Review by Bryan Stryker
Everybody Dies tells the story of a love triangle set during a world-wide suicide pact. Charlton Heston (yes, the actor) has gained control of the world, and has convinced everyone that the only way to achieve happiness is to prepare to transition to the afterlife. The moment of transition is preordained, and he will soon announce its coming. His power is so prevalent that DJ Don (Levi Morger) and DJ Peggy (Carly Robbins) of station WCHR play nothing but Charlton Heston's favorite hits.
Eva (Jenna Doolittle) leads one of the local chapters that assists those in planning their transition - something they are reminded is not the end, it's just the beginning. Led by her gal pals Britanny (Miranda Child) and Carrie (the excellent Candice Palladino), they revel in their moment as they plan what they consider to be the most excellent day of their lives - the end of their lives. Her boyfriend Tom (Stephen Dexter) isn't sold on the idea of transitioning and seems more sold on trying to get into Eva's pants. In a subplot, Carrie reveals to Eva that she is pregnant - a severe no-no as she cannot be pregnant when the transitioning begins or it will be considered an abortion and she cannot enter the afterlife.
Meanwhile in New York City, Jane (Laura Perloe) and her band of renegades Bree (Leah Dash) and Taylor (Alley Scott) are trying to find a way to survive the upcoming transitioning and lead the resistance. Jane returns to her hometown intent of bringing her ex-boyfriend Tom into their fold and spirit him away to New York. When the "transitioning time" is announced we follow the cast as they make plans to either join in the mass suicide or challenge the notion that one person could control their lives and future.
On paper that doesn't sound like such a bad conceit: an alternate reality where a Jim Jones/Marshall Applewhite figure controlling the fate of the entire world announces that it's time to go. Get dressed up, head to your transitioning center, and off to the afterlife. In reality, the play is a jumbled mess with more questions than answers. How did Charlton Heston come to rule the world? Why was the decision made to "transition"? How did Jane get involved in the counter-revolution and why does it only have two other members? Why is Tom resisting transitioning? Following Maggie Rydzel's script simply takes too much work and provides too few answers.
Director Russell Dobular succeeds in highlighting the humorous moments of the piece and effectively transitioning from one scene to the next. The spare set consisting of a few modular boxes and chairs works effectively to keep the show moving. However, the lack of lighting design and low production values give the show a community theatre feel.
Jenna Doolittle's Eva comes off as a post-apocalyptic Heidi Montag - and no, that's not a compliment. While one could say that the over-the-top dramatics are required for such an outrageous play, they could be toned down significantly and still get the necessary response.
Laura Perloe's Jane is a modern day Patty Hearst type, complete with beret. While still extremely theatrical, her portrayal is far more believable as the rogue counter-revolutionary. Her intent and desires are real - she does want to reshape the world when the transitioning is done. Perloe is one of the best parts of Everybody Dies. Each moment she is on the stage is a pleasure.
Stephen Dexter's Tom, the love interest of the two female leads, does yeoman's work in this piece, but sometimes seems to be used more like set dressing - merely a pair of tight jeans and a wife beater. But he amuses playing the horny teenager who sees nothing wrong with grabbing his girlfriend's breasts and making contorted faces as he wavers from joining the transitioning to joining Jane in the resistance.
Notable standouts in the ensemble include Miranda Child as the creepy Brittany, who takes delight in announcing the transitioning with the wide-eyed, happy grin of a fully dedicated cult member. Candice Palladino as pregnant Carrie leaves one of the greatest impressions in a key scene as she decides to deal with her pregnancy. With the audience noticeably fidgeting in their seats and giving an ear-piercing scream, Palladino cements her spot as the person the audience is most likely to talk about when the lights come up.
Finally, Carly Robbins and Levi Morger, as the two DJ's counting down the time to transitioning provide a touching scene. DJ Don clearly longs for his radio partner and as they share a final kiss right before they are to transition, they both admit that it was something that they had wanted to do for some time. When DJ Don leans in to kiss again, he is stopped by Peggy and told that "it wasn't that great."
Sadly, neither was Everybody Dies.
Everybody Dies
Written by Molly Rydzel
Directed by Russell Dobular
Sound Design: Jeremy Pape
Featuring: Anthony Mead (Tom's Mom/Man 2/CHer), Alley Scott (Taylor), Candice Palladino (Carrie), Carly Robbins (DJ Peggy), Jenna Doolittle (Eva), Laura Perloe (Jane), Leah Dashe (Bree), Levi Morger (DJ Don), Marek Sapieyevski (Jane's Mom/Man 1/CHer), Miranda Child (Brittany), Stephen Dexter (Tom)
Planet Connections Theatre Festivity
440 Studios
440 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor
Closed June 21st
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Review - Dickinson (American International Theater, Inc. and the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity)
Review by Byrne Harrison
The Emily Dickinson presented in William Roetzheim's Dickinson is nothing like the woman they teach about in school, and thank goodness for that. While that Emily is interesting, in a literary way, this one fascinates in front of our eyes. Dickinson bills itself as a "well-researched" story about the poet. What it uncovers is mostly conjecture - how does one prove that which is merely hinted at in poems and letters? - but what Roetzheim imagines brings an interesting new angle to Dickinson's story and a great jumping off point for further discussion.
Part of the beauty of Roetzheim's play is that it spins out Emily's secrets bit by bit, and always with pieces of her work backing up the hypotheses. He does so in a very theatrical style that keeps the audience interested in the way that a lecture never would. Dickinson imagines a playwright (Greg Wittman) who is finishing a five-play cycle on the poets that most influenced 20th Century poetry. Having had no problems with the other four plays, he is confounded by Emily Dickinson - unable to get a sense of who this mysterious person was. After another drunken, fruitless evening, he finds himself in the same room with Emily Dickinson. She may be a ghost, a vision, or a delusion, but whatever she is he yearns to hear her story from her point of view. Emily (Rhianna Basore) has other plans. She is coy and cagey, and does not want to be understood. More importantly, there are things in her life she wants to hide even from herself. Painful memories that she will hint at, but doesn't want to examine.
Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game between Emily and the playwright that ultimately leads to more questions than answers.
While the play has an interesting premise, it would be stronger were the two characters more evenly matched. The playwright never really has a chance against Emily. Any points he scores during their interactions, almost always seem to be given to him by Emily out of grace or perhaps pity.
Much of this is due to the playwright being a somewhat underwritten role, but it also comes from the actors themselves. Basore throws herself into her role with an almost scary intensity. Her Emily is mercurial, leaping powerfully from emotion to emotion, scene to scene, moment to moment. Wittman's playwright is not that strong. He provides exposition, a sounding board for Emily, but he never comes across as her equal, or as a man who wants to master her so he can truly bring her to life in his play.
Director Al Germani shows his strength as a director and his background in dance and music. The direction in Dickinson often has the feel of choreography, and I mean that in a good way. The action is fluid, the stage pictures interesting, and Germani creates a flow in the production that complements the rhythm of both Dickinson's poetry and Roetzheim's dialogue.
While Dickinson is not without flaws, it offers a fascinating look at the 'warts and all' life of the poet. It is definitely a standout production in the Planet Connections festival.
Dickinson
Written by William Roetzheim
Directed by Al Germani
Vocals: Diana Sparta
Sound Design: Al Germani, Bill Kehayias
Costumes by the cast
Featuring: Rhianna Basore (Emily), Greg Wittman (The Playwright), Diana Sparta (All Other Female Roles), Charlie Riendeau (All Other Male Roles)
Planet Connections Theatre Festivity
440 Studios
440 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor
June 13, 11 AM
June 14, 7 PM
June 15, 8:30 PM
June 17, 4 PM
June 19, 8:30 PM
June 20, 1 PM
The Emily Dickinson presented in William Roetzheim's Dickinson is nothing like the woman they teach about in school, and thank goodness for that. While that Emily is interesting, in a literary way, this one fascinates in front of our eyes. Dickinson bills itself as a "well-researched" story about the poet. What it uncovers is mostly conjecture - how does one prove that which is merely hinted at in poems and letters? - but what Roetzheim imagines brings an interesting new angle to Dickinson's story and a great jumping off point for further discussion.
Part of the beauty of Roetzheim's play is that it spins out Emily's secrets bit by bit, and always with pieces of her work backing up the hypotheses. He does so in a very theatrical style that keeps the audience interested in the way that a lecture never would. Dickinson imagines a playwright (Greg Wittman) who is finishing a five-play cycle on the poets that most influenced 20th Century poetry. Having had no problems with the other four plays, he is confounded by Emily Dickinson - unable to get a sense of who this mysterious person was. After another drunken, fruitless evening, he finds himself in the same room with Emily Dickinson. She may be a ghost, a vision, or a delusion, but whatever she is he yearns to hear her story from her point of view. Emily (Rhianna Basore) has other plans. She is coy and cagey, and does not want to be understood. More importantly, there are things in her life she wants to hide even from herself. Painful memories that she will hint at, but doesn't want to examine.
Thus begins a cat-and-mouse game between Emily and the playwright that ultimately leads to more questions than answers.
While the play has an interesting premise, it would be stronger were the two characters more evenly matched. The playwright never really has a chance against Emily. Any points he scores during their interactions, almost always seem to be given to him by Emily out of grace or perhaps pity.
Much of this is due to the playwright being a somewhat underwritten role, but it also comes from the actors themselves. Basore throws herself into her role with an almost scary intensity. Her Emily is mercurial, leaping powerfully from emotion to emotion, scene to scene, moment to moment. Wittman's playwright is not that strong. He provides exposition, a sounding board for Emily, but he never comes across as her equal, or as a man who wants to master her so he can truly bring her to life in his play.
Director Al Germani shows his strength as a director and his background in dance and music. The direction in Dickinson often has the feel of choreography, and I mean that in a good way. The action is fluid, the stage pictures interesting, and Germani creates a flow in the production that complements the rhythm of both Dickinson's poetry and Roetzheim's dialogue.
While Dickinson is not without flaws, it offers a fascinating look at the 'warts and all' life of the poet. It is definitely a standout production in the Planet Connections festival.
Dickinson
Written by William Roetzheim
Directed by Al Germani
Vocals: Diana Sparta
Sound Design: Al Germani, Bill Kehayias
Costumes by the cast
Featuring: Rhianna Basore (Emily), Greg Wittman (The Playwright), Diana Sparta (All Other Female Roles), Charlie Riendeau (All Other Male Roles)
Planet Connections Theatre Festivity
440 Studios
440 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor
June 13, 11 AM
June 14, 7 PM
June 15, 8:30 PM
June 17, 4 PM
June 19, 8:30 PM
June 20, 1 PM
Monday, June 15, 2009
Review - The Secretaries (Project: Theater & The 78th Street Theatre Lab)
Review by Byrne Harrison
"We don't kill them because they're bad. We kill them because we're bad."
What do you think of when you hear the word secretary? I'm willing to bet that the image that pops into your mind has nothing to do with the chainsaw-wielding, SlimFast-guzzling, sexually ambiguous ladies that populate The Five Lesbian Brothers' The Secretaries. It might be a little scary if it did. But once you experience these secretaries, you may never look at yours the same way again.
Patty (Jessi Blue Gormezano) is the new girl at Cooney Lumber Mills. Head of her class in secretarial school, she landed this plum assignment working with Peaches (Laura Dillman), Dawn (Karis Danish), Ashley (Jenny Schutzman), and their powerful and enigmatic boss, Susan (Tara Franklin). From the beginning, Patty senses something is a little off. Perhaps it's that the secretaries never eat solid food, only strawberry SlimFasts. Or the chastity pledge they all must sign. Or maybe it's the strange giggle and click language they speak to one another. Or it could be the strange way that a lumberjack dies a gruesome death every twenty-eight days or so. Patty's desire to get to the bottom of the mysteries she sees around her is blunted somewhat by her relationship with Buzz (Brian Frank), a shy lumberjack who catches Patty's eye. But eventually, the band's murderous designs are exposed, and Buzz winds up in the cross-hairs.
The ending of the play is pretty much a foregone conclusion, but the twists and turns along the way - lesbian Dawn's predatory stalking of Patty, Peaches' over-the-top binging, Ashley's dethronement from her long held "Secretary of the Month" position, and ice queen Susan's tampon inspection (don't ask, it simply has to be seen to be believed) - make for a wild, campy, and howlingly funny trip.
The acting in The Secretaries is outstanding, with each actor milking out as much humor as possible from the role, and leaving each character grounded in reality, even as the situations get wilder and wilder. Production values are strong as well, particularly J.J. Bernard and Francois Portier's flexible set and Gracie Law's lighting. Joe Jung's strong directing help make this an excellent production.
For a fun, campy, and laugh-out-loud good time, I heartily recommend The Secretaries.
The Secretaries
By The Five Lesbian Brothers (Maureen Angelos, Babs Davy, Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey, and Lisa Kron)
Directed by Joe Jung
Stage Manager: Jacob Seelbach
Scenic Artistry: J.J. Bernard and Francois Portier
Costume Design: Janaske von Sunrike
Sound Design: Joe Jung
Lighting Design: Gracie Law
Publicity: Seth Grugle
Featuring: Karis Danish (Dawn Midnight), Laura Dillman (Peaches Martin), Brian Frank (Buzz Benikee), Tara Franklin (Susan Curtis), Jessi Blue Gormezano (Patty Johnson), Andrew McLeod (Sandy/Mr. Kembunkscher), Jenny Schutzman (Ashley Elizabeth Fratangello)
78th Street Theatre Lab
236 W. 78th Street
Visit Project: Theater for information.
Closed June 6th
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Review - Del Shores The Storyteller (Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman, Gayfest NYC, Jason Dottley as Part of Gayfest NYC 2009)
Review by Byrne Harrison
It's a unique opportunity to have a chance to hear a playwright talk about the inspiration for his works. When that playwright is Del Shores, the creator of Daddy's Dyin' (Who's Got the Will?), Southern Baptist Sissies, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, and the wildly popular Sordid Lives (which has been a play, a film, and a TV series), you can be sure that there will be plenty of laughs. And while Shores admits that the stories he tells may be embellished just a little, that's okay, because they are hilarious and often very touching.
Part of a national tour, Del Shores The Storyteller played in New York on June 6th. As part of Gayfest NYC 2009, the two sold-out performances benefited the Harvey Milk High School.
Those who don't know Shores' work might have thought that they'd be left out of the jokes. Fortunately, Shores' one-man show is a delightful mix of show biz gossip (Want to know which celebrities have crossed Shores in his years in the business? He names names.), family anecdotes, and selections from his plays. In addition, Shores' partner, Jason Dottley (who plays Ty on "Sordid Lives: The Series") made a surprise appearance, as did the wonderful Caroline Rhea, who filled in for the ailing Rue McClanahan.
While the majority of the evening was light-hearted in nature, Shores scored a dramatic hit at the end of his show when he performed a monologue, originally part of Southern Baptist Sissies, about hypocrisy in the church. The piece was emotionally devastating and showed that his skills as a comic writer do not mean that he is a lightweight when it comes to serious topics.
Without a doubt, the high point of the evening was the presentation of the Gayfest NYC Community Service Award to Del Shores for his outstanding service to the LGBT community by celebrated actor and playwright Charles Busch, who also serves on the Advisory Board of Gayfest NYC.
The Del Shores The Storyteller national tour continues in DC and Philadelphia. Visit Del Shores' website for details.
Del Shores The Storyteller
Written and Performed by Del Shores
Produced by Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman, Gayfest NYC, and Jason Dottley
Gayfest NYC Festival Staff
Producers: Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman
Festival Associate Producer: Marvin Kahan
Associate Producers: Robert A. Sherrill, Jeffrey Shulman, Jerry Wade
General Manager: Barbara Vaccaro
Business Manager: Michelle Rodriguez
Directors: Martin Casella, Tony Stevens
Production Stage Manager: Andrea Wales
House Manager: C. Colby Sachs
Festival Staff Assistant: Rebecca Silverman
Casting: Michael Cassara, CSA
Marketing: Hugh Hysell, HHC Marketin
Press Representative: O&M Co.
Art Director: Scott Fowler, Acting Out Design
Legal Counsel: Peter Panaro, Esq.
It's a unique opportunity to have a chance to hear a playwright talk about the inspiration for his works. When that playwright is Del Shores, the creator of Daddy's Dyin' (Who's Got the Will?), Southern Baptist Sissies, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, and the wildly popular Sordid Lives (which has been a play, a film, and a TV series), you can be sure that there will be plenty of laughs. And while Shores admits that the stories he tells may be embellished just a little, that's okay, because they are hilarious and often very touching.
Part of a national tour, Del Shores The Storyteller played in New York on June 6th. As part of Gayfest NYC 2009, the two sold-out performances benefited the Harvey Milk High School.
Those who don't know Shores' work might have thought that they'd be left out of the jokes. Fortunately, Shores' one-man show is a delightful mix of show biz gossip (Want to know which celebrities have crossed Shores in his years in the business? He names names.), family anecdotes, and selections from his plays. In addition, Shores' partner, Jason Dottley (who plays Ty on "Sordid Lives: The Series") made a surprise appearance, as did the wonderful Caroline Rhea, who filled in for the ailing Rue McClanahan.
While the majority of the evening was light-hearted in nature, Shores scored a dramatic hit at the end of his show when he performed a monologue, originally part of Southern Baptist Sissies, about hypocrisy in the church. The piece was emotionally devastating and showed that his skills as a comic writer do not mean that he is a lightweight when it comes to serious topics.
Without a doubt, the high point of the evening was the presentation of the Gayfest NYC Community Service Award to Del Shores for his outstanding service to the LGBT community by celebrated actor and playwright Charles Busch, who also serves on the Advisory Board of Gayfest NYC.
The Del Shores The Storyteller national tour continues in DC and Philadelphia. Visit Del Shores' website for details.
Del Shores The Storyteller
Written and Performed by Del Shores
Produced by Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman, Gayfest NYC, and Jason Dottley
Gayfest NYC Festival Staff
Producers: Bruce Robert Harris and Jack W. Batman
Festival Associate Producer: Marvin Kahan
Associate Producers: Robert A. Sherrill, Jeffrey Shulman, Jerry Wade
General Manager: Barbara Vaccaro
Business Manager: Michelle Rodriguez
Directors: Martin Casella, Tony Stevens
Production Stage Manager: Andrea Wales
House Manager: C. Colby Sachs
Festival Staff Assistant: Rebecca Silverman
Casting: Michael Cassara, CSA
Marketing: Hugh Hysell, HHC Marketin
Press Representative: O&M Co.
Art Director: Scott Fowler, Acting Out Design
Legal Counsel: Peter Panaro, Esq.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Review - Mare Cognitum (Theatre of the Small-Eyed Bear)
Review by Byrne Harrison
David McGee's Mare Cognitum, the final production in the Theatre of the Small-Eyed Bear's Get S.O.M. festival has several fine moments, but they tend to be mired in a script where everyone talks, but no one really seems to do much of anything. While there are plenty of plays that by nature of what is being discussed hold an audience rapt while little, if anything, occurs on stage, Mare Cognitum is not quite meaty enough to do so.
Mare Cognitum tells the story of Lena (Devon Caraway), Jeff (Kyle Walters), and Thomas (Justin Howard), a trio of young twenty-something roommates living in NYC on the cusp of a military campaign against an unnamed foreign country. Jeff wants to be part of the protest raging outside, but is torn between his desire to make a difference and fear that he won't. Lena attended the protest, but as an observer for one of her classes, not as an active participant. With a critical eye she dissects the rally and comes to the conclusion that there is no focus to the protest. It's ostensibly an anti-war rally, but everyone seems to be pushing his own agenda.
They decide to have a protest of their own, in their apartment. As ineffective as the rally outside, but at least they'll be comfortable.
When Thomas returns from a job interview, it leads to a discussion of the efficacy of protests, war, religion, and a couple of very theatrical moments where Thomas reenacts his interview, which in a really nice turn about, wasn't really an interview at all, and Lena reenacts her earlier class and the classmate whose insights made her feel inferior.
Later, the bombs start falling on the unnamed country, and Jeff and Lena decide enough is enough; it's time to leave the madness behind. They're going to the only place left where they can find peace - the moon. Turning their apartment into a rocketship just takes a little imagination, and even getting the doubting Thomas to join in doesn't take too much work. A few minutes of shaking as the apartment rises through the atmosphere, and then they're on the moon. Away from the war. Away from incipient adulthood. Nothing but a thin but breathable atmosphere, lower gravity, and a beautiful earthrise on the horizon.
All good things must come to an end, however, and the roomies find themselves thrown back to reality, the moon a distant dream once again.
Mare Cognitum's strength lies in it's most theatrical moments. As the play untethers itself from reality, it brings the audience along on an adventure. Did the roommates really go to the moon? Was it all a dream or delusion? Ultimately it doesn't really matter; it's the journey, not the destination that's important.
Acting is generally good in the play, particularly Walters as the beaten-down Jeff. Jesse Edward Rosbrow's direction is strong, though ultimately not enough to overcome the limitations of the script. Lighting and sound play a large part in Mare Cognitum, and Wilburn Bonnell and Jared M. Silver, respectively, are to be commended for their work.
Mare Cognitum
Written by David McGee
Directed by Jesse Edward Rosbrow
Stage Manager: Emily Gasser
Set Designer: Elisah Schaefer
Lighting Designer: Wilburn Bonnell
Costume Designer: Jennifer Raskopf
Sound Designer: Jared M. Silver
Props Designer: Jesse Louis Hathaway
Associate Lighting Designer: Victoria Miller
Sound Board Operator: Victoria Watson
Press Representative: Emily Owens PR
Industry Representative: Scotti Rhodes
Graphic Designer: Duncan Pflaster
Website Designer: Ashley Avis
Arts in Action Series Producer: Laura Moss
Associate Producers: Emily Simoness, Margie Kment
Production Manager: Norah Turnham
Producers: Alexander Koo, Arienne Pelletier, Duncan Pflaster, Michael Roderick, Jesse Edward Rosbrow
Featuring: Devon Caraway (Lena), Justin Howard (Thomas), Kyle Walters (Jeff)
The Workshop Theatre
312 W. 36th Street
Closed May 30th
Review - Ore, or Or (Theatre of the Small-Eyed Bear)
Review by Byrne Harrison
"Nothing gold can stay." - Robert Frost
Robert Frost's simple yet elegant eight line poem informs a great deal of Duncan Pflaster's Ore, or Or, presented as part of Theatre of the Small-Eyed Bear's Get S.O.M. festival. Like Frost's poem, Pflaster's play seems simpler than it is. On it's face, it's the story of a love triangle - boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy gets other girl, complications arise. Yet woven into this is a rumination on the nature of beauty and love, the longing for something that one never imagines getting, racial and sexual stereotypes, betrayal, and the price one pays for obsession. Finally, there is a frame on which the story is hung - the mystery of General Yamashita's lost gold. Yamashita, a Japanese general during WWII, is alleged to have looted stores of gold during the war and hidden it in a series of underground complexes in the Philippines. Treasure hunters have sought it ever since.
In Ore, or Or, Calvin Kanayama (E. Calvin Ahn), an art historian working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is trying to determine whether some gold statues found in the Philippines are part of Yamashita's fabled treasure. His obsession to solve the mystery leads him to have cryptic dreams in which Yamashita (Robert Torigoe) speaks to him. His messages seem to deal with the lost gold, but they are equally apt to the love triangle in which Calvin has become entangled.
After a St. Patrick's Day spent on the town, Calvin hooks up with Debbie (Elizabeth Erwin). They hit it off and begin dating. Through Sean (Shawn McLaughlin), Debbie's gay roommate and confidante, Calvin meets Tara (Clara Barton Green), a beautiful, blonde model - the sort of woman that Calvin has idealized for years, but never dared approach because of his insecurities about not being the kind of man that women like her would date.
When she admits an interest in him, Calvin begins a sexual relationship with her, justifying it by telling himself that he's not cheating on Debbie since they never really defined their relationship.
Despite jeopardizing his burgeoning friendship with Sean by letting him in on the secret, Calvin seems to have it all. But as the poem says, nothing gold can last, whether that gold is a relationship with a woman who could be a soulmate, or the gold of a fantasy come true. As everything crashes around him, Calvin is left to clean up the damage as best he can.
Even without the framing device of Yamashita's gold, Ore, or Or would be an excellent play. Pflaster has created complex and interesting characters, all with their own flaws and insecurities, and put them in a compelling story. Even as they hurt one another, intentionally or unintentionally, they remain remarkably human and sympathetic. While much of this is due to the excellent work done by all the actors in the play, Pflaster's ability to write complex and fully realized characters allows them to spend more time creating nuanced performances.
The addition of the dream sequences featuring Yamashita and a woman who at times seems to be his wife and at other times seems to serve as a chorus (Rachel Lin) allows Pflaster to comment on the action of the main story in a way that doesn't affect that action. Calvin interacts with Yamashita and the woman in the dreams, but doesn't make the connection between them and his real life, other than his quest to solve the mystery of the statues.
As mentioned before, the acting is outstanding in the production, with particular praise going to Erwin and Lin. Erwin does an excellent job with Debbie's tentative steps at opening herself up to love and with the crushing anger and pain at Calvin's betrayal. Lin is a chameleon, becoming whatever character is needed in a particular scene (Calvin's sister, a waitress, etc.), and excelling at each.
Elisha Schaefer's elegant Asian-inspired set and Jennifer Raskopf's costumes add depth to the outstanding production. Laura Moss's able direction makes this a production not to miss.
Ore, or Or
Written by Duncan Pflaster
Directed by Laura Moss
Stage Manager: Emily Gasser
Rehearsal SM: Julia LaVault
Dramaturg: Michelle Philippin
Movement Consultant: Sacha Iskra
Set Designer: Elisah Schaefer
Lighting Designer: Victoria Miller
Costume Designer: Jennifer Raskopf
Sound Designer: Jared M. Silver
Props Designer: Jesse Louis Hathaway
Associate Lighting Designer: Wilburn Bonnell
Sound Board Operator: Victoria Watson
Press Representative: Emily Owens PR
Industry Representative: Scotti Rhodes
Graphic Designer: Duncan Pflaster
Website Designer: Ashley Avis
Arts in Action Series Producer: Laura Moss
Associate Producers: Emily Simoness, Margie Kment
Production Manager: Norah Turnham
Producers: Alexander Koo, Arienne Pelletier, Duncan Pflaster, Michael Roderick, Jesse Edward Rosbrow
Featuring: E. Calvin Ahn (Calvin), Elizabeth Erwin (Debbie), Clara Barton Green (Tara), Rachel Lin (Geisha), Shawn McLaughlin (Sean), Robert Torigoe (Yamashita)
The Workshop Theatre
312 W. 36th Street
Closed May 30th
"Nothing gold can stay." - Robert FrostRobert Frost's simple yet elegant eight line poem informs a great deal of Duncan Pflaster's Ore, or Or, presented as part of Theatre of the Small-Eyed Bear's Get S.O.M. festival. Like Frost's poem, Pflaster's play seems simpler than it is. On it's face, it's the story of a love triangle - boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy gets other girl, complications arise. Yet woven into this is a rumination on the nature of beauty and love, the longing for something that one never imagines getting, racial and sexual stereotypes, betrayal, and the price one pays for obsession. Finally, there is a frame on which the story is hung - the mystery of General Yamashita's lost gold. Yamashita, a Japanese general during WWII, is alleged to have looted stores of gold during the war and hidden it in a series of underground complexes in the Philippines. Treasure hunters have sought it ever since.
In Ore, or Or, Calvin Kanayama (E. Calvin Ahn), an art historian working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is trying to determine whether some gold statues found in the Philippines are part of Yamashita's fabled treasure. His obsession to solve the mystery leads him to have cryptic dreams in which Yamashita (Robert Torigoe) speaks to him. His messages seem to deal with the lost gold, but they are equally apt to the love triangle in which Calvin has become entangled.
After a St. Patrick's Day spent on the town, Calvin hooks up with Debbie (Elizabeth Erwin). They hit it off and begin dating. Through Sean (Shawn McLaughlin), Debbie's gay roommate and confidante, Calvin meets Tara (Clara Barton Green), a beautiful, blonde model - the sort of woman that Calvin has idealized for years, but never dared approach because of his insecurities about not being the kind of man that women like her would date.
When she admits an interest in him, Calvin begins a sexual relationship with her, justifying it by telling himself that he's not cheating on Debbie since they never really defined their relationship.
Despite jeopardizing his burgeoning friendship with Sean by letting him in on the secret, Calvin seems to have it all. But as the poem says, nothing gold can last, whether that gold is a relationship with a woman who could be a soulmate, or the gold of a fantasy come true. As everything crashes around him, Calvin is left to clean up the damage as best he can.
Even without the framing device of Yamashita's gold, Ore, or Or would be an excellent play. Pflaster has created complex and interesting characters, all with their own flaws and insecurities, and put them in a compelling story. Even as they hurt one another, intentionally or unintentionally, they remain remarkably human and sympathetic. While much of this is due to the excellent work done by all the actors in the play, Pflaster's ability to write complex and fully realized characters allows them to spend more time creating nuanced performances.
The addition of the dream sequences featuring Yamashita and a woman who at times seems to be his wife and at other times seems to serve as a chorus (Rachel Lin) allows Pflaster to comment on the action of the main story in a way that doesn't affect that action. Calvin interacts with Yamashita and the woman in the dreams, but doesn't make the connection between them and his real life, other than his quest to solve the mystery of the statues.
As mentioned before, the acting is outstanding in the production, with particular praise going to Erwin and Lin. Erwin does an excellent job with Debbie's tentative steps at opening herself up to love and with the crushing anger and pain at Calvin's betrayal. Lin is a chameleon, becoming whatever character is needed in a particular scene (Calvin's sister, a waitress, etc.), and excelling at each.
Elisha Schaefer's elegant Asian-inspired set and Jennifer Raskopf's costumes add depth to the outstanding production. Laura Moss's able direction makes this a production not to miss.
Ore, or Or
Written by Duncan Pflaster
Directed by Laura Moss
Stage Manager: Emily Gasser
Rehearsal SM: Julia LaVault
Dramaturg: Michelle Philippin
Movement Consultant: Sacha Iskra
Set Designer: Elisah Schaefer
Lighting Designer: Victoria Miller
Costume Designer: Jennifer Raskopf
Sound Designer: Jared M. Silver
Props Designer: Jesse Louis Hathaway
Associate Lighting Designer: Wilburn Bonnell
Sound Board Operator: Victoria Watson
Press Representative: Emily Owens PR
Industry Representative: Scotti Rhodes
Graphic Designer: Duncan Pflaster
Website Designer: Ashley Avis
Arts in Action Series Producer: Laura Moss
Associate Producers: Emily Simoness, Margie Kment
Production Manager: Norah Turnham
Producers: Alexander Koo, Arienne Pelletier, Duncan Pflaster, Michael Roderick, Jesse Edward Rosbrow
Featuring: E. Calvin Ahn (Calvin), Elizabeth Erwin (Debbie), Clara Barton Green (Tara), Rachel Lin (Geisha), Shawn McLaughlin (Sean), Robert Torigoe (Yamashita)
The Workshop Theatre
312 W. 36th Street
Closed May 30th
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Review - Squiggy and the Goldfish (Theatre of the Small-Eyed Bear)
Review by Byrne Harrison
You know you're having a bad day when you find out your goldfish, the one that's been telling you to break up with your fiancee, has the ultimate power over whether you live or die.
That is exactly the situation in which Squiggy Finkelstein (Josh Breslow) finds himself in Lenny Schwartz deceptively amusing Squiggy and the Goldfish. While he's pretty sure he loves his fiancee, Veronica (Katrina Ylimaki), despite her cheating, condescension and abuse, Goldie (Eric C. Bailey) wants him to break it off with her. When Squiggy meets a sweet young pet store employee, Blossom (Elyse Ault), whose background of abuse is similar to his own, he is tempted to follow Goldie's advice. But can he really throw off a lifetime of baggage, even for a shot a true love? And is everything in his bizarre life what it seems?
Things are bizarre indeed in Squiggy's world. He is emotionally scarred from his father's abuse and suicide (on Christmas, no less), from his fiancee's contempt, and from his best friend's (Joe Testa) betrayal. He is also literally scarred because he escapes from the pain in his life by cutting himself. Then of course there's the talking goldfish with godlike powers that is trying to get Squiggy to see something - something he doesn't want to see - that will allow him to move past the trauma that is keeping him stuck in his increasingly surreal life and move on - perhaps to true love, or perhaps to something even bigger - acceptance. To reveal too much more gives away the critical secret of the play, suffice it to say Squiggy and the Goldfish ends on a hopeful note.
The acting in Squiggy is superb, with praise to Josh Breslow as the hapless Squiggy, Elyse Ault as Blossom, and Katrina Ylimaki as Veronica. Breslow in particular does an outstanding job dealing with the subtle changes in character that come with each revelation about Squiggy's past. The nebishy Squiggy of the opening scenes is nothing like the raw and exposed Squiggy at the end of the play, and Breslow excels at both.
Directed with aplomb by Michael Roderick, who keeps the production visually stimulating and moving at a brisk clip, the production is able to gloss over some of the weaker moments of the script.
Set designer Elisha Schaefer, whose set has to work for the other two plays in the Get S.O.M.! series (Ore, or Or and Mare Cognitum), has created a versatile set that gives each play a unique feel. He is to be commended for his work.
Theatre of the Small-Eyed Bear (TotSEB) is a collaboration between Theatre of the Expendable, Small Pond Entertainment, and Cross-Eyed Bear Productions. This unique repertory merger allows the companies to share costs, so they can provide three times the entertainment without three times the cost.
Squiggy and the Goldfish
Written by Lenny Schwartz
Directed by Michael Roderick
Assistant Directors: Alexander Koo, Allison Mosier
Stage Manager: Josh Yocom
Set Designer: Elisha Schaefer
Lighting Designer: Wilburn Bonnell
Costume Designer: Jennifer Raskopf
Sound Designer: Jared M. Silver
Props Designer: Jesse Louis Hathaway
Associate Lighting Designer: Victoria Miller
Sound Board Operator: Victoria Watson
Press Representative: Emily Owens PR
Industry Representative: Scotti Rhodes
Graphic Designer: Duncan Pflaster
Website Designer: Ashley Avis
Arts in Action Series Producer: Laura Moss
Associate Producers: Emily Simoness, Margie Kment
Production Manager: Norah Turnham
Producers: Alexander Koo, Arienne Pelletier, Duncan Pflaster, Michael Roderick, Jesse Edward Rosbrow
Featuring: Dana Aber (Mother), Elyse Ault (Blossom), Eric C. Bailey (Goldie), Josh Breslow (Squiggy), Jonathan Miles (Dr. Kevorkian, Pappy), Sarah Novotny (Female Police Officer, Young Man, Geeky Girl), Joe Testa (Wally), Katrina Ylimaki (Veronica)
The Workshop Theatre
312 W. 36th Street
Closed May 30th.
You know you're having a bad day when you find out your goldfish, the one that's been telling you to break up with your fiancee, has the ultimate power over whether you live or die.
That is exactly the situation in which Squiggy Finkelstein (Josh Breslow) finds himself in Lenny Schwartz deceptively amusing Squiggy and the Goldfish. While he's pretty sure he loves his fiancee, Veronica (Katrina Ylimaki), despite her cheating, condescension and abuse, Goldie (Eric C. Bailey) wants him to break it off with her. When Squiggy meets a sweet young pet store employee, Blossom (Elyse Ault), whose background of abuse is similar to his own, he is tempted to follow Goldie's advice. But can he really throw off a lifetime of baggage, even for a shot a true love? And is everything in his bizarre life what it seems?
Things are bizarre indeed in Squiggy's world. He is emotionally scarred from his father's abuse and suicide (on Christmas, no less), from his fiancee's contempt, and from his best friend's (Joe Testa) betrayal. He is also literally scarred because he escapes from the pain in his life by cutting himself. Then of course there's the talking goldfish with godlike powers that is trying to get Squiggy to see something - something he doesn't want to see - that will allow him to move past the trauma that is keeping him stuck in his increasingly surreal life and move on - perhaps to true love, or perhaps to something even bigger - acceptance. To reveal too much more gives away the critical secret of the play, suffice it to say Squiggy and the Goldfish ends on a hopeful note.
The acting in Squiggy is superb, with praise to Josh Breslow as the hapless Squiggy, Elyse Ault as Blossom, and Katrina Ylimaki as Veronica. Breslow in particular does an outstanding job dealing with the subtle changes in character that come with each revelation about Squiggy's past. The nebishy Squiggy of the opening scenes is nothing like the raw and exposed Squiggy at the end of the play, and Breslow excels at both.
Directed with aplomb by Michael Roderick, who keeps the production visually stimulating and moving at a brisk clip, the production is able to gloss over some of the weaker moments of the script.
Set designer Elisha Schaefer, whose set has to work for the other two plays in the Get S.O.M.! series (Ore, or Or and Mare Cognitum), has created a versatile set that gives each play a unique feel. He is to be commended for his work.
Theatre of the Small-Eyed Bear (TotSEB) is a collaboration between Theatre of the Expendable, Small Pond Entertainment, and Cross-Eyed Bear Productions. This unique repertory merger allows the companies to share costs, so they can provide three times the entertainment without three times the cost.
Squiggy and the Goldfish
Written by Lenny Schwartz
Directed by Michael Roderick
Assistant Directors: Alexander Koo, Allison Mosier
Stage Manager: Josh Yocom
Set Designer: Elisha Schaefer
Lighting Designer: Wilburn Bonnell
Costume Designer: Jennifer Raskopf
Sound Designer: Jared M. Silver
Props Designer: Jesse Louis Hathaway
Associate Lighting Designer: Victoria Miller
Sound Board Operator: Victoria Watson
Press Representative: Emily Owens PR
Industry Representative: Scotti Rhodes
Graphic Designer: Duncan Pflaster
Website Designer: Ashley Avis
Arts in Action Series Producer: Laura Moss
Associate Producers: Emily Simoness, Margie Kment
Production Manager: Norah Turnham
Producers: Alexander Koo, Arienne Pelletier, Duncan Pflaster, Michael Roderick, Jesse Edward Rosbrow
Featuring: Dana Aber (Mother), Elyse Ault (Blossom), Eric C. Bailey (Goldie), Josh Breslow (Squiggy), Jonathan Miles (Dr. Kevorkian, Pappy), Sarah Novotny (Female Police Officer, Young Man, Geeky Girl), Joe Testa (Wally), Katrina Ylimaki (Veronica)
The Workshop Theatre
312 W. 36th Street
Closed May 30th.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Horse Trade Theater Group Announces 2009 Summer Season
By Byrne Harrison
Horse Trade Theater Group has announced its 2009 Summer Season. In addition to its monthly shows at Under St. Mark (Revealed Burlesque, Sci-Fi Screening Room, Sundays With Poe, The Matt Fried Show, Told, God Tastes Like Chicken, and Penny’s Open Mic), Horse Trade will feature eight productions from June to August - some new, some old favorites.
The season begins with Bigger Than I presented by the Counting Squares Theatre. With the popularity of confessional websites, blog culture, and the advent of the technology age, Counting Squares Theatre examines the cause and effect of our increasingly stark interpersonal relationships, asking the question, "Why can’t we deal with each other and really be ourselves out in the open." Bigger Than I runs Thursdays through Saturdays at 7 PM, June 4th through 20th, at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Avenue and Avenue A).
The season continues with Joseph Kesselring's classic comedy, Arsenic and Old Lace, presented by Dysfunctional Theatre Company. The play runs June 12th through 27th, Thursday through Saturday, at 7pm and Sunday, June 21, at 3 PM at The Kraine Theater (85 E. 4th Street between 2nd and Bowery).
The season continues with Boatloads of Shame by Rick Blunt and Robert J. Gibbs. Raised in a house full of Catholic women, Rick learned that good girls don't like sex. Hear how he learned otherwise while growing up and transitioning from blue-collar union worker to Shakespeare scholar and professional actor. Boatloads of Shame runs June 25th through 27th at 8 PM at UNDER St. Marks.
Paul David Young's Waking Up With Strangers runs June 29th through July 2nd at 8 PM at The Kraine Theater. Marc is an American scholar in Berlin, attempting to rewrite a failed dissertation on Kleist. Konrad offers Marc help in understanding his attraction to Kleist and opens up a disturbing confrontation with identity. The life of Kleist finds its eerie parallels in Marc’s awakening.
Twisted, the Rising Sun Performance Company's Annual One Act Series, features five short perverse and funny stories that will make you scratch your head in disbelief. Twisted runs from July 9th through 25th, Thursday through Saturday, at 8pm at UNDER St. Marks.
Human Group presents the next play, The Hunger Artist. In this explosive performance, one of Franz Kafka’s strangest characters comes to life and invites the audience to come and share his dark cage. Using song, dance, and circus tricks, Human Group explores starvation, the human body, and what it means to be a performing animal. The Hunger Artist runs from July 16th through 18th at 8 PM in The Red Room (85 E. 4th Street between 2nd and Bowery).
The season concludes with Shakespeare's Julius Caesar presented by Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company. Julius Caesar takes place in a world of male power and dominance, in which the female characters attempt to avert tragedy but find themselves powerless to do so. The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company takes on this testosterone-filled play with an entirely female cast, exploring the performance of gender and challenging preconceptions of male and female. Julius Caesar runs August 13th through 16th, Thursday through Saturday, at 8 PM and Sun at 2 PM at The Kraine Theater.
Tickets to all shows are $18 and are available from SmartTix (212-868-4444) or at Horse Trade's website.
Horse Trade Theater Group has announced its 2009 Summer Season. In addition to its monthly shows at Under St. Mark (Revealed Burlesque, Sci-Fi Screening Room, Sundays With Poe, The Matt Fried Show, Told, God Tastes Like Chicken, and Penny’s Open Mic), Horse Trade will feature eight productions from June to August - some new, some old favorites.
The season begins with Bigger Than I presented by the Counting Squares Theatre. With the popularity of confessional websites, blog culture, and the advent of the technology age, Counting Squares Theatre examines the cause and effect of our increasingly stark interpersonal relationships, asking the question, "Why can’t we deal with each other and really be ourselves out in the open." Bigger Than I runs Thursdays through Saturdays at 7 PM, June 4th through 20th, at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Avenue and Avenue A).The season continues with Joseph Kesselring's classic comedy, Arsenic and Old Lace, presented by Dysfunctional Theatre Company. The play runs June 12th through 27th, Thursday through Saturday, at 7pm and Sunday, June 21, at 3 PM at The Kraine Theater (85 E. 4th Street between 2nd and Bowery).
The season continues with Boatloads of Shame by Rick Blunt and Robert J. Gibbs. Raised in a house full of Catholic women, Rick learned that good girls don't like sex. Hear how he learned otherwise while growing up and transitioning from blue-collar union worker to Shakespeare scholar and professional actor. Boatloads of Shame runs June 25th through 27th at 8 PM at UNDER St. Marks.
Paul David Young's Waking Up With Strangers runs June 29th through July 2nd at 8 PM at The Kraine Theater. Marc is an American scholar in Berlin, attempting to rewrite a failed dissertation on Kleist. Konrad offers Marc help in understanding his attraction to Kleist and opens up a disturbing confrontation with identity. The life of Kleist finds its eerie parallels in Marc’s awakening.
Twisted, the Rising Sun Performance Company's Annual One Act Series, features five short perverse and funny stories that will make you scratch your head in disbelief. Twisted runs from July 9th through 25th, Thursday through Saturday, at 8pm at UNDER St. Marks.
Human Group presents the next play, The Hunger Artist. In this explosive performance, one of Franz Kafka’s strangest characters comes to life and invites the audience to come and share his dark cage. Using song, dance, and circus tricks, Human Group explores starvation, the human body, and what it means to be a performing animal. The Hunger Artist runs from July 16th through 18th at 8 PM in The Red Room (85 E. 4th Street between 2nd and Bowery).
The season concludes with Shakespeare's Julius Caesar presented by Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company. Julius Caesar takes place in a world of male power and dominance, in which the female characters attempt to avert tragedy but find themselves powerless to do so. The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company takes on this testosterone-filled play with an entirely female cast, exploring the performance of gender and challenging preconceptions of male and female. Julius Caesar runs August 13th through 16th, Thursday through Saturday, at 8 PM and Sun at 2 PM at The Kraine Theater.
Tickets to all shows are $18 and are available from SmartTix (212-868-4444) or at Horse Trade's website.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Del Shores The Storyteller Special Two Performance Engagement Featuring Rue McClanahan to Benefit the Harvey Milk School
Bruce Robert Harris, Jack W. Batman, and Jason Dottley are pleased to announce two special New York City performances of Del Shores' one-man show Del Shores The Storyteller to benefit NYC's Harvey Milk High School. Legendary TV icon Rue McClanahan will make a special guest appearance on Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 7:30 PM and 10:30 PM.
The award-winning playwright, TV and film writer, director, and producer steps back on stage in his unscripted one-man show Del Shores The Storyteller for two performances only at the TBG Arts Center, 312 West 36th Street.
Shores is best known for his 1996 play Sordid Lives and the 2001 cult classic film based on it. Last year, the play-turned-film was adapted by Shores for the small screen and premiered to rave reviews on MTV/LOGO, becoming their biggest hit to date. The series is currently syndicated internationally in over a dozen countries.
Other plays by Shores include his GLAAD award-winning Southern Baptist Sissies; the Ovation and Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle award-winning The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife; and the now classic Daddy's Dyin' (Who's Got The Will?) for which Shores executive produced and adapted the screenplay for the 1990 MGM film.
Shores will share the real life stories that have inspired his writing and more in Del Shores The Storyteller. Yes, there was a man with two wooden legs. But did his grandmother trip over them and die while having a sordid affair? And did his mother really ask, "What exactly do you do. when you're gay?" If so, what was the acclaimed writer's response? Yes, prayers were answered and a matching vein was found in a vein bank over in Baton Rogue to replace his Uncle Humpty's collapsed vein. But did Humpty lose the leg after all those prayers? And what relative really shot a policeman in the "saliva gland" and shoulder? Truth and fiction are finally separated in Del Shores The Storyteller.
"It's a dream come true to perform my new show in New York City, and I'm thrilled that the show is benefiting Harvey Milk High School," Shores said.
The first season of "Sordid Lives: The Series" premiered in the summer of 2008 garnering rave reviews for Shores and the all-star cast (Rue McClanahan, Olivia Newton-John, Caroline Rhea, Leslie Jordan and Beth Grant). Shores has also written and produced for many TV shows, most notably "Dharma & Greg" and "Queer as Folk."
Tickets for this special New York City engagement of Del Shores The Storyteller are priced at $35 and may be purchased by calling Del Shores Productions at 323-654-6083. More information about this and future performances nationwide can be found at http://www.delshores.net/.
The award-winning playwright, TV and film writer, director, and producer steps back on stage in his unscripted one-man show Del Shores The Storyteller for two performances only at the TBG Arts Center, 312 West 36th Street.
Shores is best known for his 1996 play Sordid Lives and the 2001 cult classic film based on it. Last year, the play-turned-film was adapted by Shores for the small screen and premiered to rave reviews on MTV/LOGO, becoming their biggest hit to date. The series is currently syndicated internationally in over a dozen countries.
Other plays by Shores include his GLAAD award-winning Southern Baptist Sissies; the Ovation and Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle award-winning The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife; and the now classic Daddy's Dyin' (Who's Got The Will?) for which Shores executive produced and adapted the screenplay for the 1990 MGM film.
Shores will share the real life stories that have inspired his writing and more in Del Shores The Storyteller. Yes, there was a man with two wooden legs. But did his grandmother trip over them and die while having a sordid affair? And did his mother really ask, "What exactly do you do. when you're gay?" If so, what was the acclaimed writer's response? Yes, prayers were answered and a matching vein was found in a vein bank over in Baton Rogue to replace his Uncle Humpty's collapsed vein. But did Humpty lose the leg after all those prayers? And what relative really shot a policeman in the "saliva gland" and shoulder? Truth and fiction are finally separated in Del Shores The Storyteller.
"It's a dream come true to perform my new show in New York City, and I'm thrilled that the show is benefiting Harvey Milk High School," Shores said.
The first season of "Sordid Lives: The Series" premiered in the summer of 2008 garnering rave reviews for Shores and the all-star cast (Rue McClanahan, Olivia Newton-John, Caroline Rhea, Leslie Jordan and Beth Grant). Shores has also written and produced for many TV shows, most notably "Dharma & Greg" and "Queer as Folk."
Tickets for this special New York City engagement of Del Shores The Storyteller are priced at $35 and may be purchased by calling Del Shores Productions at 323-654-6083. More information about this and future performances nationwide can be found at http://www.delshores.net/.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Review - The Children's Hour (Astoria Performing Arts Center)
There's Something About Mary
Review by Brian Stryker
Photo by Jen Maufrais Kelly
That lesbian play.
For years that has been my only point of reference for Lillian Hellman’s melodrama, The Children’s Hour. For many, that is the only point of reference that some have for Hellman’s work. Controversial since it’s 1934 debut, it was disqualified from Pulitzer Prize contention when the head of the committee refused to see a play involving an alleged love affair between two women. In reality, the play focuses more on the power of professional destruction it may bring. The Astoria Performing Arts Center’s production clearly brings forth Hellman’s true intent.
Karen Wright (Emily Dorsch) and Martha Dobie (Carmel Javaher) are the co-owners of a private boarding school for girls. Martha’s Aunt Lily (Jacqueline Sydney) is an aging actress who teaches drama and elocution to their pupils – including Mary Tilford (Lauren Marcus), a notorious troublemaker who takes pleasure in bullying her fellow classmates both physically and psychologically.
When Mary gets caught in a lie, Karen punishes her by not allowing her attend the weekend’s boat races. Believing that she is the continual victim of unfair treatment by her headmistresses, Mary runs away to her grandmother, Amelia Tilford (Charlotte Hampden), to whom she weaves a tale of Martha and Karen being involved in something more than a Boston marriage. Amelia begins calling the parents of Mary’s classmates which results in the school’s population being decimated in the course of a few hours. Of particular consequence to this accusation is Karen’s engagement to local doctor Joe Cardin (G.R. Johnson) who is related to Amelia and Mary. Desperate to keep the deception alive, Mary blackmails fellow student Rosalie to corroborate her version of events or she will reveal Rosalie’s theft of a classmate’s bracelet.
Martha and Karen, with Joe’s support, file suit against the Tilford's for slander, but lose their suit, and ultimately, their school and reputation within the community. Despite Joe’s insistence that he believes her to be innocent of the accusation, Karen opts to end their engagement as, in her words, things will never be the same between them. When Martha learns of their breakup, the guilt of her own feelings toward Karen overwhelms her; she is terrified that she may actually love Karen in more than a platonic way. Karen dismisses Martha's outburst as being brought on by stress and a lack of sleep, urging her to get some rest. the distraught Martha bids her goodnight and seconds later takes her own life. When Amelia Tilford arrives later that evening to announce that Mary has renounced her lies, it truly is a case of “too little, too late.” The lie has led to three lives being destroyed.
Director Jessi D. Hill immediately sets the tone of the play when the ensemble joyfully runs through the audience on their way to Aunt Lily’s elocution class. As the cast bounds onto the stage, Lauren Marcus’ Mary literally turns her nose up and marches back through the audience. Without saying a word, Marcus grabs your attention. Yes, there’s something about Mary and Marcus does not fail to deliver. The stern look, the clenched jaw, the well played histrionics – all combined leaves an indelible mark. The double casting of Marcus as a delivery boy in the third act only reinforces the lingering effects of Mary’s deception.
The pairing of Emily Dorsch’s Karen and Carmel Javaher’s Martha is a brilliant juxtaposition. While they maybe tempted to portray the women as hyper-intellectual or overly sophisticated for the era, both actors have clearly delved into their characters’ backgrounds – Dorsch’s Karen a delight of grace and eloquence even in the face of dishonor; Javaher’s Martha a mixture of sarcasm and emotions as she slowly comes to term with her true feelings as the events unfold around her. The yin and yang approach to the Wright-Dobie pairing both humanizes the women and makes their ultimate demise that much more heartbreaking to watch.
Charlotte Hampden’s Amelia Tilford perfectly embodies the narrow mindedness of the era. Such accusations were never spoken in public or whispered behind closed doors. The look of abject horror as Mary spins her tale combined with the confusion as she ponders what she should do with her new found information.
Amongst the ensemble cast, Emily Kratter, Katherine Folk-Sullivan, and Lydia Woods are particularly noteworthy as three of Mary’s terrorized classmates who subject themselves to Mary’s demands out of fear of her reprisals.
The only sour note of the production was the overly long and quite unnecessary scene change prior to intermission that took the power from the act’s closing moments. Why destroy the impact with a scene change when it could have been performed during the intermission?
The Children’s Hour concludes APAC's 8th season.
The Children's Hour
Written by Lillian Hellman
Directed by Jessi D. Hill
Set Design: Caleb Levengood
Costume Design: Emily Morgan DeAngelis
Lighting Design: Gina Scherr
Sound Design: David A. Thomas
Original Composition: Greg A. Hennigan
Choreography: Tiffany Rachelle Stewart
Casting Director: Scott Wojcik and Gayle Seay/Wojcik Seay Casting
Press Representative: Katie Rosin/Kampfire Films PR
Production Stage Manager: Bonnie Hilton
Props Master/Assistant Set Design: Courteney Drakos
Season Production Manager: Jen Soloway
Technical Director: Patrick T. Cecala II
Assistant Stage Manager: Greg LoProto
Assistant Costume Designer: Whitney Adams
Fight Choreographer: G.R. Johnson
Fight Captain: Greg LoProto
Assistant Production Manager: Anthony Argento
Program Designer: Sylvija Ozols
Graphic Designer: Dan McMahon
Production Photographer: Jen Maufrais Kelly
Box Office Manager: Taryn Drongowski
Casting Intern: Brooke Mori
Build Crew: Raphael Hurtado, Mark Kajtazi, Brian Rutigliano, Richard Todorov, Chris Vaca
Featuring: Lydia Woods (Peggy Rogers), Gwen Ellis (Catherine), Dani Cervone (Lois Fisher), Jacqueline Sydney (Mrs. Lily Mortar), Katherine Folk-Sullivan (Evelyn Munn), Elisa Pupko (Helen Burton), Emily Kratter (Rosalie Wells), Kristin Parker (Janet), Julia Leffler (Leslie), Lauren Marcus (Mary Tilford), Emily Dorsch (Karen Wright), Carmel Javaher (Martha Dobie), G.R. Johnson (Doctor Joseph Cardin), Getchie Argetsinger (Agatha), Charlotte Hampden (Mrs. Amelia Tilford)
Good Shepherd United Methodist Church
30-44 Crescent St.
Astoria, Queens
May 23–June 7
Thu.–Sat., 8 PM; Sun., 6 PM
For ticket information: (866) 811-4111 or http://www.apacny.org/
Review by Brian Stryker
Photo by Jen Maufrais Kelly
That lesbian play.
For years that has been my only point of reference for Lillian Hellman’s melodrama, The Children’s Hour. For many, that is the only point of reference that some have for Hellman’s work. Controversial since it’s 1934 debut, it was disqualified from Pulitzer Prize contention when the head of the committee refused to see a play involving an alleged love affair between two women. In reality, the play focuses more on the power of professional destruction it may bring. The Astoria Performing Arts Center’s production clearly brings forth Hellman’s true intent.
Karen Wright (Emily Dorsch) and Martha Dobie (Carmel Javaher) are the co-owners of a private boarding school for girls. Martha’s Aunt Lily (Jacqueline Sydney) is an aging actress who teaches drama and elocution to their pupils – including Mary Tilford (Lauren Marcus), a notorious troublemaker who takes pleasure in bullying her fellow classmates both physically and psychologically.
When Mary gets caught in a lie, Karen punishes her by not allowing her attend the weekend’s boat races. Believing that she is the continual victim of unfair treatment by her headmistresses, Mary runs away to her grandmother, Amelia Tilford (Charlotte Hampden), to whom she weaves a tale of Martha and Karen being involved in something more than a Boston marriage. Amelia begins calling the parents of Mary’s classmates which results in the school’s population being decimated in the course of a few hours. Of particular consequence to this accusation is Karen’s engagement to local doctor Joe Cardin (G.R. Johnson) who is related to Amelia and Mary. Desperate to keep the deception alive, Mary blackmails fellow student Rosalie to corroborate her version of events or she will reveal Rosalie’s theft of a classmate’s bracelet.
Martha and Karen, with Joe’s support, file suit against the Tilford's for slander, but lose their suit, and ultimately, their school and reputation within the community. Despite Joe’s insistence that he believes her to be innocent of the accusation, Karen opts to end their engagement as, in her words, things will never be the same between them. When Martha learns of their breakup, the guilt of her own feelings toward Karen overwhelms her; she is terrified that she may actually love Karen in more than a platonic way. Karen dismisses Martha's outburst as being brought on by stress and a lack of sleep, urging her to get some rest. the distraught Martha bids her goodnight and seconds later takes her own life. When Amelia Tilford arrives later that evening to announce that Mary has renounced her lies, it truly is a case of “too little, too late.” The lie has led to three lives being destroyed.
Director Jessi D. Hill immediately sets the tone of the play when the ensemble joyfully runs through the audience on their way to Aunt Lily’s elocution class. As the cast bounds onto the stage, Lauren Marcus’ Mary literally turns her nose up and marches back through the audience. Without saying a word, Marcus grabs your attention. Yes, there’s something about Mary and Marcus does not fail to deliver. The stern look, the clenched jaw, the well played histrionics – all combined leaves an indelible mark. The double casting of Marcus as a delivery boy in the third act only reinforces the lingering effects of Mary’s deception.
The pairing of Emily Dorsch’s Karen and Carmel Javaher’s Martha is a brilliant juxtaposition. While they maybe tempted to portray the women as hyper-intellectual or overly sophisticated for the era, both actors have clearly delved into their characters’ backgrounds – Dorsch’s Karen a delight of grace and eloquence even in the face of dishonor; Javaher’s Martha a mixture of sarcasm and emotions as she slowly comes to term with her true feelings as the events unfold around her. The yin and yang approach to the Wright-Dobie pairing both humanizes the women and makes their ultimate demise that much more heartbreaking to watch.
Charlotte Hampden’s Amelia Tilford perfectly embodies the narrow mindedness of the era. Such accusations were never spoken in public or whispered behind closed doors. The look of abject horror as Mary spins her tale combined with the confusion as she ponders what she should do with her new found information.
Amongst the ensemble cast, Emily Kratter, Katherine Folk-Sullivan, and Lydia Woods are particularly noteworthy as three of Mary’s terrorized classmates who subject themselves to Mary’s demands out of fear of her reprisals.
The only sour note of the production was the overly long and quite unnecessary scene change prior to intermission that took the power from the act’s closing moments. Why destroy the impact with a scene change when it could have been performed during the intermission?
The Children’s Hour concludes APAC's 8th season.
The Children's Hour
Written by Lillian Hellman
Directed by Jessi D. Hill
Set Design: Caleb Levengood
Costume Design: Emily Morgan DeAngelis
Lighting Design: Gina Scherr
Sound Design: David A. Thomas
Original Composition: Greg A. Hennigan
Choreography: Tiffany Rachelle Stewart
Casting Director: Scott Wojcik and Gayle Seay/Wojcik Seay Casting
Press Representative: Katie Rosin/Kampfire Films PR
Production Stage Manager: Bonnie Hilton
Props Master/Assistant Set Design: Courteney Drakos
Season Production Manager: Jen Soloway
Technical Director: Patrick T. Cecala II
Assistant Stage Manager: Greg LoProto
Assistant Costume Designer: Whitney Adams
Fight Choreographer: G.R. Johnson
Fight Captain: Greg LoProto
Assistant Production Manager: Anthony Argento
Program Designer: Sylvija Ozols
Graphic Designer: Dan McMahon
Production Photographer: Jen Maufrais Kelly
Box Office Manager: Taryn Drongowski
Casting Intern: Brooke Mori
Build Crew: Raphael Hurtado, Mark Kajtazi, Brian Rutigliano, Richard Todorov, Chris Vaca
Featuring: Lydia Woods (Peggy Rogers), Gwen Ellis (Catherine), Dani Cervone (Lois Fisher), Jacqueline Sydney (Mrs. Lily Mortar), Katherine Folk-Sullivan (Evelyn Munn), Elisa Pupko (Helen Burton), Emily Kratter (Rosalie Wells), Kristin Parker (Janet), Julia Leffler (Leslie), Lauren Marcus (Mary Tilford), Emily Dorsch (Karen Wright), Carmel Javaher (Martha Dobie), G.R. Johnson (Doctor Joseph Cardin), Getchie Argetsinger (Agatha), Charlotte Hampden (Mrs. Amelia Tilford)
Good Shepherd United Methodist Church
30-44 Crescent St.
Astoria, Queens
May 23–June 7
Thu.–Sat., 8 PM; Sun., 6 PM
For ticket information: (866) 811-4111 or http://www.apacny.org/
Saturday, May 30, 2009
OBIE award winner David Drake Brings 2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter's Night Back to P'town
After a sold out run at the Absolut Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, producer/director David Drake and stars Scott Douglas Cunningham and Spencer Keasey (a/k/a Spencer Quest) are bringing James Edwin Parker’s 2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter’s Night back to Provincetown this June for a nine-performance limited engagement. Returning to the Art House Theatre -- where the show was a runaway hit for two smash months last summer -- 2 Boys in a Bed… will play the first two weekends in June - the 5th, 6th, 7th and 12th, 13th, 14th, with three extra performances on Tuesdays June 9th and 23rd, and Wednesday June 24th. All performances are at 9PM. 
Performed without an intermission, the 65-minute play explores the emotions and needs that arise between two gay men after a one-night stand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
2 Boys in a Bed... contains nudity and sexual situations and is for adults only. To see the show's trailer, click here (features some fleeting nudity).
The Art House Theatre is located at 214 Commercial Street, Provincetown, MA. All tickets are $28, and can be purchased in-person at the Art House box office, daily after 2PM, or online.
“Intelligent, moving and superbly performed, James Edwin Parker’s play is in the tradition of Terrence McNally, tracing the obstacles to communication, intimacy and love in 1980s Manhattan, sensitively realized by director David Drake.
Sex may sell, but Scott Douglas Cunningham and Spencer Keasey prove that honesty lingers much longer. Anyone who bought a ticket in the hope of a repeat performance of the star of Manplay 18 won’t get what they bargained for, but one thing is for sure: they’ll never look at a gay porn star the same way again.” -The Irish Times, Chief Drama Critic Peter Crawley -- May 8, 2009
Performed without an intermission, the 65-minute play explores the emotions and needs that arise between two gay men after a one-night stand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
2 Boys in a Bed... contains nudity and sexual situations and is for adults only. To see the show's trailer, click here (features some fleeting nudity).
The Art House Theatre is located at 214 Commercial Street, Provincetown, MA. All tickets are $28, and can be purchased in-person at the Art House box office, daily after 2PM, or online.
“Intelligent, moving and superbly performed, James Edwin Parker’s play is in the tradition of Terrence McNally, tracing the obstacles to communication, intimacy and love in 1980s Manhattan, sensitively realized by director David Drake.
Sex may sell, but Scott Douglas Cunningham and Spencer Keasey prove that honesty lingers much longer. Anyone who bought a ticket in the hope of a repeat performance of the star of Manplay 18 won’t get what they bargained for, but one thing is for sure: they’ll never look at a gay porn star the same way again.” -The Irish Times, Chief Drama Critic Peter Crawley -- May 8, 2009
Commenting
In an effort to promote some discussion of the plays being reviewed by StageBuzz.com, I have turned on the commenting feature. I will be moderating the comments in order to keep spam to a minimum, but I hope to see some lively discussion.
If you are interested in writing for StageBuzz.com or if you have a show that you would like listed or reviewed, please contact Byrne Harrison using the link to the right.
If you are interested in writing for StageBuzz.com or if you have a show that you would like listed or reviewed, please contact Byrne Harrison using the link to the right.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Announcement - Independent Theater Bloggers Association Award Winners Announced
REASONS TO BE PRETTY, BILLY ELLIOT, AND UNIVERSAL ROBOTS TAKE TOP HONORS IN FIRST EVER THEATER BLOGGER AWARDS
The Independent Theater Bloggers Association is thrilled to announce the winners of the first annual ITBA Awards for Excellence in Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway theater.
The ITBA (Independent Theater Bloggers Association) was formed in 2009 by a group of the most passionate theater bloggers on the World Wide Web (partial list below). The members of the Association blog about all aspects and all varieties of both commercial and non-profit theater, from big Broadway musicals performed in Times Square, to the most unique forms of entertainment performed off-off Broadway on the Lower East Side, as well as productions all over the country and all over the world. Together they see thousands of productions, and, without being paid or prodded, they write about them.
Ken Davenport, founder of the ITBA, said, “The Association was formed out of a desire to provide structure to the quickly growing theatrical blogosphere, as well as to give the new media voices a chance to recognize excellence in three of the very distinct theatrical markets that make up the New York City theatrical landscape: Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway.”
In true “new media” style, there will be no live awards ceremony for the ITBA Awards. Instead, there will be a virtual awards ceremony, with video acceptance speeches for the winners posted electronically in the coming weeks on ITBA’s website.
This year’s winners of the ITBA Awards are as follows:
BROADWAY
BEST BROADWAY PLAY
Reasons To Be Pretty
Written by: Neil Labute
Directed by: Terry Kinney
Produced by: Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Gary Goddard Entertainment, Ted Snowdon, Doug Nevin/Erica Lynn Schwartz, Ronald Frankel/Bat-Barry Productions, Kathleen Seidel, Kelpie Arts, Jam Theatricals, Rachel Helson/Heather Provost and Scott M. Delman
BEST BROADWAY MUSICAL
Billy Elliot
Music by: Elton John
Lyrics by: Lee Hall
Book by: Lee Hall
Directed by: Stephen Daldry
Produced by: Universal Pictures, Working Title, The Old Vic Company, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jon Finn and Sally Greene
BEST BROADWAY REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Hair
Music by: Galt MacDermot
Lyrics by: James Rado, Gerome Ragni
Book by: James Rado, Gerome Ragni
Directed by: Diane Paulus
Produced by: The Joseph Papp Public Theater / New York Shakespeare Festival, Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Gary Goddard Entertainment, Kathleen K. Johnson, Nederlander Productions, Fran Kirmser Productions/Jed Bernstein, Marc Frankel, Broadway Across America, Barbara Manocherian/Wencarlar Productions, JK Productions/Terry Schnuck, Andy Sandberg, Jam Theatricals, The Weinstein Company/Norton Herrick and Jujamcyn Theatres
BEST BROADWAY REVIVAL OF A PLAY
The Norman Conquests
Written by: Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by: Matthew Warchus
Produced by: Sonia Friedman Productions, Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, Thomas Viertel, Dede Harris, Tulchin/Bartner/Lauren Doll, Jamie deRoy, Eric Falkenstein, Harriet Newman Leve, Probo Productions, Douglas G. Smith, Michael Filerman/Jennifer Manocherian and Richard Winkler
OFF-BROADWAY
BEST OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
Fela!
Book by: Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones
Directed by: Bill T. Jones
Music and Lyrics by: Fela Anikulapo Kuti
Add'l Music by: Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean
Add'l Lyrics by: Jim Lewis
Produced by: Ruth and Stephen Hendel and Roy Gabay
BEST OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Ruined
Written by: Lynn Nottage
Directed by: Kate Whoriskey
Produced by: Manhattan Theatre Club and Goodman Theatre
BEST OFF-BROADWAY REVIVAL (PLAY OR MUSICAL)
Our Town
Written by: Thornton Wilder
Directed by: David Cromer
Produced by: Scott Morfee, Jean Doumanian, Tom Wirtshafter, Ted Snowdon, Eagle Productions, Dena Hammerstein/Pam Pariseau, The Weinstein Company, Burnt Umber Productions
BEST OFF-OFF BROADWAY PLAY
Universal Robots
Written by: Mac Rogers
Directed by: Rosemary Andress
Produced by: Manhattan Theater Source
BEST OFF-OFF BROADWAY UNIQUE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE
Suspicious Package
Written by: Gyda Arber & Aaron Baker
Directed by: Gyda Arber
Produced by: The Fifth Wall as part of The Antidepressant Festival
CITATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN OFF-OFF BROADWAY THEATER
Flux Theatre Ensemble
Members of the ITBA include:
Bill Brown
http://www.creatingtheater.com/
Linda Buchwald
Pataphysical Science
http://www.pataphysicalscience.blogspot.com/
Donald Butchko
Me2ism?
http://www.me2ism.blogspot.com/
Chris Caggiano
Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals
http://www.ccaggiano.tyepad.com/
Zack Calhoon
Visible Soul
http://www.zackcalhoon.blogspot.com/
Jodi Schoenbrun Carter
http://www.off-stage-right.com/
Corine Cohen
Corine's Corner
http://www.corinescorner.com/
Kevin Daly
Theatre Aficionado at Large
http://www.theatreaficionado.com/
Ken Davenport
The Producer's Perspective
http://www.theproducersperspective.com/
Ryan J. Davis
Ryan J. Davis Blogs
http://www.ryanjdavis.blogspot.com/
Jeremy Dobrish
Jeremy’s Green Room
http://www.jeremysgreenroom.com/
Donelle Foreman
The DJF
http://www.thedjf.blogspot.com/
Michael Gilboe
Broadway Bullet
http://www.broadwaybullet.com/
Dan Gilloon
One NYC StageHand
http://www.onenycstagehand.blogspot.com/
Diana Glazer
Lezbehonest
http://www.lezbehonest.tumblr.com/
Byrne Harrison
StageBuzz
http://www.stagebuzz.com/
Leonard Jacobs
The Clyde Fitch Report
http://www.cyldefitch.blogspot.com/
Patrick Lee
Just Shows to Go You
http://www.justshowstogoyou.blogspot.com/
James Marino
Broadway Stars
http://www.broadwaystars.com/
Tulis McCall
Usher Nonsense
http://www.ushernonsense.com/
Jesse North
Stage Rush
http://www.stagerush.blogspot.com/
Aaron Riccio
That Sounds Cool
http://www.thatsoundscool.blogspot.com/
Sarah Roberts
Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment
http://www.sarahbsadventure.blogspot.com/
Michael Roderick
One Producer in the City
http://www.oneproducerinthecity.com/
Adam Rothenberg
Adaumbelle’s Quest
http://www.adaumbellesquest.com/
David Spencer
Aisle Say
http://www.aislesay.com/
Ethan Stanislawski
Tynan's Anger
http://www.tynanasanger.com/
Gil Varod
Broadway Abridged
http://www.broadwayabridged.com/
Kim Weild
http://www.kimweild.com/
The Independent Theater Bloggers Association is thrilled to announce the winners of the first annual ITBA Awards for Excellence in Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway theater.
The ITBA (Independent Theater Bloggers Association) was formed in 2009 by a group of the most passionate theater bloggers on the World Wide Web (partial list below). The members of the Association blog about all aspects and all varieties of both commercial and non-profit theater, from big Broadway musicals performed in Times Square, to the most unique forms of entertainment performed off-off Broadway on the Lower East Side, as well as productions all over the country and all over the world. Together they see thousands of productions, and, without being paid or prodded, they write about them.
Ken Davenport, founder of the ITBA, said, “The Association was formed out of a desire to provide structure to the quickly growing theatrical blogosphere, as well as to give the new media voices a chance to recognize excellence in three of the very distinct theatrical markets that make up the New York City theatrical landscape: Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway.”
In true “new media” style, there will be no live awards ceremony for the ITBA Awards. Instead, there will be a virtual awards ceremony, with video acceptance speeches for the winners posted electronically in the coming weeks on ITBA’s website.
This year’s winners of the ITBA Awards are as follows:
BROADWAY
BEST BROADWAY PLAY
Reasons To Be Pretty
Written by: Neil Labute
Directed by: Terry Kinney
Produced by: Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Gary Goddard Entertainment, Ted Snowdon, Doug Nevin/Erica Lynn Schwartz, Ronald Frankel/Bat-Barry Productions, Kathleen Seidel, Kelpie Arts, Jam Theatricals, Rachel Helson/Heather Provost and Scott M. Delman
BEST BROADWAY MUSICAL
Billy Elliot
Music by: Elton John
Lyrics by: Lee Hall
Book by: Lee Hall
Directed by: Stephen Daldry
Produced by: Universal Pictures, Working Title, The Old Vic Company, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jon Finn and Sally Greene
BEST BROADWAY REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Hair
Music by: Galt MacDermot
Lyrics by: James Rado, Gerome Ragni
Book by: James Rado, Gerome Ragni
Directed by: Diane Paulus
Produced by: The Joseph Papp Public Theater / New York Shakespeare Festival, Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Gary Goddard Entertainment, Kathleen K. Johnson, Nederlander Productions, Fran Kirmser Productions/Jed Bernstein, Marc Frankel, Broadway Across America, Barbara Manocherian/Wencarlar Productions, JK Productions/Terry Schnuck, Andy Sandberg, Jam Theatricals, The Weinstein Company/Norton Herrick and Jujamcyn Theatres
BEST BROADWAY REVIVAL OF A PLAY
The Norman Conquests
Written by: Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by: Matthew Warchus
Produced by: Sonia Friedman Productions, Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, Thomas Viertel, Dede Harris, Tulchin/Bartner/Lauren Doll, Jamie deRoy, Eric Falkenstein, Harriet Newman Leve, Probo Productions, Douglas G. Smith, Michael Filerman/Jennifer Manocherian and Richard Winkler
OFF-BROADWAY
BEST OFF-BROADWAY MUSICAL
Fela!
Book by: Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones
Directed by: Bill T. Jones
Music and Lyrics by: Fela Anikulapo Kuti
Add'l Music by: Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean
Add'l Lyrics by: Jim Lewis
Produced by: Ruth and Stephen Hendel and Roy Gabay
BEST OFF-BROADWAY PLAY
Ruined
Written by: Lynn Nottage
Directed by: Kate Whoriskey
Produced by: Manhattan Theatre Club and Goodman Theatre
BEST OFF-BROADWAY REVIVAL (PLAY OR MUSICAL)
Our Town
Written by: Thornton Wilder
Directed by: David Cromer
Produced by: Scott Morfee, Jean Doumanian, Tom Wirtshafter, Ted Snowdon, Eagle Productions, Dena Hammerstein/Pam Pariseau, The Weinstein Company, Burnt Umber Productions
BEST OFF-OFF BROADWAY PLAY
Universal Robots
Written by: Mac Rogers
Directed by: Rosemary Andress
Produced by: Manhattan Theater Source
BEST OFF-OFF BROADWAY UNIQUE THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE
Suspicious Package
Written by: Gyda Arber & Aaron Baker
Directed by: Gyda Arber
Produced by: The Fifth Wall as part of The Antidepressant Festival
CITATION FOR EXCELLENCE IN OFF-OFF BROADWAY THEATER
Flux Theatre Ensemble
Members of the ITBA include:
Bill Brown
http://www.creatingtheater.com/
Linda Buchwald
Pataphysical Science
http://www.pataphysicalscience.blogspot.com/
Donald Butchko
Me2ism?
http://www.me2ism.blogspot.com/
Chris Caggiano
Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals
http://www.ccaggiano.tyepad.com/
Zack Calhoon
Visible Soul
http://www.zackcalhoon.blogspot.com/
Jodi Schoenbrun Carter
http://www.off-stage-right.com/
Corine Cohen
Corine's Corner
http://www.corinescorner.com/
Kevin Daly
Theatre Aficionado at Large
http://www.theatreaficionado.com/
Ken Davenport
The Producer's Perspective
http://www.theproducersperspective.com/
Ryan J. Davis
Ryan J. Davis Blogs
http://www.ryanjdavis.blogspot.com/
Jeremy Dobrish
Jeremy’s Green Room
http://www.jeremysgreenroom.com/
Donelle Foreman
The DJF
http://www.thedjf.blogspot.com/
Michael Gilboe
Broadway Bullet
http://www.broadwaybullet.com/
Dan Gilloon
One NYC StageHand
http://www.onenycstagehand.blogspot.com/
Diana Glazer
Lezbehonest
http://www.lezbehonest.tumblr.com/
Byrne Harrison
StageBuzz
http://www.stagebuzz.com/
Leonard Jacobs
The Clyde Fitch Report
http://www.cyldefitch.blogspot.com/
Patrick Lee
Just Shows to Go You
http://www.justshowstogoyou.blogspot.com/
James Marino
Broadway Stars
http://www.broadwaystars.com/
Tulis McCall
Usher Nonsense
http://www.ushernonsense.com/
Jesse North
Stage Rush
http://www.stagerush.blogspot.com/
Aaron Riccio
That Sounds Cool
http://www.thatsoundscool.blogspot.com/
Sarah Roberts
Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment
http://www.sarahbsadventure.blogspot.com/
Michael Roderick
One Producer in the City
http://www.oneproducerinthecity.com/
Adam Rothenberg
Adaumbelle’s Quest
http://www.adaumbellesquest.com/
David Spencer
Aisle Say
http://www.aislesay.com/
Ethan Stanislawski
Tynan's Anger
http://www.tynanasanger.com/
Gil Varod
Broadway Abridged
http://www.broadwayabridged.com/
Kim Weild
http://www.kimweild.com/
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Review - Finding the Rooster (Thirteenth Street Repertory Company)
Review by Byrne Harrison
Photo by Marc Nykolyszyn
Finding the Rooster, Terence Patrick Hughes' second installment in his ten-play cycle The Trials of Oscar the Great, is a strange little play. Mind you, strange is not a bad thing. Strange can be unique and fascinating or creepy and offputting. Finding the Rooster manages to be all of that and more.
The story, set in mid-1960s New England, follows the disintigration and rebuilding of the Fine family. Richard (Jonathan Harper Schlieman) and Evelyn (Kathryn Neville Browne) are in the middle of a nasty divorce brought on by Evelyn's alcoholism and Richard's emotional distance after the death of their elder son in the war. Their younger son, Oscar (Dave Benger), has taken the death hard as well, becoming fascinated by Holden Caulfield and wearing his dead brother's army jacket. Unable to deal with the boy, Richard decides to have him disassembled, literally, and shipped to a military school. The company handling the job sends the cheerfully crass Stoker (Reggie Oldham) to dismember the boy. Evelyn tries to thwart Richard by bringing in her delusional brother Pinkie (Kevin Hauver), a WWII war hero and self-proclaimed friend to his generation's greatest writers. The only member of the family who seems to even notice Oscar as a person, Pinkie uses his storytelling gifts to comfort the boy even at the risk of holding himself up for ridicule by the overbearing Richard.
As the dismemberment and planned reconstruction of Oscar indicates, this is not a realistic play. There is a hefty vein of absurdism running through this odd mix of drawing room comedy and family drama.
War plays a huge part in this play. Richard has made his fortune as an arms manufacturer. While this has made him rich, it has also cost him his son. Despite this, he is willing to send Oscar to military school because he knows no other way to deal with complicated things. Pinkie's experiences in WWII have left him living in a fantasy world, one that he is eager to share with young Oscar. Evelyn deals with the death and destruction in the only way she knows how, by drowning her sorrow in alcohol and staging an affair with a younger man. Like war, it takes a common enemy to bring the Fines together, in this case, a flock of rampaging divorce lawyers bent on taking Oscar, another wonderfully absurdist touch.
While Hughes' script does have some flaws, it is clever and fascinating overall. His take on war and the havoc it causes makes for an entertaining play. The production's weakness comes not from Hughes the playwright, but from Hughes the director. As a director, Hughes lacks the strength to coax subtlety from the actors' performances, and perhaps the distance needed to smooth over some of the rougher portions of the script. From a purely technical standpoint, his direction features awkward blocking, unmotivated movement on the part of the actors, and listlessness where there should be crackling, electric energy. Of the actors, Kevin Hauver gives the best performance, but Pinkie is the most fleshed out character. Dave Benger gives a solid, though occasionally unpolished performance as the young Oscar. His scenes with Hauver are by far his strongest, and the chemistry between the two actors is excellent. Reggie Oldham is amusing as the vulgar yet charming Stoker. Some of his humor is undercut by awkward timing, though again, some of this falls back on Hughes' direction. Schlieman and Browne as the Richard and Evelyn seem like cartoon versions of bickering adults, skating on the surface of their characters without showing any real depth. This may have been intentional, but if so, it is jarring.
Finding the Rooster is an intriguing play that has been given a mediocre production. It left me interested enough to want to see future installments in The Trials of Oscar the Great, and since you're always supposed to leave your audience wanting more, that's a good thing.
Finding the Rooster
Written and Directed by Terence Patrick Hughes
Executive Producer: Sandra Nordgren
Assitant Director: Miles Lott
2nd Assistant Director: Marc Nykolyszyn
Sound Design: Larry Wilbur
Lighting Technician: Rosanny Suazo
Sound Technician: Dylan Cohen
Set Design: Tom Harlan
Program Cover/Poster Design: Neil Feigeles
Featuring: Jonathan Harper Schlieman (Richar Fine), Kathryn Neville Browne (Evelyn Fine), Reggie Oldham (Stoker), Dave Benger (Oscar Fine), Kevin Hauver (Pinkie).
13th Street Repertory
50 W. 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues
Fridays and Saturdays at 7 PM; Sundays at 3:30 PM
Through June 7th
Tickets are $20 for adults; $15 for students and seniors
Tickets can be purchased on Theatermania or at the 13th Street Rep box office.
Photo by Marc Nykolyszyn
Finding the Rooster, Terence Patrick Hughes' second installment in his ten-play cycle The Trials of Oscar the Great, is a strange little play. Mind you, strange is not a bad thing. Strange can be unique and fascinating or creepy and offputting. Finding the Rooster manages to be all of that and more.
The story, set in mid-1960s New England, follows the disintigration and rebuilding of the Fine family. Richard (Jonathan Harper Schlieman) and Evelyn (Kathryn Neville Browne) are in the middle of a nasty divorce brought on by Evelyn's alcoholism and Richard's emotional distance after the death of their elder son in the war. Their younger son, Oscar (Dave Benger), has taken the death hard as well, becoming fascinated by Holden Caulfield and wearing his dead brother's army jacket. Unable to deal with the boy, Richard decides to have him disassembled, literally, and shipped to a military school. The company handling the job sends the cheerfully crass Stoker (Reggie Oldham) to dismember the boy. Evelyn tries to thwart Richard by bringing in her delusional brother Pinkie (Kevin Hauver), a WWII war hero and self-proclaimed friend to his generation's greatest writers. The only member of the family who seems to even notice Oscar as a person, Pinkie uses his storytelling gifts to comfort the boy even at the risk of holding himself up for ridicule by the overbearing Richard.
As the dismemberment and planned reconstruction of Oscar indicates, this is not a realistic play. There is a hefty vein of absurdism running through this odd mix of drawing room comedy and family drama.
War plays a huge part in this play. Richard has made his fortune as an arms manufacturer. While this has made him rich, it has also cost him his son. Despite this, he is willing to send Oscar to military school because he knows no other way to deal with complicated things. Pinkie's experiences in WWII have left him living in a fantasy world, one that he is eager to share with young Oscar. Evelyn deals with the death and destruction in the only way she knows how, by drowning her sorrow in alcohol and staging an affair with a younger man. Like war, it takes a common enemy to bring the Fines together, in this case, a flock of rampaging divorce lawyers bent on taking Oscar, another wonderfully absurdist touch.
While Hughes' script does have some flaws, it is clever and fascinating overall. His take on war and the havoc it causes makes for an entertaining play. The production's weakness comes not from Hughes the playwright, but from Hughes the director. As a director, Hughes lacks the strength to coax subtlety from the actors' performances, and perhaps the distance needed to smooth over some of the rougher portions of the script. From a purely technical standpoint, his direction features awkward blocking, unmotivated movement on the part of the actors, and listlessness where there should be crackling, electric energy. Of the actors, Kevin Hauver gives the best performance, but Pinkie is the most fleshed out character. Dave Benger gives a solid, though occasionally unpolished performance as the young Oscar. His scenes with Hauver are by far his strongest, and the chemistry between the two actors is excellent. Reggie Oldham is amusing as the vulgar yet charming Stoker. Some of his humor is undercut by awkward timing, though again, some of this falls back on Hughes' direction. Schlieman and Browne as the Richard and Evelyn seem like cartoon versions of bickering adults, skating on the surface of their characters without showing any real depth. This may have been intentional, but if so, it is jarring.
Finding the Rooster is an intriguing play that has been given a mediocre production. It left me interested enough to want to see future installments in The Trials of Oscar the Great, and since you're always supposed to leave your audience wanting more, that's a good thing.
Finding the Rooster
Written and Directed by Terence Patrick Hughes
Executive Producer: Sandra Nordgren
Assitant Director: Miles Lott
2nd Assistant Director: Marc Nykolyszyn
Sound Design: Larry Wilbur
Lighting Technician: Rosanny Suazo
Sound Technician: Dylan Cohen
Set Design: Tom Harlan
Program Cover/Poster Design: Neil Feigeles
Featuring: Jonathan Harper Schlieman (Richar Fine), Kathryn Neville Browne (Evelyn Fine), Reggie Oldham (Stoker), Dave Benger (Oscar Fine), Kevin Hauver (Pinkie).
13th Street Repertory
50 W. 13th Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues
Fridays and Saturdays at 7 PM; Sundays at 3:30 PM
Through June 7th
Tickets are $20 for adults; $15 for students and seniors
Tickets can be purchased on Theatermania or at the 13th Street Rep box office.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Review - Revealed (Horse Trade Theater Group presents a GiGi La Femme & Doc Wasabassco Production)
Review by Byrne Harrison
I will admit that I have only two points of reference when it comes to strippers. First, thanks to a life full of theatre, there are the Broadway burlesque girls - primarily the "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" strippers from Gypsy - plenty of art, but not much sex. Then there are the strippers from way too many frat and bachelor parties - lots of sex, not so much art. Each exists in its own reality, and never the twain shall meet.
Fortunately for New Yorkers who are looking for a taste of both, Doc Wasabassco and GiGi La Femme have created a show that not only gets art and sex together onstage, but adds a healthy dose of talent and fun. The result is Revealed, a wild and innovative monthly production featuring some of the lovliest and most talented burlesque performers you're likely to see.
The cast changes from month to month, but one thing remains the same, all the girls know how to put on a show.
April's performance featured a little bit of everything: traditional burlesque strippers, all lace and pasties; raunchy beer-guzzling beauties; comic futuristic geishas; and plenty more to boot. While I intend to discuss the performers, I'd like to say a little something about the audience. Revealed has an amazing mix of people at its performances. Downtown artists, directors, actors, playwrights, guys out for a night on the town, couples (of all sexes) on dates, it is an amazingly eclectic cross-section of the East Village scene. Go for the show, but stay for the crowd; you never know who might show up.
The host of the evening was Jonny Porkpie, the Burlesque Mayor of NYC, filling in for the ailing Bastard Keith and Madame Rosebud. Kicking off the show with an impressive, multi-costumed strip of his own, he set the mood and got the crowd going. The lovely ladies of April were Amber Ray, Peekaboo Pointe, Kobayashi Maru (yes, it's a Star Trek reference), Lil Miss Lixx, Harvest Moon, and GiGi La Femme. Each girl had her own style and specialty, and while each was remarkable and entertaining, the standouts were Amber Ray's sultry opening number, an old-school strip with corsettes, lace and amazing curves, Kobayashi Maru, whose robotic geisha tea ceremony could satisfy any number of odd fetishes, and the incomparable GiGi La Femme, who rang in the Spring in her own special way.
It should be mentioned that Revealed is not a g-string and pasties sort of show. If nudity offends you, this is definitely not for you.
Revealed is extremely popular; if you wish to attend the next performance on Wednesday, May 20th, you'd do well to buy your tickets in advance and get there early. The May performance features Anita Cookie, Peekaboo Pointe, Kobayashi Maru, GiGi La Femme, Sapphire Jones, and Stormy Leather in her Revealed debut.
Revealed Burlesque is on the third Wednesday of every month at 10 PM at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st and Avenue A).
Tickets ($20) are available by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444 or online at http://www.horsetrade.info/.
Want to find out more about the performers? Visit their websites (some sites may be NSFW):
Amber Ray
Peekaboo Pointe
Kobayashi Maru
GiGi La Femme
Lil Miss Lixx
Harvest Moon
Jonny Porkpie
Bastard Keith
Madame Rosebud
I will admit that I have only two points of reference when it comes to strippers. First, thanks to a life full of theatre, there are the Broadway burlesque girls - primarily the "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" strippers from Gypsy - plenty of art, but not much sex. Then there are the strippers from way too many frat and bachelor parties - lots of sex, not so much art. Each exists in its own reality, and never the twain shall meet.
Fortunately for New Yorkers who are looking for a taste of both, Doc Wasabassco and GiGi La Femme have created a show that not only gets art and sex together onstage, but adds a healthy dose of talent and fun. The result is Revealed, a wild and innovative monthly production featuring some of the lovliest and most talented burlesque performers you're likely to see.
The cast changes from month to month, but one thing remains the same, all the girls know how to put on a show.
April's performance featured a little bit of everything: traditional burlesque strippers, all lace and pasties; raunchy beer-guzzling beauties; comic futuristic geishas; and plenty more to boot. While I intend to discuss the performers, I'd like to say a little something about the audience. Revealed has an amazing mix of people at its performances. Downtown artists, directors, actors, playwrights, guys out for a night on the town, couples (of all sexes) on dates, it is an amazingly eclectic cross-section of the East Village scene. Go for the show, but stay for the crowd; you never know who might show up.
The host of the evening was Jonny Porkpie, the Burlesque Mayor of NYC, filling in for the ailing Bastard Keith and Madame Rosebud. Kicking off the show with an impressive, multi-costumed strip of his own, he set the mood and got the crowd going. The lovely ladies of April were Amber Ray, Peekaboo Pointe, Kobayashi Maru (yes, it's a Star Trek reference), Lil Miss Lixx, Harvest Moon, and GiGi La Femme. Each girl had her own style and specialty, and while each was remarkable and entertaining, the standouts were Amber Ray's sultry opening number, an old-school strip with corsettes, lace and amazing curves, Kobayashi Maru, whose robotic geisha tea ceremony could satisfy any number of odd fetishes, and the incomparable GiGi La Femme, who rang in the Spring in her own special way.
It should be mentioned that Revealed is not a g-string and pasties sort of show. If nudity offends you, this is definitely not for you.
Revealed is extremely popular; if you wish to attend the next performance on Wednesday, May 20th, you'd do well to buy your tickets in advance and get there early. The May performance features Anita Cookie, Peekaboo Pointe, Kobayashi Maru, GiGi La Femme, Sapphire Jones, and Stormy Leather in her Revealed debut.
Revealed Burlesque is on the third Wednesday of every month at 10 PM at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st and Avenue A).
Tickets ($20) are available by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444 or online at http://www.horsetrade.info/.
Want to find out more about the performers? Visit their websites (some sites may be NSFW):
Amber Ray
Peekaboo Pointe
Kobayashi Maru
GiGi La Femme
Lil Miss Lixx
Harvest Moon
Jonny Porkpie
Bastard Keith
Madame Rosebud
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