Review- In The Daylight (Vital Theatre Company)

The Fab Marquee review by Karen Tortora-Lee.

In The Daylight (by Tony Glazer, directed by John Gould Rubin) is an ironic title, or a conclusive one, or perhaps even a hopeful one.  Because the last thing you get with this play is one shred of hopeful daylight; this is as noir a plot as any written by Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler, right down to the rapid-fire dialogue and the "it was a dark and stormy night" setting. Rather than any daylight what you do get is dark shadows, deep secrets, harsh verbal sparring, some gun play, a mysterious urn full of ashes smack in the middle of the living room... one half expects Barbara Stanwyck to come slinking in at any moment asking Fred MacMurray to help her with the clasp on her ankle bracelet. Except for a missing Blackberry which sets off an unfortunate chain of events, this whole story could be set in 1940.

Joe Urla, Concetta Tomei, Sharon Maguire
Photo by: Gili Getz

When we first meet prodigal son Martin Feingold (Joseph Urla) he's back after a six year absence driven back home by the notion that his mother Elizabeth (Concetta Tomei) may be dying, and driven back into the house, literally by a raging storm that leaves him soaked and leaves the house whim to every crack of lightening and every shudder of thunder so realistic that the audience cowered in half dread of being drenched as well.  Not that this house seems to give much respite; for one thing it's crooked as hell, the whole set listing steeply to the right in a not-so-subtle way of informing you that this is no cozy childhood hug Martin is returning to.  The home is also completely white, stark, devoid of anything save a bottle of scotch, an ottoman and the urn; several doors lead into the room, and a staircase moves away from it; overall this is not a welcoming place.  The next nails-on-chalkboard piece of the welcome wagon is pinchy sister Jessica (Sharon Maguire) who immediately launches into a bitchy volley with her brother which proves that they've never really gotten along, or if they did, it was a long time ago.

When mother Elizabeth comes on the scene (Concetta Tomei) she adds the top note of this dysfunctional family perfume; kind words are scarce in this house but there's no end to the verbal jibes, the button pushing, the backhanded complements, the insults disguised as harsher insults.  The only fun they have seems to be quoting movie lines to each other, and even those are the repellent ones, you won't find a Breakfast Club quote being thrown around in this home.  Obviously something very bad happened here six years ago, but only the silent, ghostly Dr. William Feingold (Jay Patterson), wandering in and out of his home and replaying scenes before his death give us any clue as to the disturbing things which may have happened before Martin ran off to write his book and gain fame at (some would say) his family's expense.  

Jay Patterson, Joe Urla, Ashley Austin Morris

photo by Gili Getz

Soon enough Martin discovers his Blackberry is missing but don't fret, it's returned soon enough.  Into this house of horrors, blown in by the storm, carrying Martin's Blackberry, is a little wisp of southern belle, Charlotte Fontaine (Ashley Austin Morris) the fan who sat next to him on the plane, a dear young girl with a fan-sized crush on Martin and a need to know everything about him.  When she begins to poke around too much the whole fabrication comes crashing down and we find out exactly what horrifying events lead to the Feingold family's complete destruction.  Not only was nothing as it seemed, it was far, far worse.

Much of the success of this play lies with the fantastic scenic design created by Christopher Barreca, the lighting design by Thom Weaver, and the sound design by Elizabeth Rhodes.  In a play of such darkness, ambiance can make or break the mood, and these three fabulous artists do an amazing job of creating an entire world where these characters can  live out their crazy lives.  I doubt their story would have been as dramatic in a split level colonial.

Some of the pacing of the story was problematic for me; it took me a while to warm up to this cold brother and sister who so easily could pick up where they left off despite years of being apart, let alone after being torn apart by such a tragedy.  True, some families mask their hurt and pain with sarcasm and quick, nervous chatter, but I still felt they might have needed a little more stillness in the beginning before diving headlong into the neurosis of their relationship.

By contrast, Ashley Austin Morris' Charlotte is like a breath of fresh air, as I'm sure she is meant to be, when we first meet her she is quite a character without being a caricature which is a fine line that many actresses can't always walk along.   And later, during the second act when her character deepens and her motives and reasons become more clear Ms. Morris is able to follow through with her voice and not veer from the character she has created.  She was wonderful to watch.

In The Daylight is filled with stunningly dramatic moments that leave the audience gulping (if not gasping).  The plot contains enough surprises and twists that the audience does not see coming, which is always enjoyable, and watching the veteran Concetta Tomei perform brilliantly alongside new talents like Ms. Morris is a great treat.  While there were a few bumps in the story, overall this is a very enjoyable, if gritty, night of theatre that will leave you a bit nostalgic for the days of Noir.

----------------

Vital Theatre Company presents

In The Daylight

September 8-October 11, 2009 (Opening, Sept 20th)

McGinn/Cathale Theatre

For tickets and more information, visit www.InTheDaylight.com


McGinn/Cathale Theatre | 2162 Broadway, 4th Floor | Manhattan.

Review- Leaves of Grass (The Cell)

The Fab Marquee review by David Stallings.

Something quite unique and special is happening in theatre this week—and it is not in the Fringe Festival. If New York is looking for an avant-guarde theatrical experience for the senses, it only has one more week to discover it. Jeremy Bloom’s production of Leaves of Grass is an eloquent, tasteful, work of art on display for a short time only. The play, which is really selections from Walt Whitman’s collection of poetry, has no plot, no characters, and no theatrical structure, and yet tells a beautiful story of the soul.

Ensemble | © Paradise Gonzalez

Whitman’s book of poetry—first published in 1855 as a small book of poems and subsequently published several more times culminating in the 1891 version of over 400 pages—was considered scandalous at the time. Whitman celebrates the body “I sing the body electric”, sexuality, and life in general. His transcendental leanings urge readers not to spend their life searching for God or understanding him, but merely finding him in the beauty of nature and the body. Bloom has marvelously condensed the epic collection into a seventy-five minute theatrical experience well worth embracing.

The audience is positioned runway style, so the action takes place on a thrusted stage between. Above hangs the most beautiful set of translucent leaves falling from the sky. They are not leaves of course, but bags of colored water, reflecting amber and green light onto the performers below. Nine wonderfully connected actors in all races, shapes, sizes, and ages, bring Whitman’s poetry to life, completely in the nude. This production, like a sculpture or portrait, makes one forget about the body and envelope the artists perspective of beauty—one that is all loving and generous. The ensemble truly works as a unit, lifting each other, dancing, and moving—all to the brilliant direction of Jeremy Bloom. The poems are projected on a wall behind the performers—and even the words and letters dance to the provocative rhythms Bloom finds within Whitman’s poetry.

Dillon Porter | © Paradise Gonzalez

LaCrisha Brown truly sets the play off right as she opens with a wonderful recitation of body parts—listing as Whitman often does. She truly relaxes the audience and brings them into this special world. Dillon Porter is another standout for his connection to the material and presence. The outstanding moment of the evening though is when Joyce Miller marvelously tells the poem of "28 Boys Bathing," while flicking water gently to the heavens.

Dan Gallagher and Jeanette Jew’s lighting design is as earthy, shadowed, and glowing as the text. Shawn Hollahan’s art instillation is sublime. And Matmo’s music brilliantly matches the tone of the piece.

One of the most innovative pieces of theatre I have seen since Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses, Bloom’s Leaves of Grass is pitch-perfect. Go. See a truly surreal and poetic piece of theatre -you only have a week left.

------------
The Cell presents
Walt Whitman's
Leaves of Grass
directed and conceived by Jeremy Bloom

Through August 29th (Mon @8PM; Thu @8pm; Fri-Sat @8pm & 10PM). For tickets and more information visit www.LeavesUnbound.com

The Cell | 338 W 23rd St | Manhattan.

Review- Barefoot In The Park (Ground Up Productions)

The Fab Marquee review by David Stallings.

The early sixties are remembered fondly for innocent sex comedies that toyed with the changing roles of men and women and how they interacted as societal values shifted. At the top of the list sits Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park (the longest running of his numerous hit plays). The play is definitely a period piece by today’s standards but nevertheless still entertains a modern audience. Ground Up’s current production at Manhattan Theatre Source (not coincidentally steps away from Washington Square Park) is appropriately charming and hits every mark. Director Lon Bumgarner was faithful to the period in manner, rhythm, and atmosphere—bringing the intimate space to life through the crisp performances of his adept actors.

Kate Middleton & Guy Olivieri | photo credit: Randy Morrison

The play follows a newlywed couple, Paul (Guy Olivieri) and Corie (Kate Middleton), as they move into their first apartment in the West Village. The fact that it is a fifth-floor walk-up with no bathtub does not phase Corie in the least. She bounces back from every obstacle with flare and optimism. Of course the fact that she does not have a job is never brought up in this play. Corie happily designs the room and calms her stoic husband as he enters from long days at the office. The building is littered with eccentrics, including Victor Velasco (Eric Purcell) who has to enter through their apartment to get to his. Mr. Velasco has fallen behind on rent and uses an outdoor ledge to break into his own flat. But what truly gets to the beleaguered Paul is that the skylight is broken in the middle of winter, the apartment is freezing, and still his wife dreams of walking barefoot in the park.

The plot involves Corie setting her dear sweet widowed mother, Mrs. Banks (Amelia White), up with Mr. Velasco. Velasco must learn how to embrace his matured age just as Mrs. Banks must admit that she is not too old for a love affair. Corie and Paul must learn to compromise—each giving up a part of themselves to make room for the relationship.

Kate Middleton, Amelia White & Eric Purcell | photo credit: Randy Morrison

This production’s performances are excellent. Middleton plays Corie to the hilt—maintaining strength of character in a part often confused for flighty or insipid. Olivieri perfectly captures the style of the era with Paul without judgement. Embracing the sweetness of the role, Mr. Olivieri never seems like a misogynist—not easy to avoid in this period. Amelia White steals every scene as the widowed Mrs. Banks. One truly believes she stepped out of sixties New Jersey and onto the stage. Her sudden acceptance of lost youth garners mid-scene applause from the audience. One cannot forget Eric Purcell’s performance of the wild Mr. Velasco. Truly, the ensemble listens and reacts beautifully without ever forgetting their period context.

Having seen several plays at Manhattan Theatre Source, I was shocked from the moment I entered and felt I was in a different space. Travis McHale incredibly renovated the stage and created a believable period NYC apartment, complete with a skylight. McHale’s lights were equally impressive, capturing the mood of an NYC afternoon. Stacey Berman’s costumes were fantastic—more than perfectly period—they captured the essence of each character.

I highly recommend filling an afternoon or evening with Ground Up’s production of Barefoot in the Park—the perfect summer treat—light, crisp, and humorous.

---------------
Ground Up Productions presents
Neil Simon's
Barefoot In The Park
July 8-25, 2009 (Wed-Fri @ 8pm; Sat @ 2pm-8pm; Sun @ 2pm)
Manhattan Theatre Source

Tickets are $25 and may be purchased by calling (212) 352-3101 or on-line at www.theatermania.com.

Manhattan Theatre Source | 177 MacDougal Street | Manhattan.

Review- Hiding Behind Comets (Nicu's Spoon)

The Fab Marquee review by Dianna Martin.

I have to give playwright Brian Dykstras credit for creating a fantastic "what if" situation in the Nicu's Spoon's production of Hiding Behind Comets, a play about how the Jonestown Massacre, which occurred 30 years ago, effects three 20-somethings in a rural part of America. In fact, there is so much potential in this show's concept, plot, and social commentary, that it makes it all the more frustrating that the play missed the mark on various levels to the point that it wasn't until halfway though the play that I actually cared about what was happening on stage.

David Tully (Troy), Rebecca Challis (Honey), and Oliver Conant (Cole)
Photo Credit: Katie Rosin/Kampfire PR

Upon being seated in the theatre, the actors interacted with the audience casually, as if you were a patron in a bar. Unfortunately, my interest in most of the characters once the play started waned quickly. A brother and sister who are twins, Honey and Troy (Rebecca Challis and David Tully) are running their father's bar, while Honey tries to set her friend Erin (Kiran Malhotra) up with her brother. Despite it being nearly empty, they cannot close the bar because it's too early, and there is one lone customer; Cole (Oliver Conant) who becomes increasingly more and more hostile in a short period of time after the play starts when he asks about the cigarette machine. In fact, I as an audience member was wondering, since Cole was so hostile, rude, and obviously a troublemaker, why Troy didn't just kick him out of the bar; I mean, after all, it is the family bar. Ah, but if he did, we wouldn't have a show...and therein lies the beginning of my unease with this production, which only got worse before it got any better.

I question the playwright and the director for making decisions such as that, that were so unbelievable in real life, so when Tully takes Malhotra downstairs for sex, leaving his sister alone in the bar with this man who is obviously a loose cannon, I was completely thrown out of the play. Then, when Challis begins to flirt with Conant and talk about how she lusts for her brother, somehow feeling that she can confide with him, I felt the dialogue simply spiraling out into left field...nothing seemed important enough to me; the characters, their situation. I think it's because I just didn't believe any of it. At all. And that problem lies in the script more than anything else.

David Tully (Troy), Rebecca Challis (Honey), and Kiran Malhotra (Erin)
Photo Credit: Katie Rosin/Kampfire PR

I feel the play really started halfway through, when Conant began what is actually a beautifully acted and written monologue about the nightmare that was his job as a guard for Jim Jones back before the massacre and through it. In vivid detail he described the horrors he witnessed and took a part in; and how he made it out of there alive. This is when I woke up, when I began to have an interest; and the ignorance of the younger characters about anything having to do with the Jonestown Massacre was an interesting commentary on our current generations who don't seem to know facts of the past or learn from them. Then came an interesting scenario of why Conant really is in the bar that night - and what he plans to do. It was a brilliant situation. There were some good moments between Tully and Conant after Troy convinces his sister and her friend to leave and let him close up, because he knows that their patron is dangerous, but it was still drawn out and again began to get tedious because of excess dialogue that should have been trimmed. I did appreciate, however, the acting between the two men, and Tully's angst with the situation.

Unfortunately, I walked out of the theatre really having only gleamed some sort of enthusiasm for the long monologue that Conant told, and certain aspects of the last half of the play, which is a shame because it could have been so much more. I think with careful re-writes, and actors really dealing with each other in every moment, not just when there is a gun in someone's face, this play could be tremendous. But as it is now, it makes mostly for a wonderful short one-man play.

-------------
Nicus Spoon presents
Brian Dykstras'
Hiding Behind Comets
July 8-26, 2009 (Wed-Sun @ 8pm)
The Spoon Theater

Tickets are $18 and are now available online at www.spoontheater.org or by calling 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Spoon Theater Box Office, 1 hour prior to performance.

The Spoon Theater | 38 West 38th St, 5th Fl | Manhattan.

Review- This Isn't Paradise (RHE Productions)

The Fab Marquee review Dianna Martin.

It can be a very ambitious project to produce, write, and star in a play, especially when said play has a lot to say...or at least a lot that it is trying to say. Unfortunately, This Isn't Paradise, by Richard Hymes Esposito, directed by Robert Haufrecht, lives up to it's name and then some. It is a play with problems from the beginning, and painfully what keeps the audience interested and holding on, what makes it work on a certain level is that you keep thinking something is going to come of it...or that it's going to get better. However, with the exception of a few moments, it does not. It is a play with a lot of potential, but no payoff, unfortunately.

David H. Holmes (Mark) and Eden Marryshow (Raul)
photo credit: NuansArt.com

The play begins with recordings of speeches of President nominee Barack Obama in the darkness, before we are introduced to a real estate firm and the day to day life on the job of those employees trying to deal with working for commission in an economy such as this. There are debates on politics in the office and generic hijinks that come with working in an office setting that is far from the corporate world. From the beginning, I was struggling to understand (besides the economy references that were used as jackhammers over the audiences heads) why the long, drawn out recordings of Obama's speeches in the dark? Was it to solidify our understanding that we are in a recession and that it's effecting even the real estate world? I think we're all already on the same page with that.

These obvious economic problems seem to generate some tension in the office, for the protagonist/lead/playwright Robert (Esposito) is the only one there, it seems, who is not for Obama, and he is also the most disturbed and disturbing character in the play. There are characters that are all there for different reasons; Mark is a regular NYC trust-fund kid in his mid-twenties who is trying to work a little on the side while he pursues acting (played with depth and interesting choices by David H. Holmes). Heather (Elizabeth Woodard), the new girl on the block so to speak, walks the thin line between flirting and dating Esposito to get ahead in the company because she has a daughter and needs to put food on the table. The entire first act is an introduction to the characters, but seems to be little more than that. There were many moments where it was confusing because it seemed that Esposito either forgot his lines or was doing a partial improv. I was unsure (really thinking the former), but as an actress myself, I'm the last one to give an actor a hard time about it; however when said actor is also the playwright and the dialogue is oftentimes stale, it lends to general confusion for the audience as well as the actors. I applaud the actors for muddling through what seemed an attempted re-hash of Glengarry Glen Ross with Esposito attempting a cross between Deniro's Taxi Driver and Michael Douglas' Falling Down. One funny moment was when a statue of Obama is the cause of a fight, but unfortunately moments like this were few and far between.

R. Elizabeth Woodard (Heather) and Richard Hymes-Esposito (Robert)
photo credit: NuansArt.com

To make matters worse, the soundtrack that is used is wonderful R&B/Funk/Soul/Rock hits from the 70's that I enjoyed - but has absolutely no bearing on the play. This play is very much a 2008/2009 play - to the year, I might add - and in selecting music for soundtrack, I would like to ask what relevance the music had for the show, other than they were great tunes?

One aspect I will mention that saves this play to a degree is the talent of fellow salesman Reno (Jesse Wakeman) whose comic timing was delightful. As the sleazy real estate agent who fakes an Australian accent to get clients, he went with the flow of the show and stood out as an oasis of entertainment in the production. I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.

This was an ambitious project, and I wish that director Robert Haufrecht would have made some adjustments so that this play, which does smack of potential, could go beyond that. It seems all was put on Esposito's shoulders, and at this time in life it was simply too much.

---------------
RHE Productions presents
Richard Hymes-Esposito's
This Isn't Paradise
June 18-29, 2009
78th Street Theater Lab

Tickets $18. To learn more about the show visit www.ThisIsntParadise.com

78th Street Theater Lab | 236 W 78th Street | Manhattan.

Review- The Roses on the Rocks (Manhattan Theatre Source)

The Fab Marquee review by Karen Tortora-Lee.

Bill is a bad, bad man.

Thankfully, at the onset of The Roses on the Rocks (written by Ellen Boscov and Directed by Richard Caliban) he's already dead (Bill's ghost played by Scott Sowers). Unfortunately, that state of being doesn't keep him from reuniting with Blossom (Laura Montes) almost before his grave has settled; in fact he goes to visit his teen paramour while his wife Peggy (Rachel Jones) is still sorting out casseroles left by neighbors in the wake of his...wake.

According to some, Bill was a good man. According to his wife Peggy, he was a steadfast man whose good heart compelled him to reach out to the community and save girls from a life of unrest. He helped people. He was an angel, a healer, a savior. According to his teen lover, Blossom, he was all these things too. Goodness knows, he had the means to take her little nine year old self and plunk down 15 grand for her little body and take her home and fast forward her into adulthood. You see, where Peggy saw "healer", Blossom saw "pimp" and yet both could distill that to "Savior".

Rachel Jones (Peggy) & Scott Sowers (Bill)
photo credit: Zack Brown

When we meet 14 year old Blossom she is literally prostrate with grief over the death of her beloved Bill, but when he comes back as a spirit to reunite with her it's not so much to make her life better (truly, had he EVER made her life better?) but rather it's to manipulate her into taking part in a disturbing game at the expense of his grieving widow. It's hard to say what kind of man Bill really was during his life (how far did he push the "good" while behind the mask he was Devilish, replete with horns?), but there's no doubt about it that in death Bill is an abusive man. He lords over Blossom the way so many domineering men do, and from the same place of insecurity. He forces Blossom to not only confront his meek, slightly crazy, tragically empty widow Peggy but to spill the whole story of their sordid love affair as he sits in between them over tea. He even goes so far as to audaciously feel her up as his wife (who can't see him) fusses about setting up the cups and doling out the sugar. Blossom says nary a word that isn't suggested by Bill, she is the puppet to his puppeteer, she even hands over her knife because he tells her to.

Strangely, Bill's intention is to exploit his widow's loneliness, and pick away at a 15 year heartbreak she's been nursing since the loss of her only child...a baby girl she had named Blossom who had died on the day she was born; an event which sent Peggy spiraling into a fantasy world where everything could be solved with a few polite gestures, some nice words, and a lot of money. For Peggy, you see, has a lot of money. Enough money to have spent 15 thousand dollars to have a replica made of her baby, a doll she calls First Bloom. Enough money to have Bill take the same amount...another 15 thousand, and buy the little no-named Mexican girl and call her Blossom. It's all very creepy. As it is meant to be.

Soon enough these two disparate ends of Bill's life bind together as these women find that they have more in common than just loving Bill. In fact, as time goes on, each woman sees how Bill was manipulating them and their affection for each other (in a mother/daughter capacity) grows as their disgust with Bill deepens. Similarly the parallel development is that while Bill treated Blossom like a woman he dominated her like a child, whereas Peggy treats her as an age-appropriate child, but encourages her to start on a path of strong womanhood. Peggy decides to re-route Bill's intentions and adopt Blossom; take care of her and give her back the life she was meant to have.

The theme of the doll as symbol of lost innocence is repeated throughout the play effectively as Peggy, in an attempt to bond with the Mexican roots of her daughter-to-be, researched the tradition of the quinceañera and prepares one for Blossom. And so, First Bloom takes on a much more heady role as not just the effigy of the dead child, but also becomes at times each woman's lost innocence as well as a way to thread in the flashbacks of happier times for Blossom.

Beautifully done are the moments when Blossom reverts back to a more innocent time in her life; only five years earlier for her but what might as well have been a world away; a time when she is still in the loving warmth of her mother's home, watching her own cousin dance at her quinceañera and longing for the day she will do the same. Blossom has a history that is charming, simple, and all the more tragic as it snaps back to the present where she is now a 14 year old prostitute taken from her home but worse: parted from her innocence. During these flashbacks Blossom's (now deceased) Mama (Fulvia Vergel) is alternately nurturing, embracing and warm, yet also haunting and tragically sad. Together, all these woman try to piece together their broken history in order to forge a new, clear life together.

Throughout the play the musicians, Helena Espvall and Alberto Villa-Lobos do an amazing job playing music that complements the story and helps to transition the past to the present and back again. The music is all their own original compositions (along with Rana Santacruz) and has a duality of both sadness as well as victory. The lullabies sung by the women of the cast are haunting and lovely while the stuttering terror of each note is palpable when it needs to be.

Every one of the four cast members was outstanding; Scott Sower's Bill was so creepy and eerie at times that you actually did feel as if he were the devil reincarnate; Fulvia Vergel as Mama was like a bolt of happiness that wretched at your heart every time she had to leave again, Rachel Jones plays Peggy with just the right balance of instability (she may come off as a bit nutty and a touch unbalanced but she never lets loose and goes full blown maniacal), and Laura Montes is absolutely astonishing - a completely natural talent and absolutely compelling to watch. Her ability to take Blossom from innocent 9 year old to wicked, love sick 14 year old and all the strange places in between was truly staggering.

Like Blossom's innocence, The Roses on The Rocks isn't around for much longer - I urge you to see it while you still can.

---------------
Manhattan Theatre Source presents
Ellen Boscov's
The Roses on the Rocks
June 6-27, 2009 (Wed-Fri @ 8pm; Sat 2pm & 8pm)
The Source

Tickets are $18 at www.theatermania.com or (212) 352-3101.

Manhattan Theatre Source | 177 MacDougal Street | Manhattan.

Review-Dr. C (Or How I Learned to Act in Eight Steps)

The Fab Marquee review by Peyton Wise.

Dr. C (Or How I Learned to Act in Eight Steps) is a revelation for theatre professionals. Structured as an examination in eight pieces, it explores theatre theory through the words of Aristotle, Adolphe Appia, Constantin Stanislavski, Antonin Artaud, Bertolt Brecht, Jerzy Grotowski, Peter Brook and Anne Bogart. If none of these names is familiar, this is probably not the show for you. If they ring any sort of bells, be they present wedding bells or the vague echo of a school bell, this is a show you must see.

Adam Cochran & Justin Nestor
photos by Candida K. Nichols

The production notes describe the process as a combination of several scores: the text of the philosophers, the physical score (and some images) from the 1918 silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and 3-Legged Dog’s swathe of technical playthings. While the technical score is indeed impressive, the music deserves its own entry on that list. Most of the text is sung or sprechtstimme, like a high mass acting class.

The production feels like reading a series of incredible short stories, related by theme but not creating an active arc. The audience becomes engaged in the individual images of the text and the overall question, but the piece not only doesn’t create a progression through them, it doesn’t seem to want to. Like the short stories of Italo Calvino or Sherman Alexie, you could experience the pieces in any order and find a revelation in each. It is the individually pieces that are compelling. The Brecht piece alone was well worth the evening and the actors seemed to feel the same way.

(Center) Adam Cochran & Justin Nestor
photos by Candida K. Nichols

The audience member is challenged to actively engage in the ideas presented verbally and visually, but the two are not the same thing. While they explore different images in the text, they make little attempt to present the writer’s overall philosophy. While the writers in question vary greatly in ideal performance style and spectator interaction, the audience relationship was the same throughout. It is a challenged and engaged audience relationship, but not one that reflects the individual philosophies. From the proponents of naturalism, to theatre of cruelty, alienation and communal sacrifice, the fourth wall remained like a scrim, gazed through but left intact.

Our guides through this strange and fascinating landscape are a phenomenal group of actors under what is clearly a strong director’s vision. The ensemble is incredibly engaged and physically precise. You sense that any one of these actors could carry a production, but they merged together to create a seamless whole. Likewise, the film, sound and light, while extravagant in their form, were tightly controlled to support the overall image of any given moment, a remarkable achievement given their inherent potential to overwhelm.

The Cast
photos by Candida K. Nichols

One of the most telling moments in the show I saw was a minor physical glitch, the kind that are sure to accompany almost any first preview. In most shows that claim honest interaction, a hitch like this throws actors off their rehearsed game and makes it clear that their ‘honesty’ is a performance. This difference between pretended and actual focus is why cats and dogs can steal a scene right out from under a human. The way the actors accepted it as part of the show and moved on served to highlight how present they are and what an incredible risks this production takes.

----------------
Theatre Mitu presents
Dr. C (Or How I Learned to Act in Eight Steps)
June 2-14, 2009
3LD Art and Technology Center

Tickets are $18.00. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.theatermitu.org.

3LD Art and Technology Center | 80 Greenwich St at Rector St | Manhattan.

Review- Strangers (Shalimar Theatre Co)

The Fab Marquee review by Karen Tortora-Lee.

Living in New York you can't help but run across a few green-card marriages in your life; the first time I ever met a couple who were trying to pull one over on the government they were happily living together as roommates and dating whom ever they chose with each other's blessing. It was a fine arrangement for both of them; he got to stay in the country and she got the benefit of the enormous wads of cash he threw her way. She also got to flash a Liz Taylor sized engagement ring around. I also see couples who meet, date, fall in love, and just get married a little sooner than expected before one of them gets deported. They really do love each other, they're just starting the gig in fast-forward.

Joey Williamson (Bob) | photo credit: Yi Zhao

Somewhere in between these extremes lies the main charters of Strangers (written by Nastaran Ahmadi and directed by Shoshona Currier): Ella (Jen Taher) and Stefan (Daniel Popa) who are on different pages when it comes to why they got married. Ella assumes it was for love, Stefan's every move tells you it was for convenience. Everyone else assumes it's a lot easier to pull off than it actually is.

We meet Ella and Stefan on the cusp of their wedding party...we find out soon enough (as Ella is shoving one wedding cake sample after another into her mouth in base desperation) that the couple has actually been married for a number of years now. Whatever quick, down and dirty way it was done originally seems fine for Stefan, but Ella's every word, facial expression and action implies that no matter what, she is just not going to feel married without that party, that declaration of love, that dress, those flowers, and that musical interlude. "I want everyone to know how happy we are ..." she whines, and she's about as convincing as that doctor who mumbles "this won't hurt" before jabbing a needle into your arm.`

Over on the other side of town Bob (Joey Williamson) is floundering amidst his tissues, he's sick but also sick and tired. He's watching The Big Sleep with Bogart and Bacall (and so are we, the movie is projected on screens hung to the left and right of the performance space) and singing a disheartened song about the "movie of his life"...the scene itself is reminiscent of a mini-Rent. Bob is obviously agitated over something; a voice mail left from Stefan could be a clue...whatever it is, it leaves Bob desperate enough to call a random operator (Franny Silverman) who just happens to be the lovelorn secretary to Dan (Brad Love)...Stefan's immigration lawyer. Can a man get deported for leaving his wife, if he’s foreign? he asks. Hold on, what's this? Stefan's not in love with Ella? I had no idea! And how juicy: Everyone knows everyone without knowing that they know everyone! Very Lost.

Daniel Popa (Stefan) & Jen Taher (Ella)
photo credit: Yi Zhao

Bob and Operator (she's got no name of her own) burn through the lines, pouring out their hearts the way only true anonymous voices on the phone line can ... they both reveal themselves to be sad sacks, she's being used by her boss for cheap thrills, and Bob seems to be depressed about everything including the state of the world.

Meanwhile Ella takes respite in the park where she meets a beautiful, carefree Brazilian woman (Kim Gainer)...also nameless. Ella's having such a breakdown that she's literally reaching out to anything or anyone that appears steadier than herself...she begs the Brazilian woman to sing at her wedding party. For cash. A lot of cash. It's as if Ella feels she can't get anyone to go along with her unless she's paying them, Stefan included. At $700 the woman agrees.

Little by little the show keeps unfolding along these lines. Secrets and connections are revealed, deals are brokered, plans are hatched. It all goes along pretty expectedly until, for some strange reason, it becomes a fractured play...and I don't just mean a lot of story lines are going on at once. I mean that all of a sudden a lot of different plays start happening at once. Where just moments before we had people who were fond of singing we now have full blown (or as full blown as can be in such a small venue) musical numbers, replete with verses that go on and on and a full dance number that the cast performs earnestly, if a bit awkwardly. I had to check my program to make sure I hadn't stumbled into a green-card version of A (Tiny) Chorus Line.

Things take an even odder twist when Operator suddenly turns into Femme Fatale (sometimes referred to as Lily). Had I missed a dream sequence? Was this The Big Sleep come to life? Did Operator get pulled into the movie? I can't say with any certainty what exactly happened. Which ever it may be, we're now left with this fractured plot, one moment watching Ella and Stefan prepare (one eagerly, if a bit crazily, one halfheartedly) for their marriage party, the next moment watching Dan the Lawyer and Brazilian Woman carry on their odd little love story in half naked abandon. Every so often Bob pops up to sing, or spout his complaints about the state of the earth (um...when did global warming become a theme?) only to pause and let Femme-Fatale-Lily and Detective (Peter Allen Stone) - who appears 2/3rds into the play-talk like 1940s characters and play out some story which I couldn't quite figure out, save for the fact that it has something to do with illegal immigration. Oh, that's right...this is a story about green card marriages.

Finally, it's over. A bit with a bang, a bit with a whimper, you get half a happy ending (at least for one couple) and the exact ending you expected for the other couple. All in all, I felt there was a lot of interesting ways to tell the story of a crumbling green card marriage that perhaps didn't involve all the bells and whistles...this story could have been told more directly without the musical numbers, the rear projection that echoed exactly what was being played out on stage and the whole Femme Fatale subplot. In fact, this show had probably three characters too many; none of whom added much to the story. Which is not to say that the cast themselves don't do a great job of hanging on to this play as it careens from one side of "wedded bliss" to the other, but I feel that much of what was trying to be said could have been spoken with quiet desperation rather than enormous outbursts of shrill hysteria.

--------------
The Shalimar Theatre Company presents
Nastaran Ahmadi's
Strangers
May 28th-June 14th, 2009
The Ontological Theater

Tickets are $17 ($12 Students), for more information visit www.ShalimarProductions.org


The Ontological Theater At St. Mark's Church | 131 East 10th Street at 2nd Ave. | Manhattan.

Review- Le Serpent Rouge (Company XIV)

The Fab Marquee review by Dianna Martin.

Lillith. The Garden of Eden combined with an amazing soundtrack that played in my head for hours afterwards. One of the most delightful drag queens I've seen in years. Sexuality. Fall from grace. Beauty in gorgeous dance choreography. A mesmerizing set and lighting design. A desire imparted upon me to brush up on my theological history to the point that I actually did. A commanding and intoxicating Ring Master as the devil...turning one of the oldest tales into an amazing circus of the seven deadly sins.

And Lillith...again, and with her powerful acting of the phrase "Hell Hath No Fury As a Woman Scorned."

Davon Rainey as the Drag Queen
photo credit: Steven Schreiber

These are things I walked away with after seeing Company XIV's Le Serpent Rouge, an amazing work of performance art by writer/director/choreographer Austin McCormick. From the moment you are greeted, program in one hand and yummy chocolates (the 8th deadly sin, no doubt) in the other, the mood is set: you have an amazing soundtrack of tunes that I would have found in my own home to set the tone of loneliness and life; a set that is somehow a cross between the antiquity of a 18th century French brothel and Bob Fosse's film All That Jazz - I half expected Roy Scheider's image to come out saying "It's Showtime!" in French to a mirror, with fog billowing as the lights are about to go out.

And then: our lovely Drag Queen (Davon Rainey), who is the Ring Master's/Devil's (Gioia Marchese) assistant and a serpent; comes out to start the show. As the piece unfolds, we are introduced by the Ring Master to the point of The Fall of Man; when women were forever blamed as having taken a bite out of that damn apple. Well, folks - this show gives you a little background: most do not bring Lillith (a seductive Yeva Glover) into the equation, and a little "what might have really happened in the Garden"...and I for one walked out of that theatre not only wanting to know more about Lillith, but also feeling like Eve had every right to bite that apple - and that it was really Adam's fault. Now, my being a woman could have everything to do with that...or it could have been the lovely way that Rainey, Marchese, and Glover entrance the doomed couple Adam and Eve (John Beasant III and Laura Careless, respectively) to play through the seven deadly sins until finally, finally - it is jealousy that seals the deal...one that so many of us can relate to. 

(L-R): Gioia Marchese as the Devil, John Beasant III as Adam and Laura Careless as Eve

photo credit: Steven Schreiber

My only problem with this piece is that it was not longer; but then, perhaps my sin is gluttony, for I certainly wanted more than my fill. The burlesque crowd will want to see this as well as so many others; Lillith has a great number in pasties and so much of it is definitely, as the program states, "for 17 and older"; we see, in choreography, what would have happened had Adam been able to get Lillith and Eve to do anything for his attention.

A rare treat of the senses - dancers, lovers of a good, juicy tale, and those whose delights are of the more sensual nature will find this an enjoyable show. Not for the faint of heart...nor those who are offended by interpretations of a mix of Thomas Mann, Charles Bukowski, John Erskine, and The Bible itself - all wrapped into one. Definitely recommended.

-------------------
Company XIV presents
Le Serpent Rouge
May 15-June 6, 2009
303 Bond St

Tickets are $20 ($15 students/seniors) and can be purchased at www.Smarttix.com. For more information visit www.CompanyXIV.com.


Company XIV | 303 Bond St | Brooklyn

Interview- Playwright Nastaran Ahmadi (Strangers)

The Fab Marquee interview by Antonio Minino.

Film noir, green card marriages, movie musical fantasies, and the romance of escapism. This is how the Shalimar theatre company describes Nastaran Ahmadi's new play Strangers, created in collaboration with Shalimar, incorporating interviews to green card marriages, expatriots and immigration lawyers. We wanted to ask Nastaran a couple of questions before her play opens May 28th at The Ontological Theatre.

• Talk to us about Strangers:

Strangers is a play about a small group of friends and foreigners who gather at a party to celebrate a marriage. On the day leading up to the party, doubts arise on the part of the wedded couple about their future, and spread like a virus through the invite list. But the invite list is small, and the way the virus spreads seems convenient--kinda like in "the movies." Strangers is a uniquely American tale, punctuated with song, a little dance and some film; it's about the obsessive American pursuit of the way life could be, how it ought to be - as opposed to what it is.

• Have you been involved with The Shalimar Theatre Company before?

The Shalimar has previously commissioned two short plays from me, both of which were produced in ther annual short play festival. For Art, inspired by Susan Sontag's On Photography, was seen in 'Seven Short plays On Photography' in 2006, and Splinter, which was a Finalist for the Actors Theatre of Lousiville 2008 Heideman Award, was seen in their festival 'You People' in 2007.

• Playwriting has always been your calling.

I am a storyteller, and I knew at a fairly early age that theatre would be my chosen medium. But truth be told, I thought I wanted to be an actor for a long time. In fact, I met most of the members of The Shalimar in September 2000, when we were all members of the Acting Apprentice Company at The Actors Theatre of Louisville. During that season, I submitted a ten-minute play to the In-House Playwriting Competition and won first prize, which resulted in my first production as a playwright. I was hooked after that, and a year later found myself applying to graduate schools for Playwriting rather than Acting.

• The show description says this play is based on real people and interviews. How did you go about finding green card marriages- it's not necessarily a situation that is flaunted.

I can't take the credit for finding the interviewees. Part of the reason the company wanted to commission a work based on this topic is because they have close relationships with people who have dealt with this issue. I brought my own research to the table, but the company members did all the interviews. Some of these interviews are incredible; you'd be surprised at how willing people are to open up about their experiences once asked. Sometimes, just the presence of an eager audience in the form of an interviewer is enough for a person to reveal a part of her life story that she rarely has the opportunity to tell. It's incredible.

• Film Noir & multi-media, unconventional ways to share realistic stories. How did you come about mixing this concoction of elements?

At some point during the workshop process, we came across an interview in which someone juxtaposed his impression of America, which was created through the lens of films he'd seen, with his actual experience of the place once he got here. So, in the interviews that had yet to be conducted, we decided to end with some form of the question "What do you think is an iconic American film?" And as we moved forward with the workshop process, we found that in fact, we were curious about our own relationship to film - and how the movies dictate our own impression of contemporary culture. And I specifically became really curious about how much (if at all) we allow movies to dictate what we want an how we live. And, in the end, this element of desire vs. reality has become the crux of the play--Film Noir and multi-media are really used in this piece to underscore, highlight and intensify that core conflict.

• What is the most important thing you hope the audience takes away from Strangers?

Laughter, tears and a tune in their heads to hum to as they leave the theatre - what else is there?

Show runs through June 6th

-------------
The Shalimar presents
Nastaran Ahmadi's
Strangers
May 28-June 6, 2009
The Ontological Theatre

Tickets: $17 adults/$12 students; To purchase click here or by calling TheaterMania at 212-352-3101


The Ontological Theater | St. Mark’s Church, 131 East 10th Street (at 2nd Ave.) | Manhattan.

Review: When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? (Retro Productions)

The Fab Marquee review by Dianna Martin.

Retro Productions inspired me on a myriad of levels when I sat down in my seat at the Spoon Theatre to see Mark Medoff's, When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? To begin with, you are immediately taken in by the gorgeous set - by design team, Jack and Rebecca Cunningham, who have taken this small space and turned it into a tired late 60's diner in New Mexico. From the little bar with stools, to the checkered and worn out floor; the painted windows that had the illusion of the world outside (and the diner's name backwards as if reading it from outside would have a perfect picture). There were painted shelves with plates and saucers and ketchup bottles-but so well that I couldn't tell the difference except after close scrutiny; they created the perfect illusion. The inspiration went beyond their fabulous set, complete with an old lit Jukebox that plays some of the best country hits from that time; I was inspired to see a theatre company make it its mission to do revivals of plays that are incredibly important pieces of work; it's refreshing to see a company not only revive - but rather successfully do so at that - a play like Mark Medoff's 1973 psychological thrilling piece.

Christopher Patrick Mullen (Teddy) & Heather E. Cunningham (Angel)
Photo Credit: Kristen Vaughan

It's just another day about to begin at Foster's Diner, and the early morning shift change from disgruntled and bored Stephen, a.k.a. Red (Ben Schnickel), eager to leave the diner and the town - to Angel (Heather E. Cunningham), the kind-hearted waitress who keeps a smile on her face despite her unrequited crush on Stephen. As she sets up the diner, their boss Clark (Dave T. Koenig) and regular customer/local filling station owner Lyle (Richard Waddingham), who uses a crutch due to a stroke that has left him partially paralyzed, begin to filter in. Soon after, so do a traveling well-to-do couple, Richard and Clarisse (David Blais and Matilda Szydagis) on their way to New Orleans; Clarisse holding her concerto violin more tenderly than her husband. As they order their meal and the day unfolds, everyone's world is turned upside down when Teddy (Christopher Patrick Mullen) and his flower-child girlfriend Cheryl (Cassandera M.J. Lollar) come in.

In a play that reminds me of 1967 film The Incident, Teddy slowly begins to terrorize everyone in the diner (except for Manager/Owner Clark, who left before the action began). Be it with a knife, a gun, or verbal barbs that wound deeper than any physical trauma (especially Angel, who is constantly referred to as "fat" and openly humiliated when she was the only one who was actually nice to Teddy in the first place) Teddy slowly unravels people's relationships with each other. A Vietnam vet who has obviously not worked through his issues, weaves a psychological fabric of fear over everyone in the diner, including his girlfriend; and the disquieting factor of why nobody rushes this man when there are several of them, even if one is crippled, is a statement about people's fear in general. As his assaults swing wildly from physical to psychological and emotional, we see how it effects the others on so many levels. Clarisse comes to realize that Richard is not the man she wants or could ever hope to even try to protect her - his getting shot is not from bravado in trying to save her life but from being convinced that people like Teddy are not for real. In the end of the play, what is possibly the most interesting is watching to see who was changed for the better by this experience, and who for the worse - and by that, not being really changed at all, but business going on as usual.

Most of the piece is wonderfully written, but it takes actors really dealing with each other and not falling into contrived behavior to keep a full life going at all times for some of the dialogue to not become tedious...and keep us just waiting until Teddy shows up. Unfortunately, I found the opening scene between Schnickel and Cunningham to have moments when the former was playing wrapped up in himself and his desire to leave, he wasn't allowing anything from Cunningham to land - and it was only when the other actors began to filter in that my interest was piqued again. I understand that his character is not interested in her, but our Red Ryder did not really seem interested in anything much more than his chewing gum, which was a shame. His character is very important, and I found myself disappointed that there were not as many dimensions given to this character as their could have been.

Waddingham's work was wonderful. From his physicality of paralysis and ability to use the crutch, to his dealing with his fellow actors on stage and moments where I saw him trying to really talk to people - be it Teddy or Angel or Red, Waddingham's portrayal of Lyle was truly enjoyable. He gave a breath of life to a small-town character that kept me interested. Mullen was exceptional as Teddy. It would have been very easy to just play his character as a one-dimensional sociopath. Mullen's embodiment of Teddy had so many colors and levels to his work that there was never a moment when you knew what he was going to do. I watched him as he terrorized and humiliated his fellow characters on stage, and through it all there was a specificity to every moment and choice he made. Making full choices is something that any actor who wishes to take on a role such as Teddy must do, and it was done admirably.

Although Director Ric Sechrest does a fine job with staging and made good use of the space in relation to Medoff's script, for the most part, I had a real problem with facing Cunningham upstage throughout so much of the second act. Of course, we get to see Cunningham break down at the very end of the play in a very moving moment, but I felt it did not warrant hiding her from us during so much of that second act simply to create a reveal at the end. Kudos to Ms. Cunningham for transcending the fact that she was poorly faced upstage for so much of the play.

I applaud Retro Productions for putting together a performance that had me riveted throughout much of the piece, and for simply breathing life into a play that should have been done much, much sooner. It runs through the 23rd, and I suggest people attend - for it's not often you get to see revivals like this and have them be entertaining, well-acted, and visually pleasing overall.

------------
Retro Productions presents
Mark Medoff's
When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?
May 7-23, 2009
The Spoon Theatre

Tickets are $18.00 ($15 Student/Senior Discount) and are available at www.RetroProductions.org

The Spoon Theatre | 38 West 38th Street, 5th Floor | Manhattan.

Review- Way To Heaven (Equil!cuá Producciones)

The Fab Marquee review by David Stallings.

It is always exciting to see theatre written by foreign playwrights working outside of the US. Oftentimes, there is more freedom in their work, and the structure is less tied to traditional storytelling. Partly this is due to the fact that theatre is seen as a true art outside of the US, whereas here, we are forced to think in terms of business and entertainment. Of course both sides of the sword have a sharp edge. Sometimes experimentation does not produce effective results. Surely the pleasure was mine last night in viewing Juan Mayorga’s Way to Heaven (Himmelweg). Mayorga is no newcomer to playwriting. One of Spain’s most well known contemporary playwrights; he is the recipient of Spain’s National Theater Award, as well as the Max Award for Best Playwright. Combined with Matthew Earnest’s innovative direction, Way to Heaven makes for an inspired if at times uneven evening.

Mark Farr (Gershom Gottfried) and Francisco Reyes Commandant)
Photos by NestorCD.com

Way to Heaven is a play that experiments with form and storytelling techniques with a plot that definitely lends itself to such exploration. The play is inspired by the Theresienstadt concentration camp located in what is now the Czech Republic during WWII. This concentration camp is responsible for the execution of thousands of Jews, while maintaining the front that it was a planned Jewish Community. The Nazis went out of their way to propagandize the camp as a cultural Mecca, complete with orchestral recitals and stage performances. This play takes it a step further and imagines that everything said in the camp is scripted, and that the Jews are forced into the roles of actors and executed if they do not comply or are not prolific enough.

The play is told in five parts, with five different focal points. The first is the Red Cross Representative (Shawn Parr) who is hoodwinked by the performance and later haunted by it. Then we witness the Jewish “performers” enacting their scenes. The third section is a monologue equivalent to a song and dance routine enacted by the camp’s Nazi Commandant (Francisco Reyes). The fourth focuses on Gershom Gottfried (Mark Farr), the Jewish Mayor who is coerced into forcing his community to perform. The final act is that of the Jewish community as themselves, rehearsing the play that could save their lives.

Mark Farr (Gershom Gottfried) and Samantha Rahn (Girl)
Photos by NestorCD.com

Director Matthew Earnest takes on this five part tale with gusto. He directs the play to clearly take on five distinct and different performance styles to tell each section. First he has the Red Cross Representative (Parr) perform with direct address to the audience in Shakespearean Soliloquy. Parr executes this highly difficult speech with sincerity and heart. Then, when the Jewish performers take on their scenes, surrealism is enlisted, with sharp lines of blocking and a beautiful moment where the Jews hide behind a door, listening for their cues. The most frightening moments of the play are when certain actors fumble and are quickly replaced by another actor in the same costume. The audience knows all too well what happened to the failed performer. The third section of the Commandant (Reyes) is done in Vaudeville style. He interacts with the audience and lifts his hands almost as if to say, “Ta-da”, as he goes through his rehearsed speech. The fourth section dramatically moves us into realism. For the first time we are presented with the Commandant’s office, complete with chair, books, desk, and a glass filled with water. This last touch was the perfect accent for realism. The final act is one of post modernism, where the performers and director comment on their material in a Brechtian style.

The play and its execution at times border on brilliant. Through the first three sections, the audience is thrown forward in their seats, riveted by the subject matter and changing styles and forms. Unfortunately the fourth and longest section of “realism” is overburdened and episodic. Francisco Reyes captivated us moments earlier in his over the top monologue, but continues the heightened acting through the realistic sections. Also the writing still seems to focus on the Commandant when the subject is begging to be that of Gershom (Farr), who must make the climactic decision of which performers to cut. Farr plays his moments beautifully, but not enough attention is given to his journey for the climax to be fully effective. There are many scenes that cut up this section and there is not enough build to keep an audience interested. The fifth section bounces back, but as the fourth section seems as long as the others combined, the audience is left with a sadly mixed experience.

The play is performed on a set of dead leaves, adding to the beautiful metaphors Mayorga gives us in the text. Derek Wright’s clean lighting design and Patrick Johnson’s costumes add to the professionalism of the piece. A far cry from the pure realism with which this subject matter is usually handled, Mayorga uses energy, imagery, and symbolism to produce innovative theatre. This play—even with its flaws—is a must see.

---------------
Equil!cuá Producciones presents
Juan Mayorga's
Way To Heaven (Himmelweg)
May 7-24, 2009
Teatro Círculo

Tickets are $18 General Admission / $16 Students and Seniors and are now available online at www.smarttix.com or by calling (212) 868-4444. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre’s Box Office, ½ hour prior to the performance. For more information visit www.WayToHeavenThePlay.com .

Teatro Círculo | 64 East 4th Street | Manhattan.