Theater Review

A Lifetime In A Night

Gary Lucas — Tue, 06 May 2025 01:16:50 +0000

A Lifetime In A Night Gary Lucas May 5, 2025 - 21:16

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By Róisín Nolan

We went to the premiere of Conall Morrison's engaging new production of Colin Murphy's The United States vs. Ulysses, which opened on April 3rd, 2025, at the Irish Arts Center on 11th Ave and 52nd Street in New York City, and highly recommend it if you're a fan of Joyce's novel.

I'm extremely partial to Joyce—my favorite guitarist after Groucho Marx—and Ulysses is my favorite ever book, now largely (sadly) more widely unread than ever (do most Gen Zers even read? Judging by the demographic of the audience last night, apparently not). A famously "difficult" novel that needs to be absorbed at least twice before the full richness of its poetic language and design kicks in, I first stumbled across a bootleg copy way up on a shelf in our house growing up in Syracuse—a copy that my father liberated from the Zeta Beta Tau frat house at Syracuse University.

James Joyce in Zurich 1917

Funnily enough, this kind of random encounter with a supposedly "smutty" book sure to corrupt the impressionable youth of America is exactly what the prosecuting attorney in this courtroom drama (a play within a play couched as a March of Time CBS radio show) warns the judge of in his argument to ban the book in America after its first publication in Paris in 1922. In the early '30s, publisher Bennett Cerf aimed to publish the book in America through his newly established firm Random House, and needed a test case to refute charges that it was "obscene" once and for all. His attorney more or less smuggled an imported copy of the book into the US in plain sight of customs officials, where it was seized as pornographic literature, thus setting up this trial.

In 1934, after the conclusion of this trial, Cerf successfully published the first authorized US edition of Ulysses. The ensemble cast, imported from Ireland for this production and juggling both American and Irish accents when acting out passages from the book itself, is superb, and really gives a flavor of the impassioned controversy this revolutionary novel sparked. A reverie during a five minute courtroom break in the trial turns into an extended riff on the phantasmagoric "Circe" episode set in Dublin's "Nighttown"—and there is plenty of Molly Bloom's (then) shocking sexually frank language from her "yes I said yes I will Yes" soliloquy counterpoised with the judge's long-winded delivery of his (happy for us) verdict near the end.

Bravo to the Irish Arts Center for bringing this first-class production to NYC. The play will run through June 1st, 2025.

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Movement In Space

Jay Reisberg — Sat, 19 Apr 2025 21:03:08 +0000

Movement In Space Jay Reisberg April 19, 2025 - 17:03

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dance

BODYTRAFFIC: This Reminds Me of You

The Joyce Theater, NYC

April 15 -20, 2025

BODYTRAFFIC is a Los Angeles-based dance company, and their current production, This Reminds Me of You, is a spectacular, over-the-top dance experience. Period. By turns exhilarating, poignant, intriguing, surprising, and captivating, it consists of three sequences created by the most innovative choreographers imaginable. Performed by eight dancers, their energy, presence, and finely-honed artistry inspires nothing less than continuous wide-eyed amazement. Each sequence generated the kind of rich wonderment for which audiences yearn.

The initial dance, "Mayday," includes the timeless music of Buddy Holly and explores how life might be cut short at any moment–and how we carry on regardless, as if "tomorrow" is guaranteed (while knowing full well we never possess such certainty). Throughout this dance, a bright red model airplane is prominently carried and handed off from dancer to dancer, always remaining aloft. Each Buddy Holly song has its own "dance," the choreography is decidedly on the athletic side, including marvelous solos and beautifully crafted ensemble work, concluding with a wistful note. "Mayday" was created by multiple award-winning choreographer Trey McIntyre, who founded his dance company, the Trey McIntyre Project, in Boise, Idaho.

next sequence, "I Forgot the Start," is choreographed by Matthew Neenan, whom the New York Times called "one of America's best dance poets." In a video, Mr. Neenan said this work is about our mental acuity, our mental awareness, self-love, self-discovery, and those arduous times in life when we struggle with just how we're going to hang on. "I Forgot the Start" takes place in an otherworldly atmosphere, in which the dancers are attired in loosely fitting diaphanous costumes designed by Márion Tálon de la Rosa. Above the bare stage is a huge rectangular screen with projected greenery, nature, sky, mountains, etc. The movements are slow and meditative and are accompanied by a fittingly dreamy soundtrack, which includes "In this Heart" by Sinéad O'Connor and "Paka Ua" by Ozzie Kotani and Daniel Ho. "I Forgot the Start" concludes as two male dancers remove their shirts and slowly commence an intimate dance, barely touching one another as they move to the sound of "Flint" by Sufjan Stevens. It seemed as though the audience almost stopped breathing at this point, moved to stillness by the penetrating presence exuded by this exquisite pair of dancers.

The concluding dance, "Incense Burning On A Saturday Morning: The Maestro," was created by choreographer Juel D. Lane, who found his inspiration for this sequence in the artwork of former football player Earnie Barnes. [You may recall the television show Good Times, in which the character J.J. Evans was a painter—but his paintings were actually the work of Earnie Barnes.] This sequence transforms the soul of Mr. Barnes' paintings into dance and is the most technically intricate piece in this dance concert. The entire performance is viewed through a scrim, onto which are projected brush strokes, views of Mr. Barnes' paintings, video clips, and still photos. It starts with black/grey brush strokes, with a male dancer in semi-darkness sitting on a stool with his back to the audience, engaged in painting. The wave of his brush strokes, or their erasure, is projected on the scrim as he moves his hand. The scene progresses with the whole dance company joining in, driven by the sound of intense percussion-driven Afro-Cuban music. The images on the scrim create an arch over the dancers, isolating them from the whole stage, and there are moments when the arch gets larger or smaller as the scrim projections evolve.

The costume designer for this sequence is Jarrod Barnes, loosely basing the dancers' attire on the outfits worn by characters in Barnes' paintings.

One of the key characters in the paintings is known as "the woman in the yellow dress." She comes to life on the stage—and I do mean life as she gyrates wildly to the pounding beat and is joined by the ensemble, giving the audience a high-powered, jubilant conclusion to this sequence and the entire evening's performances.

As an audience member, I have reached the point of ceasing to desire to be merely entertained. Instead, I want to be moved by what I witness, to possess a greater sense of our humanity and the possibility of compassion for others, all while seeking other merits that authentic art generates and bestows on an audience. The entirety of This Reminds Me of You is emphatically such an inspirational miracle.

It is appropriate to name and honor by name each of the dedicated, dynamic dancers who appear in This Reminds Me of You: Chandler Davidson, Donnie Duncan, Jr., Katie Garcia, Pedro Garcia, Anaya Gonzalez, Alana Jones, Joan Rodriguez, and Jordyn Santiago.

I further acknowledge and thank all the lighting designers, the costume constructionist, musicians, singers, videographers, those up in the "the booth," and of course, Tina Finkelman Berkett, co-founder of BODYTRAFFIC.

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A Naked Lightbulb

Gary Lucas — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 19:37:07 +0000

A Naked Lightbulb Gary Lucas March 14, 2025 - 15:37

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PHOTO CREDIT: Marc Brennar

A Streetcar Named Desire

BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC, NY

"Well, they're going to the country, they're gonna retire. / They're taking A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE." - Bob Dylan's "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum"

"I can't stand a naked light bulb any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action." - Blanche DuBois

The influence of Tennessee Williams's landmark play has been profound and widespread since its initial Broadway run in 1947.

There have been numerous revivals, bordering on absurd theatrical re-imaginings, attempts at musicals, operas, et al.

Even the play's title has served as a lyrical fragment (witness Dylan's appropriation above).

Many of the play's most eloquent lines, entire chunks of dialogue even, have served as touchstones in pop music lyrics and song titles over the years—including Elvis's "Suspicious Minds," with its refrain referencing a key bit of dialogue from the play— "We're caught in a trap"—courtesy of Nashville songwriter Mark James; also Nick Cave's song "The Kindness of Strangers," Seinfeld's "The Pen" episode with Elaine Benes moaning "Stelllaaaa!," and so forth.

You might say Williams's stage dialogue is sheer poetry emanating straight from the heart—an embarrassment of riches and ripe for re-circulation in other mediums.

So I was lucky to catch the latest revival of Streetcar last night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theater due to a last-minute cancellation (a close friend's wife sicking out). And the production was so good that I want to go back and see it again.

An import from Ireland's Almeida Theatre, directed by Rebecca Frecknall, the play stars Gladiator II's hunka hunka burnin' love Paul Mescal as Stanley "The Animal" Kowalski (just kidding...but Mescal's persona here, unlike Brando's nuanced performance in Elia Kazan's 1951 film, is not that far afield of the world of professional wrestling).

The true star of the play, though, is the great Irish actress Patsy Ferran as Blanche DuBois, who I will get to in a moment.

This revival was slammed as I write this today (3/13/25) in a negative review in the New York Times.

As there was no window to leave a dissenting comment under that Times review, I'm posting my review/riposte here on CultureCatch.

Admittedly, there are some heavy-handed directorial touches. The Times reviewer rightly takes to task the employment of a Zeus-like drummer perched high above the stage who comments on and punctuates all dramatic flourishes throughout, all pounding percussion and sizzling cymbals—a device lifted from Alejandro Inarritu's 2014 film Birdman—with the thunderous racket at times drowning out much of the stage dialogue.

There was also a closing tableau of the entire cast performing a slo-mo Carnival of Souls-like Dance of Death around a prone Blanche splayed out on her back and writhing in agony. Followed by the drummer—a percussive doppelgänger to Mad Max: Fury Road's manic electric guitarist, The Doof Warrior—setting his drumsticks aside and walking slowly downstairs from his God-like perch onto the stage, kitted out in what can only be described as, um, sinister Tennessee Williams drag, replete with floppy hat and bushy beard (which begged the question, "Is that real, or did he grow the beard for the role"?)—ready to usher Blanche into the Rubber Room.

Despite these directorial flaws, I found the play, as re-imagined here, to be a triumph overall.

Brutal, yes, as the Times' reviewer rightly pointed out.

But what the critic failed to mention in his snarky put-down is that Patsy Ferran's Blanche totally steals the show from marquee star Paul Mescal.

Ferran's verbal dexterity and acting prowess dominated this production from start to finish. Her ability to communicate human fragility and the lies people tell themselves to keep their evanescent dreams from evaporating was impressive and heartbreaking—her performance upstaging Paul Mescal's Johnny One-Note-ish sneering realist/ape-like slob.

Your heart goes out to Ferran's character—how could it not?—and hard-boiled cynic that I am, I actually misted up at the play's denouement, although I knew what was coming. Having seen Kazan's Streetcar numerous times, I still was not quite prepared for the shock of Blanche's descent into total madness at the close.

Tennessee Williams's genius—and why people are still flocking to see his plays (especially this one) year after year—is his masterful ability to elicit empathy for the misguided dreamers who populate his work. This goes a long way toward explaining why a version as well-acted as this production rightly received a standing ovation at the end.

Many reviewers, to paraphrase Shakespeare, seem to enjoy flexing their critical muscles to capriciously "tear the wings off flies for their sport" as an exercise in power-play.

Despite the attempt at buzz-kill in the Times today (a review so misbegotten it hearkens back to the era when their chief theater critic Frank Rich was known as The Butcher of Broadway), I would urge you to see this play—it's seriously worth the time spent.

ENVOI:

A colloquy with Tennessee Williams overheard in the steam room of the Yale Club on West 44th Street, as related to me in the early '70s by a young playwright:

"Tennessee, Blanche DuBois is so beautiful and so tragic in Streetcar."

"Young man, for the Protagonist—Tragedy isNEVER beautiful."

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False Bottoms

Gary Lucas — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 22:40:24 +0000

False Bottoms Gary Lucas December 17, 2024 - 17:40

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LIE CLUB is one of the most absorbing evenings in the theatre I've spent in ages. I was lucky to catch the final performance of this mind-blowing existential conundrum on Wednesday, Dec. 11th at Studio 3R on St. Mark's Place in the East Village, which was time well spent.

An exhilarating, if not downright dizzying, two person character-driven dark drama all about the games people play and the lies we tell each other day after day after day, the play conveys a sense of crazy forward motion and jump-cut reversals of fortune in the raveling and unraveling of lies told and exposed at Liars Anonymous—a dramatic conceit of an actual therapy center in London. The play at once signifies Progress in stripping back all the layers of the human onion in revealing the Truth that Lies Beneath, and then almost immediately doubles down with yet another Lie—resulting in laughs a'plenty herein—as well as a short sharp gasp of audience surprise at every hair pin turn.

As an audience member, the experience of watching this play was like being strapped into a pleasurable thrill ride but also like being held captive on a careening out of control stagecoach to hell.

It's a disorienting experience which by the play's end, you feel as if you have actually BEEN SOMEWHERE (Heaven's Gate—or the Ninth Circle—you take your pick).

Every time the collective audience seems to be lifted into the blue empyrean with a character's philosophical peroration on this sad human amalgam, and how through the Power of Love we must all rise above the deceitful lies abounding that help self-perpetuate le condition humane tragique, the dramatic rug is rudely jerked out from under us—a reversal of circumstances/fortune which occurs over and over again during the play, as yet another lie is uttered onstage that negates the previous stab at the character in question's "truth-telling."

In that, the play might well have been titled Chinese Boxes—or better yet, False Bottoms (pace the original title of Wyndham Lewis’s masterpiece of a novel The Revenge for Love).

What could have been a mind-numbing exercise in "No Exit"-type existential hokum is totally redeemed by some of the best and freshest stage acting I've ever witnessed by Murmuration Studios' Rachel De Fontes (the co-author of the play, whose character of a lecturer at Liar's Anonymous balances poised elegance on a knife edge with a wicked killer's instinct), and Peter Jeffries (the other co-author, a Scottish actor with preternatural boyish charm and an open, and winning personality, who struggles throughout with Rachel's devilish teasing).

This pair can do it all. They can stop on a dramatic dime, fly through the air with the greatest of ease, deliver howlers and shift gears from farce to tragedy in a millisecond. They had total command of a young East Village audience that cheered them on and loved every minute of this play. Both actors exude a natural honesty and downright sexiness of persona I found extremely engaging. You kind of both fall in love with these two, and alternately, are repulsed by them, as they spider-like spin their glib patter—mainly comedic, but with a through-line that occasionally veers into shock/horror territory. They are that good.

I thoroughly recommend this show, which was a big hit at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and which has been touring internationally with great success.

Here's looking forward to further mind-blowing collaborations from Rachel De Fontes, Peter Jeffries, and Murmuration Studios.

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Not For The Faint of Heart

Gary Lucas — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 14:36:16 +0000

Not For The Faint of Heart Gary Lucas October 1, 2024 - 10:36

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off off broadway

Gus Birney in Our Class

If you are in NYC or plan to visit soon, I urge you to witness a major theatrical event—the searing and profoundly memorable play Our Class, now playing at Classic Stage Company 136 East 13th Street through Nov. 3rd.

The pivotal moment of this in-your-face, sometimes shocking, and brutal tour de force is the massacre of pretty much the entire Jewish community of Jedwabne, Poland, in a horrific pogrom that took place on July 10th, 1941.

I am inextricably connected to this hideous event as all my Polish Jewish family on my mother's side, then living in Jedwabne, were rounded up by their Catholic Polish neighbors and locked in a wooden barn, and incinerated there.

This story was suppressed for years in Poland. Still, a few Jewish people who managed to escape the barn memorialized this tragedy in a Yizkor Book (Memory Book) published in Israel, which included the names of all the victims—including my mother's original family name of Piekarski, which chillingly is invoked in this play—and which preserved the memory of this shocking crime over the years among the relatives of the annihilated Jewish community scattered all over the world.

I first heard about Jedwabne in whispers from my mother after she read excerpts from the Anne Frank Diary in Life Magazine in August 1958, when it was published in the US.

When she finished reading excerpts to me and my siblings, I asked her:

"What happened to our relatives in Poland?"

"They were burned to death in a barn along with the entire Jewish community of Jedwabne."

Despite my young age, even I quickly did the math and was shocked to realize that this tragedy had taken place a mere 17 years ago—ONLY YESTERDAY—and I shuddered involuntarily.

It's all here in a tumultuous, nearly 3-hour play which, utilizing many avant-garde theatre techniques (projections, animations, mime, sound manipulation, interpolated fragments of Yiddish songs, and repeated breaking of the fourth wall), brings the sweeping panoply of 20th Century Polish history to life in this tale of a mixed elementary school class of Jewish and Catholic children—a class who despite their religious differences exhibit much innocent love towards each other in the first flush of youth—and how the boys and girls of the class are torn apart when History tramples over them in the form of militant Polish nationalism and the advent of two invading armies (Russian and German), which seeps away and rends the entire cultural, political, and moral landscape of their youth asunder.

Directed by Igor Golyak and written by Tadeusz Slobodzianek, this play caused a firestorm of controversy when it premiered in Warsaw in 2009. This was also the case with the publication eight years earlier of Polish historian Prof. Jan Gross's book Neighbors, about the Jedwabne pogrom, which blew the lid off the 60-year hushing-up of details of this atrocity in Poland.

The NYC production, which ran at BAM Fisher Theater in January of this year, boasts an excellent cast highlighted by Gus Birney (pictured above) and Richard Topol. It is not for the faint of heart. This passion play (!) will leave you shaken (and you don't have to be Jewish).

Coming as it does with alarming rising levels of anti-semitism in the world and the two-headed Dogs of War currently howling on the World-Historical stage, it could not be a more timely play. Attendance is mandatory!

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Painting by Cheyenne Schiavone for my song “Jedwabne"

ADDENDUM (24 October 2024):

Last night, after the performance of this amazing play, Scott Richman, director of the NY/NJ chapter of the ADL, led a panel discussion that included personal statements about Jedwabne from Scott, the Ukrainian director Igor Golyak, and three people who took part in the official apology ceremony in Jedwabne by invitation of the then Polish government. We three all made the journey to Jedwabne in July 2001 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of this hideous pogrom, and we three bonded there. Two of us are direct descendants of victims of the Jedwabne massacre.

Scott and Igor spoke first: Scott made a statement about distressing rising levels of anti-Semitism worldwide, and Igor discussed his own complicated relationship with the material and the current war between Ukraine and Russia (he has lived in both countries).

Next to speak was Rabbi Miller, the South African-born son-in-law of Rabbi Baker of Israel.

The late Rabbi Baker had meticulously collected eyewitness accounts of the Jedwabne massacre along with a list of all the Jews who perished in the barn that day. Rounding up, torturing, and then incinerating all the Jewish men, women, and children in the barn that day was just the beginning--followed by dismemberment with axes and shovels and burial in a mass grave. Rabbi Baker arranged to have his findings published in an official Yizkor Book (Memory Book) in Israel.

News of the publication of this Yizkor Book caused a stir in Poland, eventually leading Polish historian Prof. Jan Gross to thoroughly investigate the Jedwabne crime and publish his own findings in his book Neighbors, which on publication in Poland touched off a firestorm of controversy which is still raging there, including vehement denial by the powerful Catholic Church (several years ago the revisionist Polish government passed a law making it a crime to use the phrase "Polish Holocaust" in any context).

My old friend Ty Rogers was next up and spoke eloquently about his personal discovery and investigatory research into the crime of Jedwabne over many years. I made the final statement and related my own complicated relationship with Jedwabne, which I first learned about from my late mother at age 6.

I cannot stress it enough, Our Class is just phenomenal. There are 13 more performances at the Classic Stage Company CSC theatre on East 13th St, and you should really try to see them before they close in NYC. I brought my old friend Ken Hurwitz, who works for the Open Society Foundation, with me last night, and he was shaking his head in awe and admiration of the play's power at the close,

I've seen this play written by Tadeusz Słobodzianek three times now, and it never fails to draw me in—and to draw tears. It is so fresh and vital. And very, very intense. As mentioned, it's directed by Ukrainian wunderkind Igor Golyak and superbly acted by an ensemble who perform this nearly 3-hour play with ferocious energy and jeu d'esprit. This may well be the best acting currently on view in NYC. Special standout performances are by the luminous Gus Birney and the Class Teacher Richard Topol, but the whole ensemble is fantastic.

I was so honored to take part in the panel afterward last night.

Thank you to producer Sara Stackhouse and the Arlekin Players Theatre.

Above is the song I wrote about Jedwabne at Rabbi Baker's suggestion while we were there in July 2001. Recorded in NYC with Ernie Brooks, Jerry Harrison, Billy Ficca, Jason Candler, Jenni Muldaur, and Alva Rogers, it first appeared on my Gods and Monsters album The Ordeal of Civility, released on Knitting Factory Records. I've sung it at the annual Jewish Heritage Festival in Kazimierz Krakow and at Symphony Space here in NYC on a bill with the late Theodore Bikel and other great Jewish artists.

It's sad to say that this song may well have cost me shows in Poland currently.

But I will continue to perform my song and speak about what happened in Jedwabne to the end of my days.

For more info, please read my "Letter from Jedwabne," published in The Forward: https://forward.com/.../jedwabne-pogrom-poland-gary.../

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The Hills of California

Gary Lucas — Sun, 29 Sep 2024 17:08:08 +0000

The Hills of California Gary Lucas September 29, 2024 - 13:08

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The Hills of California is a superb play. It is three hours long, and we found it riveting, with no filler. Jez Butterworth (Jerusalem) and Sam Mendes (The Ferryman) return to Broadway as just about the best writer/director tag-team currently on the scene.

The story takes place in postwar England in a shabby seaside resort hotel in Blackpool, Lancashire. Off-stage hotel owner and widow Veronica Webb is dying, and her extended family arrives one by one to pay their last respects (and also usher her into the ranks of the Choir Invisible with a willing doctor).

In flashbacks, we see scenes of the vibrant, sexy mother who daily drills her four talented and charming young daughters into a Midlands version of the Andrew Sisters (and they really do sparkle! You can actually believe the Webb Sisters could have been massive given a break from the showbiz Gods; they are that good).

The character of Veronica, played by phenomenal Northern Irish actress Laura Donelly, is not far afield from Rosalind Russell's "Rose," the show-biz mother from hell in Gypsy.

A cautionary tale of sisterly rivalry and music biz dreams deferred if not dashed (the greasy American impresario who finally comes to audition them coldly picks one daughter out of the four as the only possible "star" in the act and takes her upstairs to "audition" her), and the residual bitterness and jealousy that poisons the ranks of this formerly close-knit family who drift apart after the child-act is broken up, the cumulative effect is affecting and heartbreaking (but with lots of comic turns and laughs abounding).

At the close the audience leaped to their feet and gave the large ensemble cast (many of whom were imported from the show's hit production in the West End) a prolonged standing ovation and much cheering. Truth be told, both Caroline Sinclair and I had tears in our eyes at the end. The play is that powerful.

For some reason, there has not been ONE review in the local media of NYC since the play opened here last month, which is mind-blowing and speaks volumes about the "official" cultural mandarins and critical apparatchiks afoot in our fair city.

Now playing at the Broadhurst Theater 235 West 44th Street, NYC, and extended through December.

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Illuminated in the Warm Glow of His Long Shadow

C. Jefferson Thom — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 19:08:22 +0000

Illuminated in the Warm Glow of His Long Shadow C. Jefferson Thom August 6, 2024 - 15:08

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Shakespeare

If it hadn't been for two of his actors compiling their working scripts from past productions, we might not have the plays of William Shakespeare. It was Henry Condell and John Heminges who preserved his plays and, oddly enough, it was a Chicago actor named Sam Wanamaker who spear-headed the movement to build this theatre dedicated to his memory and the continuation of his work.

Anyone visiting London should explore the option of taking a trip back in time to the southern side of the Thames where there stands a theatre called Shakespeare's Globe. Built not far from the footprint of the original Globe, this transporting re-creation was constructed with the utmost attention to detail and a profound love and dedication to its subject. Sporting the only thatched roof in all of London (those went out of fashion after 1666 for some reason), this theatre is as authentic as it gets, right down to the wooden pegs holding everything together in lieu of metal nails. Shakespeare is very arguably the greatest author in the English language and to stand in this space, seeing sites so similar to what he saw and hearing his words spoken so trippingly on the tongue by such actors… 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. It certainly was for me.

When I arrived in London, it was one of Shakespeare's greatest villains who was trodding the boards… the infamous Richard III. As Shakespeare worked without the aid of electricity in his time, I opted to see a matinee subject to the whims of natures' lighting. Sitting on that communal, wooden bench and watching that performance is the closest this fanboy has ever felt to one of his greatest heroes.

This almost all-female cast turned the tradition on its nose without any need to belabor that point. Where it counted most, these roles were magnificently filled. Michelle Terry rips Richard a new one, playing him more on raw guile than any cunning more refined. Her Richard is brash, vulgar, and reckless with some strong parallels being drawn to the United States's Rotten Orange of leaders rather than to any in Britain's own backyard. Her power is overwhelming and her energy builds with a burning crescendo which spirals out of control as the fated king loses his grasp of this mortal coil. Shakespeare's Richard is one of my personal favorite villains in all literary history and Terry's portrayal of him will stick with me as an interpretation of note. Helen Schlesinger's performance as Buckingham also stands out, bringing light and dimension to a role which can sometimes whither under its subservience to Richard. However, Schlesinger's strength and presence remind us that powerful individuals often only maintain that power at the whim of other equally powerful individuals who crave the spotlight less. This was a theme much coaxed out in this production, and one with the strongest parallels to the would-be tyrant across the sea, especially as former allies are quickly discarded once their usefulness has escaped them. Such galvanizing interpretations and majestic performances from two profundity-steeped players. I truly hope I have the opportunity to see them both on the stage again.

Photo: Marsy Gallardo

There were many more performances and production qualities worthy of mention, but as I write, this production is coming to an end. So, sadly, if you haven't already seen this Richard III, it likely means you already missed it. But there is reason to rejoice in that the plays of Shakespeare go on here and yet another memorable production continues tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow… to the last syllable of recorded time. Or so I hope, because there is something essential that this production possessed: clarity. Shakespeare's language is dense and while it is brilliant in that density, it can often be difficult to decipher, particularly for the untrained ear. That is why it is the duty of the actor to solve The Bard's many puzzles and present their audience with the answers (or, at least, the answers they arrive at, for there are infinitely many). Put more simply, these actors made Shakespeare's words clear and understandable, so even if you are not an Oxford scholar or seasoned actor yourself, these performers know how to bring you into His world and show you why his words have lasted for so long. When it’s done right, there’s really nothing better.

Aside from their stage productions, Shakespeare's Globe also offers a wide variety of tours. I took their Shakespeare's Globe Story & Tour which was an enlightening option for someone with a thirst for a greater understanding of this author and the world he wrote in. In connection with the tour there is a museum with displays that should work well to grab the interest of children, but to be fair, I don’t believe that my exceptionally bright almost-ten-year-old daughter would have been able to fight off the demon of boredom, so the Globe may be an experience best saved for mature teens and those older.

In closing, this is a rave, 5 star, run-don't-walk review of Shakespeare's Globe. I maintained a very full and thrilling itinerary for the 8+ days I spent in London and the four hours I spent enveloped in the glow of the Globe were some of my happiest from the trip. So if you're in London, why wouldn't you want to experience one of the greatest things that a proud nation has so much reason to be proud of?

For more information and to book your experience at Shakespeare's Globe, go to:

https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/

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More Than Skin Deep

Jay Reisberg — Sun, 31 Mar 2024 14:23:20 +0000

More Than Skin Deep Jay Reisberg March 31, 2024 - 10:23

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puppets

Epidermis Circus

Soho Playhouse, New York City

March 20 through 24, 2024

In the days when vaudeville audiences were eager for "odd" entertainment, performers--traveling the USA's various "circuits," both high and low--competed in coming up with new, different, or totally unique acts. Notoriously, Robert John Wildhack gained cachet by demonstrating a hilarious variety of sneezes (which you can still enjoy in the movie "Broadway Melody of 1938"). There was "Painless Parker's Dental Circus," whose act was pulling teeth with the help of "hydrocaine" (a cocaine solution). Let's not leave out women like Ethel Purtle, who played the Motordrome Circuit, performing the "Wall of Fire" stunt with a live lion seated in a sidecar. Today, we think we are more sophisticated, as we have "performance artists" -- and some indeed are artists, like Canadian puppeteer Ingrid Hansen, who wowed sold-out audiences at the Soho Playhouse last week with her Epidermis Circus.

The title of this zany, bawdy, and hilarious performance piece reminds me of a jest children play upon one another: dolefully warning an unsophisticated playmate that "Your epidermis is showing!". (I suppose it's the very first time kids learn that the epidermis is another term for their skin.) Ms. Hansen is called a puppeteer, with the implication that one is primarily manipulating figurines -- but her epidermis is unabashedly doing most of the work in her enormously entertaining, one-hour madcap vaudeville show. It is chock full of riotous, naughty, and mystifying vignettes using her bare hands, face, mouth, tiny toys, and a doll's head.

Ms. Hansen comes closest to conventional modern puppetry when transforming her socks and panties into a romantic couple, whose intensive interaction incorporated the outstretched arms of two audience members, whose limbs provided the platform for a tragically moving romance. Ms. Hansen's "stage," upon which all but that one sequence is performed, is a table positioned in front of a petite video camera, which magnifies and projects her manual and facial artistry onto a large screen -- with her voice providing clever chatter and sound effects.

Ingrid Hansen has performed puppeteering on television for both Sesame and Henson productions. She plays the character "Heart," a lovable orange monster, on Helpsters, Sesame Workshop's Emmy-Award-Winning series for AppleTV+. She also puppeteers and voices characters on Henson's new Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock series. For the TreehouseTV/Amazon show Miss Persona, she puppeteers "Melissa the Dog." She has choreographed and directed several music videos, including choreographing a ballet for stand-up comedian K. Trevor Wilson, which appears in the Canadian sitcom Letterkenny.

I recall as a child using my hands as imaginary animals, and Ms. Hansen propels such kid stuff to a high adult level. Her hands-only sequence of two dog-like creatures playing and probing one another was captivating, earning the audience's intense focus, only to be punctuated by gales of spontaneous laughter. My favorite vignette featured the head of a kewpie doll fastened to Ms. Hansen's hand, forming an athletically flexible human-like figure taking a sensual bath in an oversized coffee cup.

Ms. Hansen's hands-in-motion have the kind of presence that is often attributed to the greatest stage performers. Their movement, combined with her skill for vocalization, establishes colorful characters playing out their scenarios, transfixing the audience and creating pin-drop silence interspersed with spontaneous bursts of laughter.

The closing sequence was a tour de force: creating a farm scene with tiny toy animals, vehicles, and structures, each emerging from Ms. Hansen's elastically flexing mouth. This "farm" endures some intensely inclement weather -- finally being washed away, and a "The End" flag was then precipitated from Ms. Hansen's mouth to signal that the show had concluded.

In addition to this bawdy "adult" version of the show, the week's run also provided child-friendly performances.

Epidermis Circus was produced by SNAFU Society of Unexpected Spectacles and was co-created and directed by Britt Small. Ingrid Hansen is credited as co-creator and performer. Costumes were designed by JIMBO, The Drag Clown (James Insell). Epidermis Circus was also co-produced by and with creative contributions from Kathleen Greenfield. Puppetry coaching is credited to Mike Peterson and Rod Peter Jr.

For information regarding future performances of Epidermis Circus and other works produced by SNAFU, visit the SNAFU website: www.snafudance.com.

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That's Entertainment

Gary Lucas — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 19:32:00 +0000

That's Entertainment Gary Lucas November 19, 2023 - 14:32

Topics

Theater Review

Tags

drama

SABBATH'S THEATER

We went to the first preview of this tour de force and what can I say but that it did not disappoint, not by a long chalk. John Turturro was simply incandescent and brilliant as were Elizabeth Marvel and Jason Kravits. This is by far the greatest adaptation of any Philip Roth novel I've seen in any medium and the ensemble acting and direction was riveting. Hilarious, shocking, smutty, and teetering on the cusp of tragedy throughout, with as vivid and life-affirming a character as only Philip Roth could have conjured up (think Alexander Portnoy as aging artiste erotomaniac), John Turturro's Mickey Sabbath is a comic antihero for the ages, on the order of a Jewish version of J.P. Donleavy's wild Ginger Man, brimming with a comic-demonic life-force rivaling Mark Rylance's star turn as Rooster Byron in Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem, and David Thewlis's Johnny in Mike Leigh's Naked. Run, fly, but by all means see this play which is destined to be a huge hit. They're going to be raving about John Turturro's performance in this as long as people continue to go to the theater. And kudos to Jo Bonney's superb direction. Now playing at The New Group's Linney Theater on West 42nd Street.

Sabbath's Theater now extended to Dec. 17th. Tickets and info: https://thenewgroup.org/production/sabbaths-theater/

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La, la, la… The actor is me, Alora Dagnino

C. Jefferson Thom — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 20:00:26 +0000

La, la, la… The actor is me, Alora Dagnino C. Jefferson Thom September 25, 2023 - 16:00

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Theater Review

Tags

regional theater

I am a 44-year old playwright. I spent eight years in NYC working in the theatre and I have very little use for most things Disney (except Coco. I really love Coco). So why would I go see The Little Mermaid? Great question. Simple answer… I have a little girl in my life and if that's what it takes to expose her to the magic of the stage, then I'd even sit through a production of Cats. So while I certainly have my thoughts on this musical and this production, I feel it would far more appropriate and interesting to look at it through the eyes of Alora.

Alora is an eight-year-old girl with a vivid imagination and when I asked her about her experience seeing The Little Mermaid, these were some of her responses…

"Good. Good. I liked the amount of talking and singing. It was a good amount of talking and not all singing. My favorite songs were "Part of Your World" and "Under the Sea". My favorite character was The Little Mermaid [a.k.a. Ariel] and my favorite part about the character was the actor. I liked The Little Mermaid’s flying. Is that real flying? Can she really fly? I thought the story was good, it was great… I give it 100 points. I also liked Sebastian and how he sang the song "Under the Sea." Seeing The Little Mermaid in Seattle is sooooo cool. It felt more good than the other show [while Sondheim is more to my liking, it turns out he doesn't play as well with 8 year olds]. Ursula was so scary but I liked how it ended. It was so cool."

Alora was very interested in my typing and at one point decided she wanted to type the name of the actress who played Ariel:

dianhuey -- alora

…she missed an a, but I'm hoping Diana will understand. She also felt it necessary to type her name after as a sort of sign off.

When asked if she liked the romance in the show she spat out an initial "Yuck!," but after some twisting of the arm, but she confessed that she liked when The Little Mermaid fluttered her eyes and puckered her lips, trying to get the Prince to kiss her (this was accompanied by an spot-on demonstration). When I asked if she wanted the Prince to kiss Ariel she reluctantly admitted, "Yeeeaah." I didn't need her to tell me this, I was watching her reactions during the romantic moments and it seemed like she was getting a little swept away. While I am conflicted on the way Disney sells romance, seeing her excitement during "Kiss the Girl" was pretty endearing. We'll just put a pin in that and save some conversations about reality for a later date.

At this point, apparently not completely comprehending the purpose of this review, Alora broke out into song and wanted me to write down how she was singing… I shall indulge. She is joyful. She is happy. She makes bold and sweeping gestures. The songs touch on feelings she can relate to and she emotes with great passion.

"La la la, What is this stuff. Isn't it neat. What is that? It is my friend fish. My friend fish talks. What is this stuff. La, la, la… The actor is me. The actor is me, Alora Dagnino!" I should note, English is Alora's second language and she only started learning it this January. I wish my Spanish had come so quickly.

The affect that this production had on our little girl was self-evident. She's never seen the movie but she retained so much of the music and sings the songs back, adding a lot of her own words as you may have noticed, but getting the melody basically right. This is after seeing it once, so it clearly left an impression. She walks around acting out the scenes and assigning roles to the dogs in our house. The dogs have had a mixed appreciation for her determined direction.

We probably could have gone on like that for a while, but it was a school night and she needed to take a bath. So, did I have thoughts… sure. I almost always have thoughts where theatre is concerned but they would likely bore you here. Though I will note that Coleman Cummings was exceptionally good as Prince Eric… not the first role you would think of as standing out, but he was on point and I'd like to see him in another role someday. That being said, if you’re one who enjoys the wonderful world of Disney, I would recommend seeing this production, particularly if you have young children. I would also recommend having a little girl, if you’re so inclined to have children in your life. As it turns out, they're pretty awesome. - Alora Dagnino & CJT