Isolde

Isolde

Theatre for a New Audience

Polonsky Shakespeare Center

September 23, 2015

Photo courtesy of
Theatre for a New Audience

NewYork City Players' Isolde, a new play written and directed by Richard Maxwell, is playing at Theatre for a NewAudience’s Polonsky Shakespeare Center in downtown Brooklyn until September 27.  It received a lot of attention on social media, so I was excited to get a ticket on TDF.  I found the production disengaging, the style cold, and the ending confusing and unsatisfying.  

Isolde, a famous actress (played by Tory Vazquez), is having trouble with her memory, and decides to take on a new project.  She hires Massimo, an award-winning artist/architect (played by Gary Wilmes) to design her dream house.  Her successful contactor husband, Patrick (played by Jim Fletcher), gives her unquestioned support on her new project, which includes looking the other way when she and Massimo begin an affair.  Patrick eventually takes over completing the dream house when Massimo is unable to follow through on his creative vision, leaving Isolde at a loss.

Jim Fletcher, Gary Wilmes, and Tory Vazquez in Isolde
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New audience

You would think the triangle love story who lend to a passionate and fiery story, but the actors were all stylistically monotone and robotic.  The way they crossed the stage with their hands at their sides, deliberately lifted and moved chairs from one setting to the other, stood facing front while talking and “relating” to each other, and even the way they held the stems of their wine glasses was all unnatural and irksome.  The plot was relatively simple, yet I was unable to identify what motivated the characters to take action.  This left me feeling ambivalent to the action of the play and unable to empathize or relate to the characters.

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

While researching Richard Maxwell, I discovered he is known for his minimalistic roots.  Reviewer David Cote wrote “to any Maxwell newbie, the non sequiturs, cryptic pauses and jarring shifts in tone will seem utterly absurd and weird.”  Reviewer Helen Shaw haled him “the bard of downtown deadpan,” and said that Isolde “is more Chekhovian than operatic.”  I have to agree with those statements.  Chekhov, however, can be engaging, and “absurd and weird” can be interesting.  Due to my first experience, I will probably remain a “Maxwell newbie” for a while longer.

Domenick Danza

Hamlet in Bed

Hamlet in Bed

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

September 14, 2015

Photo courtesy of
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

In the past few years I have seen a handful of shows at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater.  Their space on 224 Waverly Place in the West Village is small and rustic, yet spacious and well maintained.  The work they do is consistently edgy and well developed.  Hamlet in Bed, a new play by Michael Laurence, surpasses the standard with a robust style and unique voice.  It is funny, haunting, and psychologically complex.

Michael (intensely portrayed by playwright Michael Laurence) is a Hamlet-struck actor.  Raised by adopted parents, he is plagued with inner conflict, mostly due to his abandonment issues.  In his quest for all things Hamlet, he comes across a journal written thirty-nine years ago by an actress who once played Ophelia.  Her writings reveal that she had an affair with the actor who played Hamlet opposite her, got pregnant, and gave up the child for adoption.  Yes, the date of birth written in the journal is the same as Michael’s.  He tracks her down and casts her as Gertrude (Hamlet’s mother) in his own version of Hamlet.  He is in constant indecision, as Hamlet is, as to whether or not to confront her with the truth.

Photo by Tristan Fuge
Courtesy of Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

The script is skillfully structured and prolifically written.  It is mostly monologues delivered by the characters of Michael or his mother, Anna (brilliantly played by Annette O’Toole).  Since these monologues reveal the inner workings of the characters’ minds and the desires that drive them, they stylistically identify as Shakespearean soliloquies.  Director Lisa Peterson connects every word to action and builds the play to a strong high point.  The Hamlet-Gertrude scene, performed near the end of the play, is alive with tension and honesty.  It is driven by the desperate longings of Michael and Anna, channeled through the characters of Hamlet and Gertrude.

Annette O'Tolle in Hamlet in Bed
Photo by Tristan Fuge
Courtesy of Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

I could not take my eyes off Annette O’Toole.  The playwright has given her a rich backstory that she fully embodies with physical quirks and emotional depth.  It combines Ophelia’s madness and Gertrude’s denial.  Ms. O’Toole seamlessly transitions from Anna, a sixty year old cat lady who once played Shakespeare on Broadway, to the character of Gertrude, the noble Queen of Denmark.  Neither character can embrace her son, and the expansiveness of her despair in both roles is clear, sincere, and implicit.

The play opens with an extensive monologue from the character of Michael.  We follow his story for ninety minutes.  It has a powerful ending with the character of Anna alone on stage.  This choice begs the question: Whose story is this, Michael’s or Anna’s?  The answer for me: The script is so well balanced with both characters’ points of view that you truly identify with their indecision, and therefore fully comprehend why Hamlet is such a complex character and brilliant classic.  

Michael Laurence in Hamlet in Bed
Photo by Tristan Fuge
Courtesy of Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

Michael Laurence has written a play that explores classic themes and Oedipal nightmares, and makes them relevant and realistic.   He has a strong and powerful voice.  Submerge yourself in Hamlet in Bed.  It plays at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater through October 25. 

Domenick Danza

The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew

The Drilling Company

Bryant Park

September 4, 2015

Photo courtesy of
The Drilling Company

The Drilling Company’s production of The Taming of the Shrew opened at Bryant Park on Friday, September 4.  Director Alessandro Colla’s rendition of this raucous Shakespeare comedy takes place in “Padua by the Sea,” a North Eastern fishing town similar to Amity from the move Jaws.  When Petruchio takes on the challenge of conquering the “great white shark” Kate, the outcome is abundant hilarity and true love.

Eric Paterniani, Alessandro Colla, Eli Branson
Photo by Jonathan Slaff, courtesy of The Drilling Company

In addition to directing, Mr. Colla also takes on the role of Petruchio.  His vision for the play is sharp and his interpretation of the character is impeccable.  He is equally matched and challenged by the fiery Evangeline Melody Fontaine as Kate, the shrew.  Mary Linehan is mischievous and beguiling as Bianca, and Lukas Raphael is charming and sincere as Lucentio.  Eric Paterniani and Eli Branson deliver the laughs as Grumio and Curtis.  The entire cast deserves a shout out: Jarrod Bates, Michael Bernstein, Colleen Cosgrove, Jonathan Eric Foster, Bill Galarno, Brandon Reilly, Jack Sochet, and Mike Taylor.  They work as a team creating strong, appealing characters that make this production of The Taming of the Shrew a winner. 

Evangeline Melody Fontaine, Bill Galarno, Mary Linehan
Photo by Jonathan Slaff, courtesy of The Drilling Company

Jen Varbalow’s set design is clean and simple.  She is able to focus the audience’s attention on the specific locations of the play in the expansive Bryant Park outdoor space.  Anna Grossman’s sound design transports the audience to these locations with updated music and atmospheric effects.

This is the final production of The Drilling Company’s 2015 summer season.  Over the past six months, Artistic Director Hamilton Clancy successfully produced five free outdoor Shakespeare performances in two different locations in the city.  The Taming of the Shrew plays at Bryant Park Fridays and Saturday at 6:30 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM through September 20.  End the summer on a high note… go see it!  Yes, it is FREE!

Domenick Danza

A Delicate Ship

A Delicate Ship

The Playwrights Realm

Peter Jay Sharp Theatre

August 28, 2015

Photo courtesy of The Playwrights Realm

A Delicate Ship, a new play by Anna Ziegler, is playing at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre on 42^nd Street (Playwrights Horizon on Theatre Row).  It was developed and produced by The Playwrights Realm.  The script makes a strong statement about memory and how certain events can change the course of your life, when proper attention is paid.

Sarah (Miriam Silverman) and her boyfriend Sam (Matt Dellapina) are spending a romantic Christams Eve together, when there is a knock on the door.  Enter Nate (Nick Westrate), a childhood friend of Sarah.  After reminiscing, smoking a joint, drinking some wine, and playing a parlor game that cuts deep, Nate opens up to why he dropped in.  The discomfort comes to an end when Nate is finally asked to leave.  “What if we just hadn’t opened the door?” ask Sarah and Sam a few times during Nate’s visit, but they did.  The bigger question is, “Which event of the evening will affect them the most?”

Nick Westrate, Miriam Silverman, & Matt Dellapina
in A Delicate Ship
Photo courtesy of The Playwrights Realm

All three actors create characters that grab attention.  Their portrayals are realistic and charming.  Ms. Ziegler’s script and Margot Bordelon’s direction breaks the fourth wall intermittently throughout the play.  This is an intriguing convention that suspends time and strengthens the script’s commentary on memory, yet becomes a hindrance to the development of deeper, revealing relationships between the characters.

The set, designed by Reid Thompson, is an interior living room, sparsely and tastefully furnished, surrounded by a lane of gravel on all four sides, which serves as the sidewalk surrounding the exterior of the apartment building.  This is a clever and well-defined way to utilize the space, since in some scenes two characters are inside the apartment at the same time that one of them is outside.

The Playwrights Realm was founded in 2007 and is “dedicated to serving early-career playwrights.”  A Delicate Ship is well produced and the playwright’s voice is strong and distinct.  This is a company worth checking out and supporting.

Domenick Danza

Pearl

Pearl

David H. Koch Theater

Lincoln Center

August 29, 2015

Photo courtesy of Pearl

After seeing Daniel Ezralow’s Pearl, I now know what audiences felt when they first saw Martha Graham’s Appalachian Spring or Agnes de Mille's Rodeo.  This work is that kind of monumental.  A full length dance piece “inspired by the life of Pearl S. Buck,” Pearl is enthralling and mesmerizing.  It captures the essence of her experiences and brings you to a clear understanding of how and why she became a prolific writer and great humanitarian.

Photo courtesy of Pearl

Mr.Ezralow structures this work to parallel the famous Chinese poem, Spring, River, Flower, Moon, Night about the cycle of life.  His choreography is lush, powerful, and distinct.  The dancers intertwine in intricate patterns that illustrate relationships and depict emotional connection.  The use of technology and projection enhances the storytelling and impacts the choreography.  Original music by Jun Miyake engages all your senses and gets your heart beating.  The use of Ms. Buck’s words, particularly in the finale, brings a universal connection that makes the entire evening touching and personal.

Photo courtesy of Pearl

Pearl performed at Lincoln Center for only four performances (August 27 – 30).  With a diverse cast of thirty-four powerful dancers, a set including numerous drops, a few large structure, a pool of water, and a turntable, as well as digital projections that fill the extensive height of the stage at the David H. Koch Theater, this production will be difficult to remount or travel.  I hope it was recorded to be aired on PBS at some time in the near future.  Keep an eye out for it.

Domenick Danza

The Flick

The Flick

Barrow Street Theatre

August 23, 2015

Photo courtesy of amazon.com

I came across The Flick, Annie Baker’s Pulitzer Prize winning script, in a few different bookstores and websites.  When I was in college, I worked as an usher in the Loews Oriental movie theater in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn with two of my very good friends.  Back in the day it was the place to be, so the concept of the play intrigued me.  I decided to buy a copy.  My first read of Annie Baker’s play did not deliver what I had hoped.  Why did it win the Pulitzer Prize?  With that question in mind I got a ticket to the remounted Off Broadway production at the Barrow Street Theatre, and found my answer.

The play opens on Avery’s (Aaron Clifton Moten) first day on his new job at the Flick, one of the last 35 millimeter, single screen movie houses in central Massachusetts.  Sam (Matthew Maher) is showing him the ropes.  Clearly there is not much skill in sweeping up popcorn and cleaning the soda machine, but for Sam this is a big deal.  Rose (Louisa Krause) is the projectionist, a high ranking position, love interest of Sam, and the cause of some mistrust between the boys.  All three actors are very well cast and create true moments to establish honest, relatable characters and relationships.

Louisa Krause and Aaron Clifton Moten
Photo courtesy of The Flick at Barrow Street Theatre

The play is long (3 hours, 15 minutes - with intermission).  At the end of the first act Ms. Baker gives us insight into Avery’s character, which clarifies his distanced behavior.  She skillfully holds back the truth of his experiences, then reveals it right before intermission.  This leaves the audience wanting more, which is a great feat after a one hour and forty minute first act.  She delivers a second act with depth and metaphor that ties everything together.  Life is like a celluloid film, where each frame is separated by darkness and shadow.  We are individuals, not identical like pixels in a digital movie.  Some things from the past need to be cherished and preserved as life progresses.

Aaron Clifton Moten, Mathew Maher, Louisa Krause
Photo courtesy of The Flick at Barrow Street Theatre

Since the play is set in a movie theatre, rows and rows of seats fill the stage facing the audience.  The set, by David Zinn, is extremely realistic, yet limits the playing area and inhibits the actors’ movement.  The rows of seats constantly separate them, forcing them to face away from one another when seated.  Is this a poor design decision or an ingenious physical obstacle that characters have to overcome in order to connect?  These are the kind of subtleties in the production and script’s concept that make it a strong work.  Is the play slowly paced, or is the pace representative of the shadow between the frames of a 35 millimeter film that enhances the experience?

What are the criteria for a script to win the Pulitzer Prize?  My first read of Annie Baker’s script make me wonder, and do some research (click for Pulitzer Prize Criteria / click for Pulitzer Prize Winners).  Seeing the play make me understand why it won, even though I think they could have picked up the pace of Act I.  See it and decide for yourself.

Domenick Danza

Oresteia

Oresteia

Classic Stage Company

Greek Festival

August 23, 2015

Photo courtesy of Classic Stage Company

ClassicStage Company is presenting their Greek Festival from August 10 through September 27.  The advertisement for Oresteia caught my attention, so I grabbed a ticket on TDF.  It is produced in association with Ashes Company, and conceived and directed by Jonathan Vandenberg.  This powerful and mesmerizing piece is presented with very little dialogue.  Mr. Vandenberg relies on impressive visual images, authentic sound, and concise movement to take his audience on a journey through the cycle of vengeance, greed, and passion all the way to healing. 

Photo courtesy of Ashes Company

Oresteia is Aeschylus’ tragic Greek trilogy that tells the story of the end of the curse on the House of Atreus.  The ensemble is amazingly gifted and intensely focused for this ninety minute interpretation.  Every gesture expresses intent and is delivered with clarity and significance.  The longing for retribution is passed from one character to the next through the passing of the knife and the spilling of blood.  The sound design, by Alexandria Bottiglieri, draws you into the intensity of each event, but it is the sound of each moment that rivets you to the action – the character’s breath, the dragging of costumes across the floor, the rustling of chains, the pouring of water.  This is what captivates your senses and draws you into the importance of each moment.  When Orestes cannot return the knife to the circle from whence it was first retrieved by Agamemnon, it is clear that the cycle of pain and suffering has ended.

Photo courtesy of Ashes Company

In the Classic Stage Company newsletter, director Jonathan Vandenberg addresses the question of catharsis.  What did it mean for an Ancient Greek audience?  Is it possible today?  By leading the audience through this stark and gritty retelling, he brings us to a visceral understanding of the pain of yearning for vengeance and forgiveness.  It is a phenomenal, and yes, cathartic encounter.

The consistency of quality in the work of Classic Stage Company is relevant in this original interpretation of Oresteia.  Be sure to take in a performance of the Greek Festival at Classic Stage Company, as well as look for upcoming work by Ashes Company.

Domenick Danza