the latest Atari 2600 video game cartridge (thirty bucks? Boy, the more things change the more they really stay the same…). The answer is: I don’t know, nor do I particularly care. This show was awesome and meaningful to me for the simple reason that it validated my entire childhood existence, where watching The Man With No Name was a valued, nay, treasured bonding time with my Pop, and Star Wars would always be the coolest thing ever.

So if the thought of watching a bunch of techno-geeks transform themselves into heroes, saving the girl, the company, and the Beanie Babies along the way as they battle with evil Apple store genius bar employees and renegade cyber-cowboys does nothing to get your blood pumping, then by all means do yourself and us a favor and stay the Hack home. But if you want action, adventure, romance, a rollicking good time, and more fun than a barrel full of monchichis, you will hate yourself if you miss this play! Honestly, I rarely walk out of a theater these days with a burning desire to go back in and see the same show, but this was one of those few occasions where I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to see it earlier, so I could drag all my friends out to it. GO… SEE… IT!

For the rest of the Too Soon Festival schedule, as well as all the ticket info you can shake a lightsaber at, visit www.bricktheater.com

You'll also want to visit www.impetuoustheater.org for fun stuff. They're the blokes what helped bring you this little treasure!

If you don't want to be left Waiting for Lefty, go see this show!

2010-06-13T15:29:00.000-07:00

Since The Seeing Place Theater’s attitude towards the importance of ensemble and the craft of the actor’s art closely resembles that of The Group Theatre of the 1930’s, it only makes sense that they tackle some of the same material. When I found out that Seeing Place was planning a production of Clifford Odet’s Waiting For Lefty I was thrilled. How often does the opportunity arise to see an example of one of the greatest American playwright's work produced by a company that takes their work as seriously as this one does, and delivers results that prove how effective that work is?

Happily the production delivers on Artistic Director Brandon Walker’s promise to “explore this world to the best of our abilities,” as he states in his program note. He is referring to the ability of a group of passionate people coming together to create something worthwhile with extremely limited resources, and in this case they can count it a success. The play itself is sometimes a little clunky, showing it’s age a tiny bit in the roughness around the edges and the occasionally plodding pace, but the ensemble doesn’t let these things get them down. They tackle the story with energy and zeal, using Odet’s words like surgical tools to get to the heart of dissatisfied workers struggling in economic hard times. It’s an American story while not being the story of America, that this is a country where We the People can create a better State, a society that takes care of its own, something that we struggled with in the 1930’s, and that we continue to struggle with to this day.

The story was inspired by an actual event, the Pittsburgh taxi driver’s strike of 1930; Odet chose to set his tale in a union hall in New York City, circa 1935. The actor’s portray the cab drivers and their families, most of whom have converged on this place in anticipation of a decision by the union members to go on strike. In order to start the meeting and decision-making process, they find themselves “waiting for Lefty”, the Union spokesman. In Lefty’s absence, the union Secretary, Harry Fatt (portrayed chillingly by Tyler Moss), serves as a sort of anti-agitator, doing his best to convince everyone to just calm down and get back to work. The fact that he is backed up by an armed gunman does little to ease the tension of the situation. As the meeting unfolds, the various participants begin “flashing back” through a series of vignettes, to tell their particular stories of how they got to this moment. By the time the episodes have played out, the meeting participants make their decision, with a little help from an impassioned speech delivered by a man named Agate Kellor (David Arthur Bachrach) and the arrival of Lefty himself (the rarely seen Joseph Mancuso).

The ensemble does its job well, delivering solid performances all around. I was a little puzzled by the decision to cross-cast a particular role, which proved distracting while the actress was attempting to convince everyone that she and another man were brothers, but she did the best she could given the circumstances. In all other respects the directing of the show, the feel of the world created, were all authentic and genuine. In particular, the design of the show, credited to Lillian Wright, went a long way towards tying everything together.

This is a company to watch. Young, enthusiastic, these are talented men and women at the start of their trajectory, and if they can persevere for a little while yet, they will hit their stride and start producing work that is truly awe-inspiring. In the meantime, it’s exciting to see them lay the groundwork for this future through their dilligence and attention to detail.

The ensemble includes Joseph Mancuso as Lefty Costello, Tyler Moss as Harry Fatt, Greg Phelps as Grimes, Christopher Bischoff as Joe Mitchell, Steven Beckingham as Miller, John Gassale as Fayette, Brandon Walker as Sid Stein, Nick Velkov as Tom Clayton, Margret Avery as Clancy, Dothan Negrin as Phillips, Ned Lynch as Mr. Grady, Adam Rich as Dr. Benjamin, David Arthur Bachrach as Agate Keller, Jon Dalin as Reilly, Anna Marie Sell as Edna Mitchell, Norah Elise Johnson as Florrie, Jamie Watson as Irv, Bonnie Singer as the stenographer, and John Greenleaf as Dr. Barnes. The production was directed by Reesa Graham and Brandon Walker. Fights were choreographed by Steven Beckingham. The Designer was Lillian Wright.

The show runs through June 26, 2010, at the ATA Sargent Theater, 314 West 54^th Street, 4^th Floor. For tickets, visit www.brownpapertickets.com or call 1-800-838-3006, and be sure to visit www.seeingplacetheater.com.

Flux finds hidden treasure in attic of Jacob's House!

2010-05-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

One of the most inspiring qualities of a true theater ensemble is that through familiarity with each other’s abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, there is a potential: the potential to craft a superior product, to hew it from the rough material of imagination, work and shape it with the blood, sweat, & tears of the rehearsal hall, and finally plunge it into the ice-cold and often passionless waters of the technical rehearsal, before displaying the end product in front of a public assembly. Flux Theater Ensemble recognizes this quality of potential and embraces it. Even under adverse and fearful circumstances, this company manages to come together to continually produce some of the most compelling and passionate work on the New York stage today. Their latest offering, Jacob’s House, penned by Artistic Director August Schulenburg and directed by Kelly O’Donnell, continues this tradition, almost daring audience members at times to sit up and take note.

The story of this new play’s creation has been oft repeated, and I’ll spare you the whole thing here. Suffice it to say that, on learning that the company could not procure rights to Archibald MacLeish’s J.B. (a modern day retelling of the story of Job), Flux’s Schulenburg swallowed his fear and decided to move full-speed ahead with an as-of-then unwritten script and production; the theater had been booked, actors cast, designs discussed, but now they needed a play. So Schulenburg penned his first draft over the course of a weekend. Fortunately, he had worked with many of the cast for years and was able to speak to their strengths while downplaying their weaknesses. The designs were kept intact or modified to suit the new work, and thus, a play was born.

The story itself is fairly simple, a modern retelling of Jacob wrestling the Angel, and knowing this I was struck on entering the space at how it managed to evoke a modern-day wrestling ring while looking nothing at all like one. It is a gorgeous set, by the way, designed by Flux’s Production Manager, Jason Paradine, who recreated with meticulous detail a dusty attic filled with the detritus of one man’s incredibly long-lived life. But yes, that clear space in the center of the stage holds the promise of action, and there is plenty of it in this play, particularly close to the end.

But while the story idea is simple, the execution of the retelling is delightfully (if sometimes frustratingly) complicated, encompassing many themes revolving around family, loss, love, change, and what it means to be an American in this day and age. One of the sometimes frustrating storytelling techniques, for example, is having multiple actors play the same role, while another actor retains his given role; there is a reason for this, but it is a disorienting device that can leave one’s brain scrambling to catch up. I must confess, I spent hours after viewing the show thinking about these characters and how they were portrayed, and for me one of the weaker points in the play is that many of these “doubled” characters don’t have enough time to establish themselves in the minds and hearts of the audience.

Regardless of any shortcomings in the script (which again was written and polished in the space of barely two months), the acting company itself is impressive. This is a company where the core members are comfortable enough with each other to really take risks, pushing themselves and each other to attain greater performances, while enough new blood is brought in to each production to avoid the pitfall of constantly seeing the same faces at every show. The acting in this company tends to keep getting better with each successive production, and that’s not a bad trait to have. Standout performances in the opening night production included Zack Calhoon as Joe and Bianca LaVerne Jones in a variety of roles. Mr. Calhoon exhibited a range and ability that qualifies him for many a leading man role, while Jones’s nuanced performance (especially as Young Dinah) brought a tear to my eye. Johnna Adams delivered the funniest performance of the evening as Young Tamar (possibly the funniest performance I’ve ever seen involving a toilet scrubbing brush). And Isaiah Tanenbaum frankly surprised me in his role as the Lawyer/Messenger; Isaiah has consistently delivered solid, well-thought out performances, but in this one he goes above and beyond, inhabiting the skin of his character to an almost frightening extent, truly a joy to watch.

While the gorgeous set was the most in-your-face of the design elements, the lighting design by Kia Rogers served its purpose well, bringing to life the interior of a dusty old attic in the nighttime to great effect, with some wonderfully subtle moments woven throughout. The sound design by Elizabeth Rhodes was at once both intriguing and frustrating: the sounds really worked to set the mood and punctuate the play, but the levels often seemed either too loud or too soft, which distracted me from what was going on; hopefully this was tinkered with on subsequent nights.

As far as direction goes, Kelly O’Donnell was a great match for this production. She took a sometimes-complicated text and staged it in a way that was both deceptively simple and yet slyly inventive at the same time. The almost-immersion of the audience helped to bridge the divides of both time and space, cleverly bringing us a critical step closer to understanding and empathy with these characters. O’Donnel is clearly a director to watch.

As in all Flux Theater Ensemble productions, there is a whole lotta love in Jacob’s House. When that love is combined with the careful craft and growing talent of this remarkable company, the end result is well worth experiencing.

Jacob's House runs at The Access Theater Gallery thru May 22, 2010. For tickets or more info, visit www.fluxtheatre.org.

Polybe + Seats: Promises Made + Kept

2010-04-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

A Thousand Thousand Slimy Things, the latest production by Polybe + Seats, playing thru May 9^th at the Red Hook Waterfront Museum & Show Barge, promises a lot of things. A lot of slimy things, for example. Or this one: “an Aquatic Spectacular of Conservation & Change.” The graphic on the postcard seems to promise Mermaids (at least one) and slightly frightening underwater dwellers. And lots and lots of trash. Finally, (just from the postcard) it promises to deliver a bunch of theatrical moments created by a bunch of artists under the watchful gaze of one Jessica Brater, visionary and director. Oh, yes, did I mention Mermaids?

The press release goes on to add that, along with the Mermaids (the Weeki Wachee Mermaids, to be exact), the text is comprised of snatches of interviews and found text, along with pieces of nautical literature stemming from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (where the show gets it’s name) to Henrik Ibsen’s Lady of the Sea (there were other nods to Ibsen elsewhere in the piece, not the least of which was the image of the town being up in arms about a natural spring, conjuring images of Ibsen’s Enemy of the People). These snatches of words are credited to the cast, with Katya Schapiro being given the honor of the title playwright.

Happily, none of the above is false advertising. Polybe + Seats delivers on all these promises, creating a theatrical event that is friendly and intelligent, thought-provoking and satisfying, smart while not being overly preachy. And those Mermaids! My one complaint is that, in an effort to incorporate so many words, the show stretched on for a wee bit too long. Almost two hours without an intermission is getting harder and harder to pull off in these days of tweeting and 120 character status updates; to add to the seeming length, the ocean breezes sweep through the theater (it being a barge, after all), chilling the audience to the bone. Bring layers of clothing and maybe blankets (although these are provided), and make sure you are well fed (you can purchase baked treats there), with maybe a thermos of coffee to keep the chill off.

Although the show could have used a heavier hand in the editing, the imagery and artistry of the talented cast and crew make it well worth sitting through the slower parts. The opening and ending of the show are visually stunning, the company making great use of trash and found objects in a wonderful example of “upcycling” (giving old or used items more value rather than less). Without spoiling much, there is a lot of plastic being put to a lot of different uses, and it doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination to picture for example the ever-shrinking iceberg occupied by John, played charmingly by Ari Vigoda.

The Mermaids were delightful creatures, at once human (or were they?) and yet not quite all there. Jenni Lerche as Lauryn had a particularly challenging role, one which could have been painful in the hands of a less-committed performer; Jenni managed to not only inspire sympathy for her own plight (a woman sick with what could arguably be considered a terminal disease under the right circumstances), she illustrated a relationship with Mother Nature that goes beyond what we mere mortals think of as love. Sarah Sakaan was totally believable as Robyn, the owner/operator of the Mermaid Park and Mayor of the nearby town (“population nine”), bringing a hard-nosed determination to the role that sometimes bordered on frightening. Carmel Amit as Marcy was absolutely charming, ably moving from awkward shyness to confident choreographer and back; her comic timing and remarkably fluent facial language was exquisite. Elaine O’Brien and Hilary Thomas also played Mermaids (along with Scientists, as did everyone in the cast at some point), each bringing a very strong sense of character through their physicality, vocal prowess and humor. Eugene Michael Santiago ably embodied Captain Horus, the salty sea-captain who smuggles garbage, messages in bottles, and strange sea-life from the Mermaid Park to the even stranger mass of Garbage adrift somewhere out to sea off the coast of Florida.

The overall experience is haunting and atmospheric at times, especially when the ocean swells gently rock the barge, reminding the audience that they truly are a part of something much bigger than themselves. In the same way, A Thousand Thousand Tiny Things proves ultimately much bigger as a whole than its individual components.

The show continues for the next two weekends, through May 9^th, Friday thru Sunday. Please visit www.polybeandseats.org for tickets and more information.

Theatre C Announces 2010-2011 Season!

2010-03-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

Hi All You Lovely Lords & Ladies!

Here is the word straight from the horse's mouth on a new company's season that I am super excited about. I attended the gala preview last year to announce this company and was uber impressed! Thanks to Emily Owens and Carlos Armesto!

THEATRE C

ANNOUNCES ITS

2010/2011 INAUGURAL SEASON

BINDING

May 5-15, 2010

As part of the 7th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival

Performance Space 122 (150 First Ave. at E. 9th St.)

A solo dance-theatre piece presented as part of terraNOVA Collective’s 7th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival.

The incomparable Jesse Zaritt takes us on a journey of violence, tenderness, erotic power, submission and abandonment in a striking and moving event. Binding fuses the worlds of pop music, contemporary dance and video to create a powerful and arresting solo experience.

Performed and Choreographed by Jesse Zaritt

Directed by Bazmat Hazan

Video & Lighting by David Tirosh

Costumes and Masks by Manju Shandler

Producer/Dramaturge: Carlos Armesto

THE WHO’S TOMMY

July 8-25, 2010

Produced by ReVision Theatre in association with Theatre C

ReVision Theatre (603 Mattison Avenue, Asbury Park, NJ)

After witnessing the death of his mother’s lover, Tommy is traumatized into catatonia. Living a childhood of and pain and abuse, he finds solace in the magic of the pinball machine. His talent launches him to international superstardom. The Who’s Tommy takes us on an amazing journey into the kaleidoscopic mind of a boy struggling to break free from his a prison of paralysis. Told through a vaudevillian and circus-like prism, we invite you on an odyssey of hurt, possibility, hope and redemption. The director of last season’s KINGDOM (Best Musical, The Star Ledger) helms this production.

Music, Book, and Lyrics by Peter Townshend

Additional Music and Lyrics by by John Entwistle

Book by Des McAnuff

Directed by Carlos Armesto

Choreographed by Elisabetta Spuria

Music Direction by Michael Thomas Murray

Set Design by Daniel Zimmerman

Lighting Design by Brian Tovar

Costume Design by Jacob Climer

Sound Design by Simon Ghezzi

Puppetry Effects by Emily DeCola

FALL 2010

Theatre C's first MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

DISORIENTED

By Kyoung H. Park

Directed by Carlos Armesto

Choreography by Yanghee Lee

Originally written for the Royal Court Theatre, UK, disOriented tells the story of a Korean family in crisis. In a moving and funny tale that spans an ocean, a woman in New York must hide the death of her brother from her parents while traveling back to Korea, or risk the news killing them. A dancing spirit, who is caught between the energies of traditional Korean Fan Dance and modern dance, drives the action to its climax.

Venue, cast, other collaborators, and production dates TBA.

PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT

THE UGLY SWAN

Words by Sammy Buck

Music by Dan Acquisto

Puppetry and mask by Emily DeCola

Directed by Carlos Armesto

The writers of the famed Like You Like It and The Seven Year B*tch turn a sweet children's story on its head, in what is a smart, quirky response to the famed story of The Ugly Duckling. The astonishing Emily DeCola will contribute her talents in puppetry and mask work to this project.

(E)VAPORATE

Music by Parker Ferguson

Lyrics by Parker Ferguson and christopher oscar peña

Book by christopher oscar peña

Directed by Carlos Armesto

With Randy Harrison

A screwed-up reinvention of Orpheus and Eurydice in the form of a made-up love song. In this comic and soulful "bromance,” we see the story of O (the greatest pop singer in the world, who happens to be explosively gay) and E (O's straight best friend of a muse who happens to take too much "e"). Told through the framework of an eruptive multimedia pop concert, O tells us of his moving story, from when he first meets E to his journey to save him from the clutches of the Underworld.

DISPLACED

By Lori Fischer

Directed by Carlos Armesto

A well-meaning American businessman gets the opportunity of a lifetime -- the construction of a major pipeline project in the jungles of Colombia. But what seems to be El Dorado quickly turns into a complex and dangerous snake pit, catapulting him in the heart of the country's 40-year civil conflict, while risking his family, company and even his life.

Expect to hear more about these pieces in the Fall of 2011.

THEATRE C exists to create vibrant theatre through the fusing of different forms of expression. Through the organization's Associated Artists, Theatre C joins the next evolution of theatre by melding puppetry and burlesque, video and dance, acrobatics and installations, hip hop, rock and salsa, and much more to tell the most compelling and moving of stories.

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www.theatrec.org

Beg, Borrow or Steal to see The Great Recession

2009-12-12T17:40:00.000-08:00

When the economy decides to take a nosedive, how do we in the artistic community respond? Do we bemoan our situation and complain to any and all who come our way, or do we tighten our belts and forge ahead with that “show must go on” attitude as our rallying cry? Perhaps we do both, each in our own particular, uhm, idiom. In the case of Jim Simpson, Artistic Director of The Flea Theater, the economic downturn presented an opportunity to gather some of New York City’s brightest playwriting stars and offer them a venue to present “different perspectives [that] take us outside our own personal anxieties,” as Mr. Simpson states in his director’s note. Simpson also directed the final piece of the evening, Will Eno's Unum.

The Great Recession presents short plays by Thomas Bradshaw, Sheila Callaghan, Erin Courtney, Will Eno, Itamar Moses, and Adam Rapp, and features the Flea's resident acting company, The Bats.

The set, designed by John McDermott, is Flea-tastic. One of the lovely things about the Flea Theater is that every time one enters the space, it is an entirely new experience. In this case, the simple set utilized a palette of muted greens and browns, reminding one almost subliminally of the color of money, but money that has traveled through a lot of different hands. With multiple levels and a variety of doors entering the space, the design was perfect for an evening comprising six different plays.

The evening began with Classic Kitchen Timer, by the multi-faceted and multi-talented playwright/director Adam Rapp. The audience was ushered into the space by a happy Host in freakish clown make-up, played by the electrically charismatic Nick Maccarone. This piece, along with Sheila Callaghan’s later offering, Recess, depicted a near future where Capitalism and Fascism look frighteningly similar. While both Adam and Sheila’s plays shared a dark tonality, it is Adam’s play that offers up the tensest moment of the evening, in a sequence where the audience is brought into the world of the play in a most unexpected and clever manner. The moment is unmistakable, hitting the audience like an emotional slap in the face, and pointedly offers up an example of the power of live performance over its cinematic offspring.

Itamar Moses's play, entitled Fucked, highlighted this promising young playwright's commanding use of dialogue, handled deftly by both actors involved, Jessica Pohly and Dorien Makhloghi. Rarely have words flowed from characters' mouths so effortlessly that one truly forgets they are watching actors, to the point that one-sided phone conversations seem like there really are mothers and fathers on the other end, particularly in Pohly’s case.

New York Living was unmistakably Thomas Bradshaw, with characters that felt like “characters”. Thomas has the gift of creating characters that are specific yet archetypical at the same time, and under Ethan McSweeny’s direction the actors were able to pull off a style of acting that made these characters flicker between 2 and 3 dimensions, at once flat and yet fully rounded, like looking at life through a Viewmaster. Between the snappy dialogue and the hilarious situations, this piece offered up the most guffaws of the night, while still managing to strike a resonating emotional chord.

Erin Courtney’s Severed was surprisingly optimistic and sweet, possibly the only one where all the characters were portrayed as likeable. This piece captured the essence of existing as a young person in today’s not always forgiving society. While not being overbearingly cheerful, it made it clear that the world has not entirely gone to the place with the double hockey sticks, at least not yet.

After one of the best intermissions ever, sort of a “seventh-inning stretch,” Sheila Callaghan and Will Eno presented a wonderful juxtaposition of pieces to wrap up the evening with, as their styles are so radically different. While both writers are consummate word-smiths, in Recess, Callaghan’s characters almost literally vomit forth words; Eno’s characters in Unum on the other hand are very economical in their speech, choosing their words more carefully. As a result, Callaghan’s play presents a landscape rife with both verbal and visual imagery, while Eno’s dialogue is so downplayed it almost seems mundane, with characters only sometimes proffering up beautiful sentences like diamonds in the rough.

Oddly enough, while watching Recess, I couldn’t stop thinking of Adam Rapp’s recent foray into graphical story-telling, his disturbing yet satisfying Ball Peen Hammer, the story of a dark future filled with crumbling dark rooms filled with the spirits of lost children. I read that gem on the same weekend that I finished Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and all three pieces (The Road, Ball Peen Hammer, and Recess) could have been different stages in a future none of us should wish for. When characters are driven to the point of killing for their next taste of food, they may very well ask whether life is worth the living.

While taking a decidedly dark turn with Sheila’s piece, Will Eno manages to strike a kindlier note, ending the evening with an almost whimsical tale of the journey of a dollar bill, as it passes from hand to hand to hand. Eno’s artistry is so subtle it almost goes unnoticed; the brilliance of this piece lies in just how unremarkable it is. These are all people we know and interact with, and they are facing the same struggles we all face, though some to greater or lesser degree. Eno’s dialogue is utterly believable, except possibly in the case of the Money Manager (played hysterically by Marshall York), who twists and wraps words into such convolutions they are barely recognizable. Maybe that’s what Money Managers do.

It’s important to note that this is one of the largest resident companies in the city, and they aren’t getting paid a dime. This realization washes over the audience as the actors take their places for their final, elegant bows. In times of trouble, art will persevere, even if it means the artists themselves don’t get paid. As one of the characters in Erin Courtney’s Severed states, “Being an actor is a crap job anyway. I mean financially. So most actors have some family support or they scrap around temping or waiting tables and they keep their cost of living low. You know? So the recession, in a way doesn’t hit the young actors as hard because we have no money anyway- and we signed on for that-”

The Great Recession runs from November 2oth through December 30th at The Flea Theater, 41 White Street in SoHo. For more information and tickets, visit their website at www.theflea.org

Dark Heart is no Heart of Darkness, and this is a very good thing

2009-09-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

Steve Martin once did a segment on a late night talk show extolling the virtues and lamenting the demise of the properly timed pratfall. He made a statement something to the effect that “no one puts the time and effort into the stumble and the trip anymore.” Someone needs to point this out to Richard Lovejoy, because he apparently missed that memo. The first few minutes of The Dark Heart of Meteorology is nothing but Mr. Lovejoy slipping and sliding his way onstage, and subsequently into the dark hearts of the audience. There is something about this performer that exudes presence, the way some men and women do the same with their sexuality just by walking down the street, without trying or even seemingly being aware of it. Richard Lovejoy does the same thing when he takes the stage, making his transformation into the disturbingly sane ex-weatherman Franklin Elijah White appear effortless. From the moment he bursts onstage he is captivating.

Which is not to say his performance, or this show, is flawless. What works here is the humor, ranging from subtle to somewhat over the top. Thankfully, most of the show manages to keep the laughter rolling at an almost feverish pace. When the path begins to meander into deeper philosophical issues, much like Marlow traveling down the river, Meteorology is just not as effective. Since the crux of the show hinges on these deeper issues, the climax doesn’t have the impact that it could, but not because of any flaws in the performance or staging. The script is just not quite focused enough to hit the heights it is trying to scale.

For those who need to know what the show is about, let’s just say it follows a somewhat disenchanted meteorologist (from a long line of meteorologists) on his personal journey, as he tours lecture hall after addiction/recovery clinic after theatrical venue, spreading his gospel of “we may be wrecking the planet, but she started it!” Needless to say, along the way he makes some discoveries about himself, and therein lies the play.

But forget about questions like “Why are we here?” (or more appropriately, “Why should we be here?”). This show promises a good time, and it makes good on that promise. In these dark times, what people really need is a genuine laugh, an experience that reminds them that life is funny sometimes, and that it’s okay to laugh, and to love. It’s also okay to laugh at the funny man who just fell on his ass. Joseph Conrad may not approve, but Homer Simpson does, when he gets the joke.

The Dark Heart of Meteorology is presented by Horse Trade Theater Group & The Assembly, and features Richard Lovejoy as Franklin Elijah White and Audrey Crabtree as Sarah. It was written by Stephen Aubrey, directed by Jess Chayes, designed by Nick Benacerraf & Jonathan Cottle (scenic design), Stacey Boggs (lights), Alex Koch & Daniel Brodie (video), and Asa Wember (sound). Dramaturgy was provided by Edward Bauer, and the production was stage managed by Rachel Silverman.

The show runs September 22nd through October 14th, 2009. Visit horsetrade.info for show schedule and ticket information. Support live theater!

As You Like It a shining star in Bushwick Shakes’ crown

2009-08-21T21:46:00.000-07:00

One of two things usually happens when I go see a production of a play by William Shakespeare: either it is so bad that I want to leave the theater at the earliest opportunity, or it thrills me so much I feel like leaping out of my chair and rushing onstage to participate in the bluster and boisterousness. Usually, more often than not unfortunately, it is the first scenario that transpires, prompting me to locate a seat as close to the exit as possible so I can make my speedy getaway.

So it is with great pleasure that I greet a phenomenally talented new company of playmakers, one that seems destined for greatness. They are called Bushwick Shakespeare Repertory, and the production of As You Like It that I witnessed at the 78^th Street Theater Lab is about as good as it gets. When a production of Shakespeare's work is this good it’s hard not to crow about it.

Let’s start with the direction by Katherine Harte-DeCoux. This is a woman who clearly knows her stuff, both in regards to the playwright and to the era she chose to set the play in, a sort of fantasy America circa the 1930’s. I say fantasy because the world didn’t attempt to be absolutely faithful to the time period. Influences from both the 1920’s and 1940’s crept into the play, but they did not detract from it. Shakespeare himself didn’t seem to mind writing anachronisms into his plays, so why should we be bothered by them? As long as the story is served, I say anachronize away!

The cutting of the script was excellent; gone was the deus ex machina of Hymen descending from Heaven to clear everything up. Gone also were Shakespeare’s ballads, replaced instead by foot-stomping, knee-clapping bluegrass from the 1930’s, performed by the actors with the support of Amanda Gookin on cello and Michael Halpern on drums. Amanda and Michael also provided almost constant underscoring in a way that didn’t detract from the on-stage action (they themselves were in full view of the audience) and provided cover for the fairly rapid set changes.

The set was gorgeous yet simple. A beautiful tree constructed of recycled material proved the centerpiece, with a couple of pieces of furniture surrounding it. Tables, chairs, a folding screen, not much was necessary to conjure the Forest of Arden and the Duke’s court. The costumes were fun and gay, the ladies at court appearing as flappers, the country folk as rustics, and the exiled court in stylish summer suits. There were plenty of fedoras all round.

The company itself is exclusively female, with guest actors being brought in for some of the male roles. Many of the traditionally male roles are performed by the female members of the ensemble, a fact which doesn’t bother me in the least, as anyone who has taken my transgender performance in Shakespeare workshops can attest. In the case of this play, there were four men playing five roles, with nine women playing the remaining fourteen parts, including Whitney Kimball Long, who played both an Arden lord and the comedically brusque wrestler Charles with aplomb; Jordan Boughrum as Touchstone the Clown, slightly Becktt-esque in appearance and demeanor; and Michelle Foytek, a fabulous actor who nearly stole the show as the moonshine swilling Jaques. Melanie Stroh did an able job as the two Dukes, distinguishing between the “evil” Duke Frederick and the “good” Duke Senior nicely. Hannah Sloat was delightful in the dual roles of Adam & Audrey, while the two leading ladies, Tiffany Baker as Celia and Julia Crockett as Rosalind found just the right balance of poise, charm, and humor in their roles; they also made those flapper costumes look really elegant.

Not to forget those men. All four were rock solid: Mark August was thoroughly convincing as Orlando, the object of Rosalind's affections, amusing the audience with his banjo-strumming and muscle flexing. Chris Cornwell as Amiens got a chance to show off his singing voice as well, and Matthew Rini performed his two roles admirably, particularly the part of Silvius, stalwart lover in pursuit of his heart’s affection in the form of Phebe, played slightly manically by Jordan McFadden. The stand-out of the guys, however, was Ryan Feyk as the scheming Oliver, perhaps because he played his villain (and who doesn’t love the villain?) with a veracious sincerity that bordered on piousness; you cannot but help take it to heart when Oliver says, “I do not shame to tell you what I was, since my conversion so sweetly tastes, being the thing I am.”

A final note: The wrestling match was good old fashioned fun. Choreographed by Nathan DeCoux with a whimsical style, it brought just the right feel to the ever so important first act, establishing the mood for the rest of the evening and letting us know that we, the audience, truly were in good hands.

As You Like It runs August 12^th through August 23^rd at the 78^th Street Theatre Lab, 236 West 78^th Street, New York 10024. Produced by the Bushwick Shakespeare Repertory. Visit www.bushwickshakes.com for more info.

Masters Young & Old at the Cherry Lane

2009-05-28T23:31:00.000-07:00

The Painters Project, Theater Three Collaborative’s new play at The Cherry Lane Theatre, presents a slew of fresh young talent guided by the wise hand of a theater maestro. George Bartenieff conceived, directed, and appears briefly in this piece, but it is the seven young writer/performers who make this piece truly glow.

There is no credited set designer, but the lighting design by Alexander Bartenieff is deftly handled, and utilizes the limited instrumentation to full advantage. The set itself consists of easels, chairs, tables, and all the accoutrements of a painter’s studio; at the top of the show it is piled in a veritable pyramid of wooden limbs, but it quickly transforms into a humble artistic abode as the lights dim for the first scene.

After a prologue wherein we are introduced to “The Old Painter” (Bartenieff, in a silent role that speaks volumes), we meet seven famous artists, who present slices of their lives as imagined through the eyes of our young performers. Each painter is featured in several scenes, and if I have any criticisms of this show, it is that there may have been too many scenes overall; a little judicious editing could have made it run more smoothly. There were a few moments when a good ending point was reached, and the performer would then appear for one or two more scenes. The other slightly awkward choice with this piece is that although each performer appeared by themselves, they were often onstage with other imaginary characters; this wouldn’t usually bother me, but the imaginary characters in these segments were awfully talkative.

The first artist up was Salvador Dali, as performed by Sophia Remolde. Sophia delivered a very physical performance, one that was at once grounded and expressive. She seemed incredibly connected to her character, and as the evening wore on it quickly became apparent that all the performers had made very strong connections to the artists they were portraying. Remolde’s Dali was a lot of fun, both in her physicality and in the warmth and humanity she brought to the artist. Dali’s several speeches to his father were particularly poignant, as were the moments when Remolde donned Dali’s trademark clothing and mustache.

Tristan Grigsby was next with his incredibly moving Vincent Van Gogh. On the one hand Grigsby’s Van Gogh seemed a little on the simple side, yet he managed to inject humor and not a little anger in just the right amount so that the audience could not just write off this particular artist as merely crazy. Tristan’s body was taut with tension, as if he were a coiled spring full of gushing energy, just waiting to unwind.

Dinh Q. Doan finished out the first act with René Magritte. At first I was not sure what to make of Doan’s childlike exuberance, until it became obvious this Magritte actually was a child, at which point the performance took on a magical air, one that only intensified throughout the piece. The specificity of Doan’s actions was delightful, providing a strong ending to a strong first act.

The second act was not quite as strong. David Shih had some very nice moments as Gustav Klimt, particularly when he made his entrance into a meeting in progress of what would become the Vienna Secession. Other scenes were a little more comical, not necessarily intentionally so, as when Klimt pulled a firearm on some would-be burglars.

Dara O’Brien followed with her take on Edward Hopper, which was a little subdued and dare I say lost amongst the action and excitement of the artists surrounding her. Both her writing and her performance style seemed quiet and relaxed compared with the bluster of her fellows, and unfortunately she didn’t quite have the intensity or ability to stand toe to toe with the more famous artistes.

Francis Bacon was brought to life by Mauro Bossi, first in a scene that was almost painful to watch, involving Bacon’s abuse at the hands of his father, and later in scenes explaining how Bacon arrived at his own particular idiom. Bossi staggered through much of his scenes like a drunkard, which made sense in the final scene, when he was actually supposed to be drunk. To his credit, Bossi really blossomed in this final scene, making me almost forget the excesses of the earlier ones.

The play ended with Guenivere Donohue playing Jackson Pollock, and she did a wonderful job of channeling Pollock’s passion for paint. Donohue delivered a moving performance, as well as showed her potential as a playwright with these final scenes of the play. All of the participants proved that they are multi-talented, both as performers and writers (each of the performers wrote their own piece, after some inspiration from Mr. Bartenieff). I for one am looking forward to seeing where these particular artists’ journeys will carry them.

The Painters Project runs May 21-23 & 28-30, 2009, at The Cherry Lane Theatre; visit

www.cherrylanetheatre.org for more information.

Flux Ensemble's Pretty Theft steals more than your heart...

2009-04-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

Flux Theatre Ensemble’s Pretty Theft is a near-flawless production that kept me spellbound from start to finish. Indeed, as the play ended, I found I needed several minutes to both dry my eyes and process the elegant beauty of what I had just witnessed.

A wonderful example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, each magnificent detail, from the heartfelt interweaving of the character’s lives in Adam Szymkowicz’s clever script to the powerful performances of the magnificent ensemble, from Heather Cohn’s deceptively simple set design to the near omnipresent sounds conceived by Kevin Fuller, from Ashley Martinez’s choreography to the vision of director Angela Astle that brought everything together, all of these elements combine to create an effect that inspires the spirit and dazzles the soul.

So many things touched me about this production, it’s hard to know where even to begin. I wasn’t sure at first what to make of the space, with its white walls and unblocked windows, along with its preponderance of pink; I quickly decided I preferred this particular space for this piece over the usual black-box type set-up. My next question was about the length of the scenes towards the beginning, which seemed like very short vignettes. But as the scenes began to weave together, I began to appreciate the artistry of the writing, which dropped tantalizing hints about what was going on in ways that disguised what was really going on.

The story of the play is hard to discuss without giving away some key plot points that would diminish the impact of the play, so suffice it to say that the action primarily revolves around the characters of Allegra (played by Marnie Schulenburg) and Joe (Brian Pracht), her ward at a special care facility. Along the way we meet Allegra’s “friend” Suzy (Maria Portman Kelly), the thief Marco (Todd D’Amour), the boyfriend Bobby (Zack Robidas), and a slew of other characters & ballerinas (played by Candice Holdorf, Lynn Kenny, & Cotton Wright). Every performance is nuanced and extremely well crafted; Marnie Schulenburg’s sometimes withdrawn but always-searching-for-something portrayal of Allegra, Todd D’Amour’s delightfully creepy thief of we know not what, Cotton Wright’s marvelous turn as Allegra’s emotionally detached mother, Candice Holdorf’s suspicious yet hopeful waitress, Zack Robidas’s hysterical delivery as Bobby the boyfriend, Maria Portman Kelly’s touching portrayal of a girl who sees herself as ugly and just wants to be loved by anyone, Lynn Kenny’s Nurse Ratchet-like Supervisor, and Brian Pracht’s beautiful, tear-jerking performance as Joe. This ensemble could easily stand in the ranks of the greatest ensembles ever assembled: The Group Theater, Steppenwolf, The Royal Shakespeare Company… and Flux Theatre Ensemble.

The staging was simple yet elegant, utilizing the set (comprised of a central raised platform, a couple of workout bars, a pair of cubes, table and chairs, and some movable flats) in interesting ways that only deepened the meaning of the story. Transitions were nearly seemless, and never was there the feeling of impatience one sometimes gets while waiting for the action to continue. This was in part aided by the subtle-yet-clever sound design of Kevin Fuller, which provided quite a bit of underscoring to the show. The lighting design by Andy Fritsch also added a lot to the sheer visual beauty of this show.

Pretty Theft is one of the very few shows that I would wish an open-ended commercial run on, so that everyone could get a chance to experience the beauty of live theatre in a meaningful way. And it could easily live among the best and brightest Broadway has to offer. One can only wish…

Flux Theatre Ensemble’s production of Adam Szymkowicz’s Pretty Theft runs through May 17 at The Access Theater Gallery, 380 Broadway, 4^th Floor. For tickets and more information, please visit www.fluxtheatre.org

Lost & Foundling; Kaspar Hauser Rocks at The Flea

2009-03-02T15:23:00.000-08:00

There is so much good to be said about Kaspar Hauser: A Foundling’s Opera, it’s hard to know where to start. How about with comparisons? As I exited the theater, I overheard quite a few, from Ludwig Van Beethoven to Stephen Sondheim to The Dresden Dolls. There was definitely an air reminiscent of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, most notably when the ensemble comes together for the final swelling chorus, which brought tears to my eyes and made more than a few people in the audience gasp. Powerful, powerful stuff.

This version of the Kaspar Hauser story was written by Elizabeth Swados and Erin Courtney, with music composed by Swados (who also helmed the production as director). Although being billed as a world premiere at The Flea Theater, according to Ms. Swados’ program note, she has been working on this piece for ten years, with a lot of people putting in a lot of time helping to develop it. And it shows. Although there is plenty of debate in theatre circles about shows undergoing “endless development”, there is something very satisfying about seeing a production that has had so much time, energy, and love put into it. For me, these shows are truly masterpieces, the only difference between them and, say, a Rembrandt or a Manet being in the ephemeral nature of theatre, the fact that the art exists only for the span of time it takes to present it to the audience, and then it lives on only in the memory of that audience. And yet, theatre survives as an art form, even through each successive generation's cries of “Theatre is Dead!” How can it be, when we are given such beautiful reminders of the vibrancy of theater as the work of master artists like Elizabeth Swados, Erin Courtney, and others?

But I digress. The ensemble of Kaspar was entertaining to watch, being composed primarily of Bats (the resident acting company at The Flea), along with reinforcements in the form of Swados’ collaborators such as Preston Martin (as Kaspar) and Eliza Poehlman (as Kaspar’s Mother). Youthful and full of energy, the Bats tend to tackle their material with the spunky enthusiasm of recent or soon-to-be drama school graduates, but this isn’t always a bad thing; along with the cocky attitude, there is a polish and a confidence that good training often instills, and the Bats exhibit both in spades. Perhaps it’s just the knowledge that they are working on some of the best material by the best creators under the guidance of the best theater practitioners in town.

John McDermott’s set was practical and functional, elegant in it’s versatility, and slyly subtle in it’s evocation of Bavarian aesthetics. The benches, tables, and seats were so very clever, as were the moving platforms and stairs, complete with choreographed brake setting. The lighting by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew and sound design by Sam Goldman was perfectly suited to the gothic nature of the play. Normandy Sherwood’s costume choices were particularly apt, and the actors inhabited their costumes well; having performed in Restoration-era dresses, I know how difficult those changes can be, and turning the entire company from villagers to nobles in the space of a few minutes (well covered by a clever and timely speech) is no small task, but somehow the actors were able to pull it off.

Kris Kukul provided the musical direction, as well as performed in the small but powerful orchestra. The score itself was intense, with moments of sublime beauty; for example Kaspar’s Mother, played by Eliza Poehlman, had several sweet ballads that served almost as lullabies, a welcome counterpoint to harder sounds of the villagers or scientists studying Kaspar. Preston Martin as Kaspar did not get to show off his vocal ability so much as polish his acting chops, but there were some moments. The true musical star here was the ensemble, as they tackled a libretto that continued to build & build to its exciting climax.

Kaspar Hauser is a welcome addition to the canon of adaptations of a story that has captured the imaginations of many for almost two centuries now, as well as to the collection of dark and gritty musical theatre pieces we have been fascinated by for centuries, but which have only recently come back into vogue in the past few decades.

It opened on February 28th, 2009, and continues through March 28th, 2009, at The Flea Theater, 41 White Street (between Broadway & Church).

For more information & tickets visit: www.theflea.org

The End, For Good or Evil, is Nigh, in Johnna Adams' Angel Eaters Trilogy

2008-11-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

These plays make me happy. Let me say that again, in case it's not clear: The three plays by Johnna Adams making up The Angel Eaters Trilogy (Angel Eaters, Rattlers, and 8 Little Antichrists), currently running at The Wings Theater and produced by Flux Theatre Ensemble, make me extremely happy. I'll say it again before this review is over, but I walked out of each of these shows feeling so friggin' happy I didn't know what to do with myself. Seldom has a theater experience left me feeling so fulfilled, and in such a downright pleasant and generally, no, specifically, good mood, and when questing for the reason, I had to ask myself why?

Which is not to say these plays were perfect, by any means. Yes, this was truly one of the most uplifting and satisfying theater experiences of my life. Yes, I feel like a giddy adolescent fanboy geek about to launch into a discourse on the timelessness of the original Star Wars trilogy. Yes, I want everybody I've ever met, known, or had any contact with to drop what they are doing and rush out to see these shows NOW!!! But why?

I'll start, as I usually do, with the scripts. While comprising a set of linked stories, each play stands on it's own. However, the full experience is so satisfying, I have to encourage you to see all three shows, preferably in chronological order, but see them however you can (although the third play does include numerous references to the previous two pieces that make it highly amusing). Johnna Adams' writing is crystalline; she is a real pro, exhibiting a mastery of craft that is refreshing in it's familiarity. Everything feels like something I've seen, but it's not; watching these shows lulled me into comfortability, then snatched me by the throat and dragged me into a completely unexpected place. The styles of each piece were different, sometimes completely so, but the world created was linked in such a seamless manner that it just felt right. Yes, Angel Eaters, being set in Oklahoma in the era of the Great Depression, did conjure fleeting reminisences of Steinbeck and The Rainmaker, while Rattlers 70's era characters sometimes evoked those films that inspired Quentin Tarantino at his best, and 8 Little Antichrists slightly futuristic end-of-daysing had enough pop culture references to make my head nearly spin like Linda Blair's (I particularly was amused by a scene riffing on the sci-fi brilliance of Ridley Scott); the beauty of the scripts are that they work entirely on their own with no referencing to what has come before (except you really should know about the Empire of Disney for some of the jokes in the third play to land successfully). Adams has managed to take an ages old tale of good vs. evil and make it refreshingly her own. And dammit, these plays would make a kick-ass mini-series on the Sci Fi Network, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible.

Before continuing to rave on and on, and repeating over and over that I am still so freaking happy about these shows, I should do my duty as a critic and theater artist and get my complaints out of the way so I can move on to the good stuff. Since I raved about the scripts, I should point out that there were some places I wasn't as happy with, and it may have been due to the writing, or the acting, or even the staging, though I tend to think it was probably a combination of elements. While I found most of the second play, Rattlers, hilarious, there were a couple of characters and scenes that felt a little unnecessary. As much as I rail against needless exposition, in these case I would have preferred those characters to be cut completely, and the necessary info to have been inserted via the dreaded exposition, because the play kind of stalled when veering away from the relationships I cared about (more on that later). In general, the acting was at a particularly good level with few exceptions, and I tend to be forgiving towards actors who seem a little out of place (they are being given the opportunity to learn from those around them; yes, I was an acting teacher too at one point). Each of these shows has performances that are a little rough around the edges, especially compared to the polish of some of the better performers. At the same time, there are some actors that are downright surprising in their ability to start off seeming to be one thing, and transforming into something completely and delightfully other. The third play, 8 Little Antichrists, suffered the most in its ambition, with sequences that are very difficult to evoke using the magic of stagecraft; what worked, worked well, what didn't thankfully didn't detract from the rest of the show, and was more than made up for by goddam cheerfulness of whole proposition. Never has the apocalypse been orchestrated in such an obtuse way, but such a delightful ringmaster.

Alright, I'm starting to rave again, and I was talking about what I didn't like. On to what I did: the set, designed by Caleb Levengood, was wonderful, and transformed beautifully from show to show. The lights and costumes did their jobs, but the sound design sort of punched me in the face, and it was such a good pain. Usually I want to not notice design elements, I want them unobtrusive, I don't want to be sitting there thinking "that was a beautiful light transition", but in these plays the sound design was so important and necessary, and Asa Wembler did a remarkable job, not only with the supporting sounds and ambience, but with the selection of music, which can sometimes make or break a show (my apologies if someone else picked the music, but it was darn good, whoever chose it).

Finally, the acting: there were so many excellent performances, but I want to mention a few specifically. In Angel Eaters, Gregory Waller nearly ran away with the show with his nuanced performance of Fortune Clay; Marni Schulenberg was sometimes innocent, sometimes creepy, in the best possessed way; and Cotton Wright's appearances as Azazyel made me wish that she could have appeared in all the shows, a stunning combination of presence, showmanship, and make-up that left me wanting more. The Rattlers cast was full of brilliance, but the chemistry ignited between Matthew Crosby's Ted and Richard B. Watson's Everett was electrifying, the sorts of performance that can lead to an actor having to start memorizing speeches about who they'd like to thank; every line, every expression, was a pearl, and the audience was so mesmerized by these two characters that applause spontaneously erupted at the end of their first scene (they also managed to pull audience members out of their seats for a standing ovation at the end, a testament to their remarkable performances and the amazing relationship between these men crafted by Ms. Adams' words). In the final show, 8 Little Antichrists, Candice Holdorff had the lion's share of the work, playing six different characters, three of which end up in a Matrix-esque battle with each other in one of the most entertaining scenes I can ever remember in a theater. Jake Alexander and Joe Mathers were very much fun to watch as the convicts Thump & Fibber, and Zack Robidas was one of those very pleasant surprises, delivering a quite literally transformative performance as Jeremy. But the gem of the evening was August Schulenburg as the mysterious(?) Ezekiel; yes, he may have been channelling a little Mike Myers & Jim Carey, and more than a little Pee-Wee Herman (sorry, I meant Paul Reubens), but that certainly didn't take away from the fact that he was frikkin' HI-larious. His performance, his timing, his delivery were so spot-on I was shivering with anticipation for the next amazing thing that would happen while he was on stage.

Alright, so, all in all, one of the best theatre experiences... ever! You must see these shows! They are more than entertaining, they are Entertainments with a capital E! Congratulations Flux and Johnna!

For schedule & ticket info, visit www.fluxtheatre.org. The Angel Eaters Trilogy continues thru November 22 at The Wings Theatre, 154 Christopher Street

Thomas Bradshaw's Dawn at the Flea Theater

2008-11-16T12:19:00.000-08:00

I would be remiss as a reviewer if I didn't mention that I saw this piece a month after working on Thomas Bradshaw's Southern Promises, directed beautifully by Jose Zayas, at PS 122 back in September; I tried to not let my admiration for him as a storyteller and wordsmith color my feelings, but I have to say I consider him one of the most exciting and important dramatists working at the moment, and Dawn is a prime example of why.

What starts as an intense character study of Hampton, a lonely, aging alcoholic estranged from his family (played humanely by Gerry Bamman), quickly turns into melodrama of the highest order when that same family is sucked into a battle for Hampton's very survival, and ultimately his soul. I use melodrama not in the derogatory sense of poor acting and/or directing of somewhat base material, but in the sense that this is a story crafted carefully for the stage, every moment heightened beyond that of the tedium of normal, everyday existence. Although there are moments in the play when I found myself wondering if the wasn't yearning for a screen treatment, ultimately the power of the piece rests in the in-your-face attitude and over-the-top intensity of seeing these human beings in these situations, with no place to go but space in front of the audience's eyes. Yes, this story could exist quite nicely on a screen someplace, but this piece of art works only in the presence of its audience, a distinction that draws the line between a morality fable and a trite movie-of-the-week, and places this production squarely on the side of art.

This production reaches that level of artistic excellence not only through Mr. Bradshaw's carefully constructed dialogue, but also through the able-bodied direction of Jim Simpson (also The Flea Theater's Artistic Director), the intelligent world created by the designers (Michael Goldsheft on set, Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew on lights, Brandon Wolcott on sound, and Claudia Brown with costumes), and not the least through the fiercely committed performances of the actors. While some performers were on stage for a relatively short period compared to Bramman's near omnipresence, I couldn't help but think of this cast as an ensemble. Drew Hildenbrand was electric in the role of Steven, Hampton's caring and concerned son who harbors a dark secret; Hildenbrand displays a virtuosity of emotion and changing character traits that pulls the audience from humor to disgust in the space of an instant. Jenny Seastone Stern doesn't disappoint as Crissy, the 14-year-old grandaughter of Hampton who has what some might call an unhealthy obsession with certain types of electronic entertainments; particular moments between Stern and Hildebrand will make the most jaded theatre-goer squirm, even those who don't have children of their own. Kate Benson plays Laura, Hampton's estranged daughter and mother to Crissy, with an intensity perfectly suited to the part; when Laura is cold, she is so very cold, and when she is raging, you don't want to be in her way. Benson and Stern share a scene about the legitamacy of incest that must have been a blast to work on, a scene that was as amusing as it was horrifying, and is a perfect example of the type of moment that in the hands of less capable actors or a less suited director could have made the entire production fall flat. Instead, we have been given another stellar jewel in the firmament of modern playwriting, thanks to the dedication and hard work of all those involved on this production.

This season is promising a lot, and so far it has been delivering. I would easily place Thomas Bradshaw's Dawn alongside a handful of others, including Sarah Kane's Blasted at Soho Rep and the recent revival of Blackwatch at St. Anne's Warehouse, as productions not to be missed this year. And if you are not familiar with The Flea Theater at this point, Dawn makes a great entry-point into a company that continues to offer challenging, insightful and inciting theatre for the twenty-first century.

Thomas Bradshaw's Dawn, directed by Jim Simpson, runs continues its run at The Flea Theater, 41 White Street, Tribeca, from November 9th through December 6th. It features Gerry Bamman, Kate Benson, Laura Esterman, Drew Hildebrand, Jenny Seastone Stern, Irene Walsh, & members of the Bat Theater Company. Check out www.theflea.org for schedules, ticket and contact information.

I'm back! Where Have I Been?

2008-11-16T12:07:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update: My reviews stopped flowing as I began to get busy with my own work, starting this summer with the FringeNYC production of Maura Campbell's Rosalee Was Here, directed by yours truly, and continuing into the fall with various projects. I was assistant stage manager on Thomas Bradshaw's Southern Promises at PS122 in September, and went right into production on Sheila Callaghan's 13P offering, Crawl Fade to White, in October. Both shows were well received, and I had a blast working on them; in the meantime, my intake of other productions slowed dramatically, but I did see some stuff, and I'll probably get around to posting reviews of some of those shows shortly. In the meantime, this week was fruitful, and I will be putting up reviews of Thomas Bradshaw's Dawn, which just opened at the The Flea Theater under Jim Simpson's direction, and Flux Theatre Ensemble's Angel Eaters Trilogy by Johnna Adams, which runs through next week. Please check these shows out, you will not be disappointed in any of them.

Cheers! Go see some shows!

Must-See Theatre: Vendetta Chrome & I, Object

2008-06-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

Alright, I'm still playing catch-up, and full reviews of these will follow, I promise! Between my reading of Connor Ratliff's excellent script, People Like You, this past Monday at Theater For The New City, which featured Danaher Dempsey, Michael Esper, Birgit Huppuch, and Sammy Tunis, and auditions the rest of the week for my FringeNYC production of Maura Campbell's poignant Rosalee Was Here, I'm not as on the ball as I wish about keeping this blogging thing up. Having said that, I want to make sure that you don't miss a couple of knock-out shows that deserve to be seen again and again (I would see them both again anyway, if not for these pesky auditions!).

Let me start with Adhesive Theatre Company's production of I, Object at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn, part of the Brick's Film Festival: a Theatre Festival. One more night only (Thursday, June 19th), this piece was beautifully composed and executed on-stage by company members Corey Einbinder, Kalle Macrides, and Jared Mezzochi, with support from a stellar group of technicians and puppeteers. A moving tribute to life with technology, and technology with life, along with powerful statements about our relationships with the "stuff" in our life. I have a feeling this show will be seen again, but for now, if you have a chance to get out to the Brick this Thursday, you won't regret it.

Now for Sally Oswald's Vendetta Chrome, running as part of Clubbed Thumb's Summerworks 2008 Festival through this Saturday, June 21st. If you miss this one, you will regret it. This is a script that has something going for it that all too few new plays can say: it's fun. Pure, unadulterated fun. And not in a sketch-comedy, Neo-futurist, Upright Citizen's Brigade way. Yes, those shows can be great fun for those of us in the MTV generation, with our Attention Deficits and instant gratification syndromes, who can only take our fun in short, compulsive bursts. Here, Sally Oswald delivers an entire full-length play that manages to sustain a wonderful feeling of wimsy, brimming with intelligence and wit balanced with pulse-pounding excitement and sometimes terror; with stellar acting by a truly gifted ensemble cast, brilliantly staged by director Alexis Poledouris, with choreography by Tracy Bersley. The truly gifted cast, in no particular order, included Jeanine Serralles, Tracee Chimo, Rebecca Hart, Caroline Tamas, Lisa Rafaela Clair, Sam Breslin Wright, Jenny Seastone Stern, Ginger Eckert, and Ariani Venturi making her New York debut as the title character, the innocent-but-oh-so-eager Vendetta. Full review to follow, but take it from me, you gotta see this one!

Cheers, and Happy Play Going!

Beware of Vicious Dogs, but don't let them keep you away!

2008-06-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the sheer purity of the intellect can be frighteningly beautiful. And sometimes the power of raw emotion can be beautifully frightening. Dan Safer and his Witness Relocation crew manage to combine the beauty, purity, power, and sheer terror of emotion and intellect into an erratic yet hauntingly poignant whole. Using elements of dance, music, and sketch comedy improv, along with video installation and finely nuanced acting, Witness Relocation managed to take me on a ride I won’t soon forget.

Unfamiliar with Dan’s work, I had planned on attending the performance to see the beautiful and immensely talented Laura Stinger, who I had first seen last year in Two Headed Calf’s Drum of the Waves of Horikawa at HERE (a show I still hold up as a benchmark for any other production to attempt to surpass, thanks to the brilliant work of director Brook O’Hara and her dedicated company of actors, musicians, and technicians). Laura then impressed me immensely in her one woman show, Keeping It Down, which I caught during Andrew Dinwiddie’s wonderful Catch series presented at PS122. There are moments watching Laura perform that literally take my breath away.

Being such a fan of Drum of the Waves, I was pleased to see Mike Mikos listed in the program, another fine member of the Two Headed Calf Ensemble. Still not having a clue what to expect, I settled back in my seat, secure in the knowledge that if there were actors of Mike and Laura’s caliber in the company, I was in for a thrilling ride. I wasn’t wrong in that assumption.

Turns out, there are quite a few mighty fine ensemble companies creating work out there. I might be a little late jumping on the Witness Relocation bandwagon, but it’s going to take a helluva a lot to force me off. Dan Safer is a genius, and the performers and technical artists he’s gathered together are of the finest quality. Heather Christian and Sean Donovan, the two performers I was unfamiliar with, were brilliant in their own rights. Sean’s video performance of what appeared to be a wayward astronaut filled me with so much mirth I nearly fell out of my chair, I was laughing so hard. And Heather’s rage at her husband’s footwear was truly frightening and awe-inspiring.

Kaz Phillips video design and Ryan Maeker’s sound design rocked. There has lately been a trend in smaller, experimental theatre groups to emulate or capture (consciously or sub-consciously) the feeling of attending a punk rock concert for the first time, and I personally don’t see this as a trend that needs changing. This show had all the energy, emotion, and ideas of a good musical concert, and a whole lot more. And unlike music concerts, I didn’t have any trouble understanding the lyrics, only these lyrics weren’t just words, but images and motion created by a power-house ensemble. Kudos, Dan Safer and company!

Witness Relocation’s Vicious Dogs On Premises opened on May 29th and continues through June 14th 2008, Tues-Sat at 8pm, with extra 10pm shows on the final Friday and Saturday. Performed at the Ontological Theater at St. Mark’s Church, Second Ave & 10th St.

Apologies for my Lack of Blogging....

2008-04-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

I've seen a ton of great things recently, both theatre and music-wise, and there's a ton going on right now. I promise I'll get reviews up for every show and event soon, just getting bogged down at work (that pesky million dollar fundraiser, which we're very nearly halfway thru, Gods bless!).

I do have to say I'm particularly pleased and proud of the three shows we have up and running at the moment. They all have their weaknesses, but their strengths make them so worthwhile. Julie White, Brian Hutchison and the amazing cast of Liz Flahive's From Up Here, Pam MacKinnon's super direction and the wonderful acting of the "boys" (Michael Esper and Gideon Banner) in Itamar Moses' clever The Four Of Us, and a beautiful production brought to life by an ensemble that truly kicks some major @$$ in Caryl Churchill's Top Girls (Martha Plympton, Marissa Tomei, Mary Beth Hurt and Elizabeth Marvel are ferocious, and the rest of the girls really pull their own weight). If you haven't seen a show at Manhattan Theatre Club, or have been away for awhile, now is the time to give us another shot.

Also this month, Gotham Girls Roller Derby is back! Not just a bizarre sporting event, it's a way of life, and may eventually bring Peace to the World. If only we could all work out our differences by strapping on skates and jammin'!

Still have a couple of musical performances by Kiara Bianco on Sundays at The Bitter End, and Amy Crawford is back in town, you can catch Amy at The Porch on Saturday the 26th. Next month sees the return of Apes & Androids, in August we have the reunion of The 2 Skinnee J's, and in June, Less the Band will be playing. Let the good times roll!

Finally, for those who Burn Wheels or are wondering what the fuss is all about, check out BurningWheel.org. Abzu has been burning the midnight oil to continue creating the finest gaming products available, with some exciting products coming up, all beautifully designed by Luke Crane and company. If you didn't already know, gaming has always been a big part of my life, and it will always have a special place in my heart; so it's no small thing for me to crow about Burning Wheel and it's mission to create the most compelling story-telling experiences possible, which it succeeds at brilliantly.

So, in ending, let me just say I love you all, and thank you all so much for welcoming me back to this city that I love in the way that you have! Now go see some shows!

Toby's Rex For Music in NYC in April

2008-03-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

Okay, ladies and germs, 'ere we go!

First off, we have two lovely ladies performing this very weekend:

Sunday night, March 30th, sees the return of Miss Kiara Bianco from her native Italia. Kiara begins her residency at The Bitter End (147 Bleecker St. in the Village) this Sunday at 9:30pm, and continues Sunday evenings through April (April 6th, 20th, and 27th, all at 9:30pm). If you haven't caught her yet, this little spitfire is on an upwardly rocketing course, proving herself both vocally with her throaty, sexy sound, and lyrically with her acerbic, biting songwriting. http://www.myspace.com/kiarabianco or http://www.kiarabianco.com/

Later on in the evening (also Sunday, March 30th), the amazing Stephanie Nilles throws a show at the Sidewalk Cafe (94 Avenue A) at 11ish (following Andrew Duncan at 10pm). Stephanie puts on a helluva show, and I don't use the word "amazing" lightly in regards to this talented young lady; after seeing her perform at Caffe Vivaldi a couple of weeks ago, I swore not to miss any more of this clever vixen's vocal stylings. http://www.myspace.com/stephanienilles

Next weekend, Friday April 4th @ 9pm, Rebecca Hart & the Sexy Children perform at The Knitting Factory (74 Leonard Street New York, NY 10013, Tel: (212) 219-3132) with Athena Reich and The Telephones! You can find more info on Rebecca and her sexy friends on facebook, myspace, or at her website: http://www.rebeccahart.net/ If you don't know her work, check her stuff out & go see the show!

Holy Cow! The Lisps have their Homecoming Show this Saturday, April 5th, at Union Hall in Brooklyn @ 8pm! With Drinkup Buttercup and Spanish Prisoner! Yikes, how did this escape me? Go to http://www.myspace.com/thelisps or http://www.unionhallny.com for all the info!

Kiara Bianco plays again on Sunday, March 6th @ The Bitter End, 9:30pm.

Stephanie Nilles plays again Friday, April 11th at 9:30pm @ Caffe Vivaldi (32 Jones St.). Check her out!

Then, on Saturday April 12th, do not miss The Cafe Antarsia Ensemble at the Mehanata House of Gypsy Bulgarian Bar (113 Ludlow Street). Ruth, Nikos, Rami, and Ron bring you a show with some old favorites and some new tunes! This is the group that literally brought me to tears when they staged Ruth's world-operetta The Wellspring earlier this year at The Chocolate Factory. The gypsy bar show is always a lot of fun!
http://www.myspace.com/cafeantarsiaensemble

Kiara is taking a break on Sunday, March 13th, which is a good thing, because at 7:30pm is the Derbytaunt Ball, in honor of our very own Gotham Girls Roller Derby (http://www.myspace.com/ggrd). Help our girls kick off the season with this killer fund-raiser and induction of the new girls!

Wednesday, March 16th, starting at 6pm, the extremely beautiful and talented Amy Crawford plays at The Garage (99 7th Ave South). Amy's music is sweet, soulful, and soothing, with a streak of precociousness. I could compare her to other popular sirens of song-writing, but Amy is better than all those other gals. And her quartet rocks!
http://www.amycrawfordmusic.com/

On Saturday, March 19th, the aptly named New York Times kicks off the evening at Fontana's Bar on the lower East Side (http://www.fontanasnyc.com/). If you like your bands with a healthy dose of garage-band style and punk sensibility, check out the sound of the Times!

Kiara Bianco plays again on Sunday, March 20th, at The Bitter End, 9:30pm.

Amy Crawford plays again at The Perch in Brooklyn on Saturday, March 26th, at 9pm.

Kiara Bianco ends her residency at The Bitter End on Sunday, March 27th, 9:30pm, and hopefully will continue to rock our world for a while longer yet.

Finally, the super exciting news for May is that my two favorite local bands are returning to New York City; The Lisps have their homecoming concert on May 5th, and Apes & Androids have a super duper special show coming up. Details on both will be posted here, as well as at each of the bands respective sites. Check them out!

http://www.myspace.com/thelisps

http://www.myspace.com/apesandandroids

Hope y'all have a great April! Cheers!

The Scariest Isn't Entirely, But It's Damn Close

2008-03-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong, I loved this show! It's good enough I would go back to see it again, and that doesn't happen often.

The title of The Exchange's most recent offering, The Scariest, is full of promise, and it get's really close to delivering. I just wish it were a little, well... scarier. The premise was to get some blessedly good writers to come up with the scariest things they could for a theatre space, because there just isn't really that much out there that is that frightening. A tall order, I think, because I immediately think of The Woman In Black or The Uninvited, two scripts which scared the bejeezus out of me when I first saw them. So how do you get close to those?

One of the reasons this piece might not entirely have worked for me in terms of reaching that heightened panic state I was hoping for was in the choice of material. Most were adaptations of earlier works, taken from Nathaniel Hawthorn, WW Jacobs, Hans Christian Anderson, and Saint John the Apostle's Book of Revelations, and while excellent stories in their original form, they might not have stood up so well in the move (as far as "scary" goes, that is).

The evening opened with a piece entitled Delightful, by Ann Marie Healy, a tone-setting piece delivered admirably by Jouquin Torres, but not all that scary, although morbidly reminiscent of some of the scarier episodes of fifties television (I'm thinking Alfred Hitchcock Presents). I have to admit, The Monkey's Paw is a frightening tale, and the two very different takes presented in this show (both penned by Mark Schultz) were well done and well performed (the first by Jesse Hooker, Mandy Siegfried, and Rebecca Brooksher, the last by Andy Grotelueshen and Angel Desai), but still not scary enough to get to me. Gary Sunshine's The Names of Foods was reminiscent of one of those Asian cult cinema thrillers, but I still wasn't convinced. A little closer to the mark was Dan Dietz's Lobster Boy, which was well performed, again by Joaquin Torres, and a little nerve-wracking. Victoria Stewart played some Night Games, and Liz Duffy Adams showed us The Uses of Fear in their respective pieces, a little too comical to be truly frightening.

My favorite in terms of production value and acting had to be The Apothecary's Daughter by Laura Schellhardt, probably because Mandy Siegfried was just so adorable in the title role; more than adorable, I wanted to take her home with me, and sat there thinking "how can this cute little creature be passed over for that other horrible monster?" (the daughter's adversary was brilliantly and obnoxiously played by Rebecca Brooksher, who I wanted to strangle at times).

And then there was one, and such a brilliant one it was: Kristin Newbom's Revelations, loosely inspired by The Book of Revelation, and featuring the entire cast, plus a couple of surprise guests. What could have been a very cheezy, campy, and ridiculous end to the evening ultimately provided the most chilling moment of the night. So in a sense, it may have been "the scariest" piece in the show, and in terms of writing it was by far my favorite for sheer originality. I did not want to like it at first, and I didn't want to go where it asked me to go, but by the end I was fully along for the ride, and it was a doozy.

I don't know who was responsible for what, but the direction provided by Ari Edelson and Meredith McDonough was admirable, utilizing the space to great effect. There was a single moment that pulled me out of the play, and I won't even mention what it was because you probably won't notice it unless you're sitting where I sat, and even then it may not bug you. The sound design was particularly effective, and the lighting was eerie and spooky.

The writing was excellent, and the performances were great; I felt like these were young actors to watch, actors who are incredibly promising, and, like Shakespeare's Henry V, they will only get better with age. I mean that in the best possible sense, there wasn't a disappointing performance in the evening. Paricularly enchanting (or should I say disturbing?) were Andy Grotelueschen's suitor in The Apothecary's Daughter, Jesse Hooker & Rebecca Brooksher in Finally, Joaquin Torres's narrator in Lobster Boy, Angel Desai's mother in The Third Wish, and the entire cast's performance in Revelations. And of course, Mandy Siegfried as that creepy-cute adorable Apothecary's Daughter, who I still want to take home with me.

The show runs through March at The Theatres at 45 Bleecker.
For more info, go to http://www.exchangenyc.org/

Let's Talk About Apes & Androids...

2008-03-07T18:22:00.000-08:00

Just the name, Apes & Androids, is promise-cramm'd. Conjuring images of Roddy McDowell as Cornelius and Anthony Daniels in gold-plated glory, or the primitive tool-discovering creatures of 2001 and the "more human than" beauty of Rutger Hauer and Sean Young in Bladerunner, one thing is for certain: these guys are sci-fi geeks. No wonder they inspire such loyalty from the NerdCore of NYC.

And why not? It's high time nerds and geeks had their own punk rock electro-synth futurist orchestra. So what if half the lyrics to half their songs consist of "laaaa la-la-la-la-laaaa" (and if you're a fan you know exactly which "la's" I'm referring to there), it makes it really easy to sing along in concert. And the songs that have more challenging lyrics are intelligent, witty, and above all else, catchy.

I attended the free show at The Hiro Ballroom last week, having been won over by A&A on a visit to the city a couple years ago (the same visit that made me decide to come back to the city, I might add), and I'm still humming tunes from the evening, tunes which can be heard on their myspace page or on their very first CD release, Blood Moon. These bright-eyed boys put on a heck of a show, playing for nearly two solid hours, and it would have been longer if not for a blown amp. Wearing snazzy costumes and glam inspired make-up, and supported by their own squad of cheerleaders (including some very talented local dancers like Celia Rowlson-Hall and Christina " Mrs. Action" Lynch Markham), A&A put on a show that won't soon be forgotten by any in attendance. Looking around the crowd, it's obvious they attract a diverse and trendy crowd. Fans of both sexes, orientations and a varitety of races crowded the dance floor, including some fairly high-profile hipsters, like Sammy James, Jr. of The Mooney Suzuki and Reggie Watts, whose one-man show at The Public Theatre earlier in the year was one of the hits of the Under the Radar Festival (Reggie's voice appears on the afore-mentioned Apes & Androids album, Blood Moon).

I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Andy Action for the heads up about this performance. Andy is one of the coolest cats in the biz, and it's always a pleasure to watch him work (I still can't get over his after-party party for his wedding, where something like thirteen bands performed all night, including The Mooney Suzuki, Cardia, Apes & Androids, and The 2 Skinnee J's, and Andy drummed with all but two of them; amazing Action!).

The dancing was frenetic, the music mesmerizing, and the performance epic. All in all, an evening well spent, and I can't encourage anyone enough to check out this high energy, high fun-factor band. I mean for Vader's sake, at the show before this one, giant Cylon heads appeared hovering over the stage. Giant Cylon heads! Seriously! For some folks, it just doesn't get much better than that!

Go to http://www.apesandandroids.com/ or www.myspace.com/apesandandroids for all your apey goodness!

LaMaMa e.t.c. kicks off fundraising campaign, and The Heat Is On!

2008-03-05T15:40:00.000-08:00

So I went to this little variety show the other day to support LaMaMa e.t.c. in their quest to install a new heating/ventilation system. Having been involved in the outfitting and refurbishing of other theatre spaces, I can attest to the costliness of these types of propositions; in this case, the good folks at LaMaMa need to raise $100,000, which really is not that much, all things considered. Here's what they're doing, taken from the program for the March 3rd benefit:

"La MaMa is turning up the heat and we can't do it without the help of our closest friends and Family. We are blasting off our $100,000 campaign to bring heat to our new Archive and exhibition space in the Annex building. The Heat is On! is a series of variety shows celebrating La MaMa artists and benefiting our HVAC (heating ventilating and air-conditioning system.) Each month, La MaMa will produce a variety show with music, singing, dance, sketch comedy, puppets, drag queens and more. This party like atmosphere will also include raffles and refreshments. Everyone is donating their time and talent to help La MaMa keep the Heat on!"

Please make a reservation by email Matt Nasser at matt@lamama.org or call 212-254-6468

The March benefit was hosted by Amber Leigh Martin, who entertained the audience between each act with her burlesque talents and colorful costumes (or lack thereof). The first act was Ben Lewis singing his rousing feel-good song of the year in the vein of "We Are The World", entitled "Don't Tase Me Bro". The Theatre Group Dzieci (that's "djyeh-chee", Polish for "children") presented their Circus Luna, with acrobats and clowns and a live lion, sort of. Next up was The Gay Agenda, who are said to "craft disjointed showstoppers and mangled love ballads"; in tonights performance they covered Jewel's "foolish words" whilst telling a crazy story involving facebook (just crazy enough to be true). The Ballerina and Coccina performed their own version of "The Dying Swan". Then we were treated to Theatre Group Dzieci again doing RiverKlomph: Lord of the Shmenge, which was hi-larious. The final act of the evening was The Striking Viking Story Pirates, which was a lot of fun, "the perfect combination of Monty Python and Schoolhouse Rock"; like The 52nd Street Project, the Story Pirates perform scripts penned by kids; yes, they still make those, and turns out that scripts written by tiny humans can be as amusing as those by professionals.

The evening was very entertaining and for a good cause. It's supposed to be a regular monthly event, so go to the LaMaMa e.t.c. website for the latest information: http://lamama.org/

Imminence means tears of sadness & joy from The Talking Band

2008-03-04T17:53:00.000-08:00

Imminence, the sad yet beautiful production about the inevitability of aging and death written and directed by Paul Zimet, finished it's run on Sunday, March 2nd. Yes, it's gone but not forgotten. Produced by The Talking Band and presented at LaMama ETC, Imminence tells the saga of a family not necessarily in turmoil, just living their lives. The company used music, dance, projections, and just plain old good acting and theatre magic to push the story along, and by the end of the show I highly doubt there was a dry eye in the house.

The set designed by Nic Ularu was inventive, using only two levels, with scenic elements added by either being carried on or flown in. I make a point to mention the set because over the course of the play it almost becomes an extra character in the show; one of the most stunning moments in the show occurs during a wedding scene, when a sudden earthquake strikes, creating a literal rift in the stage floor, which only widens as the play progresses, forcing the family to adjust and deal with the onset of time and inevitability.

The acting was exceptional, with incredibly touching performances by Will Badgett and Tina Shepard as the heads of the clan, Victor and Lilly. Other actors in the ensemble gave solid performances as various members of the family; several also doubled as a slightly off-stage musical "band", underscoring various moments of the play, sometimes to quite comical effect, as when they provided the soundtrack to a tastefully done sex scene. Amelia Campbell was very effective as Simone, daughter to Victor and Lilly; at one point, Amelia delivered an incredible monologue/performance that was vaguely reminiscent of Shakespeare's "Seven Ages of Man" speech (but much more dramatic). Ellen Maddow also had her moment in the spotlight as the eccentric wedding guest Martha, who delivers a lengthy, rapid-fire speech with precision and gusto; later, Martha and Dr. Coolhaus (played by Steven Rattazzi) dance in the surf in a joyful and inspiring piece of choreography, provided by Hilary Easton.

This is a piece that stays with you long after you've left the theatre, and it exemplifies the daring and deeply personal heights that theatre can aspire to, when not overly concerned about the bottom line. I look forward to many more productions like this: inspiring and often breathtaking!

When Hunting & Gathering, Don't Forget Your Pump-Action...

2008-03-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

Brooke Berman's tale of moving, dating, and moving again is charming, sweet, and easy to identify with. I may not have had quite the number of moves Miss Berman (or her theatrical counterpart Ruth, played by Keira Naughton) has had over the past few years, nor had to contend with the state of real estate in the city, but I can certainly relate. Longest domecile stay I've had since leaving the nest? Three glorious years... In the past 18 years of my life, my average stay in one location has been little over a year, and rarely has my name graced a lease. I've had the pleasure of living out of cars, sleeping on beaches, park benches, and patches of grass in deserted sections of cities, as well as the occasional stint of living out of a friendly theatre or two, so sure, stability is a luxury I find a little hard to comprehend. But I'm obviously not the only one.

Apparently there is a whole culture of transience, and Brooke has tapped into this phenomenon with a vengeance. The evening after seeing this show, a new acquaintence at a party began listing off the nine places she had lived in the previous six months; obviously, there is something going on, and Brooke seems to speak from experience. At the very least, she speaks from the heart.

The performances were strong on all counts. Keira Naughton and Jeremy Shamos were solid as ex-romantic partners Ruth and Jesse, while Mamie Gummer's performance as Bess, the college student who very quickly worms her way into Jesse's bed (and his apartment), grew on me by leaps and bounds. Starting off as unlikeable, Bess grows into pretty much a, well, even more unlikeable character, but she does so with finesse, until by the end, she has served her purpose well. The delight of the show for me performance-wise, however, was Michael Chernus as Astor, or the Man with the Van. Michael has an ability to perform what might be termed "gentle humor" (although maybe not in the same sense Rick Moranis meant it to be used), or rather, his characters have a gentleness and softness that allow him to excel at the sort of semi-awkward confessional scenes this sort of comedy hinges on; at the same time, there is a hard edge under his teddy-bear facade that the audience would be well advised to remember. A teddy-bear is still a bear, after all.

The set, designed by David Korins, was very effective; boxes piled high into the suggestion of a New York skyline, hidden doors that allowed access to various props and set pieces, and a cleverly concealed projector all lent their touch to a design that helped reinforce how tenuous our lives are, at best. Rob Kaplowitz's sound design was exactly what was needed, especially in the tricky bar scenes. Ben Stanton's lighting design very nice, and it's hard to argue with the magic of the end-of-show starfield. Miranda Hoffman's costumes had nice touches, including the moment in the show where we see Jess in his travelling Canadian gear.

Leigh Silverman's directing was clever, and characters always seemed to appear right when and where they were needed. There were some tiny tweaky things that bugged me, that could have just been because I was seeing the show so late in the run, and the actors may have been tired, or too comfortable, or whatever; things like the actor's personal volume (when Michael Chernus first burst onto the scene, I thought he was really pissed, he was so much louder than Keira, but I think he was just excited), or who they were addressing (some of the actors seemed to take in their own special little section of the audience, while others appeared to take in the whole space). In any case, Leigh is a smart and dependable director, with a string of well-directed plays to her credit, and I look forward to seeing what she does with MTC's upcoming production of From Up Here (yes, that was a shameless plug).

Hunting & Gathering closed shortly after I saw it, but hopefully it will have a long life regionally or in schools; certainly the language and situations should make it appealing to educators and students around the country, which is becoming more of a rarity in these days. Having been a high school theatre teacher, I can attest to the difficulty of finding good and challenging new material that doesn't seem to come from the Mamet or Rabe school of writing (nothing against those august personages, it's just a relief to not hear profanity once in a while).

Oh, and did I mention the pump-action? Shotgun, that is... for Buck Hunting. Big Buck Hunting.

Hunting and Gathering was produced by Primary Stages at 59E.59 Theatre. It was sweet and fun.

The Lower Ninth may not be God, but it ain't Nothin'

2008-02-28T16:04:00.000-08:00

Beau Willimon's Lower Ninth, based on events that transpired during Hurricane Katrina, receives a beautifully realized production at The Flea Theater this month. Directed by Daniel Goldstein and taking place on a fairly breath-taking set designed by Donyale Werle, this production almost literally sizzled. Trapped on a roof with the water rising, survivors of the initial onslaught of Katrina now have to face starvation, dehydration, and ultimately their own mortality as they wait for rescue that may never come. As bleak as it sounds, I walked out of the theater with a spring in my step, the kind that can only be brought out by an utterly fulfilling evening of entertainment.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about this production looking over the program; Gbenga Akinnagbe, Gaius Charles, and James McDaniel all have television credits (The Wire, Friday Night Lights, and NYPD Blue respectively, among other things), and I had this nagging fear that comes along with the words "screen actor," the fear that the acting would be that so-subtle-I'm-not-even-acting style that can easily confound a theatre audience. It was a baseless fear in this case, partly because of the smaller, more intimate nature of The Flea's stage, partly because these performers are adept at their craft. James McDaniel (Malcolm) may be a little more seasoned than his cast-mates, but the younger pups certainly pull their own weight. Gaius Charles (E-Z) does an excellent job as the son who has some abandonment issues with his dear old Pa, and Gbenga Akinnagbe (Lowboy), who had the unenviable position of playing a body under a tarp for part of his time on-stage, played out the rest of his time with gusto.

My complaints about this show are few: one is that I wanted more textually. Although the character's relationships are established fairly early on, I felt like there were some things that we as the audience were missing. Malcolm's dependance on addictive substances is mentioned once, and that late in the play; I wanted to know a little bit more about this man who is such a large personality, on the stage and in his son's life, yet we are given so little about him. Likewise, the lives of EZ and Lowboy before finding themselves on the roof of this particular house are barely referred to, and perhaps intentionally so, but again, I just wanted to know a little bit more... Otherwise, the language of this piece is contemporary yet poetic, and almost biblical in feel ("the roof ain't no place for a king!" E-Z proclaims at one point), which makes sense given Malcolm's tendency to quote (or at least paraphrase) scripture. My second complaint was that I missed the presence of the polluted water; it was referred to throughout, but I wished there was a way the water's presence could have been felt more immediately (a subtle sound effect during the transitions or something). Minor complaints, in the scheme of things, and they didn't take away from my enjoyment of the show.

Daniel Goldstein's direction was solid, and solidly backed up by Ben Stanton's lighting design and the intricately detailed set designed by Donyale Werle. Heather Dunbar's costumes were convincing as well, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention John McDermott's contributions as properties designer; the props were few, but had to be absolutely accurate, and they were. Aaron Meicht's forlorn trumpet score was a nice touch, evoking images of a New Orleans that quite simply no longer exists.

There are some moments in this piece that are extremely painful, possibly as painful as the memories of the experiences that the inhabitants of the Lower Ninth had to live through. Despite the bleakness of the subject matter, however, this is a story that is not only ultimately uplifting, it's a story that needs to be told, again and again, and never forgotten. The survivors of Hurricane Katrina won't forget.

For more info, contact http://www.theflea.org/

'Lost Constellations' is a Stellar Trip

2008-02-26T14:05:00.000-08:00

Tara McPherson's latest exhibit, "Lost Constellations", continues at the Jonathan Levine Gallery at 529 West 20th Street (9th Floor) through March 22nd. The hours for the gallery are 11am to 6pm, Tuesday thru Saturday, and it is definitely worth the trek.

Let me start with the downside: not enough space heroines. From the description on the web site and the press release sent out, I was hoping for a bevy of rocket-pack clad, bubble-headed beauties, and even more, I was anxious to see some three-dimensional space-battling super-heroines. But that's just me.

The heroines depicted may not be rocket-pack clad, although one of my favorite paintings, The Evolution of Language, features a spiffily-coiffed blaster-toting lady bearing balloons (who look a lot like Mr. Wiggles, the adventurous balloon of a few of Tara's illustrations and strips).

Some are not clad in anything, as is the case of the alluring and unabashed woman in the 3-picture series The Weight of Water, whose final painting looks eerily like Miss McPherson, leading me to believe this is a self-portrait. The Weight of Water is an impressively imposing series of works, taking up the most space and offering a lot of food for thought, from the slowly encroaching mountains to the environmental effects that seem to be slowly immobilizing our heroine. As with many of Tara's heroines, the woman in Weight is missing a heart-shaped piece of her torso (although a noticeably smaller chunk than many of her previous heroines have lost; does this mean her heroines are starting to regain their hearts?); a wonderful effect is seeing her water-sodden long red hair cascading down her back... while she's facing us.

Mr. Wiggles makes some more surprise appearances in the form of nine fiberglass resin sculptures, three each in black, turquoise, and pink. If not for the hefty price tag ($3500 each), I would have walked out with one; I'm sure someone will want a set of one in each color.

Speaking of buying, I was sad to see that the series of five paintings in Somewhere Under the Rainbow appears to be being broken up. The girl with the jellyfish over her head has been sold, but the other four are still available. You can choose from girl with a skull flower, girl with Mr. Wiggles, girl with umbrella, and girl with funky flower growing from her head. Each of these girls is decked out in their finest Kiss face-paint. I know, it sounds a little silly, and maybe it is, but having grown up with the painted faces of Kiss staring down at me from the paintings on my older brother's bedroom walls (that's right, my brother Ivan covered an entire wall in paintings, including the Kiss band members, a stunning full-size Vampirella, and a Sandtrooper riding a Dewback), I found the portraits of Tara's Under the Rainbow heroines oddly... comforting.

Then there's The Fractioned Second, a set of five paintings capturing a woman's head from five different views; lined up side to side, the effect is very similar to The Matrix (Carrie Anne-Moss would make a great Tara McPherson heroine, by the by). Take a close look at the positions of the hearts and the reflections in our heroine's eyes in each portrait. Good stuff!

At the opening reception there were dozens of folks in the space during the few minutes I was there (from 7pm to about 7:20pm), and there seemed to be no end to the visitors, so I imagine there was quite a turn-out overall. Miss McPherson was present, wearing a fabulous low-cut gown that showed off her gorgeously tatted back and arms, a canvas unto herself. She was gracious enough to take a few minutes to answer questions from fans (or at least this fan); the scene was a little too hectic for me, so I made a return visit today and had the gallery to myself, which was very nice.

Thanks to Tara McPherson for offering her unique vision to the world, and to all my friends who came out with me for the opening: Luke, Danaher, Jared, Nicole, Thor, Tika and Andy Action (also to those of you who came later, Amy and Patricia). Here's to many more fun evenings like this one!

Give Me Liberty City, Or...

2008-02-22T17:55:00.000-08:00

Kudos to Jessica Blank and April Yvette Thompson for the elegantly realized production of Liberty City at New York Theatre Workshop. This one woman show is based on the recollections of Thompson about her family growing up in various locales, including the part of Miami that the play gets it's title from, as well as an evocative beach on a mysterious island that plays prominently at various points in the story.

Based on hours of taped interviews and hundreds of pages of transcription, Jessica Blank uses similar techniques as those used in the creation of The Exonerated (the award winning show she crafted with Erik Jensen) to create a well-crafted, entertaining examination into the life of a mix-raced family trying to capture the American Dream...

April Yvette Thompson is wonderfully animated as she deftly maneuvers her way through a number of diverse characters, including a young school-girl, the girl's father, her teacher, and her surly aunt. While bouncing from time to time and place to place, April keeps the audience engaged with her entertaining anecdotes and her spot-on sense of timing.

All of the elements come together to support Thompson's story-telling in a natural and almost organic way, from the prolific use of slides/video (attributed to Ryan McLemore, Tal Yarden and Keith Skretch) and sound (designed by Jane Shaw), to the well-designed lighting (by David Lander) and costumes (Mattie Ullrich is listed as consultant). Brian Garber was the Production Technical Director for the show, so I figure he had some small hand in meshing all these elements together seamlessly.

I do have to pass along one comment overheard walking out of the theatre the evening I saw the show: an elderly (white) New Yorker loudly proclaimed, "I don't know what that young woman's problems are. Her ancestors may have been slaves, but if you go back five generations in my family, they were burned up in ovens!" If there was some kind of competition for racial sympathy going on in this piece, I'm not sure I got it... I certainly didn't get that woman's attitude, or her math. Her comment did underscore the fact that, limited as some people's vision may be, good theatre can still challenge their world-views and make them think about it, if even for an all-too-brief moment.

If you enjoy a good story told in an intelligent and entertaining fashion, Liberty City makes for an enthralling evening of theatre. If you're a little too wrapped up in your own racial identity, you might could skip it, but it would be your loss.

Liberty City continues through Sunday, March 16th. Contact www.nytw.org for more info.

Paper Beats Rock Continues @ Club Midway

2008-02-18T17:24:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that the new-play reading series, Paper Beats Rock, continues every Sunday night at the Club Midway, located at 25 Avenue B, between 2nd & 3rd St. The readings begin at 7pm, and best of all they're free! Just like the popcorn! We do encourage everyone to buy a drink or three to support the program.

PBR was started to support the students of the playwriting program at Brooklyn College, and has grown into something really special. Free and open to the public, it has presented work by such diverse writers as Katya Schapiro, Valerie Work, Krista Knight, Normandy Sherwood, Karinne Keithley, Justin Maxwell, Matt Korahais, Trish Harnetiaux, Kalle Macrides, Chad Beckim, Misha Shulman, Dave Myers, Erin Courtney, Rei Vasques, and Mac Wellman (plus many more!). The curators are Daniel Manley, Matthew Korahais, Andrea Stover, and Valerie Work.

The new and improved website for PBR is: http://www.paperbeatsrock.org/

Find Yourself Floating in 'Lost Constellations'

2008-02-13T17:57:00.000-08:00

So, because I think she's really swell (and I'm feeling a little guilty about missing all her shows last year...), here is the press release for the amazing Tara McPherson's upcoming art show, Lost Constellations:

"NEW YORK, NY (January 29, 2008) - Jonathan LeVine Gallery is pleased to announce Lost Constellations, a solo exhibition of new works by Tara McPherson. For the artist's first solo show at the gallery, Lost Constellations features a new series of oil paintings and resin-cast sculptures, incorporated into a site-specific installation. The sculptures are a new experience for the artist, who has never before worked in this medium, three-dimensionally in full-scale proportions.

The painted portraits in Lost Constellations depict adventurous super-heroines from an alternate universe, crossing dimensional planes of time and space. McPherson considers the idea of parallel existence through the use of multiple views or angles on a subject, inspired by the Einstein cross (a phenomenon caused by gravitational lensing) while her series of bodily transfigurations convey principles on the physical manifestation of thought. A reoccurring cast of female characters appear in various states of action-fighting battles and growing toward self-discovery. Using her signature bold and graphic style, Tara's imagery explores love, loss and loneliness through variations on strength, vulnerability and female empowerment. Concepts of non-verbal communication and the evolution of spoken language are explored as well, along with an interpretation on the circle of life- represented through transitional properties of water particles: gas, liquid and solid.

One of the first women to gain recognition in a genre (and greater Art world) dominated by Male artists, Tara McPherson is a role model for younger female artists in the movement. A multi-faceted artist, she has successful careers in both Fine Art and Illustration. Her process remains the same in commissioned illustrations as in her personal work. Tara only does what she enjoys, never compromising her talent or individual sense of creative expression. Fine Art allows McPherson to develop a deeper, more intimate narrative for her subjects. Through layers of paint and symbolism, ideas that take pages of storyboard to convey in illustration projects can be condensed into a singular panel for one of her original pieces of artwork.

Opening reception - Saturday, February 23rd, 7pm-9pmFeb 23 thru Mar 22, 2008
529 West 20th Street, 9E New York, NY 10011
ph:212-243-3822

MORE INFO: JONATHAN LEVINE GALLERY"

For more info about the awesome and terrifying super-heroine known as Tara, visit her website, http://www.taramcpherson.com/ or her myspace page at www.myspace.com/taramcpherson

Music for Lovers and non-Lovers alike...

2008-02-13T16:59:00.000-08:00

For those of you out there looking for the next great musical performers (and who isn't?), let me make some suggestions. This month we've got plenty to choose from, but I'm going to single a couple out, because they're talented and I like 'em. So if you have friends you want me to endorse, let me know. I'll be sure to catch all their shows in my copious free time...

Amy Crawford is blues/jazz influenced, a pianist with a heart of gold. Because people always want to know who somebody "sounds like", I'll say Amy is in the same league as Norah Jones & Alicia Keyes...

Amy Crawford
February, 17 2008 at The Bitter End
147 Bleecker Street, New York, New York 10012
Cost : $5
Showcase for their Singer/Songwriter Sessions. Please come out and support! Only $5 at the door, or email me at amy@amycrawfordmusic.com to reserve your tickets!

February, 28 2008 at The Garage 99
Seventh Avenue South, New York, New York 10012
Cost : Free
6pm - 10pm! Come hang

http://www.amycrawfordmusic.com/
www.myspace.com/amycrawfordmusic

Johhny Volatile is for all you punk rock grunge garage-band types!

Johnny Volatile
February, 29 2008 at Otto’s Shrunken Head
538 East 14th St, New York City, New York 10009
Cost : No Cover

www.ottosshrunkenhead.com/index.html
www.myspace.com/johnnyvolatilenyc

Rebecca Hart describes herself as "Joni Mitchell meets Dave Mathews"... judge for yourself!

Rebecca Hart & the Sexy Children
February, 22 2008 at Living Room Upstairs (Googie’s Lounge)
154 Ludlow, New York, New York
Cost : I'm guessing there's a cover
Rebecca Hart & the SCs team up with peerless Irish songwriter Niall Connolly.

www.rebeccahart.net/
www.myspace.com/rebeccahart

Apes & Androids is awesome. Trust me!

Apes & Androids
w/ Spank Rock DJs

Thursday, Feb. 28

Free with RSVP!

RSVP & Flyer: http://newyork.going.com/apesandroids

Hiro Ballroom: 371 W16th St. at 9th Ave

Doors 10.30pm. 21+ w/I.D.

See you there!
-=A

www.ApesAndAndroids.com
www.MySpace.com/ApesAndAndroids

In March we should see the return of Kiara Bianco! You can bet I'll keep you posted!

Happy Valentine's Day & Anti-Valentine's Day!

2008-02-11T15:57:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm back from my jaunt to the Southlands. The ACTF Region IV festivities were held at Clemson U. in South Carolina, and they were most gracious hosts, regardless of the fact a flu epidemic was ripping through the campus. Since we were all already sick for the most part, hopefully we were inocculated from it. The show I was in, an original piece titled Paper Cup Ocean by Rachel Nelson, was very well received, and we all had a good time.

On returning to the Apple, I find all kinds of good stuff coming up, and rather than forward countless posts to my theatre friends, I figured I'd make a list up of all this great stuff happening in February! I've included links for each event, or you can contact me and I'll do my best to hook you up.

So here we go:

Thurs., Feb. 14th:

Love Beats AIDS @ NY area Border's Books http://www.beataidsnow.com/

Garbage Night by Allan Staples @ Impact Theater 8pm http://geocities.com/impact_oneacts/week2.html#garbage

The Jesus Factor by Brian Dykstra @ The Barrow Street Theatre 7:30pm http://www.barrowstreettheatre.com/

Friday, Feb. 15th:

Garbage Night by Allan Staples @ Impact Theater 8pm
http://geocities.com/impact_oneacts/week2.html#garbage

Sat., Feb. 16th:

Garbage Night by Allan Staples @ Impact Theater 8pm
http://geocities.com/impact_oneacts/week2.html#garbage

The Jesus Factor by Brian Dykstra @ The Barrow Street Theatre 5pm
http://www.barrowstreettheatre.com/

Sunday, Feb. 17th:

Paper Beats Rock reading series @ Club Midway 7pm
http://www.clubmidway.com/

Amy Crawford- Live @ The Bitter End 10:45pm http://www.amycrawford.com/

Garbage Night by Allan Staples @ Impact Theater 7pm
http://geocities.com/impact_oneacts/week2.html#garbage

Room For Cream by the Two-headed Calf Dyke Division @ LaMama ETC 5pm
http://www.lamama.org/

Tues., Feb. 19th:

BEEBO BRINKER CHRONICLES based on the books by Ann Bannon
@ 37 Arts 7pm http://www.beebobrinker.com/

Wed., Feb. 20th:

BEEBO BRINKER CHRONICLES based on the books by Ann Bannon
@ 37 Arts 8pm http://www.beebobrinker.com/

Thursday, Feb. 21st:

Gene Pool @ Dance New Amsterdam 8pm
www.dnadance.org/performances.html#gene_pool

BEEBO BRINKER CHRONICLES based on the books by Ann Bannon
@ 37 Arts 8pm http://www.beebobrinker.com/

Cat's Cradle, based on the book by Kurt Vonnegut @ Walker Space 7:30pm
http://www.untitledtheater.com/pages/productions/cats-cradle/cats-cradle.html

The Jesus Factor by Brian Dykstra @ The Barrow Street Theatre 7:30pm
http://www.barrowstreettheatre.com/

Friday, Feb. 22nd:

Gene Pool @ Dance New Amsterdam 8pm
www.dnadance.org/performances.html#gene_pool

BEEBO BRINKER CHRONICLES based on the books by Ann Bannon
@ 37 Arts 8pm http://www.beebobrinker.com/

Cat’s Cradle, based on the book by Kurt Vonnegut @ Walker Space 7:30pm
http://www.untitledtheater.com/pages/productions/cats-cradle/cats-cradle.html

Sat., Feb. 23rd:

Gene Pool @ Dance New Amsterdam 3pm & 7pm
www.dnadance.org/performances.html#gene_pool

BEEBO BRINKER CHRONICLES based on the books by Ann Bannon
@ 37 Arts 5pm & 9pm http://www.beebobrinker.com/

Cat’s Cradle, based on the book by Kurt Vonnegut @ Walker Space 8pm
http://www.untitledtheater.com/pages/productions/cats-cradle/cats-cradle.html

The Jesus Factor by Brian Dykstra @ The Barrow Street Theatre 5pm
http://www.barrowstreettheatre.com/

Sun., Feb. 24th:

Gene Pool @ Dance New Amsterdam 3pm & 7pm
www.dnadance.org/performances.html#gene_pool

BEEBO BRINKER CHRONICLES based on the books by Ann Bannon
@ 37 Arts 3pm & 7pm http://www.beebobrinker.com/

Cat’s Cradle, based on the book by Kurt Vonnegut @ Walker Space 3pm & 8pm
http://www.untitledtheater.com/pages/productions/cats-cradle/cats-cradle.html

Paper Beats Rock reading series @ Club Midway 7pm http://www.clubmidway.com/

Tues., Feb. 26th:

BEEBO BRINKER CHRONICLES based on the books by Ann Bannon
@ 37 Arts 7pm http://www.beebobrinker.com/

Cat’s Cradle, based on the book by Kurt Vonnegut @ Walker Space 7:30pm
http://www.untitledtheater.com/pages/productions/cats-cradle/cats-cradle.html

DES MOINES by Denis Johnson @ The Flea Theater 7pm http://www.theflea.org/

Wed., Feb. 27th:

BEEBO BRINKER CHRONICLES based on the books by Ann Bannon
@ 37 Arts 8pm http://www.beebobrinker.com/

DES MOINES by Denis Johnson @ The Flea Theater 7pm http://www.theflea.org/

Thurs., Feb. 28th:

BEEBO BRINKER CHRONICLES based on the books by Ann Bannon
@ 37 Arts 8pm http://www.beebobrinker.com/

Cat’s Cradle, based on the book by Kurt Vonnegut @ Walker Space 7:30pm
http://www.untitledtheater.com/pages/productions/cats-cradle/cats-cradle.html

DES MOINES by Denis Johnson @ The Flea Theater 7pm http://www.theflea.org/

The Jesus Factor by Brian Dykstra @ The Barrow Street Theatre 7:30pm
http://www.barrowstreettheatre.com/

Fri., Feb. 29th:

BEEBO BRINKER CHRONICLES based on the books by Ann Bannon
@ 37 Arts 8pm http://www.beebobrinker.com/

Cat’s Cradle, based on the book by Kurt Vonnegut @ Walker Space 8pm
http://www.untitledtheater.com/pages/productions/cats-cradle/cats-cradle.html

DES MOINES by Denis Johnson @ The Flea Theater 7pm http://www.theflea.org/

Falconworks Artist Group 2nd Annual Benefit @ Club Midway 7pm http://www.falconworks.com/

Running throughout February:

Come Back, Little Sheba by William Inge @ Manhattan Theatre Club
http://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/

Hunting and Gathering, by Brooke Berman @ Primary Stages http://www.primarystages.com/

Liberty City, by Jessica Blank @ New York Theatre Workshop http://www.nytw.org/

Open House, by Aaron Landsman @ The Foundry Theatre http://www.thefoundrytheatre.org/

Two Thousand Years, by Mike Leigh @ The Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row
http://www.thenewgroup.org/

That's it for now! If you have any other suggestions, drop me a line and I'll get the word out!

NY International Fringe Festival Application Deadline Coming Up

2008-01-22T13:31:00.001-08:00

NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL FRINGE FESTIVAL APPLICATIONS DUE FEBRUARY 14th. 12th Annual Festival Runs August 8th - 24th.
** WINNER - 2007 Mayor’s Award for Arts & Culture**

The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC), the largest multi-arts festival in North America, will present the 12th Anniversary Festival from August 8th - 24th, 2008. Each year the festival presents programming by nearly 200 of the world's best emerging theatre troupes and dance companies. General FringeNYC applications are being accepted for participants in all genres (theatre, dance, puppetry, performance art, multi-media, etc.), and separate FringeAL FRESCO (free outdoor events) and FringeJR (children's programming) applications are also available. Applications are available online at http://www.fringenyc.org/ - and completed applications are due February 14, 2008.

In November, FringeNYC was honored by Mayor Michael Bloomberg with the 2007 Mayor's Award for Arts & Culture “for its phenomenal leadership in showcasing the best and boldest theater and performance by both established and emerging artists. The New York International Fringe Festival is renowned for presenting work that reflects the excitement and energy of the contemporary theater world - locally, nationally and abroad.” Previous recipients of the award include Woody Allen, Celia Cruz, Stephen Sondheim, Wynton Marsalis, The Tribeca Film Festival, Mark Morris, The Public Theater, Chita Rivera, and Edward Albee. Video of the award presentation (featuring co-host John Leguizamo) is available at http://www.fringenyc.org/.

In 2008, many of New York City's most prominent downtown performance venues will host productions from around the globe as part of FringeNYC. Past participant venues, ranging in size from 50 to 800 seats, include The Lucille Lortel, Soho Playhouse, Players Theater, The Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at NYU, Cherry Lane Theatre, and The Village Theater. FringeNYC is a production of The Present Company, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Elena K. Holy.

In 1997, New York City became the seventh US city to host a fringe festival, joining Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Houston, Orlando and San Francisco. In its first eleven years FringeNYC has presented over 2000 performing groups from the U.K., Canada, Poland, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, Germany, the Czech Republic and across theU.S., prompting Switzerland's national daily, The New Zurich Zeitung, to declare,“FringeNYC has become the premiere meeting ground for alternative artists.” The festival has also been the launching pad for numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway transfers, long-running downtown hits, and regional theater productions including Urinetown, Never Swim Alone, Debbie Does Dallas, Dog Sees God, 21 Dog Years, Joys of Sex and Matt & Ben.

The Fire Dept. Presents At War: American Playwrights Respond to Iraq- A Review & A Plug

2008-01-22T12:15:00.001-08:00

Billed as "Excerpts from new plays by noted American playwrights, woven together to present a kaleidoscope of views on the war in Iraq," the pieces in At War were written by Jessica Blank & Erik Jensen, Bathsheba Doran, Cory Hinkle, Rajiv Joseph, Ryan Kelly, Peter Maloney, Jose Rivera, Lynn Rosen, and Jonathan Schaefer; collaged by Erica Gould and Audrey Rosenberg with Jessica Blank; produced by Audrey Rosenberg; set and light design by Josh Iacovelli; sound design by Jill DuBoff; the production was directed by Erica Gould, and hosted by Janeane Garofalo.

The first part of the evening consisted of excerpts from eleven plays, "collaged" together so that bits and pieces were juxtaposed against each other, for the most part to good effect. The pieces were witty, intelligent, moving and rarely pedantic. David Straithairn delivered a moving characterization of an Iraqui ex-pat professor, written by Jessica Bland and Erik Jensen, all the better for being played in David's subtle signature style (a lesser actor could have ruined the part by filling it with bombast). Playwright Erik Jensen delivered a couple of humorous soldiers, Bulbill and 1974, in pieces by Ryan Kelley (Rendition) and Bathsheba Doran (Two Soldiers) respectively, and Korey Jackson received a robust round of applause when his character, Lemon Jello, told off Bulbill in a rousing monologue that would have made David Mamet proud (also Rendition). Jeremy Webb also gave a thrilling performance as a spin-doctor in Jonathan Schaefer's Note to Self. Steven Rattazzi played Kassim, the owner of a video store imprisoned in the infamous prison, in Peter Maloney's Abu Ghraib Triptych. And Derek Phillips gave a moving performance as an Army Captain in Jonathan Schaefer's Fubar.

Act Two consisted of a talk-back with the performers, playwrights, and special guests Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America, and Sinan Antoon, Iraqi poet, novelist, and translator. The discussion was fairly ably moderated by Janeane Garofalo with a little help from Fire Dept. Co-Artistic Director Erica Gould, who together kept the discussion moving at a fairly brisk pace. One of the major questions of the night became the idea that pieces like these are "preaching to the converted," an idea that had valid points brought up by both sides of the question (the original question was "do artists have more of a responsibility to express their opinions"). Fortunately, the members of the audience had valid questions and comments, rather than being people who just like to hear themselves talk, but the discussion did run a little long, being a subject that can obviously be talked about forever. The audience was left with the mandate that, if we were moved by what we had seen, we should go out and do something about it.

Honestly, I could have just listened to Paul Rieckhoff and Sinan Antoon speak for an hour and half and I would have been happy. They are intelligent, educated gentlemen, who have their own particular viewpoints about the current conflict and the state of the world, and whether you agree or disagree with them, you'll definitely learn something.

As the son of an Air Force officer, whose brother has been in Iraq off and on over the past 18 years flying Blackhawks for the Army, I have my own particular opinions that I haven't shared yet with the world, but I have the utmost respect for these artists and the bravery they exhibit in presenting these pieces. Less than a year ago, I remember speaking to a member of the playwriting community about what kind of plays needed to be written, and he emphatically replied that no one was brave enough to write plays about the war. I'm happy to see that is no longer the case.

For more info on the Fire Dept. show, visit http://www.thefiredept.org/

If you would like to see more great theatre in a similar vein, check out the following:

Fordham Theatre Department Presents: Twenty-One Positions: A Cartographic Dream of the Middle East

Thursday, 21 February to Saturday, 23 February 2008;
Thursday, 28 February to Saturday, 1 March 2008 8 p.m.
Thursday, 28 February 2008 Noon

General Admission: $12 Alumni: $8 Students and Seniors: $5
Recent Alumni: "pay what you can"

By Naomi Wallace, Lisa Schlesinger and Abdel Fattah Abu-Srour
Directed by Lisa Peterson
This play explores the issues of the Wall separatingIsraelis and Palestinians through dialogue and song. A young Palestinian-American man, Fawaz, returns from Cincinnati to Israel to find his missing brother and encounters many people trying to live with the crisis, including the Israeli who is the Wall’s master architect.

For more information please call the Box Office at (212) 636-6340, or visit:

http://www.alumni.fordham.edu/calendar/detail.aspx?ID=448

Fire Dept.'s At War: American Playwrights Respond to Iraq

2008-01-18T14:41:00.000-08:00

The Fire Dept Theatre Company's AT WAR: AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS RESPOND TO IRAQ January 21 - February 4 at The Bleecker Street Theatre .

THE FIRE DEPT will present an expanded and updated version of its acclaimed AT WAR: AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS RESPOND TO IRAQ, an evening of alternately moving, haunting, and funny material by noted and emerging American playwrights, woven together to present a kaleidoscope of views on the war. Staged as a single cohesive evening, the piece is crafted by Fire Dept Artistic Directors Erica Gould, Audrey Rosenberg and Jessica Blank from writing by Ms. Blank and Erik Jensen (The Exonerated), Bathsheba Doran, Cory Hinkle, Rajiv Joseph, Ryan Kelly, Peter Maloney, Obie winner and Oscar nominee Jose Rivera (Cloud Tectonics, References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot), Lynn Rosen, and Jonathan Schaefer. A portion of the proceeds from this benefit event will be donated to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the nation's first and largest group dedicated to the Troops and Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Originally presented as a one-night-only, sold-out presentation at the National Arts Club in June 2007, AT WAR: AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS RESPOND TO IRAQ will be remounted at The Bleecker Street Theatre on consecutive Mondays, beginning January 21. The theatrical material will be the same each evening, but the presentation will feature a rotating repertory of celebrity hosts and guest performers including Bebe Neuwirth, Josh Hamilton (The Coast of Utopia), Bobby Cannavale (Will & Grace), Derek Phillips (Friday Night Lights), Daniel Sunjata (Rescue Me), and Fire Dept company members David Strathairn, Janeane Garofalo, Gloria Reuben (E.R.) and Tony Award winner Denis O’Hare. These celebrity performers will join a core ensemble featuring Jennifer Albano, Jessica Blank, Judith Hawking, Korey Jackson, Erik Jensen, Amanda Marikar, Steven Rattazzi, Jake Robards, Audrey Rosenberg, Jonathan Schaefer, Jeremy Schwartz, Michael Warner, and Jeremy Webb. AT WAR is produced by Audrey Rosenberg (Genet’s Elle with Alan Cumming and the Capote film Infamous with Daniel Craig) and directed by Erica Gould (Neil LaBute's autobahn and Stand Up), with set & lighting by Josh Iacovelli and sound by Jill duBoff.

Expanded and updated to reflect the ever-changing situation in Iraq, AT WAR: AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS RESPOND TO IRAQ explores how our artists are responding to the war, and how their work mirrors and reflects the consciousness of the country. This bold new work paints vivid portraits of diverse people at war, including a soldier in a VA clinic with post-Traumatic stress disorder, an Iraqi émigré professor, two soldiers lost in time on a nameless battlefield, a female suicide bomber, an angel, a 6000-year-old visitor from Mesopotamia, and a manic vet with shrapnel lodged in his head that picks up Al Jazeera.

This acerbic and insightful theatrical presentation will be followed by a discussion with the artists and a pair of noted speakers: writer/activist/Iraq war veteran Paul Rieckhoff and Iraqi poet/novelist/translator Sinan Antoon. Each night audiences will be given the opportunity to engage in a conversation about the theatrical presentation, the issues and perspectives presented by the work, and the speakers' personal experiences.

THE FIRE DEPT is dedicated to igniting questions, sparking controversy, and responding to the urgency of our times. Founding members are: Rob Ackerman, Suzanne Bradbeer, Dave Calvitto, Amelia Campbell, Kathleen Chalfant, Constance Congdon, Chuck Cooper, Stefania de Kenessey, Jessica Dickey, Anton Dudley, Peter Gallagher, Janeane Garofalo, Jeff Goldblum, Nick Hallett, Judith Hawking, Sarah Nina Hayon, Brian Keith Jackson, Erik Jensen, Toby Jones, Rajiv Joseph, Laurence Klavan, Carson Kreitzer, Neil LaBute, Harry Lennix, Josh Lucas, Matthew Modine, Lynn Nottage, Denis O'Hare, Dael Orlandersmith, Aidan Quinn, Steven Rattazzi, Theresa Rebeck, Gloria Reuben, Jose Rivera, Jake Robards, Edwin Sanchez, Jeremy Schwartz, David Strathairn, Sona Tatoyan, Myra Lucretia Taylor, April Yvette Thompson, Sheri Wilner, Rebecca Wisocky.

For more information about The Fire Dept, visit http://www.thefiredept.org/AT WAR: AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS RESPOND TO IRAQ runs January 21 - February 4, Mondays at 7:30pm. The Bleecker Street Theatre is located at 45 Bleecker at the corner of Bleecker and Lafayette Streets -- accessible from the 6 train at Bleecker or the F,V, B,D trains at Broadway-Lafayette). Tickets are $38.50 available at the theater box office Monday - Friday, noon-6pm. or through http://www.telecharge.com/ or 212-239-6200.

Clubbed Thumb presents Amazons And Their Men

2008-01-18T11:50:00.000-08:00

Clubbed Thumb presents Amazons and Their Men, written by Jordan Harrison, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll, featuring Rebecca Wisocky as The Frau, Brian Sgambati as The Man, Heidi Schreck as The Extra, and Gio Perez as The Boy. Sets/Projections by Sue Rees, Costumes by Kirche Leigh Zeile, Lights by Garin Marschall, Sound by Leah Gelpe, Props by Alan Edwards, Music Composed by Matt Carlson, Stage Managed by Jeff Meyers.

Rebecca Wisocky is captivating as The Frau, and I'm not just saying that because of my fond memories of her (I attended one of Karen Malpede's fantastic courses on ecology and feminism years ago with Rebecca, and was lucky enough to see the fantastic production of The House of Bernarda Alba featuring Rebecca, Kate Benson, Mia Barron and a slew of other talented young actresses, also under Karen Malpede's able care and direction). She's a gem, and has honed her skills over the years quite well; her physicality, vocal power, emotional expressiveness and sheer power make her a force to be reckoned with. The other actors did their best to stand up to her, and in this case, the fact that they couldn't (although they all did an admirable job, don't get me wrong) served the story quite well, since the domineering Frau certainly had a way of overshadowing all the other characters in the play.

Heidi Schreck's comic turns at various forms of death threatened to steal various scenes, and her speech about her varied deaths was oddly charming and humorous, even being interrupted halfway through by the inevitable ringing of the cell phone of the one person in the audience who apparently doesn't understand that part of the announcement at the beginning of the show. Seriously, people, do we have to go back to the middle ages and start lopping off hands to keep you from bringing live cel phones into theatres? Sorry bout that... Heidi was great, and the thing I love about her is that she's not only fearless about camping it up when necessary, she's not afraid to drop the campiness entirely when the script requires it.

Brian Sgambati and Gio Perez were excellent as The Man and The Boy, respectively. However, no offense to the guys in the show, but this show belongs to the Amazons. My favorite scene is when the two women finally got to confront each other without the presence of their men. Without giving anything away, the scene was very effective, partly because of how well it was written, and partly because both actresses got to show off their acting chops in extremely moving performances.

My only complaint, and it's pretty minor, was that I wanted more... I wanted to feel the inevitability of the ending of the story a little earlier and a little stronger, maybe so that I could feel there might be some chance to avoid it, for the possibility of a fairy-tale ending. As it was, the elements that led up to the end were very downplayed in the first half of the play, almost to the point of non-existence, so when the ending came, it was a little sudden. I would have liked to have seen a little more into the world The Frau was trying to escape from through the making of her films, to feel more of the horror the characters were experiencing. A minor complaint, I know. And to say "I wanted more" is actually a compliment, isn't it?

For more info on this production, visit: http://clubbedthumb.org/

Soho Rep Studio's Crime or Emergency by Sibyl Kempson

2008-01-13T10:26:00.000-08:00

This is an exception to my rule of not writing about readings or workshop productions. Hey, I make the rules, I can break the rules.

Crime or Emergency was an experience. When I say "experience," I mean that you kind of needed to be there. But if you weren't, I'll try to give you some idea of what it was like.

After staring with anticipation at a large red curtain, wondering what lays behind it and ahead of us, an almost elfin Mike Iveson appears to announce the start of the show. He parts the curtain, and we are confronted by the almost completely empty space of the theatre, containing only a piano, an easy chair, a microphone, and some piles of clothing. Oh, yes, and a sweat-suit clad Sibyl Kempson (also the writer) on the second level, in a dramatically lit pose that garnered applause for the sheer theatricality of it all. Mike runs to the piano and starts pounding out a melody that seems to go on forever, and finally, Sibyl descends to our level and embarks on a strange, surreal journey through the lives of what seemed like a dozen characters, almost all performed uniquely, clearly, and hilariously by Ms. Kempson,with a brief interlude of toy theatre hilarity performed by Mike at the piano, who also played a befuddled man-servant as well as underscoring the entire evening.

I can't say enough about the performance Sibyl delivered and her amazing transformative ability. When she first appeared, her face was lined with care, and her characters seemed to have a slightly harder, cynical edge. Half-way through the performance, she slowly donned a wig, and as she did, the lines on her face melted away, until I was left with the impression of glowing youth and beauty, and by the end I didn't recognize her as the same person that I had seen at the beginning of the evening. Of course, throughout she was playing a wide variety of characters, and her proficiency at changing her body language along with her face and vocal inflections was nothing short of chameleon-like. Meeting her after the show, I almost didn't recognize her, she was that fluid.

The show itself was high energy, with thought provoking and hilarious dialogue, musical numbers that I can only describe as Ethel Merman singing the Boss, and some of the best stage directions/descriptions I have ever heard. I did have a little difficulty tracking the story, I was so caught up in the performances of both actors, and I did wonder what it would have looked like in full production, but I didn't even think about the story until long after the performance was over. Is that bad? Maybe so, but at the time I was worrying more about my aching cheeks (from laughing and smiling non-stop) than my aching brain (from thinking too much about the story).

Once again, Soho Rep is proving itself as one of the most dynamic venues for new work in the city, and as long as they continue this trend, I'll keep attending.

For more info on Soho Rep and their productions, visit: http://www.sohorep.org/index.html

Young Jean Lee's CHURCH

2008-01-13T09:30:00.000-08:00

Produced as part of Mark Russell's Under The Radar Festival at the Public Theater, Young Jean Lee's exultant production of CHURCH simply glows. Originally produced at P.S. 122, it would be easy to make pithy comments comparing theatre to a religious experience in regards to this piece: "glowing, revelatory, transcendant, etc., etc..." And those comparisons would be accurate.

To me, the beauty of Young Jean's work is that she is fearless when it comes to cutting to the heart of the matter. She voices thoughts that we all think at various times, but for whatever reason we suppress or edit, because of some societal or cultural pressure to conform to the least controversial plane we possibly can; the same pressure which paved the way for the rise of Political Correctness in the '80's and '90's. Young Jean's rants could care less about being P C; they force us to confront ourselves at a primal, humanistic level that is rarely seen today, because we have been so hypnotized by a culture of fear that we don't know what our own opinions are until they're spoon-fed to us by some media conglomerate.

CHURCH is not an indictment of conservative, God-fearing Christian society, anymore than it's an indictment of those Godless liberals that are driving this country to ruin with their crazy ideas about things like art being necessary to society or things like that. It's an examination in belief, in holding on to something, anything, that can possibly make us feel better about ourselves. And ultimately, even though we are confronted at the top of the show with a long list of our faults, we leave the theater feeling a huge sense of relief, of reassurance, brought about through a combination of fantastic writing, joyous dance and song, and incredibly sincere acting. The reverends for the evening are performed by Brian Bickerstaff, Weena Pauly, Katy Pyle, and Katie Workum, and in the performance I attended, Weena and Katie both performed beautifully despite having suffered from injuries earlier in the week. The choreography was brilliantly orchestrated by Faye Driscoll, with additional credits given to Karinne Keithley, Weena Pauly, & Katie Workum.

Hats off to Young Jean Lee, Mark Russell, the cast and crew of CHURCH and staff of the Public for yet another contribution to intelligent and entertaining theatre in this country.

For information on this production, or any of the Under the Radar shows, visit: http://www.publictheater.org/UTR/

Upcoming Music Performances You Shouldn't Miss

2008-01-09T17:47:00.000-08:00

Thursday, January 10th, at 8:30 pm: Cafe Antarsia is back in NYC for one night @ our Favorite place! MEHANATA Bulgarian Gypsy Bar, 113 Ludlow St., phone is 212.625.0981.

This is Ruth Margraff's ensemble. If you've missed them on any of their previous visits, this is your last chance for a while, and it's well worth it...

For more info, go to: http://www.myspace.com/cafeantarsiaensemble

Saturday, January 12th, at 10pm: The New York Times, Spike Hill Bar & Restaurant, 186 Bedford Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York 11211

This is the incredibly beautiful and mutli-talented Tara McPherson's band; Tara's artwork recently appeared in the hit film Juno, and can be seen in comics and on album covers in a lot of cool places...

For more info, go to http://www.myspace.com/spikehillnyc

and last but by no means least...

Saturday, January 19th: Come celebrate the release of the first Apes & Androids record, Blood Moon! at the Mercury Lounge, 217 E. Houston St (btwn Ave. A & Ludlow), w/ very special guests Die Romantik & Sigmund Droid plus DJ sets by Dirty Dick Kliegman, Finger on the Pulse, & Brian Isaacs

git yer tickets at http://tinyurl.com/3yf3ym

Things get started at 8:30, they'll play at 11:30 but come early for total awesomeness.

For more info about the band, visit www.MySpace.com/ApesAndAndroids

Three different bands, three different styles, three different dates... Don't say I never did anything for you!

Two-headed Calves really produce, so make Room For Cream

2008-01-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

The Dyke Division of Theatre of a Two-headed Calf presents Room for Cream, their "live lesbian serial", every first and third Saturday at 5:30pm at LaMama ETC.

This piece needs no promotion. It's going to sell out every week, and that's all there is to it. I think it's a great idea, I just feel bad that people are going to miss any of it. It shimmers with that two-headed calf magic, concocted largely by founders Brooke O'Harra and Brendan Connelly, and in the first episode, "Welcome to Sapho", that magic is honed to near-razor sharp perfection by the writing and acting talents of Jess Barbagallo, supported by a fine group of over a dozen actors.

The story is amusing, full of twists and turns, high emotion, danger, sex, humor, and plenty of cream. In short, everything a good soap opera should have. Future episodes will feature even more talented actors, with some surprise guest stars. I highly recommend getting tickets in advance to insure getting in, and getting there fairly early to make sure you get a good seat; otherwise, you may find yourself literally in the middle of the action, as in the instance of the pair of young ladies who inadvertantly sat at the table belonging to crotchety old Beatrice Owens (played with aplomb by Tina Shepard), who proceeded to remove them in character. Later, they were shuffled away from another table by Dr. Jane O'Boyle (played by director Brooke O'Hara), also in character. Another fun moment happened when Lacey Chambers (played with the always fun Laryssa Husiak) accidently knocked a dildo into the audience during her sales pitch to Officer Jill Andrews (played by Nina Hoffman, who managed to maintain her focus for the moment...). Through it all, the Sapho's owner, Ellie Meeker (played by the incomparable Kate Benson) kept the action moving along at a steady clip.

Episode #2 will be presented on January 19th, with tickets available online or at the door.

For details, go to: http://lamama.org/

Some thoughts about Sweeney Todd...

2008-01-05T17:14:00.000-08:00

A lot of folks, particularly theatre folks, have been interested in my opinion about Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's film version of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, and I've been reluctant to say anything one way or the other, because I did't want to influence people one way or the other. Opinions are just that, and everyone knows the adage about them...

Having said that, there are a couple things I have to say about the film. Yes, it's a dark film; it's an adaptation of a very dark musical based on a terribly dark story. Yes, it is extremely bloody; the stage version was also very bloody, but because of the inherent theatricality of the staging, and the fact that film effects can be much more realistic than stage effects, the goriness of the violent acts depicted in the film are very much akin to those found in your typical teen slasher flick. Does the over-the-top violence take away from the story? Could be. Personally, although I cringed and winced through much of that sequence of the film, I was also laughing, which was the same effect watching the original had on me, for different reasons. Yes, the film is significantly shorter than the stage version; it's a different medium, and that's all I will say about that. Yes, the glorious choral sequences are gone (although the powerful "Ballad of Sweeney Todd" was filmed, so there's hope it will appear on the Super Deluxe Collector's Edition DVD); it's a different medium. Yes, comparing the performances of the film actors to those of the stage actors are like comparing apples to oranges; what did anyone expect? They aren't the same actors, and they're not working in the same medium, so get over it.

I'm not going to go on record as to whether or not this movie is one of the best movies of the year or one of the worst. Anyone who goes to see it should be familiar with either Tim Burton's other work, or with the play that inspired this film, and if you're not familiar with either, no words of warning from me are going to prepare you for the experience. I will say that the people I know who weren't familiar with the musical left the theatre wanting to see the musical; to me, that's like someone leaving a movie based on a really good book and saying they want to read the book. How often does that really, truly happen any more these days?

I'll also say that Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, has always been one of my favorite musical theatre experiences, to both watch and be in (my big moment on stage... "we blinds 'em, we does, and not knowing night from day..."). Seeing the movie version did not take away from those earlier experiences in any way, shape or form.

See it or not, I don't particularly care. But see it onstage one day, if you ever get the chance, and you won't regret it.

Happy New Year's! Go see shows!

2008-01-04T18:22:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm still alive, though I've slowed down a bit... I'm buckling down for the new year, working and writing more, seeing less (but by no means not going to the theatre). I've seen a few shows recently that I haven't reviewed yet, I'll get to it when I can...

I want to get the word out about two musical performances coming up:

The Lisps- this Saturday night, January 5, cd release party at Joe's Pub, 11:30pm; for more info, go to http://web.joespub.com/caltool/index.cfm?fuseaction=detail&performanceID=3592

The New York Times- next Saturday night, January 12, Spike Hill Bar, 10 pm; go to http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=193894061

You'll have to take my word that these are fun bands and fun shows! Hope to see you there!

Obviously there is a lot of great theatre going on as well, including:

The Under The Radar Festival at The Public Theatre, for more info, visit http://www.publictheater.org/UTR/

and CultureMart at HERE, http://here.org/see/now/cmart08/

Hopefully I will have some exciting news about my own projects soon! Stay tuned!

If you haven't seen No Dice, for shame!

2007-12-27T16:37:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately I don't have four hours to write the description that this piece deserves, and I want anyone who hasn't had a chance to see it to get downtown and do so, so I'm throwing this up now and I may go back and edit it later...

GO SEE THIS SHOW!!!

To even attempt to describe it does it a dis-service. If someone told me to go see a four hour long "play" based on recorded conversations with no discernible story or plot, I would think they were trying to end a friendship. But I'd be wrong...

Let me take this moment to comment on art. Lotsa folks have different ideas about what art's purpose is, and that's great. I think art can be put to a lot of uses, and should be. Personally, I like art that is more on the intelligent side, rather than the dumb side; I like art that evokes some kind of feeling, any kind of feeling, as opposed to things that don't do anything for me, either purposefully (i.e., movies or plays that I walk out of thinking I've just lost hours of my life I will never get back) or because I'm just too dense to understand them (confusion doesn't count as a feeling for my definition). All too often I'm ambivalent towards art, or it gets a laugh or a stray thought or two before my mind begins to wander back to my mundane life...

...Then there are those pieces of art that you experience, and you think about long after that experience is complete. You may even think, "I'd like to see that or experience that again." To me, that is when art is the most fulfilling. All this to say that No Dice! was an ultimately fulfilling experience, one which I would gladly sit through again.

Bravo to Soho Rep and Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Pavol Liska, Kelly Copper, Anne Gridley, Robert M. Johanson, Zachary Oberzan, Kristin Worrall, and Thomas Hummel for a fun four hours that I will get back in spades!

For more info, visit Soho Reps website at: http://www.sohorep.org/current.html

The Catch Series @ P.S. 122

2007-12-22T13:22:00.000-08:00

I actually discovered the Catch series while prowling YouTube from the comfort of an easy chair, whilst sitting next to a roaring fire in Virginia some time last year, and it was one of the things I was looking forward to seeing when I finally made it back to the city. I finally got my chance, taking in a slew of great and brave performances this December. The evening I chose to go to was Friday, December 21st, which featured Laura Stinger, Anna Sperber, Dean Moss, Nellie Tinder, and Karinne Keithley.

The evening started off with two short films, by Dean Moss and Karinne Keithley respectively. I wasn't wild about Dean's film, only because I didn't really understand it (I did enjoy the music, but unfortunately for me, the music went away about half-way through the film). Karinne's piece was very funny, but towards the end I began to fade, wondering what was going to happen next. What happened next was Anna Sperber, who danced in the dark for us until flicking on a flashlight and shining it against a disco ball, an interesting experiment that definitely caused feelings of anxiety in me, because I knew something was going on, but just didn't know what. Nellie Tinder was next, delivering an excerpt from her work entitled Take Heart, which was humorous, moving, and grossly disturbing at the same time; I loved it, partly because of it's authenticity and partly because of her delivery...

The main event of the evening was Laura Berlin Stinger's Keeping It Down, wherein Laura enacted the New-Age healer and peace activist Doctor Neutopia, along with cultural icon Joan Crawford. I loved Laura's turn as Ogah Hekukilyu's sister Yuma in Theatre of a Two-headed Calf's Drum of the Waves of Horikawa earlier this year, and this piece really gave her a chance to shine. She was very fun to watch, the show was entertaining and thought-provoking, and I was on the edge of my seat watching Laura as Joan making peanut butter sandwhiches. The sudden force-feeding a la Terry Schiavo was brutally effective, and brought this piece from amusing, tongue-in-cheek pop culture exploration wholly into the realm of frightening but accurate social commentary. I've said it before and I'll continue to say it, this is the type of art I like: entertaining but intelligent, not pedantic in it's message, but strong enough to get the point across. Laura Stinger gets two thumbs up, and I can't wait to see what she does next.

Thanks to Jeff Larson and Andrew Dinwiddie for the continuation of the Catch series.

For more info, visit: www.catchseries.org

The Lisps' The Country Doctor at Joe's Pub

2007-12-20T11:54:00.000-08:00

If you like groups like Amplifico (and who doesn't), you should check this out. Okay, show of hands, who's even ever heard of Amplifico? Wow, you in the back, I'm impressed, you have excellent taste...

Upcoming musical performance to celebrate the cd release of The Lisps' new album, The Country Doctor. Joe's Pub, Saturday, January 5th at 11:30pm, tickets $12.

here's the link:

http://web.joespub.com/caltool/index.cfm?fuseaction=detail&performanceID=3592

See you there!

Scott Adkins' Running Commentary No. 4

2007-12-17T13:55:00.000-08:00

Running Commentary No. 4, by Scott Adkins, featuring Kourtney Rutherford, Kate Benson, Matthew Korahais, and Homer Frizzell, with music by Rebecca Hart and special guest appearance by Willa Moore’s voice, plus artwork by Erin Courtney, Charlie Adkins-Courtney, and Theo Adkins-Courtney.

The blurb on the Five Myles webpage reads “Five Myles presents Joyce Cho, an alliance of five young playwrights (all former students of Mac Wellman), and an all-star cast of humans and objects. Come and see them dismantle Scott Adkins' "Running Commentary No. 4," loosely based on Kierkegaard's Diary of a Seducer.”

I’m not familiar with Kierkegaard’s Diary of a Seducer, and I haven’t seen any other version of Scott Adkins’ piece, so I can only comment on what I saw during this particular performance. What I saw was pretty trippy; not only the style in which it was presented (part reading, part video, part 911 response call involving giant sea snakes), but in the language and imagery conjured up by the talented performers. I’ve been spoiled by hanging out with this crowd. Matthew Korahais is not only a terrific playwright, he is a very funny and moving actor; I’ve seen him in several projects now, and enjoyed each and every one of his performances. Likewise Kate Benson, who I am not as familiar with, but who seems to have great timing and an intense presence. This was my first exposure to Kourtney Rutherford and Homer Frizzell’s acting work, and they were well-suited to this piece, both with a great sense of seriousness which was perfect for what this text demanded.

There were plenty of surprises throughout the show, from the segments of the astronauts trying to survive on the moon in their space station, to the sea snake attack, to the fun musical numbers, there was plenty of action to go along with the wonderfully witty text penned by Mr. Adkins. The biggest surprise came at the end of the show, when the playwright strolled on stage and informed the audience of a fact which provided near-perfect closure to the play, and I hope that they can figure out a way to work that moment into the script.

I’m looking forward to seeing more of Scott’s work, as well as that of the Cho’s.

For more info about Joyce Cho, go to: http://www.joycecho.org/

For more info about Five Myles, go to: http://fivemyles.org/

The Devil's Disciple at The Irish Repertory Theatre

2007-12-16T17:56:00.000-08:00

George Bernard Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple, featuring Lorenzo Pisoni (Dick Dudgeon), Jenny Fellner (Judith Anderson), Curzon Dobell (Anthony Anderson), Robert Sedgwick (Major Swindon/Titus Dudgeon), Richard B. Watson (Lawyer Hawkins/The Sergeant), Cristin Millioti (Essie), Craig Patterson (Christy Dudgeon), Darcy Pulliam (Mrs. Dudgeon), Sean Gormley (First Guard/Fight Captain), and John Windsor-Cunningham (General Burgoyne). Directed and designed by Tony Walton.

This was a delightful piece, excellently staged and played with real panache. I had never been exposed to this piece, and as the intermission lights came up, I was worried that I was missing out on something. The first act contained very little of Shaw’s trade-mark witticisms, relying entirely on setting up the characters of Dick Dudgeon and Judith Anderson. The second act was where this piece really shined. From practically the moment the lights came up until the end of the show, I found myself chuckling to outright guffawing at the brilliance of the writing. I was particularly impressed with the capabilities of the leading actors, Lorenzo Pisoni and Jenny Fellner, and John Windsor-Cunningham was particularly effective as the realistic and almost resigned General Burgoyne. Also, Cristin Millioti, who played Essie, seemed like someone to keep your eyes on.

The design was very effective; the scene changes were a little long, but not overly tedious. Sound and lights were excellent, and the stage was beautiful, if a little sparse. I am curious, especially after reading the Director’s Note in the program, about how the show was originally staged. Although certainly not as grandiose as the original production seems to have been, I have a feeling that G.B.S. is smiling fondly down from somewhere on this wonderful little theatre company and their tribute to his work.

The Hourglass Group's Wellspring, a work-in-progress

2007-12-14T18:08:00.000-08:00

The blurb for this show describes it as a "new 'world folk opera' set in 1999 war-torn Sarajevo." I had heard a couple of pieces of music that Cafe Antarsia (Ruth Margraff, Nikos Brisco, Ron Riley, and Ravi El-Aasser) had been working on over the past year, and loved it.

Neither hearing the music nor reading the blurb prepared me for what I saw last night at The Chocolate Factory in Queens. Elyse Singer's simple but elegant staging of this phenomenal piece, using only 3 actors and the Cafe Antarsia ensemble (plus some haunting recorded vocals skillfully woven in to the presentation), quite literally reduced me to tears.

Between Ruth's beautifully constructed script, comprised of nerve-wracking scenes alternating with devastating monologues passionately performed by the actors (Jennifer Gibbs, Stephen Bel Davies & Tony Naumovski, all chillingly effective) , and Nikos' haunting and evocative musical score, I was not only transported to the sickening reality of a hopelessly shattered warscape, but I was also carried back through time in my memory, recalling the heart-wrenching first-hand accounts of a war that seemed to make no sense...

While it sounds like a downer, I can't begin to express how beautifully and skillfully the music and text were woven together, and how effective both the direction and performances were in telling the stories of these people.

This production needs to be seen, and I sincerely hope someone out there steps up to the plate to help this piece receive the attention it deserves. Wellspring is worthy of someplace like The Public or BAM, and I'll go so far as to throw the gauntlet down now: All you producers out there, take note! Whoever gets this piece will most definitely not regret it!

For more info about Cafe Antarsia, visit their website at:

http://www.cafeantarsiaensemble.com/

Don't Tread On Me! The Revolutionary Plays

2007-12-10T13:59:00.000-08:00

I have to start this post off by saying that many reviewers won’t touch material involving children, out of a desire to not get chewed out by angry parents who feel that their kid’s feelings may have been crushed by unkind reviews. Having worked for years in children’s theatre, I’ve found that the kids don’t care, but I agree with the principal of not reviewing the projects too critically; I do think that these projects deserve to be treated respectfully, and that means talking about them, even if it’s only to praise them unabashedly!

A lot of folks have mixed feelings about short plays. Some folks have an aversion to what could be considered children’s theatre. So a presentation of 9 short plays written by young playwrights aged 9-12 may seem like a lot to ask of certain folks. Personally, I like short works, because no matter how hard a piece might be to sit through, there is comfort in the knowledge that it will all be over soon. Luckily, in the case of The 52nd Street Project, none of the pieces are hard to sit through.

These are plays written through the wide-open (and not always innocent) eyes of a child, which means that that pesky self-censoring editor has not had time to kick in yet, making these works deeply profound. Combine that profundity with professional staging, fantastic and imaginative costumes, and first-rate actors (Lois Smith and Frances McDormand, among many), and you get a theatre experience that is hard to beat, especially knowing that the seeds of a whole new theatre-going generation have been planted.

I was laughing so hard at Stevie Ray Dalimore’s performance as Old Man John at the Earth’s Core playing the xylophone (in Nathaniel Butler’s Ugly), I found myself wiping the tears off my cheeks (Felix Solis played the title character with panache); later, I found myself wiping my eyes again during Viviana Vazquez’s Mom Disaster, for a different reason, the reason quite possibly being the beautiful performances of Crystal Dickinson and Brandon Dirden combined with Viviana’s heart-wrenching words. Kara Thiam’s The Magic Computer was an incredible social commentary between Noah Trepanier’s hysterical and geeky Atlantic and Megan Cramer’s Dell(and Megan was the sexiest darn Dell I’ve ever seen), while Howard Overshown and Christopher Randolph together proved that blood is thicker than justice in Alvin Garcia’s The Hero and The Villain.

Stasia Bree Quinones’s Creature + Human = Love had the incomparable Jeanine Serralles monkeying around with Caroline Clay’s semi-petulant wild-animal-loving Sally Lin, and Lois Smith was the weirdest looking twin to Yusef Bulos in Aisha Diaz’s Who Are You? Jessica Hecht was a quirky and pretty-darn-stealthy ninja to James Yaegashi’s samurai, but she still couldn’t win the Battle Of Japan, by David McCall, and Frances McDormand’s Binerd was super-secret in her dealings with her cricket-speaking bagel compatriot, as they attempted to outwit John Ellison Conlee’s Sneeker in the life or death Spy Vs. Spy send-up What the Spinach!!! By Lincoln Bernard. And finally, my lovely friend Mia Barron and her lovely friend Maggie Lacey were the cutest darn anthropomorphic Rabbit and Dog couple ever, in Natalia Caballero’s Time Machine Extreme.

Yay and double-yay to Willie Reale, Gus Rogerson, and all the other fine folks who come together to keep theatre alive in one of the most immediate ways possible: through our children.

The Best of The Neo-Futurists 2007!

2007-12-10T12:38:00.000-08:00

I can’t say enough good stuff about The Neo-Futurists of NY performance of Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind. Go see this show, it is way worth it!

Some of you know of my involvement with No Shame Theater, wherein we present fifteen shows in 90 minutes or less; The Neo-Futurists put us to shame (no pun intended), endeavoring to present thirty plays in 60 minutes, and very darn near succeeding. The night I saw it (Saturday). I think it took them about 66 minutes to complete all thirty shows, but who’s counting and who cares? Plus, they sold out, so there was pizza!

More than just sketch comedy, this show was borderline schizophrenic, with audience warm-ups and participation, including a massive rumble involving water balloons and super-soakers, not to mention the sinister and wet machinations of The Bucket Insurrection! And squeezed between the Too Much Lightness were a couple of pieces that hit me in the head like a mallet, like The Truth About Mormons and This Is Not A Panic Attack, deeply emotional pieces that resonated for all of two seconds before the next insanity began, but which stuck with me long after I had left the theatre. And Yoda can never do too many impressions!

Unleash TBI!

For more information, go to http://www.nyneofuturists.org/index.html

The Public's Native Festival

2007-12-10T11:38:00.000-08:00

I usually make a point not to “review” readings, but I have to make an exception in the case of the Public’s Native Festival, as these plays and this event are just too important to let slip “under the radar.”

The shows I saw last week had one thing in common: They were good, solid dramas. What I mean by this is that the premises were very dramatic, and would have made good stories regardless of the skin color or personal or spiritual beliefs of those involved in the creation, at least in the case of the first two, Drew Hayden Taylor’s In A World Created By A Drunken God and Diane Glancy’s Salvage. By Friday night’s reading, William S.Yellow-Robe, Jr.’s Stray, the stage was set for stories that could only have been told about members of the First Nation, and by Saturday evening’s performance of Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light by Joy Harjo, the transformation was complete. And yet these stories were not told in a way that distanced members of the audience that were outsiders to the culture; rather, I felt very much included in all of the performances. I can’t help but feel that this was a deliberate decision on the part of the programmers. The beauty of the earlier work is that the problems presented were situations that anyone in the audience could have found themselves in, only becoming complicated by the fact that (some of ) the characters were First Nation.

All of the stories were lyrically written, fiercely acted, bravely directed, and powerfully moving. I may be a sentimental old hack (okay, not that old), but I wiped more than a few tears from my eyes during the week. I hope that the Native Festival was considered a success by all who participated, and I applaud the efforts of everyone involved. Oskar Eustis probably doesn’t need any more accolades, but I have to say I admire his vision tremendously, and I look forward to being in the audience at the next Native Festival.

Commercial Stuff: The Seafarer, Is He Dead?, and others...

2007-12-05T11:25:00.000-08:00

Since this is a place for quirky, off-beat theatre, and commercial theatre gets plenty of reviews elsewhere, I'll forego my usual "review of everything I see" impulse to just say that The Seafarer was fun, Is he Dead? not so much, and I've heard that everyone is really enjoying Cymbeline and August: Osage County...

If you want to know what I really think about the commercial shows, let me know and I'll give you an earful, but in the meantime, they don't pay me enough to review these big professional shows. Come to think of it, they don't pay me anything (yet), but maybe one day...

Alejandro Morales's collected plays now available!

2007-12-03T18:28:00.000-08:00

Alex's plays are lyrical, haunting, sensual, with imagery that burns itself into your memory. So without further ado, I present the press release I received recently promoting the publication of some of his beautiful work:

Sebastián, Marea and Packawallop Productions' award-winning expat/inferno

This collection features three plays by US latino dramatist Alejandro Morales. Melancholic and erotic, Morales's work is part of an exciting canon of American theater. Working with themes of memory and trauma within and outside of the queer-ed body, Morales weaves haunted tales of absence and presence.

Prefaced by an interview with playwright-translator-editor Caridad Svich, this volume captures an artist playing hard and loose with the possibilities of dramatic structure and poetry.

"with 'marea,' alejandro morales manages to marry the thrill of a classic horror film with the emotional intensity of high drama. his exploration of sexual politics and his gothic sense of humor are haunting indeed."--david grimm, playwright

"when i see or read one of morales's plays, i imagine i'm in a fever dream of tennessee williams: sexy and dangerous, lyrical and campy, hysterical and loving. and i never want to wake up."--john dias, dramaturg/producer

NoPassport Press Dreaming the Americas Series

NoPassport Press is a division of theater alliance NoPassport, devoted to diversity, difference and freedom of expression in theater and performance
nopassportpress@aol.com

$19.95
www.lulu.com
lowercaseletter.blogspot.com

Kiara's last show

2007-12-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

So, I went to this little show down at Don Hill’s (511 Greenwich Street near Spring Street) the other night… A singer who I’ve been following for a little while, Miss Kiara Bianco, from just outside Milan, Italy, gave her swan-song for the year, and it was a beautiful thing. I had invited my friend Andy Action and his beautiful wife Christina, because nobody I know appreciates live musical performance the way they do, and I got the feeling they had a good time. Andy was very complimentary from the moment he met Kiara; during the performance, he leaned over several times to give me his insights. He was very impressed at the way Kiara brought “an intimate quality to a very impersonal space”; he also said her performance was proof that having a “strong inner presence is more important than having a flashy exterior.”

I stand by everything I’ve already said about Kiara; a powerful singer, a moving songwriter, lots of fun to watch in performance, and backed by super-professional talent. Her shows have always been fun, my only complaint being that her sets are too short, and I’m sure that will change when she rejoins us next year for her residency at The Bitter End (149 Bleecker Street), which starts March 16th of next year. This comes after Kiara’s invitation to join the New York Songwriter’s Circle, so she can now count herself amongst the ranks of Norah Jones, Vanessa Carlton, and Chris Barron (of the Spin Doctors).

I hope everybody comes out for Kiara’s next set of shows next year, so you can say you saw her before it was impossible to get tickets to her shows. And Kiara, I hope you have a lovely time in your native Italy; New York will be a little colder without you…

Classic Stage Company's Richard III

2007-11-28T15:15:00.000-08:00

Classic Stage Company’s presentation of William Shakespeare’s Richard III, directed by Brian Kulick and Michael Cumpsty. Featuring Craig Baldwin (Lord Hastings/James Tyrrell), Steven Boyer (Marquis of Dorset/Murderer/Bishop of Ely), Michael Cumpsty (Richard), Philip Goodwin (King Edward IV/Lord Mayor/Lord Stanley), Chad Hoeppner (Brackenbury/Sir William Catesby), Paul Lazar (Earl Rivers/Murderer/A Scrivener), Roberta Maxwell (Queen Margaret), KK Moggie (Mistress Shore/Lady Anne/Young Prince Richard), Andy Phelan (Young Prince Edward/Messenger), Michael Potts (Duke of Buckingham), Judith Roberts (Duchess of York), Maria Tucci (Queen Elizabeth), and Graham Winton (George Duke of Clarence/Henry Earl of Richmond).

I should probably say right off the bat that I’ve come to dread seeing Shakespeare full length productions; too often, I have to either restrain myself from rushing on-stage and “fixing” the production, or I’m just trying to think about how I’m going to exit the theatre unobtrusively and early because it’s just too awful. I have no problem with editing, contemporizing, or doing anything else to make the script more accessible for today’s audience, if it’s done well (more often than not, it’s not done well); as a writer, I hope director’s are “updating” my work in 400 years, not staging them as museum pieces. That being said…

A slick, fast-paced production, CSC’s Richard III hit almost all of my Shakespeare buttons, in a good way. From the first moment of the show, it never slowed its pace, which I firmly believe is the only way to do it. Thankfully, the program contained a note about events and character relationships, because this production didn’t wait for the audience to catch up. The transitions were quick, smooth, and most importantly, didn’t distract.

The performances were rock solid; Michael Cumpsty’s Richard took center stage of course, but didn’t let the fact that he was “deformed, disfigured, sent before his time into this breathing world scarce half made up” slow his performance down in the least. His overwhelming charisma won the audience over from the first, so much so that the entire audience cheered and waved flags for him (a clever piece of audience participation/manipulation), but that same charisma was counter-pointed by his indomitable strength of will; if he couldn’t seduce Anne in a scene I’ve always found incredibly problematic, he made sure she knew there was no way she could avoid bending to his will.

There wasn’t a weak link in the cast, all of the performances were excellent; some noticeable moments and performances included KK Moggie’s delivery of Prince Richard’s insinuating and underhanded remarks about her evil uncle, delivered with that childlike innocence and naiveté that lets us forgive children when they’ve gone too far; Craig Baldwin’s double duty as the lascivious Lord Hastings, countered by his too-much loving duty to (and later doubt about) his liege; Paul Lazar’s comic misgivings as a murderer; and Roberta Maxwell, whose impassioned speeches during her first scene garnered applause from the audience during the scene (always a beautiful thing for an actor).

Any complaints I had were minor: the costumes were not my favorite, although Richard’s custom clothing looked great. And there were a couple of moments of blocking I questioned, but they could have been forced by the three-sided audience configuration; I was on the side farthest from the entrance, almost in the extreme corner, and I felt included the entire time, so the blocking was effective. My questions were probably due more to my taste than anything else.

All in all, the evening was a good time in the theatre with a tightly paced production, enjoyable performances, and a charismatic-yet-sinister villain. CSC was one of the companies I enjoyed years ago and missed in the intervening years, and now that I’ve been back to see their current offering, it’s one of the companies I’m excited to have returned to.

This production runs through December 9th.

For more information about the Classic Stage Company, visit their website at:

http://www.classicstage.org/

Alas, Poor Yorick... Final Sales end Thursday!

2007-11-28T13:24:00.000-08:00

My friend Tanya Gough has run the Poor Yorick Shakespeare Catalog for ten years now, and this year made the decision to shut the doors, for which many people are much saddened, myself included. Over the past few years, my DVD collection grew from a couple Shakespeare films to a handful to dozens thanks to Tanya and her great company; everything from the Russian King Lear to Trevor Nunn's stagings of Macbeth and Othello in the '60's to the wonderful Canadian TV series Slings & Arrows. Poor Yorick may be gone, but it will not be forgotten...

If anyone wants to peruse what's left of the inventory, here is the handy link:

www.bardcentral.com/pdf/endstock.pdf

Tanya says the sale ends this Thursday, so hurry over and buy some Christmas presents for yourself or others!

Cheers and Happy Holidays!

Kiara Bianco's last show of the year!

2007-11-27T14:10:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody, I know this makes for a late night for us working-class types, but look at it this way: the next day is Friday! Start your weekend early!Seriously, Kiara is a fantastic singer/songwriter, her sets are always fun, and I will miss her. Hopefully, she will be back with us in the Spring.

All the pertinent info follows:

Live @ Don Hill's - THU Nov 29th- NYC - 10.30 PM
511 Greenwich St. at Spring St., New York, 10011

For Directions got to: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=511+greenwich+st,+new+york,+ny&ie=UTF8&ll=40.725356,-74.00897&spn=0.007123,0.019913&z=16&iwloc=addr&om=1

The Wooster Group Hamlet

2007-11-26T18:29:00.000-08:00

The Wooster Group Hamlet by William Shakespeare, directed by Elizabeth LeCompte, with Dominique Bousquet, Ari Fliakos, Alessandro Magania, Daniel Pettrow, Bill Raymond, Scott Shepherd, Casey Spooner, Kate Valk, and Judson Williams.

“What a piece of work is man…” and what an undertaking was this project, although you won’t hear the preceding famous line in this particular production. That’s not the only line that is “fast-forwarded” past in this production, and thankfully. If I had to sit through every line of the Richard Burton version of Hamlet, I would have watched the DVD. Come to think of it, I have. Several times.

Luckily, this ambitious project was less about re-enacting the 1964 film version, and more about capturing the spirit (or spirits, as the case may be) of that earlier production. Here’s my take on what I saw: A group of inmates in some hidden scientific research facility are subjected to a bizarre experiment involving re-constructing the story of Hamlet based entirely on the script and a film unearthed from years (possibly centuries) before. Having the script, the film version is re-cut to follow the text, and the actors’ performances are adjusted to follow this re-edited version, including all the tiny jumps, edits, and quick-cuts to close-ups. Overall, I was left with the impression that the inmates from Peter Schaffer’s Marat/Sade had discovered the artifacts of the Blessed Saint Leibowitz and were being tortured by doctors from a David Cronenberg film.

All of that is great. The problem is that, even edited, it was too much. For one thing, the inmates had too much control over the experiment. I would have liked to have seen the film being manipulated even more by some unseen presence from offstage, jumping over some scenes, rewinding others, and seeing how it affected these poor subjects trapped on-stage. Instead, this manipulation only occurred a couple of times, and was controlled usually by Scott Shepherd, the actor playing Hamlet, but not always. If the scientific experiment scenario described above is anywhere close to being accurate, there were just too many questions about what was going on, especially at the end, when the bodies have been counted and the omnipresent nurse is the last image seen as the lights dim.

The other problem I had with this piece was that there were audience members who clearly were not familiar with the story of Hamlet. For example, there were audible gasps from the audience when Gertrude drank from the poisoned cup. Maybe I’m too much of a purist, but I felt bad for those audience members; this is not how I would have introduced anybody to one of the greatest stories of all time. The concept was interesting as an experiment, or as a small part of a different story, but as far as reconstructing an entire film, it was too much. Brilliant, demented, and just too much.

This show continues until December 2.
For more info about anything at the Public, click here:
http://www.publictheater.org/

Free Upcoming Readings/Performances

2007-11-26T15:26:00.000-08:00

Marie Antionette's Head
Free Reading at The Flea

A play by Justin Maxwell, directed by Shannon Sindelar

Sunday, Dec 2 @ 4pmcheck out http://www.theflea.org/

Native Theater Festival @ the Public
Free Readings of Plays by Native Artists
call 212.967.7555 to reserve tix, 2 per show

Wed, Dec. 5 @ 7pm In A World Created By A Drunken God, by Drew Hayden Taylor (Ojibway)

Thurs, Dec. 6 @ 8pm Salvage, by Diane Glancy (Cherokee)

Fri, Dec. 7 @ 8pm A Stray Dog, by William S. Yellow Robe, Jr. (Assiniboine)

Sat, Dec. 8 @ 6pm Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light, by Joy Harjo (Mvskoke/Creek)

Sun, Dec. 9 @ 8pm Tales of an Urban Indian, written and performed by Darrell Dennis(Secwepemec)

Bingo with the Indians at The Flea

2007-11-10T12:33:00.000-08:00

Produced at The Flea Theatre, written and directed by Adam Rapp. Featuring THE BATS, the Flea’s resident acting company, with Cooper Daniels (Stash), Jessica Pohly (Dee), Rob Yang (Wilson), Evan Enderle (Steve), Missel Leddington (Mrs. Wood), Corrine Donly (Jackson), Ben Horner (The Indian).

Not being that familiar with Adam Rapp’s work, the pieces I’ve seen so far remind me a bit of Quentin Tarantino’s style of screenwriting; brutal, bloody, and intense. My question for Adam's work last month at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, American Sligo, was why wasn’t it a screenplay? This piece, on the other hand, felt more theatrical; maybe it was the premise (a way-the-hell-off-Broadway theatre company needs to finance their next show, so they decide to knock over a bingo parlor in rural New Hampshire), or the ending (comprising of an edge-of-death vision that seems to be shared by all the characters), but this play just felt more like a play than Sligo did. The actors were fierce and committed, particularly Evan Enderle as the lonely Steve, Rob Yang as the frightening stage-manager Wilson, and Cooper Daniels as the scatologically-obsessed Stash. Missel Leddington also turned in a moving performance as Steve’s mother, Mrs. Wood.

I’m honestly not interested in this type of writing for the stage, it’s just not my cup of tea. I am a huge fan of Tarantino’s film work, and it seems that Adam Rapp is attempting to emulate the brutality of Tarantino’s (and others) film work, moving the intensity of these types of stories to a smaller stage, so to speak. It seems to me this type of work would find a much larger audience in the film world, and I’m sure we will see more of his writing appearing in the future on the silver screen. I’m not sure what I’d like to see from Mr. Rapp in the future as far as stage work goes; his language is unique and interesting, his actors talented and committed, so I’ll keep coming to see what he surprises us with next.