Joe, Author at TheaterReviewsFromMySeat

About This Reviewer - October 17, 2020October 17, 2020

Far Away (PTP/NYC)

A good creepy play can get under the viewer’s skin. Caryl Churchill’s Far Away is one such piece. The setting is a “familiar country, over the period of several decades.” While the country may be familiar, the goings on are most certainly not. A sense of dread, foreboding and discomfort hook you in quickly until it is impossible to put your feet on solid ground.

Premiering in 2000, this play is considered one of Ms. Churchill’s finest works. It is easy to see why PTP/NYC chose this as one of their four streamed shows this fall. The people who inhabit this world don’t trust other people, are lied to and suspect widespread corruption in companies and government. Furthermore, alliances are breaking down and reforming in an increasingly dangerous and hostile world.

The first part is a conversation between young Joan (Lilah May Pfeiffer) and her Aunt Harper (Nesba Crenshaw). Joan is having trouble going to bed. Her Aunt advises that it’s often difficult when in a new place. Joan disagrees. She’s been many places. Why is she here? That is not explained. The beauty of the writing in Far Away lies in its murkiness.

Joan slipped out of her bedroom window earlier that evening and climbed onto a tree. She caught a glimpse of her Uncle outside in the darkness. What was he doing? Her Aunt tells her that he likes to get fresh air. Joan claimed she heard a noise? What kind of noise? The answers are vague. Through a series of half-truths and outright lies from her Aunt, Joan continues to pry. What is the world she inhabits that makes her so penetratingly perceptive?

In the middle section of this play, Joan is older (Caitlin Duffy) and has just begun a job in a hatmaking company. She is conversing with Todd (Ro Boddie), a more experienced hatmaker. There seems to be a never ending need for hats. They are used in the parades. Todd remarks one day that he is tired since he stayed up late watching the trials. As time passes their relationship grows. Is there something untrustworthy about this company and the government which needs to be disclosed?

The final section broadens the scope of this play to consider a world in conflict. Living beings are destroying alliances and forging new ones. The mysteries deepen the intrigue. What exactly happened “when the elephants went to the Dutch”? When this play ends after forty minutes, everything and nothing is illuminated. This is a foggy, eerily conceived dystopia and an immensely satisfying glimpse of an uncertain future.

Cheryl Faraone directed this production which works nicely in a streamed format. The performances are all quite good and I was hooked from start to finish. This play is especially recommended for those want to be on the right side of history. In Far Away, it is not easy to discern good vs. evil. That’s not unlike our world in 2020. In America today, so many people define those two seemingly simple terms differently.

Far Away is streaming until midnight on Sunday, October 18, 2020 and can be accessed via the PTP/NYC website.

www.ptpnyc.org

About This Reviewer - October 16, 2020

Sweet Land, the musical (St. Paul, MN)

Stories of America have been mined for musical gold many times. In Sweet Land, the musical, that gold takes on a hue of wheat. The setting is Park Rapids, Minnesota. A married couple is packing up the remains of a farm home. Lars’ grandmother had died two years earlier. Mementos from the past such as a photograph and a letter dated July, 1920 are the catalyst to a trip back in time.

Olaf Torvig (Robert Berdahl) was farming his land alone. He was introduced to Inge Altenberg (Ann Michels) through relatives back in Europe. From a written letter, she came to America at his asking carrying a gramophone and speaking not a word of English. After landing here, she jumps on a train to the middle of the country for a new life.

This musical had its world premier in 2017. The History Theatre is streaming that production this month. The timing is ideal. As our nation clashes over immigration policy, the themes of this show resonate loudly. Sweet Land is a sweet little show that takes time to reveal goodness and grace within people. Sweet Land also addresses hardship and conflict before healing.

A violinist is center stage as the jittery strings underscore tension. World War I is over. In 1917, Germans represented the largest single ethnic group in Minnesota. German Americans were evaluated for their patriotic attitudes supported by a network of spies from the newly created Minnesota Commission of Public Safety. Into this world arrives Inge, a German.

Olaf and Inge had agreed to marry but the church cannot sanction such a union. The priest does not know her and she has no references. Even the Judge will not marry them, saying “Why did she leave Germany? She is not one of us.” While all of this sounds like dour melodrama, there is a lightness to the storytelling which keeps the show in the zone of entertaining and heartwarming. The struggles are real but our ability to consider them is refreshingly pleasant. Both actors have great chemistry in addition to fully formed characterizations. The whole cast and the musicians were additive to enjoying this piece.

The book was written by Perrin Post and Laurie Flanigan Hegge. Words create vivid imagery such as “tired, bedraggled, covered in dust.” The characters and situations are often humorous. When Olaf shoots a pheasant, he tries to hand it over to Inge. “You shoot, you pluck,” she retorts. My favorite outburst written into the book was the “Nein” speech.

The plentiful songs in Sweet Land were written by Laurie Flanigan Hegge (lyrics) and Dina Maccabee (music). There are nice nods to music and expressions from the period. I thought I heard a few flashes of the scores for Thoroughly Modern Millie and Brokeback Mountain buried in there. The dissonant tones of the score were very effective.

This musical was directed by Perrin Post. For a small scale show, many transitions were particularly fluid such as a kitchen scene evolving into a porch scene. The technical elements, particularly the lighting (Mike Grogan) and sound effects (C Andrew Mayer), were noticeably excellent. The neighbor’s tractor ride can only be described as Green Acres realness with overalls instead of a suit and tie.

Quite a few themes emerge from this small tale of two people and the rural farming community that surrounds them. What does it mean to really care about your fellow citizens? What assumptions do we make about people based upon their race or background? Is it properly called apple pie or is it really strudel?

The vilification of immigrants and also those who seem different than us remains a core American value, sadly. Sometimes it is therapeutic to step back and listen. People on both sides of a war might not simply be blind followers of their governments or political parties. The search for personal happiness and fulfillment is deftly explored in Sweet Land, the musical. Let’s hope America can find its way there too.

Sweet Land, the musical is streaming through October 22, 2020 from History Theatre at Home. You can choose the level of your ticket price.

www.historytheatre.com

About This Reviewer - October 10, 2020

Voyeur: The Windows of Toulouse-Latrec (Bated Breath Theatre Company)

An audience of eight checks in outside The Duplex in Greenwich Village. On a gorgeous Friday evening, there were people all around drinking outside bars at tables and dancing to disco tunes in Christopher Park. Waiting for the show to begin, turn in any direction and there are visuals and sounds setting the mood. Voyeur: The Windows of Toulouse-Latrec conjures up Paris circa 1899 in the bohemian nightclub vista of Montmartre.

For those unfamiliar with the story of Toulouse-Latrec, there are four posters which provide a brief overview of his remarkable and difficult life. He was born into an aristocratic family. His parents were first cousins. It is assumed that fact, and a family history of inbreeding, led to his congenital bone disorders and stunted growth. Unable to play sports, he turned to art and made the debauched world of Moulin Rouge explode in his art and posters.

When the pandemic hit, the Bated Breath Theatre Company had just passed the one hundredth performance of its site specific hit, Unmaking Toulouse-Latrec. I found that show diverting but I was mixed regarding its ability to sustain my attention for one hour. With no theaters now open, Mara Lieberman conceived and directed Voyeur. The artist and story is the same. This experience is fantastically surreal and, at the same time, quietly reflective.

Above the bar Kettle of Fish (opened in 1950), three prostitutes begin their dance in the windows. Windows and picture frames will recur as we voyeuristically peer into the past. The show is scored with a crank music box and a violin. Eight of us are listening to the words being spoken but everyone on the street is watching the action. One of the patrons that evening had previously seen the show taking place and decided to purchase a ticket. Cell phones everywhere were capturing just another provocative night in bohemia. While the technology suggested modern times, the environment brilliantly overwhelmed the senses and set the mood.

Henri is portrayed with a puppet memorably designed by James Ortiz (The Woodsman). His size is diminutive and his pained face is haunting. Both parents are played by actor/dancers. You will see them playfully frolic during their youth and also experience the later darker days, including father Alphonse’s tormented anguish after Henri’s death. All of this happens walking around the streets of the Village.

Occasionally the group stops to peer into a store front. In one such instance, we watch Henri as the voyeur. The scene displays a sensual provocation that perfectly illuminates this particular moment in time. Another scene at the Ruth E. Wittenberg Triangle was a spectacle of light, movement and silent storytelling. All with cars and people in motion, some stopping to watch as well. What makes Voyeur so fascinating – and even a little uncomfortable – is the continually shifting perspectives of who is the voyeur and who is the “voyee.”

Known for his Moulin Rouge posters and paintings of dancers and prostitutes, one of his subjects comes to life during the performance. The Can-Can is invoked. The Moulin Rouge was created so the wealthy could slum it up in a fashionable district. In another thematic twist, this audience does the same. Theatergoers paying for a peek. Amidst this hedonistic environment, an alcoholic cripple with syphilis found his people and became a legendary artist.

The ending of Voyeur: The Windows of Toulouse-Latrec is as memorable as the beginning but in many different ways. Walking to our restaurant reservation after the performance, two of us kept discussing our favorite segments. That probably says it all. This show is not only immersive, it is intoxicating.

Voyeur: The Windows of Toulouse-Latrec is running on certain days through November 7th with multiple performances per evening. The show is a pandemic friendly theatrical experience with masks and limited group sizes, including one visit indoors.

www.batedbreaththeatre.org

theaterreviewsfrommyseat/unmakingtoulouse-latrec

About This Reviewer - October 5, 2020

American Dreams (Working Theater)

American Dreams, in particular American Dreamers, are the subjects of this live streamed interactive entertainment. A reservation is required to gain access. A voiceover announces “we’ve entered a temporary government facility and security zone.” Happy whistling plays until the show commences.

A game show ensues which has a clever conceit. Three people compete for the one available United States citizenship opening. The Deputy Director of Otter (India Nicole Burton) warms up the audience and gleefully promises different group of citizens for every show! The three men on this night were from Israel, Mexico and Pakistan.

Before the game show actually starts, there is some banter with the delegates assembled. A rather sickly group sing-a-long of the National Anthem occurs which seems intentional. Our amusingly flippant hosts for the competition arrive via stream (Jens Rasmussen and playwright Leila Buck). This is the third season of the show. The “three contestants compete for Columbus’ gold.” The winner is granted “immediate citizenship into the greatest nation on Earth.” The sarcasm and irony is most welcome.

Round one starts with a section called How America Works. Points are awarded and subtracted throughout the game. Previously chosen volunteers join in for America’s Favorites and try to help the hopeful immigrants get more points. The evening I saw, all three helpers guessed wrong. I got all three correct perhaps because I am a better citizen than they.

The interactivity with the audience is amongst the stronger aspects of this entertainment. Polling was fun and worked smoothly. The downfall is that it was not used enough. Other forced participatory moments, such as the many requests for a show of hands, happened far too much. When half of the audience on screen does not use their camera, the execution suffered and it showed.

Part of the game show enables the contestants to try for an O-1 Visa by demonstrating a particular talent. One audience member described a dream she had. Usman (Imran Sheikh), the Pakestani, had to create a drawing of that dream. Adil (Ali Andre Ali), the Israeli, shared a recipe with the hosts, all of whom were socially distant. The Mexican contestant, Alejandro (Andrew Aaron Valdez), said his special skill was fixing people up when they get hurt. He was deported even though he arrived in the country at the age of five and his mother paid taxes. He also served in the National Guard. The storylines do get serious occasionally and the moments are nicely performed by all three men.

The game show feels elongated as there are sections in which momentum slows considerably. More interactivity – polling, trivia – could really spice up the fun quotient. I would tamper down the voice and thumbs up requests since they don’t seem to work as well as designed. We are all getting used to streaming dysfunction in 2020.

A sharp-edged satire about what it means to become an American citizen is surely a ripe target. A game show format that plays with the silliness of the form is a good choice to have a little laugh yet make a few key points. Overall, American Dreams falls short of its ambitions by not being darkly ironic enough.

The ending does offer surprise, however. Do you get to find out who won? Or if all or none of them won? That, my fellow citizens, is for you to find out for yourselves.

American Dreams is scheduled to run for seven weeks through nine different theaters around the country. The Working Theater’s live production is October 20 – 25, 2020. Links for other theaters can be found here.

www.americandreamsplay.com

www.theworkingtheater.org

About This Reviewer - October 3, 2020

Don’t Exaggerate (desire and abuse)

PTP/NYC is known for producing politically aware plays. They present theatrically complex and thought-provoking works of contemporary social and cultural relevance. For their abbreviated season this year, they are streaming four productions over four weeks. The second one, Don’t Exaggerate (desire and abuse), certainly fits the bill. Howard Barker’s work is subtitled, “a political statement in the form of hysteria.”

This forty minute stream of consciousness is delivered by Robert Emmet Lunney. He portrays a Hungarian soldier who was killed in World War I. His spirit, however, is back to make commentary about the world since then. This monologue was first performed in 1984 and is not dated one bit. So many off-hand remarks land darkly and humorously but also feel current.

Right from the start, you understand why this piece is on this theater company’s schedule this year. “The truth is dying / It is praised so much / Don’t keep on about the truth.” Death is a major theme which perhaps seems obvious from a dead war soldier. The tone is serious and blunt with comments like “suicide is the highest moment of consciousness.” He views Europe as “death’s estate.” Later in the show, truth and death combine and we are made to realize “the dead have all the facts.”

All is not gloom and doom in this wildly non-linear wordplay. The world is an “avalanche of falling periodicals” and “everyone is in print.” Written over three decades ago, that observation is even more true today. Social media and non-stop news cycles make for a never ending avalanche.

There are many societal zingers scattered throughout which entertain. One particular favorite was “never underestimate the reproductive powers of the decadent.” Mr. Barker has a disgusting opinion of mankind in general. That viewpoint pops up in serious commentary and also in hilarious one liners including a throwaway line about hearing “choruses of violated sheep.”

Climate change hits hard here as well. Rising temperatures of the planet are contributing to cancers in the population. A little later on, he comes back to this notion and links back to his running commentary about truths. An “increase in cancers” is equivalent to an “increase in lies.” There are so many fascinating parallels to our 21st century cavalcade of large scale dramas happening worldwide.

Here’s a tip: “you can always take an intellectual for a ride if you stare into his eyes.” I love Mr. Barker’s writing and the rambling style which managed to loop around in a whirlpool of sarcasm and despair.

The central performance by Mr. Lunney could have dripped with even more sarcasm. I wonder if the monologue might come across differently spoken by a young man rather than one wiser with age. A fresh faced soldier who has an axe to grind. The acerbic tone might be even more disconcerting. The live streaming, however, was a great medium to appreciate this work. Director Richard Romagnoli’s in-your-face close ups kept the focus intense.

Don’t Exaggerate (desire and abuse) is available on PTP/NYC’s You Tube channel through Sunday, October 4, 2020. The next production is Dan O’Briens The House in Scarsdale: A Memoir for the Stage beginning October 8th.

youtube/ptpnyc

About This Reviewer - October 1, 2020October 2, 2020

She Speaks, He Speaks, Generations Speak, Black Words Matter (New Federal Theatre)

Reverend Rhonda Akanke McLean-Nur kicks off this second poetry jam entitled She Speaks, He Speaks, Generations Speak, Black Words Matter. She notes this is a year containing COVID, more murdering of black people, incompetent leadership and the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. She praised the recently deceased John Lewis and Ruth Bader Ginsburg who “lived their lives to empower ours.” The Reverend’s brief introduction was attention grabbing.

“In this consequential year, we pause to celebrate and reflect,” she concluded. This is also the 50th season of the New Federal Theatre. The one hour event began with an exciting outdoor tap dance called “Love, Power, Grace” by Cartier Williams. With a title like the one for this poetry jam, you know serious is right around the corner. And it is, powerfully so.

Margaret Walker wrote For My People in 1942. This work won a Yale writing award making her the first black woman to receive a national writing prize. A dozen readers shared sections of this great piece. Lots of different voices underscored the universality of the message. All of the work done by her people “never gaining, never reaping, never knowing and never understanding.”

Haki Madhubuti’s gorgeous Art shares his philosophy that art is “food for a people’s soul.” He shared how art saved him with a personal reflection about his mother dying at the age of 34. His message is hopeful and exquisitely written. “Children of all cultures inherit their creative capacity to originate from the bone of their imagination the closest manifestation of purity, perfection and beauty.”

Jessica Care Moore followed with her Vertical Woman for Sonia Sanchez as a powerful homage to her 80th birthday. Excitingly, Ms. Sanchez followed with a reading of her own Morning Song and Evening Walk For Martin Luther King, Jr. Plainly and clearly she stated, “we have to hold up our freedom banners / we have to hold them up until we die.”

Rewarding words and storytelling followed about black fathers, their daughters, Malcolm X and other observations. Yusef Komunyakaa concluded his Blue Dementia with this line: “I know something about the toiling of ghosts.” Reflecting the events of today, Mahogany L. Browne read Ain’t Got Much Place for Wallowing. Her viewpoint has no time for “bipartisan cupcake promises” from a “government that pretends America is heaven.”

For me, the emotional core of this presentation was Shadenia Sivad’s rendering of Coffee. This story was about the father of her children dating outside his race and his “obsession with competing with Master.” Her delivery was intense and emotional on many levels. “Only you and I know the effects of abandonment” as we “grew from the same damn tree.”

There were many ideas to ponder, injustices to consider and life-affirming glimpses to the future. Reverend Rhonda summed it up by concluding that we need to be “using our own words wisely, creatively and constructively.” This poetry jam succeeded in that mission. Were that we could be a nation capable of listening with empathy, these words are an easy bridge to understanding the darkness lurking within.

Getting an “A” in history class growing up meant you could memorize dates and names of things. We don’t teach children reality. We cut funding for arts. How can we keep moving forward? How can we get more listeners? I am hopeful when I watch the generation coming up expressing their discontent.

This one hour production, nicely directed by Petronia Paley, was a heady combination of depressing, joyful, angry and thought provoking. I just watched the abominable Presidential debate this week. I have to sum up that experience by quoting lyrics from Genovis Abright’s performance of his song “Mississippi Goddam.” Watching the television, you have to agree that “this whole country is full of lies.”

The New Federal Theatre has a series of play readings in October as part of their NFT: Retrospective Reading Series.

www.newfederaltheatre.com

About This Reviewer - September 22, 2020September 23, 2020

Zero Cost House (Pig Iron Theatre, Philadelphia, PA)

Sometimes you just have to let a play wash over you. Not try to ride the waves and steer your way through. Just let whatever happen. Zero Cost House is one such experience. The oceanic volume of big picture themes and insightfully sharp details cannot be controlled by the viewer. Toshiki Okada’s play does not let you be in control.

In 2011, this playwright began a collaboration with Philadelphia’s Pig Iron Theatre on an adaptation of Thoreau’s seminal Walden. Then the Fukushima meltdown happened. Mr. Okada changed course and his resulting work is not only a nostalgic trip to a more simpler time but also a political memoir. The Japanese government is held to account for its handling of the tragedy. In our time of COVID-19, the parallels to any government’s inaction during a crisis make for an easy parallel to draw.

The structure of the play is loopy, twisty and bendy. Cast members play multiple roles and share multiple parts. Time moves forward and backward repeatedly. Linear this is not. Director Dan Rothenberg beautifully orchestrates all of this action and philosophizing. The Zoom experience proves to be a perfect presentation vehicle. If you like big, weighty themes delivered through fascinating and unusual scenes by an exceptionally strong creative team, then Zero Cost House is a must-see.

You will find deadpan humor. Past Okada (Aigner Mizzelle), the playwright’s younger self is writing a play but doesn’t know what’s next. Current Okada (Dito van Reigersberg), another character tells his youthful version, “this is a common problem with writer’s block.” There is playful humor such as when Thoreau is asked if he googles himself. The answer? “Yeah, everyday.”

The juxtaposition of writing a play about oneself at different ages is just one of many conceits. The younger Okada is thoroughly obsessed with Thoreau’s book and the messages of a simple life and living in nature. The playwright brings in Kyohei Sakaguchi (Will Brill, fantastic) into this work as a modern day Thoreau (Alex Torra). He is famous for his Zero Yen Project which involves the study of structures built at no cost, such as shanties made by the homeless. In their own times and ways, both thinkers advocate for the simpler life.

Philosophical ideas burst forth frequently during this two hour play. “I didn’t want to waste my life in a company to follow the rules made by society.” Or, “I want to be rich with time.” Immature people need to pretend they are arrogant. To which the playwright notes, “unfortunately I am unfathomably far away from this kind of naivete.”

Adding into this heady stew is the writer’s agent (Mary McCool), a rabbit couple (Saori Tsukada), a Björk cover band and assorted visuals. To say this is meta doesn’t quite capture it. It’s mega-meta. The clarity of the storytelling is astonishing. One character says that they are “peeling myself away from the layer of the ordinary.” You can do the same by catching this extraordinary production.

Reflecting on the creativity required to both write and present this play was an additional bonus. The words are laden with details worth hearing. Watch the actors fully inhabit these people with memorable facial expressions and movement. The presentation of visual effects and miniatures by Maiko Matsushima adds to the fun. Missing live theater? Zero Cost House might convince you otherwise.

Take the time to go visit Walden again or for the first time. Breathe in the fine air. Catch a fish for dinner. Think. About yourself, life and your purpose in the world. This play stopped me in my tracks and washed over me like the tsunami which hit Japan and caused the 2011 crisis. Watching it, I felt adrift but excited. With a rescuer as surefooted as Mr. Okada, the times are a-changing for the better.

Pig Iron Theatre has another livestream Zoom presentation of Zero Cost House scheduled for Friday, September 25th.

www.pigiron.org

About This Reviewer - September 20, 2020September 20, 2020

Godspell (Berkshire Theatre Group)

“When wilt thou save the people? / Oh God of mercy when? / The people, Lord, the people / Not thrones and crowns, / But men.” Could there be a time when a revival of Godspell is more timely than right now?

Through perseverance and the watchful eye of Actor’s Equity, the Berkshire Theatre Group managed to stage the first live theatrical show in America since the pandemic shut the doors in March. The solution was to erect a very large tent outside with limited – and distanced – seating capacity. How to sing and dance? Socially apart with transparent partitions.

I managed to catch the final weekend after the show extended its sold out run. As someone who spends countless evenings in the theater, my anticipation level was high. The 2011 Broadway revival was manic and overcooked. My childhood friend, Gerry McIntyre, was the choreographer. I saw this show countless times as a teenager in schools and churches. Even staged on an altar, how radical! I could not wait to sit and see what COVID-19 and decades of my ever-marbleizing atheism would do to this nostalgic and tuneful relic from my youth.

Lovers of the Godspell cast album who know every song by heart can rejoice here. One of the highlights of this particular revival is the vocal arrangements by Music Director Andrew Baumer. Instead of using recent trends which make old school lyrics unintelligible, this Godspell allows its cast to sing Stephen Schwartz’s words clearly and convincingly. Oh bless the Lord my soul.

This Godspell, like the original 1970’s megahit, takes place today. The cast assembles on the stage far apart and behind partitions. It’s both surreal and exciting. Each opens with a personal story about the pandemic and how it impacted their life. Someone eventually gets to the “to wear or not to wear” mask battle happening in our country. “I don’t know how to teach you to care about other people.” Cue the opening song, “Prepare Ye” the way of the Lord. An opening that was somehow both sobering and magical.

The messages and parables of Jesus freely flow through this show. I found many of them jarring and intensely relevant today. “Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled.” “Not to make a show of religion before men.” “No man can serve God and money.” How about this lyric? “This nation / this generation / shall bear the guilt of it all.” Heady stuff if you immerse yourself in the now.

Godspell has always reflected current times, often using humor. A parable about a Master results in the easy chide “guys, I don’t think we should use the word ‘Master’ anymore.” There are mentions of Tik Tok, Netflix, Occupy Pittsfield and tweeting. Police caps appear in Act II. Wal-Mart becomes a stand-in for Hades. That in particular came across as cultural elitism to me but the joke did land.

“When you feel sad / and under a curse” begins Jesus (Nicholas Edwards) and Judas’ soft shoe duet, “All For the Best.” Both sanitize appropriately, wear rubber gloves and use yardsticks to measure six feet of distance. There is plenty of whimsy to be had in this revival. The darker elements of the tale approaching the ending were less successful and dragged on. “Turn Back, O Man” was cleverly turned into a provocative (and overly raunchy) in-your-face gay number that was bizarrely out of sync with the rest of the show.

Hunter Kaczorowski and Elivia Bovenzi Blitz provided the inspired denim costumes. From the cast, there were some nice high points to be savored. A wistful “By My Side” from Alex Getlin. A plaintive “All Good Gifts” from Najah Hetsberger. Michael Wartella (“Light of the World”) and Tim Jones (Judas) memorably interacted throughout the tale from stage left.

Is this Godspell perfect? Of course not. But it exists and that is what’s important here. Only the team who put this show on can say what it was like in rehearsals way back in July. When the musical gets to the lovely ballad, “Beautiful City,” we get to reflect a little. “Out of the ruins and rubble / Out of the smoke / Out of our night of struggle / Can we see a ray of hope?” Will we be able to build a better and more beautiful city in the future? “Yes we can” is the answer.

This was a sad week which included the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The last time a justice died before a Presidential election, the Republicans stood up and held up the next confirmation until the people’s votes could be counted as a matter or principle. With even less time this year, they have done another 180 degree spin. I can only imagine what Jesus would think. Oh… wait a minute, he just told me. “Alas, alas for you / Lawyers and pharisees / Hypocrites that you be.”

www.berkshiretheatregroup.org

About This Reviewer - September 19, 2020

Static Apnea (the american vicarious)

the american vicarious in collaboration with The Invisible Dog Art Center are presenting a socially distanced performance installation in Brooklyn. A quick subway ride – yes I’ve finally plunged back in big toe first – and you arrive at the hosting table. In the middle of the block on an open lot is a forty foot shipping container with a door. Static Apnea takes place one person at a time in there.

Static Apnea is a discipline in which a person holds their breath underwater for as long as possible. After serious COVID preparations by the hosts, I entered into a world I was told would be dark. I fumbled around. I saw light and went toward it. I was advised to get as close as possible and I did. You know there is an actor in there and there was (safely).

In the performance I saw, Isabella Pinheiro is standing behind a microphone. I learn that 9:02 seconds is the record set by a woman holding her breath. A relatively obvious question is then asked. What happens if you try to go longer and fail? All of this time, lighting enhances the mood, enveloping the mystery.

For such a short performance, I do not want to say much more except that the dialogue is very meditative and thought provoking. I stood in a claustrophobic box in the middle of a pandemic. One which causes respiratory failure. Breathing is the focus of the piece. Your experience is to listen and absorb. The rest is how your mind processes that brief period of time.

At the end, I was disoriented and it took me a bit to find my way. The next visitor was ready to go. After some air purging and sanitizing, she went in. I walked down the block to the subway pondering the experience and admiring its uniqueness. And also how it set me off kilter just enough.

Our current times are allowing artists to emerge, create and challenge us in new ways. I just heard Claws is coming back in October. That one took place on a telephone call. Static Apnea is free. Why not give it a try? It is under ten minutes long, something new to experience in a live format and quite absorbing for this particular moment.

Static Apnea is scheduled to run until October 17, 2020. Tickets are free and reservations are recommended.

www.theinvisibledog.org

theaterreviewsfrommyseat/claws

About This Reviewer - September 17, 2020

12 Angry Men… and Women: The Weight of the Wait (The Billie Holiday Theatre, Brooklyn)

“Get out of the car.” “Shut the fuck up before we beat your ass.” So begins the searing storytelling in 12 Angry Men… and Women: The Weight of the Wait. Based on a book which explored the black male experience in dealing with police brutality, The Billie Holiday Theatre updated a previously performed play to also includes female voices. Obviously the material is timely. Predictably it is upsetting. The production is gripping and relentless, like the racism on display.

A preview of the creation and celebration of the first Black Lives Matter Plaza in New York City begins this streamed theatrical event. The play was performed live last Saturday night on the mural in the middle of the street. The theater and this show are located in the middle of the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. A fitting locale as this area has been a center of African-American culture for the last century.

In this new century, more stories need to be told. Director Dr. Indira Etwaroo makes the mission clear in her letter to the audience. “We must pass a better world on to the next generation. The time has come to stand together. The time for justice is now.”

Musicians from the New York Philharmonic begin the show with a musical overture. The sirens begin and lights are flashing. A view into the terrors and humiliations which follow are clear-eyed, angry and emotional.

Five actors perform their monologues (with some intersecting dialogue) in separate acting modules. The production design and especially the lighting effects ratchet up feelings of claustrophobia and intentional targeting. Staged in the middle of the street at night lends an additional air of tension, especially in concert with the stories’ settings. The visible yellow Black Lives Matter painted on the road firmly grounds the work in the now. The urgency demanded by a serious docudrama is on full display.

The first vignette told is one of a criminal justice reporter for the New York Times. He traveled to Salisbury, Maryland for a story. His head was shoved down on a police vehicle. Of course this was a case of mistaken accusation but no apology was offered. “Sir, this is the south. We have different laws down here.” The unspoken word that entered my mind was “still.”

These stories are by no means focused geographically. An English woman and her brother were driving near Los Angeles when they were pulled over. She had not lived in America long enough to understand how the police functioned here. Her experience put her “squarely in a sub-region of the borders of American blackness.”

A Harvard lawyer is harassed while making a phone call in Boston’s airport. A teen describes everyday with the DT’s, or local detectives, in her neighborhood. More car pullovers. Scenes of abject terror and fear. Tough choices between one’s rights and dignity, or death. The material is as hard as is the subject matter. It is supposed to be. And it succeeds.

A story of a black man going to a bar during a return home to Asheville, North Carolina overwhelmed me with its cruelty. Another horrifying tale when an illegal left turn resulted in 45 stitches in the head. How about a Professor of Criminal Procedures walking home at night in his neighborhood? Don’t think you can face this material? You must, especially if this is not the America you see each and every day. Let artists help us all understand and reflect and share.

How else are we going to heal from the all-too recent scars of the Breonna Taylor tragedy? 12 Angry Men… and Women ends with Ms. Taylor’s mother’s words. You will hear how she learned what happened to her daughter. It is sickening and heartbreaking. This is vital theater and needs to be experienced for both its power and its purpose. And, most importantly, to help us push forward to a more just society tomorrow.

“We must pass a better world on to the next generation. The time has come to stand together. The time for justice is now.”

12 Angry Men… and Women: The Wait of the Weight is streaming on You Tube on the page of The Billie Holiday Theatre.

youtube/12angrymenandwomen