 Funny, Extremely relevant, Inventive & clever, Great ensemble, Great direction & staging, Sharply funny, Fast paced Edgy See it if You can open up to just listening to a story rather than the idea of being presented with a "play." Terrific cast, perfect timing, very fun Don't see it if You absolutely need a proscenium, clearly delineated plot, characters and costumes — or If you've forgotten what running once felt like, or that a broomstick at one time might have been a sword, or spear or a means of flight. We're told at the top that "the actors will now tell you a story;" this they do, with gusto, abandon, wit, seamless ensemble work & timing. An example of the purest joyful & theatrical invention which is the stuff of imagination most of us leave in childhood. A totally fresh &remarkable choice in presenting a tale of the modern Immigrant Experience, two identically dressed pairs of men&women present & act out a young surgeon's arrival & initial misadventures in contemporary London. As the story unfolds, each actor rapidly assumes & switches from narrator to supporting characters, even objects & pets There's a lot of play here, rather than "a play;" this is the stuff of Picasso's leaps of association where handlebars become bovine horns and cardboard cutouts guitars—all in service of moving the story towards a universal truth. Go, by all means—& listen for the geese who, like immigrants in the cultures they find themselves in, fight, squawk yet in the end integrate well into the whole. |
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 Well acted, Well written, Uninvolving, Flat See it if You're a Lewis fan, or are up for a good looking, well written & acted if ultimately uninspiring evening of religious inquiry & philosophy. Don't see it if You'd rather experience an actual play or drama rather than a lecture, however intelligent, well-reasoned and smoothly performed. Max McLean clearly knows his CS Lewis, and delivers a solid and convincing — if highly theatrical — iteration of the late author, relating in detail the logic and reasoning of his religious conversion to Christianity. Erudite and intelligent as this Lewis is, however, he lacks any convincing passion or spark that might inspire or persuade us of this life changing event — the leap from atheism to faith and through to devout belief. Much is said, but little is shown: a weakness in the script, the dramaturgy and thus his argument. What should be a climactic moment is simply one more reminiscence by an interesting, if not particularly pleasant or engaging character out of P.G. Wodehouse. The attractive set of Lewis's study is underused and never quite convincing. In spite of the detail and thought put into it, it never quite looks like much more than a set or a model room at Ikea. In the end, McClean's retelling of this road to Damascus could learn focus and brevity from Saint Paul's  Intelligent, Relevant, Thought-provoking, Well done but uneven, Ambitious See it if A disparate group of short plays, at times little more than extended scenes, fits your attention span. LaBute piece & Barnes solo stand out Don't see it if Quick dramatic sketches & ideas aren't enough. Though some have more potential, most are smart well presented scenes celebrating diversity. A funny, quick-paced and clever evening of extremely short plays that explore the challenges presented by diversity and otherness in many of its forms, The Other Plays proves that in the end, actors are actors. Despite whatever physical disadvantages or challenges may exist, onstage the only disability that counts is a lack of acting ability. But no problem here; though the range of experience onstage makes comparisons unfair and unevenness certain, there’s much joy here, much wit, and much to consider.
 Banal, Flat, Predictable, Low key See it if You'd appreciate a stretched out writing exercise or a mostly advanced scene study class with third year directing/second year staging. Don't see it if You're expecting a fully realized play, sensible plot and dramatic structure or want to see vintage Mamet. Short, with a creaky, sieve-like plot whose anemic machinations are obvious a mile away, The Penitent has all the earmarks of a graduate acting class: effective if basic lighting, ambient sound & minimal, actor-supplied props & scene changes. Because it's a Mamet show, however, the most fascinating thing here, by far, is Rebecca Pidgeon—the actual Mrs Mamet—here confronted by Chris Bauer as an obvious Mamet stand-in, complete with Mamet glasses & beard. Her voice has an interesting lilt, but her delivery is so incredibly stilted, so either very deliberate or inept, that it seems to speak volumes about her relationship with Mamet, at the same time serving to reveal and deconstruct the rhythm & form of the dialogue, its structure & technique; like being shown how a card trick is done. Contrast that with Bauer and Laurence Gilliard Jr.’s smoothly-timed and seamless repartée in the best scene of the evening, or Bauer and Jordan Lage's conversational scenes, the difference is stark.
 Predictable, Great singing, Indulgent, Clichéd, Quirky See it if You’re up for an affable, good looking mostly well acted but thin script that crosses Pinter and Beckett with an alt/indie song tossed in. Don't see it if ”Should I stay or should I go” situations leave you anxious or bored, or if you prefer your possible apocalyptic futures clearly resolved. Good lighting & sound design, a minimal set & and an attractive, engaging lead actress aren’t enough to compensate for a pretty lean situational melodrama that never really develops past the scene study stage, deliberately coy and contrary. The long table, old-fashioned wall of servant’s bells & dramatic lighting at rise, combined with the four-poster-looking set place us “below stairs,” and visually, what feels like “below bed.” Add in the formally dressed maid & butler, & the immediate thought is British manor house — an idea snapped away as soon as the actors start speaking American: we are displaced. Indecision & despair run rampant below stairs & in the outside world, all very much Beckett, while upstairs with Sir, the tension, talk and mental games are pure Pinter. It's an interesting contrast, but Husk's script never reaches any narrative or philosophical bite. Katie Kleiger breathes life into Miranda; but her climactic song inaudible, we're left hanging.  Disappointing, Relevant, Engaging, Great set, Great acting See it if A dynamite lead & good performances are enough to make up for an unevenly directed & thematically overwritten script that reverses itself. Don't see it if You want to see female empowerment & self-determination rewarded, or a pertinent, important subject resolved in any meaningful way. As a production, Linda looks as good, sharp, attractive & dynamic as its leading lady, the terrific Janie Dee. The modern contemporary set on its revolving stage is used well, smoothly changing locations & time; costumes are attractive, doing double thematic duty; lighting & sound are great. Ms Skinner's script, however, despite its snappy, quick paced dialogue fails rather spectacularly and strangely; its second act renounces its first in a burst of melodrama, & goes out of its way at the end to rebuff its own main premise — twice. A tight Act I that speaks directly to & for a very wide range of women's rights & issues, tells us at the end that nothing has changed. A strange position coming from a woman in 2017. Ms. Dee goes all out for it but can't overcome the character's sudden & immediate breakdown — a false, jolting note in the character & in the narrative line. Jennifer Ikeda fares better as the troubled daughter, acting out the invisibility mentioned in the opening speech, making the skunk suit she wears that makes it possible convincing. |
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June 2021
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