Saturday, March 6, 2010

Review - Late Nights with the Boys: confessions of a leather bar chanteuse (The Lopsided Company and FRIGID New York)

By Byrne Harrison

In an earlier interview with StageBuzz.com, Alex Bond pointed out that Late Nights with the Boys: confessions of a leather bar chanteuse is not a show, as such; it is a reading from Bond's novel of the same title, a fictionalized version of her days as a cabaret singer at a Dallas gay bar.

Fair enough. However, five minutes into Alex Bond and David Carson's performance, you may very well forget that they are reading.

Late Nights with the Boys follows a series of meetings between Anna Zander, former debutante and leather bar cabaret singer, and Craig Bauer, the eager young writer who is helping her write her memoirs. A proper Southern lady who nonetheless has a wild and adventurous side, Anna fascinates Craig, and he strives to create a masterpiece about the happiest time of her life, while satisfying his curiosity about this charming woman who seems so full of contradictions. Over the course of the performance, the audience gets to see Craig and Anna interact and hear Craig's preliminary chapters of Anna's memoirs.

Both Bond and Carson are engaging and entertaining actors. Carson excels at showing Craig's eagerness and his growing fascination with Anna. Bond is outstanding as Anna, capturing her down-home charm and the naughty twinkle in her eye. Using economical gestures - a sly smile here, a raised eyebrow there - Bond creates a fascinating, puckish character, and like Craig, it's impossible not to want to know more about her.

Therein lies the only flaw in this production, it made me wish they had time to read the whole book. If the rest of her work is anything like witty, well-crafted sample that was produced as part of the FRIGID New York festival, then Late Nights with the Boys: confessions of a leather bar chanteuse is a must-read.

If you miss Late Nights with the Boys, there is another opportunity to see Bond and Carson perform together. Maieutic Theatre Works has announced that they will be playing husband and wife in the world premiere of David Stallings' Barrier Island in May.

Late Nights with the Boys: confessions of a leather bar chanteuse
Written by Alex Bond
Directed by Steven Yuhasz

Featuring: Alex Bond and David Carson

UNDER St. Marks
94 St. Marks Place

Wed 2/24 - 6:00 PM
Sat 2/27 - 7:00 PM
Mon 3/01 - 9:00 PM
Fri 3/05 - 6:00 PM
Sun 3/07 - 2:30 PM

No comments: