Review by Byrne Harrison
They say that confession is good for the soul. Clearly, they mean the soul of the person confessing. For the person who has to hear it, however, the confession could be a harrowing experience.
At first, Flight, Tim Aumiller's entry in this year's Fringe Festival, appears to be a harmless little play about two people thrown together by fate. Paula (Brandy Burre) is a woman who is reaching her breaking point. Two relationships tearing at her, stuck at O'Hare Airport due to bad weather, nowhere to sit, she is the epitome of stress. Hank (Todd Lawson) is the opposite. A country accent, comfortable clothes, and a charming smile that says butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, he promises good times and fun.
So naturally, this must be a romantic comedy, and the crowded airport provides the meet-cute where these two opposites can initially repel each another before realizing that they are perfect together, right? Not even close. For though on the surface, this looks like a friendly chat, the charming Hank slowly drops little hints of menace, usually laughing them off immediately. Constantly thrown off balance, Paula is unable to cope as Hank gets more and more intense, finally revealing something that Paula wishes she had never heard.
Both Burre and Lawson are fascinating to watch as their characters slowly morph - Paula from haughtiness and bluster to confusion and fear, Hank from "aw shucks" charm to burning malice. Aumiller's direction keeps the play moving at a good pace, slow enough to reel the audience in, but always interesting. He also manages to build the tension between the two characters naturally, with good ebb and flow. Though the ending of the play is a little ambiguous - I left wondering what happened next to the two characters - I'm sure this was Aumiller's intent. Sometimes nothing will be as satisfying as what the audience is left to imagine.
Flight
Written and Directed by Tim Aumiller
Resident Producer: James McNeel
Stage Manager: Audra Roberson
Casting: John Ort
Original Music: Scott Schneider
Costume Designer/Stylist: Deb Burton
Sound Design: Byron Estep
Graphic & Web Design: Robert Hébert/HCreativ.com
Featuring: Brandy Burre (Paula) and Todd Lawson (Hank)
The Studio at Cherry Lane Theatre
38 Commerce Street
Fri 14 - 7 PM
Tue 18 - 9:30 PM
Wed 19 - 10:30 PM
Thu 20 - 2 PM
Sat 22 - 6:15 PM
Thu 27 - 5:15 PM
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Hey Fringers, Are You Man Enough?
By Byrne Harrison
Puppetry of the Penis has a special challenge for all the Fringe Festival shows. If you want to promote your Fringe show at tomorrow night's performance of Puppetry of the Penis at the Bleecker Street Theatre (45 Bleecker Street), they will give you the opportunity to hand out your postcards and flyers to their entire audience.
The catch - you have to join the boys onstage, get naked, and join them in one of their "dick tricks." They've invited the press, so who knows what kind of publicity you could get.
Here's how it works. Send them an e-mail (potppromotesfringe@yahoo.com) with the name of the cast member or members who want to promote your show (for shows with all female casts, writers, producers and/or husbands and boyfriends are welcome to promote the show instead). On Tuesday the 25th, be at the theatre before the 7:00 PM curtain, find the person with the Fringe sign held high, and get on the list. When called, strip naked, do a dick trick with the boys, then hand out your postcards and flyers to the entire audience as they exit the theatre.
Starting and end times vary so if you can't make it by 7:00 PM let them know your schedule and they will try to work with you.
Will anyone take them up on this offer? Rumor has it one of the more recognizable names from Far Out: The New Sci-Fi Musical Comedy has already agreed to be there, but we'll see.
Puppetry of the Penis has a special challenge for all the Fringe Festival shows. If you want to promote your Fringe show at tomorrow night's performance of Puppetry of the Penis at the Bleecker Street Theatre (45 Bleecker Street), they will give you the opportunity to hand out your postcards and flyers to their entire audience.
The catch - you have to join the boys onstage, get naked, and join them in one of their "dick tricks." They've invited the press, so who knows what kind of publicity you could get.
Here's how it works. Send them an e-mail (potppromotesfringe@yahoo.com) with the name of the cast member or members who want to promote your show (for shows with all female casts, writers, producers and/or husbands and boyfriends are welcome to promote the show instead). On Tuesday the 25th, be at the theatre before the 7:00 PM curtain, find the person with the Fringe sign held high, and get on the list. When called, strip naked, do a dick trick with the boys, then hand out your postcards and flyers to the entire audience as they exit the theatre.
Starting and end times vary so if you can't make it by 7:00 PM let them know your schedule and they will try to work with you.
Will anyone take them up on this offer? Rumor has it one of the more recognizable names from Far Out: The New Sci-Fi Musical Comedy has already agreed to be there, but we'll see.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Nearly Naked Neos Part Deux
Review by Byrne Harrison
They promised gratuitous semi-nudity, and by God, they delivered. The seven Neo-Futurists presenting this weekend's Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 Half-Nekkid Plays in 60 Half-Nekkid Minutes (Cara Francis, Adam Smith, Ryan Good, Rob Neill, Joey Rizzolo, Jill Beckman, and Erica Livingston) strip off when the show starts (or before, as the case may be) and stay that way until the end, unless a particular play calls for them being dressed.
As always, the plays run the gamut - comic, dramatic, confessional, dance, musical, creepy, silly. You name it, it was there.
My personal favorites of the evening: 5. MTV Generation Redux: Smells Like Layering Experiment; 7. waste not, want not; 10. Dueling Clichés; 17. Aluminum Foil (Choose Your Weapon); and 30. Hokey Pokey in Hell. There was a heavy dose of audience participation in this week's plays, more so than in weeks past, so go ready to be part of the show.
The surprise of the evening was how many audience members took advantage of the "strip to your underwear, get $10 off the ticket" deal. While a few tried to put their clothes back on surreptitiously in the theatre, most stayed in the skivvies the whole night.
Despite the weather, the show sold out (pizza for everyone!). Tonight's show promises to be even more popular due to last night's word of mouth, so if you want to see it, get your tickets online now, or get to the show early.
Finally, a word of advice. Beware of flying cheese. And no, I'm not going to explain that.
They promised gratuitous semi-nudity, and by God, they delivered. The seven Neo-Futurists presenting this weekend's Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 Half-Nekkid Plays in 60 Half-Nekkid Minutes (Cara Francis, Adam Smith, Ryan Good, Rob Neill, Joey Rizzolo, Jill Beckman, and Erica Livingston) strip off when the show starts (or before, as the case may be) and stay that way until the end, unless a particular play calls for them being dressed.
As always, the plays run the gamut - comic, dramatic, confessional, dance, musical, creepy, silly. You name it, it was there.
My personal favorites of the evening: 5. MTV Generation Redux: Smells Like Layering Experiment; 7. waste not, want not; 10. Dueling Clichés; 17. Aluminum Foil (Choose Your Weapon); and 30. Hokey Pokey in Hell. There was a heavy dose of audience participation in this week's plays, more so than in weeks past, so go ready to be part of the show.
The surprise of the evening was how many audience members took advantage of the "strip to your underwear, get $10 off the ticket" deal. While a few tried to put their clothes back on surreptitiously in the theatre, most stayed in the skivvies the whole night.
Despite the weather, the show sold out (pizza for everyone!). Tonight's show promises to be even more popular due to last night's word of mouth, so if you want to see it, get your tickets online now, or get to the show early.
Finally, a word of advice. Beware of flying cheese. And no, I'm not going to explain that.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Review - Viral (New York International Fringe Festival and Gideon Productions)
Review by Byrne Harrison
Colin (Kent Meister) has a vision. He wants to create a work of art, something truly beautiful that can only be appreciated by people with his particular view of life and death. All he needs is someone like Meredith (Amy Lynn Stewart), a beautiful woman who is planning to kill herself.
Colin, along with his girlfriend Geena (Rebecca Comtois) and her brother Jarvis (Matthew Trumbull), has a particular fetish - he gets aroused by watching someone die. Not a violent or messy death like one would find in a snuff film, but that gentle transition from life to death - the relaxing of the facial muscles, a sigh, a chest that rises and falls, never to rise again. For this odd trio, nothing can be more erotic.
To feed their fetish, and in hopes of creating a film that will sell well enough to support them, they create a website that hints that they run a group that facilitates suicide. Meredith finds them while searching for "painless suicide," and starts chatting with Geena, who monitors the site.
She agrees to meet the trio and is offered a trade - they will provide her what she needs for a quick and painless death, if she will let them choreograph and film it.
Roger's dark comedy is eye-opening and thought-provoking. The most amazing thing about the production is all the laughter it provokes. Granted, there are some truly humorous lines and situations (most of which center around Trumbull's Jarvis). But so much of the laughter seems ripped from your throat by the shock of what has happened onstage. It's less a reaction to humor than a defense mechanism. That it can provoke that sort of reaction in an audience speaks very well of Rogers' abilities as a playwright and of the overall production values of this piece.
The acting is excellent, with particular praise going to the haunting Amy Lynn Stewart as Meredith, who seems fragile and deeply, deeply sad, but has a vein of iron running through her. This comes out in her almost protective treatment of Geena, who is more often than not treated badly by Colin. As Geena, Rebecca Comtois has an almost child-like quality, and a persistant need to please everyone around her. Comtois shines in this role. Meister does an excellent job as the obsessed Colin, and Trumbull gives depth to a character who in a lesser actor's hands could have been nothing more than comic relief. Jonathan Pereira, as the film distributor Snow, oozes violation and creepiness. An outstanding cast all around.
Jordana Williams' direction is taut and effective. From its opening moments, Viral pulls the audience in and doesn't let go. It is an immediate and fascinating production.
Having now seen several of Mac Rogers' plays, I think he is destined for great things. Catch this show if you want to be able to say you knew him when.
Viral
Written by Mac Rogers
Directed by Jordana Williams
Stage Manager/Sound Design: Dana Rossi
Set Design: Sandy Yaklin
Lighting Design: Dan Gallagher
Lead Producer/ACR: Sean Williams
Photographer/Publicity Design: Deborah Alexander Photography
Videographer - Viral Trailer: Brandon Cuicchi
Board Operator: Lex Friedman
Social Marketing Consultants: Tammy Oler & Ehren Gresehover
Web Designer: Pete Boisvert
Featuring: Rebecca Comtois (Geena), Amy Lynn Stewart (Meredith), Matthew Trumbull (Jarvis), Kent Meister (Colin), Jonathan Pereira (Snow)
The SoHo Playhouse
15 Vandam Street
August 15th at 7:30 PM
August 16th at 6 PM
August 19th at 3 PM
August 23rd at 10 PM
August 26th at 9:45 PM
Visit FringeNYC for more information.
Colin (Kent Meister) has a vision. He wants to create a work of art, something truly beautiful that can only be appreciated by people with his particular view of life and death. All he needs is someone like Meredith (Amy Lynn Stewart), a beautiful woman who is planning to kill herself.Colin, along with his girlfriend Geena (Rebecca Comtois) and her brother Jarvis (Matthew Trumbull), has a particular fetish - he gets aroused by watching someone die. Not a violent or messy death like one would find in a snuff film, but that gentle transition from life to death - the relaxing of the facial muscles, a sigh, a chest that rises and falls, never to rise again. For this odd trio, nothing can be more erotic.
To feed their fetish, and in hopes of creating a film that will sell well enough to support them, they create a website that hints that they run a group that facilitates suicide. Meredith finds them while searching for "painless suicide," and starts chatting with Geena, who monitors the site.
She agrees to meet the trio and is offered a trade - they will provide her what she needs for a quick and painless death, if she will let them choreograph and film it.
Roger's dark comedy is eye-opening and thought-provoking. The most amazing thing about the production is all the laughter it provokes. Granted, there are some truly humorous lines and situations (most of which center around Trumbull's Jarvis). But so much of the laughter seems ripped from your throat by the shock of what has happened onstage. It's less a reaction to humor than a defense mechanism. That it can provoke that sort of reaction in an audience speaks very well of Rogers' abilities as a playwright and of the overall production values of this piece.
The acting is excellent, with particular praise going to the haunting Amy Lynn Stewart as Meredith, who seems fragile and deeply, deeply sad, but has a vein of iron running through her. This comes out in her almost protective treatment of Geena, who is more often than not treated badly by Colin. As Geena, Rebecca Comtois has an almost child-like quality, and a persistant need to please everyone around her. Comtois shines in this role. Meister does an excellent job as the obsessed Colin, and Trumbull gives depth to a character who in a lesser actor's hands could have been nothing more than comic relief. Jonathan Pereira, as the film distributor Snow, oozes violation and creepiness. An outstanding cast all around.Jordana Williams' direction is taut and effective. From its opening moments, Viral pulls the audience in and doesn't let go. It is an immediate and fascinating production.
Having now seen several of Mac Rogers' plays, I think he is destined for great things. Catch this show if you want to be able to say you knew him when.
Viral
Written by Mac Rogers
Directed by Jordana Williams
Stage Manager/Sound Design: Dana Rossi
Set Design: Sandy Yaklin
Lighting Design: Dan Gallagher
Lead Producer/ACR: Sean Williams
Photographer/Publicity Design: Deborah Alexander Photography
Videographer - Viral Trailer: Brandon Cuicchi
Board Operator: Lex Friedman
Social Marketing Consultants: Tammy Oler & Ehren Gresehover
Web Designer: Pete Boisvert
Featuring: Rebecca Comtois (Geena), Amy Lynn Stewart (Meredith), Matthew Trumbull (Jarvis), Kent Meister (Colin), Jonathan Pereira (Snow)
The SoHo Playhouse
15 Vandam Street
August 15th at 7:30 PM
August 16th at 6 PM
August 19th at 3 PM
August 23rd at 10 PM
August 26th at 9:45 PM
Visit FringeNYC for more information.
Review - Maddy: A Modern Day Medea and The Swan Song (Redd Tale Theatre Company)
Review by Byrne Harrison
Photos courtesy of BenStrothmann.com
Medea in a trailer park. Among certain theatre-going crowds, this phrase alone would elicit a negative reaction akin to saying Romeo and Juliet in space or a musical comedy version of Oedipus. And yet, playwright Will Le Vasseur's one-act Maddy: A Modern Day Medea is so much more than that dismissive phrase implies.
Le Vasseur has stayed remarkably true to the original. Maddy (Lynn Kenny) is an outsider, brought to this Southern trailer park by her love for Billy-Jay (Blaine Pennington). For seven years they've lived together, raising children and having a good, though poor life. But Billy-Jay wants better for his children (and himself). He leaves Maddy to marry the porcine daughter of a wealthy businessman, Cleetus (Ben Strothmann). He promises to care for Maddy, but he wants the kids to live with him.
Stripped of her husband, children, and thanks to Cleetus' interference, her home, Maddy has no idea what to do next. But this is only part of her problem. Where Medea was a sorceress, Maddy is something even more supernatural. To explain more would give away too much of Le Vasseur's clever plot. Suffice it to say, she is a force to be reckoned with. The play ends, as the original does, with the death of the new bride and the children. But the reason for the deaths of these characters (and a lot of other people) is different. While Maddy's crime is great, it is no longer as vindictive as Medea's, and this adds an interesting new twist to the classic tale. Billy-Jay lives, but he learns that there are some forces of nature not to be toyed with.
Le Vasseur wears many hats in this production. In addition to writing and directing, he designed the set. Maddy's trailer is spot on (even given the budget constraints that most Off-Off Broadway companies face), from the sad looking patio to the planter made from an old toilet. The production makes good use of sound and effects. Taped dialogue between Flo (Heather Shields), Maddy's only friend in the park, and Edna (Rainbow Dickerson), the local busybody, is used to advance the plot, to show how looked down upon Maddy is, and give a sense of the claustrophobic nature of this park. Everyone can hear everyone else, and privacy is a luxury few have. Another clever element of the show is the use of fans that blow on the audience during a particularly bad storm. This small touch helps incorporate the audience into the show, and, along with a taped newscast, covers a scene change.
Lynn Kenny shines as the other-worldly Maddy. At first stilted delivery is disconcerting, but as we learn more about Maddy's background, it makes perfect sense for her character. Heather Shields shines as the earthy and sympathetic Flo. Blaine Pennington does a good job as the handsome and charming Billy-Jay. It's easy to see why Maddy would fall for him, but just as easy to see why he would leave. Ben Strothmann does well as the father of Billy-Jay's new bride. And as the mysterious Alan, about whom little can be said without giving away some interesting plot twists, James Stewart acquits himself well, though given the character's sangfroid, a little more vocal range could add a bit of interest to what is, by necessity, a rather cold delivery.
The second play of the evening is a short one-act by Anton Chekhov, The Swan Song. Vasili (Will Le Vasseur), an aging clown, awakens from a drunken stupor to find himself locked in his dark, empty theatre. The darkness turns his gaze inward as he examines lost time, lost loves, and lost opportunities. With Nikita (Ben Strothmann), the company's prompter, watching and helping him, he attempts to regain some of the fire and talent of his youth. The play is wonderfully acted by both Strothmann and Le Vasseur. Le Vasseur in particular excels playing a character who is easily more than double his age, no small feat from an actor still in his 20s.
This short play, written rather surprisingly in Chekhov's youth (he was about Le Vasseur's age when he wrote it), is a marvellous find.
Though different in theme and style, Maddy: A Modern Day Medea and The Swan Song make for an entertaining evening of theatre.
Maddy: A Modern Day Medea
Written and directed by Will Le Vasseur
Adapted from Euripedes' Medea
Featuring: Lynn Kenny (Maddy), Blaine Pennington (Billy-Jay), Heather Shields (Flo), James Stewart (Alan), Ben Strothmann (Cleetus), Rainbow Dickerson (Edna), Will Le Vasseur (Newscaster)
The Swan Song
Written by Anton Chekhov
Directed by Lynn Kenny
Featuring: Will Le Vasseur (Vasili Svietlovidoff), Ben Strothmann (Nikita Ivanitch)
Set Design: Will Le Vasseur
Stage Manager: Danny Morales
Poster Design: Graeme Offord
Sound Design & Recording: Matthew Pritchard
Production Photos & Website Design: Ben Strothmann
Set materials donated by Rebuilders Source
Artistic Director: Will Le Vasseur
Co-Artistic Director: James Stewart
Nicu's Spoon Theater
38 W. 38th Street, 5th Floor
Thursday-Saturday at 8 PM
Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM
Through August 29th
For information, visit the Redd Tale Theatre Company website.
Photos courtesy of BenStrothmann.com
Medea in a trailer park. Among certain theatre-going crowds, this phrase alone would elicit a negative reaction akin to saying Romeo and Juliet in space or a musical comedy version of Oedipus. And yet, playwright Will Le Vasseur's one-act Maddy: A Modern Day Medea is so much more than that dismissive phrase implies.Le Vasseur has stayed remarkably true to the original. Maddy (Lynn Kenny) is an outsider, brought to this Southern trailer park by her love for Billy-Jay (Blaine Pennington). For seven years they've lived together, raising children and having a good, though poor life. But Billy-Jay wants better for his children (and himself). He leaves Maddy to marry the porcine daughter of a wealthy businessman, Cleetus (Ben Strothmann). He promises to care for Maddy, but he wants the kids to live with him.
Stripped of her husband, children, and thanks to Cleetus' interference, her home, Maddy has no idea what to do next. But this is only part of her problem. Where Medea was a sorceress, Maddy is something even more supernatural. To explain more would give away too much of Le Vasseur's clever plot. Suffice it to say, she is a force to be reckoned with. The play ends, as the original does, with the death of the new bride and the children. But the reason for the deaths of these characters (and a lot of other people) is different. While Maddy's crime is great, it is no longer as vindictive as Medea's, and this adds an interesting new twist to the classic tale. Billy-Jay lives, but he learns that there are some forces of nature not to be toyed with.
Le Vasseur wears many hats in this production. In addition to writing and directing, he designed the set. Maddy's trailer is spot on (even given the budget constraints that most Off-Off Broadway companies face), from the sad looking patio to the planter made from an old toilet. The production makes good use of sound and effects. Taped dialogue between Flo (Heather Shields), Maddy's only friend in the park, and Edna (Rainbow Dickerson), the local busybody, is used to advance the plot, to show how looked down upon Maddy is, and give a sense of the claustrophobic nature of this park. Everyone can hear everyone else, and privacy is a luxury few have. Another clever element of the show is the use of fans that blow on the audience during a particularly bad storm. This small touch helps incorporate the audience into the show, and, along with a taped newscast, covers a scene change.
Lynn Kenny shines as the other-worldly Maddy. At first stilted delivery is disconcerting, but as we learn more about Maddy's background, it makes perfect sense for her character. Heather Shields shines as the earthy and sympathetic Flo. Blaine Pennington does a good job as the handsome and charming Billy-Jay. It's easy to see why Maddy would fall for him, but just as easy to see why he would leave. Ben Strothmann does well as the father of Billy-Jay's new bride. And as the mysterious Alan, about whom little can be said without giving away some interesting plot twists, James Stewart acquits himself well, though given the character's sangfroid, a little more vocal range could add a bit of interest to what is, by necessity, a rather cold delivery.
The second play of the evening is a short one-act by Anton Chekhov, The Swan Song. Vasili (Will Le Vasseur), an aging clown, awakens from a drunken stupor to find himself locked in his dark, empty theatre. The darkness turns his gaze inward as he examines lost time, lost loves, and lost opportunities. With Nikita (Ben Strothmann), the company's prompter, watching and helping him, he attempts to regain some of the fire and talent of his youth. The play is wonderfully acted by both Strothmann and Le Vasseur. Le Vasseur in particular excels playing a character who is easily more than double his age, no small feat from an actor still in his 20s.This short play, written rather surprisingly in Chekhov's youth (he was about Le Vasseur's age when he wrote it), is a marvellous find.
Though different in theme and style, Maddy: A Modern Day Medea and The Swan Song make for an entertaining evening of theatre.
Maddy: A Modern Day Medea
Written and directed by Will Le Vasseur
Adapted from Euripedes' Medea
Featuring: Lynn Kenny (Maddy), Blaine Pennington (Billy-Jay), Heather Shields (Flo), James Stewart (Alan), Ben Strothmann (Cleetus), Rainbow Dickerson (Edna), Will Le Vasseur (Newscaster)
The Swan Song
Written by Anton Chekhov
Directed by Lynn Kenny
Featuring: Will Le Vasseur (Vasili Svietlovidoff), Ben Strothmann (Nikita Ivanitch)
Set Design: Will Le Vasseur
Stage Manager: Danny Morales
Poster Design: Graeme Offord
Sound Design & Recording: Matthew Pritchard
Production Photos & Website Design: Ben Strothmann
Set materials donated by Rebuilders Source
Artistic Director: Will Le Vasseur
Co-Artistic Director: James Stewart
Nicu's Spoon Theater
38 W. 38th Street, 5th Floor
Thursday-Saturday at 8 PM
Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM
Through August 29th
For information, visit the Redd Tale Theatre Company website.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Fringe Q&A With Kristyn Pomranz and Katherine Steinberg of I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL!
By Byrne Harrison
Name: Kristyn Pomranz & Katherine Steinberg
Show: I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL!
Website: icanhascheezburgerthemusiclol.com
How did you first get involved in theatre?
Pomranz: My first performance was in The Three Forgotten Words, which taught my elementary school peers how to use the card catalog and Dewey Decimal system. I played "The." Ahh, pre-internets.
Steinberg: My first shot at the page for the stage is in this festival. I saw a lot of theater with my mom and grandmother, who are avid fans.
Who are your biggest influences?
P: Creatively, Kate Steinberg and The Internets. Theatrically, I wouldn't say he's an influence, but I do love Jason Robert Brown.
S: Creatively, Kristyn (obvs!) because every time we speak we come up with a million new ideas. Literally. I also admire and aspire to be more like "Robot Chicken," "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," "Arrested Development" and "30 Rock." If I can ever write something as witty as "City of Angels" I will die happy.
What is your show about?
P: Well, the obvious answer is "a cat who wants a cheezburger." But really, our show is about making people laugh. This is not high art. It is 78 minutes of silly song and dance, coupled with the Lolcats meme. All it requires is a suspension of disbelief and a willingness to not take it seriously.
S: A cat pursuing his cheezburger! It's really about having good time, getting in a few LOLs and chasing a dream. We billed it as a fun, musical romp through the site and I think that's what it is.
What inspired you to write it?
P: I sang a song about a Lolcat and Kate was all, "Genius, let's make this a musical." Honestly, it was a lark, so it's truly amazing that it's come this far.
S: I knew that Kristyn and I wanted to write something together and when I heard this idea, my heart leaped for joy.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
P: We've known Mike Gillespie (our arranger and musical collaborator) since the beginning of the year, and we found our director, Karina Bennett (co-founder of Magic Bullet Media), through Mandy a few months ago. Magically, we all just gelled. While it hasn't been long, we've grown into a very solid, collaborative, and
fun-loving team and we want nothing more than to work with them in the future.
S: Mike Gillespie has very closely collaborated with us on music. He's arranged and composed for us and is now an indispensable member of our team. Our director, Karina Bennett we met through an ad on Mandy (like Kristyn says above) and even though she was the first person we met, we clicked immediately. She's brought so much to this musical and has made it so much stronger than I could have imagined. Our Choreographer, Erin Stutland, I met in a class at the PIT and she's quite multi-talented -- a dancer, writer and actress with great comic timing. Lastly, Caroline O'Connor, our stage manager and assistant director has been an organization pillar. I would work with them all again in a heartbeat. It's been a great, supportive group.
Fringe shows are notorious for their short rehearsal schedule. How has the rehearsal process been?
P: Surprisingly painless. The show is short and we don't really have a set, so it was all song, dance, and scene work. Our cast was extremely dedicated and really delved into the minds of their macros -- everyone involved takes the show very seriously, which, honestly, makes it funnier.
S: Fun, hectic, hilarious. I think we picked an amazing cast who made the process really easy and smooth.
What's next for you after Fringe?
P: Grad school (in a program that involves neither musicals nor Lolcats), but I plan to also work on a new show with Kate and Mike. We can't disclose what it's about, but we can reveal this much: it won't be based on an Internet meme. Our next show won't have such a hard expiration date (although it is yet again about food).
S: Working with Mike and Kristyn on our new musical, writing an original TV pilot with my friend Heidi and also keeping up with the blog that Heidi, Kristyn and I run: Rob Pattinson Loves Me. We like to keep busy :)
And finally, if a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish for?
Pomranz: A cheeseburger lunch with Ben Huh.
Steinberg: I would say dinner -- Ben Huh, Burgers, Pomz and cloth napkins. (oooh, keeping it classy).
I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL!
Sauce and Co.
Written by Kristyn Pomranz and Katherine Steinberg
Additional Music by Mike Gillespie
Director: Karina Bennett
The Cherry Lane Theatre
Fri 14 - 9:30 PM
Sat 15 - 12 PM
Tue 18 - 6:15 PM
Wed 26 - 9:15 PM
Fri 28 - 4:45 PM
Name: Kristyn Pomranz & Katherine Steinberg
Show: I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL!
Website: icanhascheezburgerthemusiclol.com
How did you first get involved in theatre?Pomranz: My first performance was in The Three Forgotten Words, which taught my elementary school peers how to use the card catalog and Dewey Decimal system. I played "The." Ahh, pre-internets.
Steinberg: My first shot at the page for the stage is in this festival. I saw a lot of theater with my mom and grandmother, who are avid fans.
Who are your biggest influences?
P: Creatively, Kate Steinberg and The Internets. Theatrically, I wouldn't say he's an influence, but I do love Jason Robert Brown.
S: Creatively, Kristyn (obvs!) because every time we speak we come up with a million new ideas. Literally. I also admire and aspire to be more like "Robot Chicken," "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," "Arrested Development" and "30 Rock." If I can ever write something as witty as "City of Angels" I will die happy.
What is your show about?
P: Well, the obvious answer is "a cat who wants a cheezburger." But really, our show is about making people laugh. This is not high art. It is 78 minutes of silly song and dance, coupled with the Lolcats meme. All it requires is a suspension of disbelief and a willingness to not take it seriously.
S: A cat pursuing his cheezburger! It's really about having good time, getting in a few LOLs and chasing a dream. We billed it as a fun, musical romp through the site and I think that's what it is.
What inspired you to write it?
P: I sang a song about a Lolcat and Kate was all, "Genius, let's make this a musical." Honestly, it was a lark, so it's truly amazing that it's come this far.
S: I knew that Kristyn and I wanted to write something together and when I heard this idea, my heart leaped for joy.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
P: We've known Mike Gillespie (our arranger and musical collaborator) since the beginning of the year, and we found our director, Karina Bennett (co-founder of Magic Bullet Media), through Mandy a few months ago. Magically, we all just gelled. While it hasn't been long, we've grown into a very solid, collaborative, and
fun-loving team and we want nothing more than to work with them in the future.
S: Mike Gillespie has very closely collaborated with us on music. He's arranged and composed for us and is now an indispensable member of our team. Our director, Karina Bennett we met through an ad on Mandy (like Kristyn says above) and even though she was the first person we met, we clicked immediately. She's brought so much to this musical and has made it so much stronger than I could have imagined. Our Choreographer, Erin Stutland, I met in a class at the PIT and she's quite multi-talented -- a dancer, writer and actress with great comic timing. Lastly, Caroline O'Connor, our stage manager and assistant director has been an organization pillar. I would work with them all again in a heartbeat. It's been a great, supportive group.
Fringe shows are notorious for their short rehearsal schedule. How has the rehearsal process been?P: Surprisingly painless. The show is short and we don't really have a set, so it was all song, dance, and scene work. Our cast was extremely dedicated and really delved into the minds of their macros -- everyone involved takes the show very seriously, which, honestly, makes it funnier.
S: Fun, hectic, hilarious. I think we picked an amazing cast who made the process really easy and smooth.
What's next for you after Fringe?
P: Grad school (in a program that involves neither musicals nor Lolcats), but I plan to also work on a new show with Kate and Mike. We can't disclose what it's about, but we can reveal this much: it won't be based on an Internet meme. Our next show won't have such a hard expiration date (although it is yet again about food).
S: Working with Mike and Kristyn on our new musical, writing an original TV pilot with my friend Heidi and also keeping up with the blog that Heidi, Kristyn and I run: Rob Pattinson Loves Me. We like to keep busy :)
And finally, if a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish for?
Pomranz: A cheeseburger lunch with Ben Huh.
Steinberg: I would say dinner -- Ben Huh, Burgers, Pomz and cloth napkins. (oooh, keeping it classy).
I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL!
Sauce and Co.
Written by Kristyn Pomranz and Katherine Steinberg
Additional Music by Mike Gillespie
Director: Karina Bennett
The Cherry Lane Theatre
Fri 14 - 9:30 PM
Sat 15 - 12 PM
Tue 18 - 6:15 PM
Wed 26 - 9:15 PM
Fri 28 - 4:45 PM
Review – Jack and the Soy Beanstalk (New York International Fringe Festival, Wide Eyed Productions)
Review by Erin Winebark
Photos by Matt Bresler
Once upon a time, in a land not that far away, a young man named Jack was charged with selling “Old Smoky,” the family pickup truck, in order to get some money, because the cost of a gas was “a hundred gabillion dollars” a gallon. He tried to sell it to a big corporate farm, but it turned out that they already had a clunker truck to fit their every need. Luckily the next farm he went to was a small organic farm, and the kindly farmer traded Jack’s truck for seventeen magical soybeans. Not realizing how truly magical the soybeans were, Jack flushed them down the toilet, and awoke to find a magical soy beanstalk growing out of the bowl. Naturally, he climbed up the beanstalk and met Mrs. Big, Mr. Big (who had a giant job), and his golden iHarp, but when Mr. Big tried to turn Jack into his favorite food, “canned servant,” he quickly climbed back down the beanstalk and chopped it down with a conveniently-located axe.
Such is the stuff of Jack and the Soy Beanstalk, a modern-day adaptation of the classic children’s tale. Jerrod Bogard (Book, Lyrics, Direction, Set, and Puppets) is just a tad too artistically brilliant for my tastes. His clear abundance of creativity, talent, and fantastic humor makes the rest of us look like we’re not really trying. Throughout the whole show, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that the same person wrote the book/lyrics, directed, AND came up with the terrifically simple-yet-creative set, complete with shadow puppets.
Similar sentiments come to mind in regards to Sky Seals, the Composer/Guitarist/Actor/Musical Director. The absolutely delightful music goes far beyond traditional kid’s fare, incorporating many styles from melodramatic show-tunes to rap. I truly admire people who can “do it all,” with regards to the theater, and the pair of Bogard/Seals certainly fit the bill. I’m not sure which one came up with the vocal sound effects to accompany the shadow puppets, but they are one of the most original ideas I’ve ever seen (or heard).
The cast bursts with energy and amazing voices. While no member was weak, Laura Hall’s (Momma) performance stands out, as does Jake Paque (Golden i-Harp), whose white-guy rapping made me laugh uncontrollably' and his costume, designed by Sabrina Khan, made it that much better. Even the dancing was great, thanks to Nam Holtz’s choreography, and one of the funniest moments was an homage to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” music video.
What makes this kid’s show unique is that it was wonderfully entertaining for both the kids and the adults who came with them. Having seen children’s shows as an adult in the past, I came into it expecting very little (how enjoyable can a children’s musical be, after all?), and came out wildly impressed. And even more than the entertainment factor, it’s message of environmental awareness is one that we can all appreciate. As Momma says, “Imagination is a renewable resource,” and this show’s got plenty to spare.
Jack and the Soy Beanstalk
Book and Lyrics by Jerrod Bogard
Music by Sky Seals
Directed by Jerrod Bogard
Stage Manager: Matt Bresler
Musical Direction by Sky Seals
Musical Arrangements, Additional Composition & Assistant Music Director: Emily Fellner
Choreography by Nam Holtz
Scene Painting by Jen Mcabee
i-Harp and Goose design by Sabrina Kahn
Set and Puppets by Jerrod Bogard
Featuring: Carlos Avilas (Jack), Laura Hall (Momma), Brianne Mai (Mrs. Big), Okieriete Onaodowan (The Guard/Mr. Big), Jake Paque (Golden i-Harp), Sky Seals (the Minstrel/Farmer)
Dixon Place
161 Chrystie Street
Saturday, August 15 at 12 PM
Sunday, August 16 at 4:15 PM
Tuesday, August 18 at 5:30 PM
Wednesday, August 19 at 7:15 PM
Friday, August 21 at 7:30 PM
Visit FringeNYC for more information.
Photos by Matt Bresler
Once upon a time, in a land not that far away, a young man named Jack was charged with selling “Old Smoky,” the family pickup truck, in order to get some money, because the cost of a gas was “a hundred gabillion dollars” a gallon. He tried to sell it to a big corporate farm, but it turned out that they already had a clunker truck to fit their every need. Luckily the next farm he went to was a small organic farm, and the kindly farmer traded Jack’s truck for seventeen magical soybeans. Not realizing how truly magical the soybeans were, Jack flushed them down the toilet, and awoke to find a magical soy beanstalk growing out of the bowl. Naturally, he climbed up the beanstalk and met Mrs. Big, Mr. Big (who had a giant job), and his golden iHarp, but when Mr. Big tried to turn Jack into his favorite food, “canned servant,” he quickly climbed back down the beanstalk and chopped it down with a conveniently-located axe. Such is the stuff of Jack and the Soy Beanstalk, a modern-day adaptation of the classic children’s tale. Jerrod Bogard (Book, Lyrics, Direction, Set, and Puppets) is just a tad too artistically brilliant for my tastes. His clear abundance of creativity, talent, and fantastic humor makes the rest of us look like we’re not really trying. Throughout the whole show, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that the same person wrote the book/lyrics, directed, AND came up with the terrifically simple-yet-creative set, complete with shadow puppets.
Similar sentiments come to mind in regards to Sky Seals, the Composer/Guitarist/Actor/Musical Director. The absolutely delightful music goes far beyond traditional kid’s fare, incorporating many styles from melodramatic show-tunes to rap. I truly admire people who can “do it all,” with regards to the theater, and the pair of Bogard/Seals certainly fit the bill. I’m not sure which one came up with the vocal sound effects to accompany the shadow puppets, but they are one of the most original ideas I’ve ever seen (or heard).
The cast bursts with energy and amazing voices. While no member was weak, Laura Hall’s (Momma) performance stands out, as does Jake Paque (Golden i-Harp), whose white-guy rapping made me laugh uncontrollably' and his costume, designed by Sabrina Khan, made it that much better. Even the dancing was great, thanks to Nam Holtz’s choreography, and one of the funniest moments was an homage to Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” music video. What makes this kid’s show unique is that it was wonderfully entertaining for both the kids and the adults who came with them. Having seen children’s shows as an adult in the past, I came into it expecting very little (how enjoyable can a children’s musical be, after all?), and came out wildly impressed. And even more than the entertainment factor, it’s message of environmental awareness is one that we can all appreciate. As Momma says, “Imagination is a renewable resource,” and this show’s got plenty to spare.
Jack and the Soy Beanstalk
Book and Lyrics by Jerrod Bogard
Music by Sky Seals
Directed by Jerrod Bogard
Stage Manager: Matt Bresler
Musical Direction by Sky Seals
Musical Arrangements, Additional Composition & Assistant Music Director: Emily Fellner
Choreography by Nam Holtz
Scene Painting by Jen Mcabee
i-Harp and Goose design by Sabrina Kahn
Set and Puppets by Jerrod Bogard
Featuring: Carlos Avilas (Jack), Laura Hall (Momma), Brianne Mai (Mrs. Big), Okieriete Onaodowan (The Guard/Mr. Big), Jake Paque (Golden i-Harp), Sky Seals (the Minstrel/Farmer)
Dixon Place
161 Chrystie Street
Saturday, August 15 at 12 PM
Sunday, August 16 at 4:15 PM
Tuesday, August 18 at 5:30 PM
Wednesday, August 19 at 7:15 PM
Friday, August 21 at 7:30 PM
Visit FringeNYC for more information.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Review – I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL! (New York International Fringe Festival and Sauce and Co.)
Review by Erin Winebark
O HAI. IN CASE U WUZ NOT AWAREZ, KATS, ESPECIALLY LOLCATS, LUV CHEEZBURGERS. SRSLY. THEY LUV CHEEZBURGERS MOAR THAN HOOMANZ. IN DIS MUSICAL, LOLCAT (Seth Grugle) GETS SUCKD INTO TEH INTERWEBS AND TRAVULS FAR AN WIDE FAR 2 FIND CHEEZBURGER, AN HE ENCOUNTERS LOTZ DA THINGS, LIEK AN EVIL CHEEZ KAT NAMED MR. WRONG (Clint Carter) AN SAD LOLRUS (Vincent DiGeronimo) HOO LOST HIS BUKKIT. ALONG TEH WAI, LOLCAT MEETS JODIE (Carly Zein), MOUSE HOO OWNS CHEEZBURGER BUSINES. SHE IZ NICE, BUT NOT AS NICE AS CHEEZBURGERS. NO RLY. HE GETS TRICKD, BUT DEN HE REALIZEZ DAT TEH JOURNEY IZ MOAR IMPORTANT THAN TEH TASTE OV CHEEZBURGERS AN DEN LOLCAT REALIZEZ DAT IT DOESN’T MATTR WUT TEH CHEEZBURGER TASTEZ LIEK, CUZ EVRYBODY HAS THEIR OWN CHEEZBURGER DREAMS.
If the above paragraph doesn’t make sense to you, then you might be a bit confused by I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL! now playing at the Cherry Lane Theater as part of FringeNYC 2009. If, however, you are a gigantic nerd like me (and most of the audience, it seemed), you should run to get tickets--and I do mean run, because a large crowd of latecomers were turned away at the door. That said, even those unfamiliar with lolspeak can enjoy the campy entertainment Cheezburger provides, and with a handy gLOLssary included in the program, n00bs will quickly learn the difference between Ceiling Cat and Basement Cat.
Full of non-sequitors, the show itself feels a bit like an episode of "Family Guy." The only scenery is a white drop onto which images are projected. These images consist of well-timed lolcats straight from the website icanhascheezburger.com or scenic visuals to suggest setting. The book, written by Kristyn Pomranz and Katherine Steinberg, is exceptionally witty, laden with pop-culture references and jokes which irreverently parody modern musical theater. The simple orchestrations, also by Pomranz and Steinberg, allow the talented voices of the cast and the hilarious lyrics to shine. A few memorable tunes include "Someone to Eat Cheese With," "Bucket of Love," "Ur Doin’ It Wrong" and "Tasty Taste of Love." Karina Bennett’s direction is presentational, with moments of audience interaction and plenty of sight gags (if you’re simply listening, you’ll miss a lot of the humor). She brings the best out of the cast and fully uses the space to create interesting focal points despite the lack of set. Though the entire ensemble is strong, Carter (as Mr. Wrong) and Bryan Welnicki (Drop) give especially entertaining performances, and Welnicki, in particular is a scene-stealer, waiting for “the cheese to drop.” Erin Strutland’s choreography is the stuff of stereotypical high school musicals (and thus, perfect for this show’s humor); jazz hands, grapevines, and box steps abound.
All said and done, I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL! is incredibly entertaining, and has real potential to be a stand-alone off-Broadway musical (with a few tweaks and reworks, of course). The final musical number and accompanying photo montage had me literally laughing out loud…er, LOL-ing…and by the end, I had to wipe tears of laughter from my face. DIS HOOMAN THINKZ DAT Cheezburger IS FTW!!! KTHXBAI.
I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL!
Book, Music and Lyrics by Kristyn Pomranz and Katherine Steinberg
Directed by Karina Bennett
Additional Music by Mike Gillespie
Assistant Director/Stage Manager: Caroline O’Connor
Choreography by Erin Strutland
Produced by Kristyn Pomranz and Katherine Steinberg
Costume Design by Matthew Wilson and Cathy Carrey-Aquino
Lighting Design by Paul Sawyier
Featuring: Seth Grugle (Lolcat), Vincent DiGeronimo (Lolrus), Clint Carter (Mr. Wrong), Carly Zein (Jodie), Lauren Kampf (Sumz), Danielle Ryan (Epic Win), Melissa Bayern (Epic Fail), Bryan Welnicki (Drop), and Liana Jessop (Orly Owl)
Cherry Lane Theater
38 Commerce St.
Friday, August 14 at 9:30 PM
Saturday, August 15 at 12:00 PM
Tuesday, August 18 at 6:15 PM
Wednesday, August 26 at 9:15 PM
Friday, August 28 at 4:45 PM
Visit FringeNYC for more information.
O HAI. IN CASE U WUZ NOT AWAREZ, KATS, ESPECIALLY LOLCATS, LUV CHEEZBURGERS. SRSLY. THEY LUV CHEEZBURGERS MOAR THAN HOOMANZ. IN DIS MUSICAL, LOLCAT (Seth Grugle) GETS SUCKD INTO TEH INTERWEBS AND TRAVULS FAR AN WIDE FAR 2 FIND CHEEZBURGER, AN HE ENCOUNTERS LOTZ DA THINGS, LIEK AN EVIL CHEEZ KAT NAMED MR. WRONG (Clint Carter) AN SAD LOLRUS (Vincent DiGeronimo) HOO LOST HIS BUKKIT. ALONG TEH WAI, LOLCAT MEETS JODIE (Carly Zein), MOUSE HOO OWNS CHEEZBURGER BUSINES. SHE IZ NICE, BUT NOT AS NICE AS CHEEZBURGERS. NO RLY. HE GETS TRICKD, BUT DEN HE REALIZEZ DAT TEH JOURNEY IZ MOAR IMPORTANT THAN TEH TASTE OV CHEEZBURGERS AN DEN LOLCAT REALIZEZ DAT IT DOESN’T MATTR WUT TEH CHEEZBURGER TASTEZ LIEK, CUZ EVRYBODY HAS THEIR OWN CHEEZBURGER DREAMS.
If the above paragraph doesn’t make sense to you, then you might be a bit confused by I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL! now playing at the Cherry Lane Theater as part of FringeNYC 2009. If, however, you are a gigantic nerd like me (and most of the audience, it seemed), you should run to get tickets--and I do mean run, because a large crowd of latecomers were turned away at the door. That said, even those unfamiliar with lolspeak can enjoy the campy entertainment Cheezburger provides, and with a handy gLOLssary included in the program, n00bs will quickly learn the difference between Ceiling Cat and Basement Cat.
Full of non-sequitors, the show itself feels a bit like an episode of "Family Guy." The only scenery is a white drop onto which images are projected. These images consist of well-timed lolcats straight from the website icanhascheezburger.com or scenic visuals to suggest setting. The book, written by Kristyn Pomranz and Katherine Steinberg, is exceptionally witty, laden with pop-culture references and jokes which irreverently parody modern musical theater. The simple orchestrations, also by Pomranz and Steinberg, allow the talented voices of the cast and the hilarious lyrics to shine. A few memorable tunes include "Someone to Eat Cheese With," "Bucket of Love," "Ur Doin’ It Wrong" and "Tasty Taste of Love." Karina Bennett’s direction is presentational, with moments of audience interaction and plenty of sight gags (if you’re simply listening, you’ll miss a lot of the humor). She brings the best out of the cast and fully uses the space to create interesting focal points despite the lack of set. Though the entire ensemble is strong, Carter (as Mr. Wrong) and Bryan Welnicki (Drop) give especially entertaining performances, and Welnicki, in particular is a scene-stealer, waiting for “the cheese to drop.” Erin Strutland’s choreography is the stuff of stereotypical high school musicals (and thus, perfect for this show’s humor); jazz hands, grapevines, and box steps abound.
All said and done, I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL! is incredibly entertaining, and has real potential to be a stand-alone off-Broadway musical (with a few tweaks and reworks, of course). The final musical number and accompanying photo montage had me literally laughing out loud…er, LOL-ing…and by the end, I had to wipe tears of laughter from my face. DIS HOOMAN THINKZ DAT Cheezburger IS FTW!!! KTHXBAI.
I Can Has Cheezburger: The MusicLOL!
Book, Music and Lyrics by Kristyn Pomranz and Katherine Steinberg
Directed by Karina Bennett
Additional Music by Mike Gillespie
Assistant Director/Stage Manager: Caroline O’Connor
Choreography by Erin Strutland
Produced by Kristyn Pomranz and Katherine Steinberg
Costume Design by Matthew Wilson and Cathy Carrey-Aquino
Lighting Design by Paul Sawyier
Featuring: Seth Grugle (Lolcat), Vincent DiGeronimo (Lolrus), Clint Carter (Mr. Wrong), Carly Zein (Jodie), Lauren Kampf (Sumz), Danielle Ryan (Epic Win), Melissa Bayern (Epic Fail), Bryan Welnicki (Drop), and Liana Jessop (Orly Owl)
Cherry Lane Theater
38 Commerce St.
Friday, August 14 at 9:30 PM
Saturday, August 15 at 12:00 PM
Tuesday, August 18 at 6:15 PM
Wednesday, August 26 at 9:15 PM
Friday, August 28 at 4:45 PM
Visit FringeNYC for more information.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Review - The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side (The Amoralists and Performance Space 122)
Review by Byrne Harrison
Photo by Larry Cobra
"I really care about these characters. I hope you really care about them too." - Derek Ahonen
The thing that strikes me, several days after having seen The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side, is that I do still care about the characters that Derek Ahonen has created and that The Amoralists have brought to life at P.S. 122. This small tribe of outsiders - Wyatt (Mathew Pilieci), full of bluster and simmering anger, but crippled by a fear of death; Dear (Sarah Lemp), the pro bono attorney turned vegan entrepreneur and mother-figure; Billy (James Kautz), the drug-addicted editor of a revolutionary newspaper, who is too scared to join the revolution when it happens; and Dawn (Mandy Nicole Moore), the fragile runaway - live together in a spacious apartment on the Lower East Side, above their vegan restaurant (the titular Pied Piper). Free love, anti-establishment prose, and meatless meals abound. It is, at least to Wyatt, Billy, Dear and Dawn, utopia.
Their peace is jeopardized when Billy finds out his younger brother, Evan (Nick Lawson), is coming for a visit. All frat boy bravado and condescension, it seems that his arrival, and Dawn's subsequent interest in him, will be what threatens to tear this unusual family apart. But that is just one of Ahonen's red herrings. The real threat comes with a visit from Donovan, their landlord and benefactor (played with a smarmy intensity by Charles Meola). He arrives bearing gifts . . . never a good sign.
The acting in The Pied Pipers is outstanding, though Kautz has a tendency to go into a Shanter-as-Kirk cadence when his character gets serious. This can be forgiven in that, even at its choppiest, Kautz is fully committed to his role, and unlike Shatner, he never appears to be "acting"; he is simply being Billy. The same is true of the rest of the actors. Despite the nearly three-hour run time, there is rarely a false note, and the time flies by. These actors clearly know their characters so well that you will likely forget that you are watching actors on a stage; at times, it feels more like being a guest in their living room.
Set designer Alfred Schatz does an amazing job of creating a home for this unusual foursome. His design features so many little details - graffiti, posters, masks - the flotsam and jetsam of four unusual lives, all of which give subtle depth to the characters and create a truly lived-in home.
Ahonen's excellent ear for dialogue, his realistic script, and the phenomenal work on the part of the actors make this a production not to be missed.
The play features nudity . . . very shocking, but wildly amusing nudity, so no one under 17 will be admitted.
The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side has once again been extended (through Sunday, August 23rd). Perhaps it will be again, but just in case, you should see as soon as you can.
The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side
Written by Derek Ahonen
Directed by Derek Ahonen
Produced by Meghan Ritchie
The Pipers Crew Spiritual Advisor: Larry Cobra
Stage Manager: Judy Merrick
Assistant Director: Matthew Fraley
Lighting Designer: Jeremy Pape
Sound Engineer: Bart Lucas
Set Designer: Alfred Schatz
Costume Designer: Ricky Lang
Featuring: Mathew Pilieci (Wyatt), James Kautz (Billy), Mandy Nicole Moore (Dawn), Sarah Lemp (Dear), Nick Lawson (Evan), Charles Meola (Donovan)
P.S. 122
150 1st Avenue (at East 9th Street)
Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday at 7:30 PM
Sunday at 5:30 PM
Extended through August 23rd
Photo by Larry Cobra
"I really care about these characters. I hope you really care about them too." - Derek Ahonen
The thing that strikes me, several days after having seen The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side, is that I do still care about the characters that Derek Ahonen has created and that The Amoralists have brought to life at P.S. 122. This small tribe of outsiders - Wyatt (Mathew Pilieci), full of bluster and simmering anger, but crippled by a fear of death; Dear (Sarah Lemp), the pro bono attorney turned vegan entrepreneur and mother-figure; Billy (James Kautz), the drug-addicted editor of a revolutionary newspaper, who is too scared to join the revolution when it happens; and Dawn (Mandy Nicole Moore), the fragile runaway - live together in a spacious apartment on the Lower East Side, above their vegan restaurant (the titular Pied Piper). Free love, anti-establishment prose, and meatless meals abound. It is, at least to Wyatt, Billy, Dear and Dawn, utopia.
Their peace is jeopardized when Billy finds out his younger brother, Evan (Nick Lawson), is coming for a visit. All frat boy bravado and condescension, it seems that his arrival, and Dawn's subsequent interest in him, will be what threatens to tear this unusual family apart. But that is just one of Ahonen's red herrings. The real threat comes with a visit from Donovan, their landlord and benefactor (played with a smarmy intensity by Charles Meola). He arrives bearing gifts . . . never a good sign.The acting in The Pied Pipers is outstanding, though Kautz has a tendency to go into a Shanter-as-Kirk cadence when his character gets serious. This can be forgiven in that, even at its choppiest, Kautz is fully committed to his role, and unlike Shatner, he never appears to be "acting"; he is simply being Billy. The same is true of the rest of the actors. Despite the nearly three-hour run time, there is rarely a false note, and the time flies by. These actors clearly know their characters so well that you will likely forget that you are watching actors on a stage; at times, it feels more like being a guest in their living room.
Set designer Alfred Schatz does an amazing job of creating a home for this unusual foursome. His design features so many little details - graffiti, posters, masks - the flotsam and jetsam of four unusual lives, all of which give subtle depth to the characters and create a truly lived-in home.
Ahonen's excellent ear for dialogue, his realistic script, and the phenomenal work on the part of the actors make this a production not to be missed.
The play features nudity . . . very shocking, but wildly amusing nudity, so no one under 17 will be admitted.
The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side has once again been extended (through Sunday, August 23rd). Perhaps it will be again, but just in case, you should see as soon as you can.
The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side
Written by Derek Ahonen
Directed by Derek Ahonen
Produced by Meghan Ritchie
The Pipers Crew Spiritual Advisor: Larry Cobra
Stage Manager: Judy Merrick
Assistant Director: Matthew Fraley
Lighting Designer: Jeremy Pape
Sound Engineer: Bart Lucas
Set Designer: Alfred Schatz
Costume Designer: Ricky Lang
Featuring: Mathew Pilieci (Wyatt), James Kautz (Billy), Mandy Nicole Moore (Dawn), Sarah Lemp (Dear), Nick Lawson (Evan), Charles Meola (Donovan)
P.S. 122
150 1st Avenue (at East 9th Street)
Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday at 7:30 PM
Sunday at 5:30 PM
Extended through August 23rd
Nearly Naked Neos
By Byrne Harrison
Billing the event as 30 Half-Nekkid Plays in 60 Half-Nekkid Minutes, the New York Neo-Futurists, the collective of wildly productive performers who create art that fuses sport, poetry, and personal experience, will be performing their popular Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind with slightly more skin than normal. Let's face it, it's hot. It's humid. And even in an air-conditioned theatre like the Kraine, it can be a bit too much. So who can blame the Neos for letting it all hang out? And if the audience wants to join in, why not?
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 Half-Nekkid Plays in 60 Half-Nekkid Minutes will be performed on August 21st and 22nd at 10:30 p.m. at the Kraine Theater (85 E. 4thSt., btw. 2nd & Bowery). As an added bonus (or perhaps a really good dare that they think no audience member will take them up on), the Neos are offering a $10 discount (off a ticket normally priced from $11-16) to anyone who shows up at the show in only their underwear. Given the crowd that normally attends TMLMTBGB, this could be a really good weekend to see the show.
TMLMTBGB often plays to sold-out houses. Make your plans early.
Billing the event as 30 Half-Nekkid Plays in 60 Half-Nekkid Minutes, the New York Neo-Futurists, the collective of wildly productive performers who create art that fuses sport, poetry, and personal experience, will be performing their popular Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind with slightly more skin than normal. Let's face it, it's hot. It's humid. And even in an air-conditioned theatre like the Kraine, it can be a bit too much. So who can blame the Neos for letting it all hang out? And if the audience wants to join in, why not?
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 Half-Nekkid Plays in 60 Half-Nekkid Minutes will be performed on August 21st and 22nd at 10:30 p.m. at the Kraine Theater (85 E. 4thSt., btw. 2nd & Bowery). As an added bonus (or perhaps a really good dare that they think no audience member will take them up on), the Neos are offering a $10 discount (off a ticket normally priced from $11-16) to anyone who shows up at the show in only their underwear. Given the crowd that normally attends TMLMTBGB, this could be a really good weekend to see the show.
TMLMTBGB often plays to sold-out houses. Make your plans early.
Review - The Boys Upstairs (New York International Fringe Festival and Justin Allen Pifer, in association with The Present Company)
Review by Bryan Stryker
Photo by Samantha Souza
"Sex, dating, friendship, and all the blurry lines in between."
You have to love when plays can be summed up in ten words or less. It's even better when it's true and when the production is well-done. Jason Mitchell's world premiere of The Boys Upstairs presented as part of the 2009 New York International Fringe Festival is both true and well-done.
Welcome to the world of Seth, Josh, and Ashley - three friends who have definitely gone through the roller coaster ride of life together. Seth (Joel T. Bauer) and Josh (Nic Cory) reside together in a stylish Hell's Kitchen apartment. Their friend, Ashley (Kristen-Alexander Griffith) and his many one-night stands (all played by David A. Rudd) are frequent overnight guests. Throw in the sexually ambiguous, but nonetheless incredibly hot new neighbor downstairs, Eric (Josh Segarra), and the new "Boys in the Band" morphs into "Friends" to "Sex in the City" and back again.
In eleven tightly-crafted, well-written scenes, we are allowed into these characters lives. Josh is a budding writer for the Village Voice who longs to be a gay Carrie Bradshaw. Seth is entering the "serious" stage of his relationship with his new boyfriend Matt. Ashley is returning from Paris to reunite with his two best friends . . . and every man he has yet to bed in the Big Apple.
Nic Cory gives a great performance as the neurotic, high strung, intense Josh. Joel T. Bauer's Seth is definitely the boy next door type, one that's not easily flustered, though that may due to his pot smoking. Cory and Bauer play off of each other very well, and Josh and Seth's friendship is very believable as a result. One slight criticism is that Josh, although only an intern at the Village Voice, appears too old to hold such a position, even if we do learn within the course of the show that he is a trust fund baby.
Josh Segarra's Eric is portrayed as the ripped muscle guy you're more likely to find working out on the bench press and drinking beer at the sports bar, than dancing on the bar at Splash. The ambiguity that Segarra infuses in Eric makes the characters (and, of course, the audience) wonder "is he, or isn't he?". You'll have to watch the show to find out.
The scene stealers of The Boys Upstairs are David A. Rudd with his multiple personas and Kristen-Alexzander Griffith as Ashley. They take full advantage of their stage time and make each moment shine. Rudd has the more difficult task of making each of his six characters unique and distinguishable - a New Jersey "guido" type, the doting boyfriend of Seth, a leather daddy from the Eagle, an aspiring chorus boy, and more. As he's paired with Griffith in several scenes, their chemistry must be solid through the various incarnations that Rudd must portray. And, thankfully, it is.
Any moment Griffith is on the stage assures a laugh. From his dramatic entrance, to the random sexual situations he wakes up to in the morning, he makes the most of his time on stage. Even when a stray fly threatened to interrupt his performance, he stayed fully in character as he swatted it away. Ashley has a way of taking any other character's moment away from them, and bringing the attention full circle back to him - Griffith stays absolutely true to Ashley's self-absorbed nature.
Jason Mitchell has crafted a fine script that is very tight with very little fat. The characters are well developed and not cookie cutter representations of the LGBT community. The script requires an intense amount of pacing and timing that can only be successful with a good director and cast. Thankfully, he has both. Some scenes would not achieve the laughs they received if it weren't for the solid direction from Matthew Corozine. The only production criticism is that a few light cues were missed in this performance leaving Nic Cory to delivery his transition scene monologue on Justin Couchara's well-appointed, but dimly lit stage.
The Boys Upstairs is definitely one of the highlights of this year's festival and should not be missed.
The Boys Upstairs
Written by Jason Mitchell
Directed by Matthew Corozine
Lighting/Sound Designer: Nick Gonsman
Scenic/Costume Designer: Justin Couchara
Featuring: Nic Cory (Josh), Joel T. Bauer (Seth), Josh Segarra (Eric), Kristen-Alexander Griffith (Ashley), David A. Rudd (All their boyfriends, dates, & tricks)
SoHo Playhouse
15 Vandam Street
Saturday, August 15 at 2:30 PM
Sunday, August 16 at 12:30 PM
Tuesday, August 18 at 7 PM
Thursday August 27 at 5 PM
Friday, August 28 at 7 PM
Photo by Samantha Souza
"Sex, dating, friendship, and all the blurry lines in between."
You have to love when plays can be summed up in ten words or less. It's even better when it's true and when the production is well-done. Jason Mitchell's world premiere of The Boys Upstairs presented as part of the 2009 New York International Fringe Festival is both true and well-done.
Welcome to the world of Seth, Josh, and Ashley - three friends who have definitely gone through the roller coaster ride of life together. Seth (Joel T. Bauer) and Josh (Nic Cory) reside together in a stylish Hell's Kitchen apartment. Their friend, Ashley (Kristen-Alexander Griffith) and his many one-night stands (all played by David A. Rudd) are frequent overnight guests. Throw in the sexually ambiguous, but nonetheless incredibly hot new neighbor downstairs, Eric (Josh Segarra), and the new "Boys in the Band" morphs into "Friends" to "Sex in the City" and back again. In eleven tightly-crafted, well-written scenes, we are allowed into these characters lives. Josh is a budding writer for the Village Voice who longs to be a gay Carrie Bradshaw. Seth is entering the "serious" stage of his relationship with his new boyfriend Matt. Ashley is returning from Paris to reunite with his two best friends . . . and every man he has yet to bed in the Big Apple.
Nic Cory gives a great performance as the neurotic, high strung, intense Josh. Joel T. Bauer's Seth is definitely the boy next door type, one that's not easily flustered, though that may due to his pot smoking. Cory and Bauer play off of each other very well, and Josh and Seth's friendship is very believable as a result. One slight criticism is that Josh, although only an intern at the Village Voice, appears too old to hold such a position, even if we do learn within the course of the show that he is a trust fund baby.
Josh Segarra's Eric is portrayed as the ripped muscle guy you're more likely to find working out on the bench press and drinking beer at the sports bar, than dancing on the bar at Splash. The ambiguity that Segarra infuses in Eric makes the characters (and, of course, the audience) wonder "is he, or isn't he?". You'll have to watch the show to find out.
The scene stealers of The Boys Upstairs are David A. Rudd with his multiple personas and Kristen-Alexzander Griffith as Ashley. They take full advantage of their stage time and make each moment shine. Rudd has the more difficult task of making each of his six characters unique and distinguishable - a New Jersey "guido" type, the doting boyfriend of Seth, a leather daddy from the Eagle, an aspiring chorus boy, and more. As he's paired with Griffith in several scenes, their chemistry must be solid through the various incarnations that Rudd must portray. And, thankfully, it is.
Any moment Griffith is on the stage assures a laugh. From his dramatic entrance, to the random sexual situations he wakes up to in the morning, he makes the most of his time on stage. Even when a stray fly threatened to interrupt his performance, he stayed fully in character as he swatted it away. Ashley has a way of taking any other character's moment away from them, and bringing the attention full circle back to him - Griffith stays absolutely true to Ashley's self-absorbed nature.
Jason Mitchell has crafted a fine script that is very tight with very little fat. The characters are well developed and not cookie cutter representations of the LGBT community. The script requires an intense amount of pacing and timing that can only be successful with a good director and cast. Thankfully, he has both. Some scenes would not achieve the laughs they received if it weren't for the solid direction from Matthew Corozine. The only production criticism is that a few light cues were missed in this performance leaving Nic Cory to delivery his transition scene monologue on Justin Couchara's well-appointed, but dimly lit stage.
The Boys Upstairs is definitely one of the highlights of this year's festival and should not be missed.
The Boys Upstairs
Written by Jason Mitchell
Directed by Matthew Corozine
Lighting/Sound Designer: Nick Gonsman
Scenic/Costume Designer: Justin Couchara
Featuring: Nic Cory (Josh), Joel T. Bauer (Seth), Josh Segarra (Eric), Kristen-Alexander Griffith (Ashley), David A. Rudd (All their boyfriends, dates, & tricks)
SoHo Playhouse
15 Vandam Street
Saturday, August 15 at 2:30 PM
Sunday, August 16 at 12:30 PM
Tuesday, August 18 at 7 PM
Thursday August 27 at 5 PM
Friday, August 28 at 7 PM
Review - George and Laura Bush Perform ... Our Favorite Sitcom Episodes (New York International Fringe Festival and The Present Company)
Review by Bryan Stryker
Photo by Kevin Lambert
"Wondering what Laura and I have been up to since leaving the Oval Office?" George W. Bush asks. "We certainly have not been sitting on our duffs like another former first couple (*cough* The Carters *cough*)."
In playwright Ryan Gajewski's warped world, George (Peter Zerneck) and Laura (Jennifer Tullock) have taken up reenacting their favorite sitcom episodes in their Crawford ranch, and are bringing their show to the New York Fringe Festival. It's a premise that holds much promise given the number of classic sitcoms they could lampoon (with my personal preference and immediate thought being "All in the Family"). However, that premise goes to waste in this production.
While the idea of a bumbling President Bush has been played for laughs for the past eight years in many a Saturday Night Live sketch, that joke alone cannot sustain itself for a full 90-minute production. Though the play's website details multiple episodes that the Bushes have under their belt (including the infamous "The Contest" episode of "Seinfeld"), the audience is only treated to one reenacted episode from "I Love Lucy" - the one where Lucy goes to work in the chocolate factory. This somehow morphs into a time travel story where George Bush goes to the future to warn Venezuela's Hugo Chavez to change his ways and work with the United States. Unsurprisingly, this wasn't as funny as the image of Laura Bush shoving chocolates in mouth would have been. It doesn't get any funnier when a network executive, Diamond Steal-Second (Robert Micheli), signs the duo to a TV contract and brings in Emmy nominee Matt LeBlanc (John J. Isgro) as their costar. In fact, at this point the show seems as interminable as the eight-year Bush administration.
Do not, however, blame the actors. Peter Zerneck gives a strong performance of the former president with Jennifer Tullock playing his dutiful wife, Laura. Tullock's portrayal of the former first lady, including her presumed stilted acting style, and impersonation of Lucille Ball's comedic crying garnered the most laughs from the audience. Throw in some spot on costuming from Irma Escobar, and they do embody the Bushes. John J. Isgro's Matt LeBlanc, however, is depicted as though he never stopped playing Joey Tribbiani from "Friends," and his Joey-shtick, like the buffoonery of this production's President Bush, wore thin within minutes. Robert Micheli's bipolar network executive was energetically portrayed by Robert Micheli, but never seems to connect with the audience.
Playwright Ryan Gajewski is clearly counting on anti-Bush sentiment. It can only be assumed that the reason the network executive was named Diamond Steal-Second was to allow President Bush to muddle his name with other baseball terms such as Diamond Round-Third. Funny the first time, not so much afterwards.
Kevin Lambert's direction was decent, but the timing of the piece felt off. Perhaps if the pace had been quicker, the audience wouldn't have been wondering if some of the longer pauses onstage were the actors having forgotten their lines and wondering what to do next.
I have thought about giving George and Laura Bush Perform ... a second viewing; but when the most memorable part of the show is the impromptu audience sing-a-long of theme songs playing prior to the show, it's probably not worth a repeat visit.
George and Laura Bush perform ... Our Favorite Sitcom Episodes
Written by Ryan Gajewski
Directed by Kevin Lambert
Sound/Lighting Designer: Elliot Lanes
Costume Design: Irma Escobar
Graphic Design: Miriam Hiersteiner
Fight Choreography: Michael G. Chin
Featuring: Peter Zerneck (George W. Bush), Jennifer Tullock (Laura Bush), Robert Micheli (Diamond Steal-Second), John J. Isgro (Matt LeBlanc)
Players Theatre
115 Macdougal Street
Saturday 8/15 at 3:30 PM
Sunday 8/23 at 6 PM
Monday 8/24 at 2 PM
Wednesday 8/26 at 8 PM
Friday 8/28 at 10:15 PM
Photo by Kevin Lambert
"Wondering what Laura and I have been up to since leaving the Oval Office?" George W. Bush asks. "We certainly have not been sitting on our duffs like another former first couple (*cough* The Carters *cough*)."In playwright Ryan Gajewski's warped world, George (Peter Zerneck) and Laura (Jennifer Tullock) have taken up reenacting their favorite sitcom episodes in their Crawford ranch, and are bringing their show to the New York Fringe Festival. It's a premise that holds much promise given the number of classic sitcoms they could lampoon (with my personal preference and immediate thought being "All in the Family"). However, that premise goes to waste in this production.
While the idea of a bumbling President Bush has been played for laughs for the past eight years in many a Saturday Night Live sketch, that joke alone cannot sustain itself for a full 90-minute production. Though the play's website details multiple episodes that the Bushes have under their belt (including the infamous "The Contest" episode of "Seinfeld"), the audience is only treated to one reenacted episode from "I Love Lucy" - the one where Lucy goes to work in the chocolate factory. This somehow morphs into a time travel story where George Bush goes to the future to warn Venezuela's Hugo Chavez to change his ways and work with the United States. Unsurprisingly, this wasn't as funny as the image of Laura Bush shoving chocolates in mouth would have been. It doesn't get any funnier when a network executive, Diamond Steal-Second (Robert Micheli), signs the duo to a TV contract and brings in Emmy nominee Matt LeBlanc (John J. Isgro) as their costar. In fact, at this point the show seems as interminable as the eight-year Bush administration.
Do not, however, blame the actors. Peter Zerneck gives a strong performance of the former president with Jennifer Tullock playing his dutiful wife, Laura. Tullock's portrayal of the former first lady, including her presumed stilted acting style, and impersonation of Lucille Ball's comedic crying garnered the most laughs from the audience. Throw in some spot on costuming from Irma Escobar, and they do embody the Bushes. John J. Isgro's Matt LeBlanc, however, is depicted as though he never stopped playing Joey Tribbiani from "Friends," and his Joey-shtick, like the buffoonery of this production's President Bush, wore thin within minutes. Robert Micheli's bipolar network executive was energetically portrayed by Robert Micheli, but never seems to connect with the audience.
Playwright Ryan Gajewski is clearly counting on anti-Bush sentiment. It can only be assumed that the reason the network executive was named Diamond Steal-Second was to allow President Bush to muddle his name with other baseball terms such as Diamond Round-Third. Funny the first time, not so much afterwards.
Kevin Lambert's direction was decent, but the timing of the piece felt off. Perhaps if the pace had been quicker, the audience wouldn't have been wondering if some of the longer pauses onstage were the actors having forgotten their lines and wondering what to do next.
I have thought about giving George and Laura Bush Perform ... a second viewing; but when the most memorable part of the show is the impromptu audience sing-a-long of theme songs playing prior to the show, it's probably not worth a repeat visit.
George and Laura Bush perform ... Our Favorite Sitcom Episodes
Written by Ryan Gajewski
Directed by Kevin Lambert
Sound/Lighting Designer: Elliot Lanes
Costume Design: Irma Escobar
Graphic Design: Miriam Hiersteiner
Fight Choreography: Michael G. Chin
Featuring: Peter Zerneck (George W. Bush), Jennifer Tullock (Laura Bush), Robert Micheli (Diamond Steal-Second), John J. Isgro (Matt LeBlanc)
Players Theatre
115 Macdougal Street
Saturday 8/15 at 3:30 PM
Sunday 8/23 at 6 PM
Monday 8/24 at 2 PM
Wednesday 8/26 at 8 PM
Friday 8/28 at 10:15 PM
Fringe Q&A With Jay Sefton of The Most Mediocre Story Never Told!
By Byrne Harrison
Photo by Ed Krieger
Name: Jay Sefton
Show: The Most Mediocre Story Never Told!
Website: www.mediocrestory.com
How did you first get involved in theatre?
I played Jesus in an eighth grade passion play and remember not being nervous in front of people and I normally was doing anything else. It would take me 10 years to gather the courage to try it again at West Chester University in Pennsylvania.
Who are your biggest influences?
Anyone who uses the idea of their own death as motivation to do something frightening.
What is The Most Mediocre Story Never Told! about?
It is a comedic deconstruction of the typical "hey, here is my story" solo show. So this show kind of turns it upside down and puts forth the notion that the stories I tell about myself keep me from experiencing anything new in life. The show gets hijacked by my hardcore Philadelphia alter ego and becomes a tug of war about which stories get told and how they get told.
What inspired you to write it?
I had a friend who had a good bit of success with her solo show and she taught a workshop, and I thought maybe I could do the same and start working as an actor. However I didn't feel like I had a story to tell, so I started from there and then came across some bits of philosophy about story versus event and the truth of how we create our personal narratives. I tried to create a theatre piece that gets those messages across in a humorous way.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with
them?
Debra De Liso is the director and we have been working together for about 2 years, and there would be no play without her.
Dave Ashman is the managing producer, and he has been on board for a year and produced the run in LA, which would not have happened if not for Dave.
For the fringe run, we have Chris Massimine as producer, David Rambo (writer/producer CSI) as executive producer, and Shane Marshall Brown as the press agent. They have all been on board since May and have been hugely helpful and fun to put this together with.
Fringe shows are notorious for their short rehearsal schedule. How has
the rehearsal process been?
We are lucky. We have next to no set, one actor, Dave Ashman in the booth and a show that ran for 10 weeks in the fall and at a few Universities since then. So we have gotten a chance to spend more time at Malachy's on 72nd street than some companies. Not sure if that is a good thing.
What's next for you after Fringe?
I would love to extend the show here if at all possible. There is another run planned for the winter in LA and a tour of colleges in Ohio, PA and Michigan for the show in the fall.
And finally, if a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish
for?
Sold out houses for the next 5 shows here in New York and um . . . lots of nice things for nice people cause the first wish sounded a little selfish.
The Most Mediocre Story Never Told!
Written by Jay Sefton
Directed by Debra De Liso
The Actors' Playhouse
Sat 15 - 2:15 PM
Sun 16 - 10 PM
Fri 21 - 7 PM
Sun 23 - 7:15 PM
Wed 26 - 6:15 PM
Visit FringeNYC for more information.
Photo by Ed Krieger
Name: Jay Sefton
Show: The Most Mediocre Story Never Told!
Website: www.mediocrestory.com
How did you first get involved in theatre?I played Jesus in an eighth grade passion play and remember not being nervous in front of people and I normally was doing anything else. It would take me 10 years to gather the courage to try it again at West Chester University in Pennsylvania.
Who are your biggest influences?
Anyone who uses the idea of their own death as motivation to do something frightening.
What is The Most Mediocre Story Never Told! about?
It is a comedic deconstruction of the typical "hey, here is my story" solo show. So this show kind of turns it upside down and puts forth the notion that the stories I tell about myself keep me from experiencing anything new in life. The show gets hijacked by my hardcore Philadelphia alter ego and becomes a tug of war about which stories get told and how they get told.
What inspired you to write it?
I had a friend who had a good bit of success with her solo show and she taught a workshop, and I thought maybe I could do the same and start working as an actor. However I didn't feel like I had a story to tell, so I started from there and then came across some bits of philosophy about story versus event and the truth of how we create our personal narratives. I tried to create a theatre piece that gets those messages across in a humorous way.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with
them?
Debra De Liso is the director and we have been working together for about 2 years, and there would be no play without her.
Dave Ashman is the managing producer, and he has been on board for a year and produced the run in LA, which would not have happened if not for Dave.
For the fringe run, we have Chris Massimine as producer, David Rambo (writer/producer CSI) as executive producer, and Shane Marshall Brown as the press agent. They have all been on board since May and have been hugely helpful and fun to put this together with.
Fringe shows are notorious for their short rehearsal schedule. How has
the rehearsal process been?
We are lucky. We have next to no set, one actor, Dave Ashman in the booth and a show that ran for 10 weeks in the fall and at a few Universities since then. So we have gotten a chance to spend more time at Malachy's on 72nd street than some companies. Not sure if that is a good thing.
What's next for you after Fringe?
I would love to extend the show here if at all possible. There is another run planned for the winter in LA and a tour of colleges in Ohio, PA and Michigan for the show in the fall.
And finally, if a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish
for?
Sold out houses for the next 5 shows here in New York and um . . . lots of nice things for nice people cause the first wish sounded a little selfish.
The Most Mediocre Story Never Told!
Written by Jay Sefton
Directed by Debra De Liso
The Actors' Playhouse
Sat 15 - 2:15 PM
Sun 16 - 10 PM
Fri 21 - 7 PM
Sun 23 - 7:15 PM
Wed 26 - 6:15 PM
Visit FringeNYC for more information.
Review – Dominizuelan Presents: People in the City (New York International Fringe Festival, Tall Hispanic-Short Hispanic Productions)
Review by Erin Winebark
Two drunk white girls, a couple of old Jewish ladies, and a tranny prostitute walk into a bar . . . though this would make a great set-up for a joke, it’s really a small sampling of the characters found in Dominizuelan Presents: People in the City. This two-woman show features twenty different characters in twelve interrelated scenes and monologues written and played by Lorena Diaz (“the tall one”) and Wendy Mateo (“the short one”). Both actresses are Hispanic women, but the characters they portray span all ages, genders, and ethnic stereotypes, and their writing pokes fun at every race equally.
In the opening scene, we meet two old Jewish ladies at a restaurant, interrogating their waitress in an attempt to get some Splenda since one left her baggie full of it at home.
“You speak Mexican?” she asks the waitress with “exotic-looking features.”
“No, they speak SPAINISH in Mexico,” corrects her friend. “Do you speak Spainish?”
Though, I, personally, do not speak Spainish, my favorite line of the whole show was spoken of a certain blonde socialite in a scene where two Latina housekeepers seemed to be discussing American celebrities: “Ella es una puta!” Una puta, indeed.
Both Diaz and Mateo give strong, funny performances. Diaz, in particular, transitions seamlessly through widely diverse characters - from a homeless man, to an aging Hispanic man, to a vibrant Latina single mom. Her physicalizations are dead-on, and she fully transforms into the gender and race she portrays at any given time — no easy feat given the minimal production values and lack of any kind of costume or set change. Mateo easily inhabits the worlds of the scenes, and fully commits to each action. In one of the funniest moments, her drunken stupor is so convincing that it elicited more than a few laughs from the audience.
Renata Sheppard’s choreography, along with an upbeat soundtrack and slight changes in lighting, serve as transitions. Though some of these transitions last a bit longer than necessary, they allow the viewer to see the relationships which exist from scene to scene. In one scene, we meet a tranny prostitute talking to a “white girl” on her corner, and as the scene progresses we realize that the white girl is actually one of the drunk girls from an earlier scene. This happens multiple times throughout the show, and is a rather brilliant way to show each side to the story. Though it’s clear that the show originated out of improvisation, Charna Halpern’s direction focuses the characters and action and gives the scripted show a casual, off-the-cuff feel.
People in the City is a comedy, but by the end, it turns into comedy with a message: everyone has a story, and we’re all connected through common experience, even when we think we have nothing in common. Or at least, that’s what I got out of it, though admittedly, my Mexican is a little rusty.
Dominizuelan Presents: People in the City
Written by Lorena Diaz & Wendy Mateo
Directed by Charna Halpern
Choreography by Renata Sheppard
Production Manager: Stephanie Acosta
Featuring: Lorena Diaz and Wendy Mateo
Two drunk white girls, a couple of old Jewish ladies, and a tranny prostitute walk into a bar . . . though this would make a great set-up for a joke, it’s really a small sampling of the characters found in Dominizuelan Presents: People in the City. This two-woman show features twenty different characters in twelve interrelated scenes and monologues written and played by Lorena Diaz (“the tall one”) and Wendy Mateo (“the short one”). Both actresses are Hispanic women, but the characters they portray span all ages, genders, and ethnic stereotypes, and their writing pokes fun at every race equally.
In the opening scene, we meet two old Jewish ladies at a restaurant, interrogating their waitress in an attempt to get some Splenda since one left her baggie full of it at home.
“You speak Mexican?” she asks the waitress with “exotic-looking features.”
“No, they speak SPAINISH in Mexico,” corrects her friend. “Do you speak Spainish?”
Though, I, personally, do not speak Spainish, my favorite line of the whole show was spoken of a certain blonde socialite in a scene where two Latina housekeepers seemed to be discussing American celebrities: “Ella es una puta!” Una puta, indeed.
Both Diaz and Mateo give strong, funny performances. Diaz, in particular, transitions seamlessly through widely diverse characters - from a homeless man, to an aging Hispanic man, to a vibrant Latina single mom. Her physicalizations are dead-on, and she fully transforms into the gender and race she portrays at any given time — no easy feat given the minimal production values and lack of any kind of costume or set change. Mateo easily inhabits the worlds of the scenes, and fully commits to each action. In one of the funniest moments, her drunken stupor is so convincing that it elicited more than a few laughs from the audience. Renata Sheppard’s choreography, along with an upbeat soundtrack and slight changes in lighting, serve as transitions. Though some of these transitions last a bit longer than necessary, they allow the viewer to see the relationships which exist from scene to scene. In one scene, we meet a tranny prostitute talking to a “white girl” on her corner, and as the scene progresses we realize that the white girl is actually one of the drunk girls from an earlier scene. This happens multiple times throughout the show, and is a rather brilliant way to show each side to the story. Though it’s clear that the show originated out of improvisation, Charna Halpern’s direction focuses the characters and action and gives the scripted show a casual, off-the-cuff feel.
People in the City is a comedy, but by the end, it turns into comedy with a message: everyone has a story, and we’re all connected through common experience, even when we think we have nothing in common. Or at least, that’s what I got out of it, though admittedly, my Mexican is a little rusty.
Dominizuelan Presents: People in the City
Written by Lorena Diaz & Wendy Mateo
Directed by Charna Halpern
Choreography by Renata Sheppard
Production Manager: Stephanie Acosta
Featuring: Lorena Diaz and Wendy Mateo
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Fringe Q&A With Aaron Loeb of Abraham Lincoln's Big, Gay Dance Party
By Byrne Harrison
Name: Aaron Loeb
Show: Abraham Lincoln's Big, Gay Dance Party
Website: www.abrahamlincolnsbiggaydanceparty.com
How did you first get involved in theatre?
I first started writing plays in high school and ended up moving from central Illinois at the age of 17 to study Dramatic Writing at NYU. It’s great to come back to New York with Abe.
I've always loved theater. My sister is an actor and I grew up watching her perform.
Who are your biggest influences?
Bertolt Brecht, Henrik Ibsen and Samuel Beckett. More recent inspirations are Charles Mee and Mary Zimmerman.
What is your show about?
It's broadly about a "trial of the century" where a teacher is prosecuted for telling her 4th-grade class that Abraham Lincoln was gay. It's very loosely based on "Inherit the Wind," telling the story of the trial through the eyes of the prosecutor, the defense attorney and the reporter from the big city sent to cover it.
What inspired you to write it?
I was fascinated by the controversy surrounding Lincoln's sexuality. It seems to provoke genuine furor from some and complete befuddlement from others. As I thought of our current national division over issues of sexuality, I became very interested in examining our current "house divided" with Lincoln as the entry point. That, and I thought there were lots of opportunities for cheap laughs and splashy dance numbers.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
Our Fringe production is being produced by many organizations and individuals from the Bay Area who have been involved in the play's creation from its beginning: BlueRare, PlayGround, San Francisco Playhouse and Tom Swift.
BlueRare is a multimedia production company that made the entire Fringe production possible by bringing all the players together. Jill Matichak, their principal, has been our champion and hero in getting the show on the road.
PlayGround originally commissioned the play. They're the Bay Area's leading incubator of emerging playwrights, and we've been working together since 2001. They gave the play its first workshops and dramaturgical support. There would be no Abraham Lincoln's Big, Gay Dance Party were it not for Playground and Jim Kleinmann, their Artistic Director, who selected the work for a commission.
SF Playhouse produced the world premiere, and it's their production we're bringing to New York. I had collaborated with SF Playhouse on the world premiere of my play, First Person Shooter (also commissioned by, and co-produced with PlayGround), in 2007, so we have a terrific and lasting working relationship. Bill English, the Artistic Director of the Playhouse, designed our ingenious set and helped me shape the play from its earliest drafts.
Tom Swift, one of our producers, is an old friend who inspired some key aspects of the play and helped me hone the work with key bits of advice.
In terms of the creative staff, we've all been working together now for at least a year.
I met Chris Smith, our director, through PlayGround several years ago. He directed the world premiere and has been our leader and organizer in getting this play to New York.
Finally, six of the seven actors were in the original world premiere production and stepped up to make the journey out East. We developed a tight bond putting the show up in the first place, and we're all delighted to be working together again. Our seventh actor, Kate Castillo, actually appeared in the world premiere of First Person Shooter, so we've collaborated together before and she's fit right into our team.
So, as you can tell, it's a rather closely knit band of Bay Area players bringing the show to the Fringe.
Fringe shows are notorious for their short rehearsal schedule. How has the rehearsal process been?
Well, it's been short, but we're bringing the original production. There were over 40 performances at SF Playhouse, so mostly it's been "refreshing" rather than creating something ex nihilo.
What's next for you after Fringe?
While I lack the ability to read the future, I'm going to guess there will be sleep and rampant intoxication.
If you mean theatrically, I'm working on an adaptation of Euripides' Alcestis with SF Playhouse and a new play called Blastosphere! that I'm co-writing with fellow Bay Area playwright, Geetha Reddy. Blastosphere! will world premiere at Central Works in Berkeley later this year. But first, sleep and booze.
And finally, if a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish for?
I would wish for the genie not to grant me the wish. Because if he doesn't grant me the wish, he's granted me the wish, which means he can't grant me the wish. In your face, genie! Try working your way out of that one!
I positively loathe genies.
Abraham Lincoln's Big, Gay Dance Party
BlueRare Productions, San Francisco Playhouse, PlayGround
Writer: Aaron Loeb
Director: Chris Smith
HERE Arts Center - Mainstage Theater
Tue 18 - 9:30 PM
Wed 19 - 4 PM
Sat 22 - 12 PM
Sun 23 - 3:45 PM
Sat 29 @ 7:15 PM
Visit FringeNYC for more information.
Name: Aaron Loeb
Show: Abraham Lincoln's Big, Gay Dance Party
Website: www.abrahamlincolnsbiggaydanceparty.com
How did you first get involved in theatre?I first started writing plays in high school and ended up moving from central Illinois at the age of 17 to study Dramatic Writing at NYU. It’s great to come back to New York with Abe.
I've always loved theater. My sister is an actor and I grew up watching her perform.
Who are your biggest influences?
Bertolt Brecht, Henrik Ibsen and Samuel Beckett. More recent inspirations are Charles Mee and Mary Zimmerman.
What is your show about?
It's broadly about a "trial of the century" where a teacher is prosecuted for telling her 4th-grade class that Abraham Lincoln was gay. It's very loosely based on "Inherit the Wind," telling the story of the trial through the eyes of the prosecutor, the defense attorney and the reporter from the big city sent to cover it.
What inspired you to write it?
I was fascinated by the controversy surrounding Lincoln's sexuality. It seems to provoke genuine furor from some and complete befuddlement from others. As I thought of our current national division over issues of sexuality, I became very interested in examining our current "house divided" with Lincoln as the entry point. That, and I thought there were lots of opportunities for cheap laughs and splashy dance numbers.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
Our Fringe production is being produced by many organizations and individuals from the Bay Area who have been involved in the play's creation from its beginning: BlueRare, PlayGround, San Francisco Playhouse and Tom Swift.
BlueRare is a multimedia production company that made the entire Fringe production possible by bringing all the players together. Jill Matichak, their principal, has been our champion and hero in getting the show on the road.
PlayGround originally commissioned the play. They're the Bay Area's leading incubator of emerging playwrights, and we've been working together since 2001. They gave the play its first workshops and dramaturgical support. There would be no Abraham Lincoln's Big, Gay Dance Party were it not for Playground and Jim Kleinmann, their Artistic Director, who selected the work for a commission.
SF Playhouse produced the world premiere, and it's their production we're bringing to New York. I had collaborated with SF Playhouse on the world premiere of my play, First Person Shooter (also commissioned by, and co-produced with PlayGround), in 2007, so we have a terrific and lasting working relationship. Bill English, the Artistic Director of the Playhouse, designed our ingenious set and helped me shape the play from its earliest drafts.
Tom Swift, one of our producers, is an old friend who inspired some key aspects of the play and helped me hone the work with key bits of advice.
In terms of the creative staff, we've all been working together now for at least a year.
I met Chris Smith, our director, through PlayGround several years ago. He directed the world premiere and has been our leader and organizer in getting this play to New York.
Finally, six of the seven actors were in the original world premiere production and stepped up to make the journey out East. We developed a tight bond putting the show up in the first place, and we're all delighted to be working together again. Our seventh actor, Kate Castillo, actually appeared in the world premiere of First Person Shooter, so we've collaborated together before and she's fit right into our team.
So, as you can tell, it's a rather closely knit band of Bay Area players bringing the show to the Fringe.
Fringe shows are notorious for their short rehearsal schedule. How has the rehearsal process been?
Well, it's been short, but we're bringing the original production. There were over 40 performances at SF Playhouse, so mostly it's been "refreshing" rather than creating something ex nihilo.
What's next for you after Fringe?
While I lack the ability to read the future, I'm going to guess there will be sleep and rampant intoxication.
If you mean theatrically, I'm working on an adaptation of Euripides' Alcestis with SF Playhouse and a new play called Blastosphere! that I'm co-writing with fellow Bay Area playwright, Geetha Reddy. Blastosphere! will world premiere at Central Works in Berkeley later this year. But first, sleep and booze.
And finally, if a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish for?
I would wish for the genie not to grant me the wish. Because if he doesn't grant me the wish, he's granted me the wish, which means he can't grant me the wish. In your face, genie! Try working your way out of that one!
I positively loathe genies.
Abraham Lincoln's Big, Gay Dance Party
BlueRare Productions, San Francisco Playhouse, PlayGround
Writer: Aaron Loeb
Director: Chris Smith
HERE Arts Center - Mainstage Theater
Tue 18 - 9:30 PM
Wed 19 - 4 PM
Sat 22 - 12 PM
Sun 23 - 3:45 PM
Sat 29 @ 7:15 PM
Visit FringeNYC for more information.
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