Joe, Author at TheaterReviewsFromMySeat

About This Reviewer - December 27, 2018April 12, 2019

What the Constitution Means to Me (New York Theatre Workshop)

Timely theater has not been in short supply this year. The term “constitutional crisis” has been thrown around casually and frequently during the tumultuous reign of the Trump administration. Are we at that stage or, as some might argue, have we been for the last two years? Is Washington just incredibly mucked up like a company in need of a strategic vision, a refreshed mission statement, a competent leader, more talented managers, less self-dealing or all of that? More than a few believe the current Republican leadership is pointing America in the right direction. Throw all those sentences out onto the internet and watch the vitriol boil. Amidst this political maelstrom, What the Constitution Means to Me is another play ready for our attention now.

When she was young, playwright Heidi Schreck raised money for college by entering competitions about the constitution in places such as American Legion Halls. She was good at it and successfully paid for her entire state school tuition. Ten years ago she was inspired to revisit her teenage encounters with the Constitution in a performance setting. Excerpts of this piece showed up in our great artist incubator spaces, resulting in this finished play.

Ms. Schreck plays herself in her forties looking back and imagining her fifteen year old self. She’s the one obsessed with Patrick Swayze and the witches in Salem. The acting style is loose and free, filled with smiles and jokes. Oliver Butler directed this play and you would hardly know there was direction. Storytelling this effortlessly assured and accomplished could not have happened without a creative team’s singular vision. All this lightness cleverly masks a serious debate about this particular document which has obviously been significant to her life.

This play is structured from a very personal perspective, centering around the stories of the female generations of her family who came before her. Did and does this document effectively provide all citizens their unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Or have centuries of rule by white men, notably on the Supreme Court, purposely thwarted those rights by adhering to a document written when white men were the only American citizens who really mattered?

Amendment 9, the Dred Scott case and Castle Rock vs. Gonzales are some of the historical milestones that Ms. Schreck takes us through on her journey. Since this is a reflection and not a civics class, the darkness under the surface of her feelings linger and have real impact. Near the end of this play, a young African American girl (Thursday Williams, excellent and just as assured) joins her on the stage. The two debate whether the Constitution should be kept in its current state with incremental improvements made (as the amendments allow) or completely abolished and rewritten. This section was icing on a very delicious, substantial and filling piece of cake.

Term limits did not come up in this context but I’d certainly be in favor of a discussion on that topic, including for the Justices on the Supreme Court. An extraordinarily high level and variety of playwrighting seems to be emerging from our political chaos. I guess that’s the good news.

www.nytw.org

About This Reviewer - December 24, 2018April 12, 2019

The Jungle (St. Ann’s Warehouse)

As Christmas Day is fast approaching, there is always so much left to do. Getting everything right so we can spend time with loved ones. Preparing a celebratory feast. Buying a few presents that are symbolic for the joy of giving unto others. Not all of us participate in this ritual due to our differences in religious beliefs or lack thereof. Some people, like myself, relish the opportunity to have a fixed time on the calendar where we can engage in good tidings towards others and wish them a Happy New Year. This year, The Jungle has tugged my heartstrings and shined a beacon of light on the term “generosity of spirit.”

The Good Chance Theatre was founded by British playwrights Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, the authors of this immersive, timely and important play. In 2015, they established their first temporary theatre at a refugee camp in Calais, France. Inside a twelve meter geodesic dome, these gentlemen spent seven months promoting freedom of expression, creativity and dignity for this struggling community. The Jungle is based on their experience of living and working with migrants in this emerged city of hope. That original dome is now inside the (once again) completely transformed cavernous space at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. This is the first international production of this piece which originated in London.

Imagine yourself sitting in an Afghani restaurant in a refugee camp filled with citizens who fled the countries of Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, Eritrea, Iran and others. Imagine yourself surrounded by those lucky enough not to be killed on their journey. Imagine reading this on an exhibit as you exit the theater: “The Jungle was home to 1,496 children, 1,292 unaccompanied.” Most of us are acutely aware of this global humanitarian crisis and the political football being played on the grandest of stages. This unforgettable play is a time capsule of now.

The audience sits inside a restaurant within this sprawling self-governed refugee camp. Different peoples are trying to make life bearable in a makeshift city near the motorway, some having travelled thousands of miles from war, poverty or genocide. Many are dreaming of the white cliffs of Dover and salvation in the United Kingdom. Some negotiate with smugglers or attempt life threatening rides inside trucks to cross the border. Good Samaritans attempt to provide help in the form of housing, legal advice, medical care, supplies and empathy. Everyone is angry. Everyone is hopeful. Despair is the oxygen starving these people. Survival is the gut instinct driving them forward. The Jungle tells the story of these individuals in a hyperactively urgent style.

Directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, the experience is overwhelmingly intense, heartbreakingly difficult and surreal. The superlative cast conveys (and often screams) the written words but it’s the body language and the facial expressions which put this complicated camp into focus. As you might expect, the play is definitely left leaning but miraculously is much deeper and a lot untidier than a simple liberal treatise. You will laugh hearing these stories. You will find the monologues riveting. You will marvel at how the human condition can summon up hope under these circumstances. The Jungle will exhaust you emotionally.

And then you will be inspired by these two young writers who were part of a much larger story. A group of disparate people linked by a desperate desire that The Jungle will only be a temporary home. Was it temporary or a blueprint? The living conditions were certainly tough but from the mud emerged a multinational place with playgrounds, churches, theaters and restaurants.

The food critic of the London Times visited the camp in February of 2016, an event which is mentioned in the play. The reaction back home to a theater in a refugee camp caused the most “eye-rolling, brow-furrowing, exasperated exhaling.” He was told that a theater in a refugee camp was a monument to bleeding heart liberalism. His response: “if I ever find myself lost and penniless, I hope it’s the liberals with leaky valves and a penchant for quoting Shakespeare that find me, and not the sanguine, pity-tight realists. When are you too poor, too bereft, too unappreciative to need or deserve art?”

Never.

I stopped by Sur La Table yesterday for a Christmas gift. I watched people of privilege vocalizing their frustration about the way the checkout lines were organized. The wait was only a few minutes and fairly painless. Another woman went on a tirade about their online customer service which could not (could not!) tell her which specific Le Creuset pans were in stock at a particular store. I guess every city has it share of pain and tales of woe.

www.stannswarehouse.org

Should you be interested in learning more about how you can help, here are a few links:

www.helprefugees.org/jungle

www.stannswarehouse.org/getinvolved

About This Reviewer - December 22, 2018April 12, 2019

The Marvelous Wonderettes

We reconnected with Amy Hillner Larsen at our Christmas party last weekend and found out that she was starring in The Marvelous Wonderettes off-Broadway. The current revival of the 2008 show has been running for over two years and is scheduled to close soon. In a combination of friendly support, crinoline curiousity and neverending enjoyment of Grease-era nostalgia, we ventured over to see this long-running musical.

At the 1958 senior prom, four young ladies are introduced as the evening’s entertainment, replacing the glee club at the last minute when one of them is caught smoking (the simple plot points evoke and poke fun at a simpler time). Prankster Betty Jean (Michelle Dowdy) and self-adoring Cindy Lou (understudy Amy Toporek) are best friends and also bitter rivals for both the spotlight and a certain fella. Missy (Maggie McDowell) is the event organizer who has a secret love, one of her teachers. Ms. Larsen plays Suzy, the gum chewing ditzy gal who is madly in love with Ritchie, the lighting guy for their show. The vibe is high school amateur night with more than a dozen classic songs in the first act alone. “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid” and “Lucky Lips” reflect a sentimental, homogenized America. The girls just want to be kissed by their beau!

The pacing is frantic as these women plow through more than two dozen hits from the 1950’s and 1960’s. The second act takes place at the tenth reunion. The Wonderettes return after a period of personal enlightenment and disillusionment which we refer to as adulthood. While still very concerned with kissing (“It’s in His Kiss”), they also shed a few tears (“It’s My Party”) and demand to be better treated just a little bit when they get home (fill in the song title). If the first act is silly slapstick and airy juvenile dreaming, the second half takes place in 1968 when America is erupting with change, boots are made for walking and women’s liberation is soon to be on the march. As presented here, the movement is not much heavier than whipped cream (Cool Whip?) but you can sense it has begun to arrive.

The four person cast is onstage nearly the entire show and it’s a workout for sure. Everyone has their opportunity to shine in spotlight numbers. If you are wistful for this period, the song selections alone should satisfy. The show aims for campy fun but the so-so book (and frequently repeated jokes) miss the opportunity to reach the malt shop in the sky.

Viewing The Marvelous Wonderettes right now allows for a comparison to the current television series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Also set in 1958, this Emmy Award winning comedy sits firmly at the end of this musical’s first act. Impending societal changes are cracking through America. The ladies wonder where life will take them. Some sing about that. Some perform stand-up comedy. Isn’t that marvelous?

www.themarvelouswonderettes.com.

About This Reviewer - December 20, 2018April 12, 2019

Alaska & Handsome Jeremy: Christmas in Space!

Are five holiday shows in one season too many? No! For my final dive into the seemingly inexhaustible choices of merrymaking (aka moneymaking) in December, I popped into the Laurie Beechman Theatre to catch Alaska & Handsome Jeremy: Christmas in Space! The year is 2368 and we are aboard the USS Thunderfun. Alaska and her piano playing sidekick Jeremy are currently obsessed with the year 2018. Isn’t it amazing how the spaceship has so realistically recreated the look of a basement nightclub from that particular era?

I’ve seen a few of Alaska’s shows at this venue. Including this one, all of them are hilarious fun. There’s singing, of course. There are jokes aplenty. There’s a cinched waist, naturally (or not). There’s a semblance of plot to hold the hour long show together (and allow for a costume change). And, most critically, there’s Alaska. Maybe in 2368, there will be a universe where someone this talented will repeatedly be invited to appear on the nighttime talk shows to entertain us with their wit and style. Until then, we’ll have to take our most welcome doses in intimate basement locations with cocktails and like minded revelers.

Unlike many drag acts, this performer does not rely too heavily on risqué or blue material to keep us laughing. The physicality, timing and vocal expressiveness are the focus here. Her persona is unique, a combination of ditzy and subversive, served with a generous wink. In a 2013 interview, she cited Divine and Marilyn Monroe as role models as “they’re both blonde, beautiful and dead.” As an homage to Star Trek for this show, Alaska’s ears were bedazzled with crystals which gave the impression of Dr. Spock having boldly encountered a hot glue gun. The spaceship we are travelling in does have an energy crisis and we almost die. Thankfully, Alaska saves the day and we all survive to see her next riotous outing.

Is Christmas in Space! a holiday show? Well, it ran for a week in December so I guess that counts. Alaska and Jeremy are worth your time if this type of frivolity suits your tastes. All four of us remarked that everything going on in our heads when we arrived – work, traffic, general holiday busyness – had vanished by the time this show ended. Instead we were universally entertained in the best possible way. That’s undeniable Christmas magic and a present I’d like to receive no matter what the century in whatever galaxy.

www.westbankcafe.com/laurie-beechman-theatre

About This Reviewer - December 19, 2018April 12, 2019

Radio City Christmas Spectacular

As an adjective, spectacular is defined as beautiful in a dramatic and eye-catching way. As a noun, spectacular is defined as an event such as a pageant or musical produced on a large scale with striking effects. The Radio City Christmas Spectacular began in 1933. Can it really still be spectacular? Without question, the answer is yes.

The family of four sitting in front of me was probably indicative of the typical reaction one could have at this show. The father was just sitting there unreactive (or maybe bored). The mother was preoccupied filming as much as she could on her phone. Her daughter was bouncing around in and out of her seat not paying attention but waving some sort of wand and seemingly content. Their son, however, was enraptured by the whole experience. His joy never faded as fantastic number after fantastic number flowed from this historic stage. I identified with the kid. The only word to describe this show is spectacular.

Directed and choreographed by Julie Branam, the ninety minutes fly by. The Rockettes are simply phenomenal. You expect high kicking and you get that with subtle variations that are interesting and, of course, precise. Their costumes are holiday sparkle magic. There is a small storyline which emerges amidst the pageantry that is cute but doesn’t get in the way of fun. The result is a Santa number that is eye-fillingly superb.

What’s the best part of this spectacle? The large orchestra which pops up from the depths every once in a while? The Christmas in New York section which reminds you how lucky you are to live in or visit this amazing city? The ice skaters who perform spinning lifts? The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers routine, essentially unchanged since the inception of this show? I cannot decide.

I will, however make three observations. First, I have seen this show before and thought it a pleasant diversion. I had felt the nativity scene went on too long and the live animals were overkill. Mercifully the scene is now reasonably short and visually arresting. Second, the projections and digital content (Sam Buntrock) immersed the entire music hall with imagery that demanded my attention so I had to take my eyes off the stage in appreciation. The finale seemed like a prelude to the future of this show – traditional spectacle with new technology flourishes.

My third and perhaps most important observation is about the cast. I attended a performance on a Monday morning at 11:00. There are many performances every day. The show came across as remarkably fresh. Every face was engaged in delivering the promise of a title that includes the word spectacular. I made a point to look hard and I never found anyone phoning in their performance. This is not a cheap entertainment. Isn’t is wonderful that the Radio City Christmas Spectacular is appropriately named and worth every penny? I’m not someone who could sit through this show year after year. I am, however, someone whose holiday season was made a little more sparkly for having invested the time to watch the Rockettes kick ass. Just give in and go. It’s delightful from start to finish.

www.rockettes.com/christmas

About This Reviewer - December 17, 2018April 12, 2019

A Child’s Christmas in Wales (Irish Repertory Theatre)

What to do the night after hosting your festive annual party with friends visiting from out of town? Our thought was to take in A Child’s Christmas in Wales at the Irish Rep. This is the third of five holiday themed shows I plan to see this month. (Too many? Thankfully not yet but the biggest one – with the highest kicks – is fast approaching.) This piece is based on a famous story by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. The prose imagines idyllic Christmas memories while growing up as a young boy. Adapted and directed by co-founder Charlotte Moore, the tone is sweet and the nostalgia is unaffected. Mr. Thomas summoned up an idealized world of childhood past. “It was snowing. It was always snowing on Christmas.”

What I did not expect to find while donning my own romanticized New York holiday lenses was the historical significance of this particular story. Mr. Thomas had worked with the BBC since 1937 telling stories on the radio to supplement his income as a poet. In 1945, a producer suggested a talk entitled “Memories of Christmas.” A later enhancement was published in 1950 as “A Child’s Memories of a Christmas in Wales” by Harper’s Bazaar. Two years later a fledgling company persuaded him to make a recorded album of five poems. When considering what to put on the B-side (while we are waxing nostalgic), Mr. Thomas selected this Christmas story.

The album sold modestly at first and the author died a year later. A posthumous book created the current title. The story went on to become one of his most beloved and launched Caedmon into becoming a successful company, later acquired as a label for HarperCollins Audio. In 2008, the original 1952 recording was selected for the United States National Recording Registry since it was “credited as having launched the audiobook industry in the United States.” Who knew an off-Broadway holiday offering would result in learning that fun fact?

A Child’s Christmas in Wales is a fairly short story. In this show, the words have been supplemented with more than a dozen songs from the traditional (“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”) to those sung in Welsh (“Calon Lan”) to original compositions by the adapter, Ms. Moore (“Walking in the Snow”). Everything goes down nice and easy with the simplicity of a childlike dream. The section “Aunts and Uncles Come to Dinner” was a particular hoot.

Nicholas Barasch (She Loves Me) portrayed the author and narrator. The performance was remarkable for its depiction of a child’s wonder and joy, wrapped up in a lightly contained bundle of youthful exuberance. Completely committed with nary a hint of winking, the cast nicely rounded out the production with their storytelling and singing. I have to note that the use of a Welsh accent seemed strictly optional which came across as odd given the very focused onstage tone. At eighty minutes, A Child’s Christmas in Wales did not overextend its welcome – unlike your aunt may do after consuming the parsnip wine on Christmas Day.

www.irishrep.org

About This Reviewer - December 13, 2018April 12, 2019

Taylor Mac’s Holiday Sauce

Admittedly feeling a little “witchy” that evening, Taylor Mac’s Holiday Sauce begins metaphorically by throwing some things into a cauldron. E coli from romaine lettuce was tossed in. Then the zinger follows and it’s classic Taylor Mac. judy (his preferred gender pronoun) marvels at how four people died from e coli and, within 24 hours, all the supermarkets across America were cleared of this menace to human life. Thousands die from guns each year but nothing happens. That’s all thrown into the cauldron (mixed with a few other choice targets) hoping to make something good. Judy succeeds.

This particular show skewers Christmas as only a politically charged, emotionally communicative and wildly talented drag performer can do. On the raunchy side, there’s the never-to-be-forgotten sing-a-long version of “O Holy Night.” In a Bollywood-esque variant, Mr. Mac aggressively sings about “tidings of comfort and joy” from “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentleman.” This version is angry. There are a lot of bad memories from his youth related to Christmas and religion in general. His grandparents stopped inviting him when it became apparent he was gay.

Similar to his monumental A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, this show puts a glitter microscope on the heteronormative narrative of America and religion as a patriarchal fable. Holiday Sauce is very funny, musically accomplished and often silly but there are chestnuts of wisdom here and there to give the evening some real depth. A song began “Six o’clock in the morning / I feel pretty good…” The tempo was different and I could not place the lyrics but knew them. At the refrain “I’m flying in Winchester Cathedral / Sunlight pouring through the break of day,” I had a little Christmas joy remembering this great Crosby, Stills & Nash song I had long forgotten. The words still have bite forty years later, presented here as an anthem: “Open up the gates of the church and let me out of here! / Too many people have lied in the name of Christ / For anyone to heed the call / So many people have died in the name of Christ / That I can’t believe it all.”

Taylor Mac’s Holiday Sauce is dedicated to his drag mother, Flawless Sabrina, who passed away last fall. In the true meaning of Christmas, he recounts her wisdom and the love of family found. Flawless Sabrina, I later learned, was a pioneering drag artist in the 1960’s and toured the country hosting drag beauty pageants. The Queen was a documentary about the Miss All-America Camp Beauty Contest filmed in 1967 and presented at the Cannes Film Festival. Drag is now a much bigger business and RuPaul’s pile of Emmy Awards is proof of its more mainstream appeal (at least in big, open hearted cities).

What else to add? Oh, the costumes! There are not many of them but they’ve been created with a dash of the divine by Machine Dazzle. One particular outfit must be described as Sally Field “Sister Bertrille” couture with her signature headpiece populated with a mini-forest of snowy evergreen trees. This show has lots of moods not unlike the holidays that it hates and adores. I left the theater understanding why “Cathedral” was part of the show. “I’m flying in Winchester Cathedral / it’s hard enough to drink the wine / The air just hangs in delusion / but given time / I’ll be fine.” judy is indeed fine. I’d add that Mr. Mac is very merry as well. This particular Holiday Sauce is clearly not for everyone. As our host reminds us, there’s always the exit. That’s the definition of a free country.

Taylor Mac’s new play, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, opens on Broadway this spring.

www.taylormac.org

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theaterreviewsfrommyseat/a24decadehistoryofpopularmusicpartII

About This Reviewer - December 11, 2018April 12, 2019

The Steadfast Tin Soldier (Lookingglass Theatre, Chicago)

In 1838, Hans Christian Andersen wrote The Steadfast Tin Soldier, his first fairy tale which was completely original rather than based on folklore. While the story is certainly perfect for children, the mood is melancholy and full of unrequited love. In a boy’s toy collection, a tin soldier has only one leg. He falls in love with a paper ballerina. There are adventures and misadventures in the plot, including travelling in a paper boat and being eaten by a fish. All in all, an oddly interesting choice for a theatrical adaptation.

Mary Zimmerman won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Director for the play Metamorphoses. She conceived and directed this unspoken adaptation which has been nicely scored by Amanda Dehnert and Andre Pluess. Picture a stage which is a timeless and colorful homage to an imagined theatrical past. Before the show begins, various cast members cleverly open the doors of a large advent calendar which functions as the curtain. I arrived as December 17th was opened. The playful start was an amusing way to set the mood of the piece that was to follow.

Lasting one hour, The Steadfast Tin Soldier is filled with visual delights which become apparent from the first scene. In order to create perspective, the young boy is a large three piece puppet playing with his toy soldiers. Alex Stein portrays the titular character dressed in a red uniform. The absent leg is black fabric with the word “missing” written down the leg. His physicality draws you in to his handicapped world. Seeing a ballerina dancing on one leg, his heart is captured. I thought Mr. Stein’s performance was ideal.

As with every show I have seen at the Lookingglass Theatre Company, the scenic design (Todd Rosenthal) is memorable. The story adaptation is fun and, intentionally, a little heartbreaking before its transcendent finale. This show is for people who have a sense of wonder. I was transfixed by the relatively simple storytelling and the joy brought to the stage by the five actors. I expect this version of The Steadfast Tin Soldier will become a classic to be enjoyed for years. The evening is a delightful mix of magical and mesmerizing. A welcome holiday treat for all ages.

www.lookingglasstheatre.org

About This Reviewer - December 7, 2018April 12, 2019

Apologia (Roundabout Theatre)

My telephone once rang and I recognized my parent’s number. Sometimes I would let the call go to voice mail when I wasn’t in the mood (or had the time) for a long, one sided conversation that had nothing to do with me or my life. This particular time, unfortunately, I answered. I was greeted with the following infamous quote: “Hello Joe, your father and I were talking the other night. All of our children are such disappointments.” Apologia brought that memory back in full view since the mother at the center of this play is considered fairly monstrous by her children.

Kristin Miller lives in a cottage in the English countryside. She is attempting to cook dinner for her two sons coming over to celebrate her birthday. She is a famous art historian having just written a memoir called Apologia. Neither of her sons are mentioned in the book. Neither of her sons spent any time with her since their father reclaimed them before they were ten years old. She was in Italy then, too busy with her passions and political activism. This play explores the conflict of a woman’s choice to abandon her children to have a life dedicated to her causes and beliefs rather than her sons. At this particular birthday party, the defensive walls are evident and, ultimately, breached.

Similarly to my own experience, Kristin’s children cope differently depending on their individual personalities. Peter is the successful one who she taunts as another banker imprisoning African countries with debt. He arrives with a new girlfriend in tow, a Christian American, which is hardly pleasing to her bleeding heart liberalism. Simon is her wounded other son, unable to hold a job or write his novel. He doesn’t show up for dinner but his wife is there, a soap opera actress. The plot obviously deals with all of these relationships as they interact with, annoy and judge dear Mommy. No worry, her moat is deep and her walls are high so there is plenty of opportunity for her offensive barrage.

I have seen Stockard Channing on the New York stage many times since she and Roundabout Theatre won their first Tony Awards with A Day in the Death of Joe Egg in 1985. The women she chooses to play are interestingly flawed and complicated individuals. In this performance, the role and actress are a strong match. You may see her side of things and still dislike her immensely. Hugh Dancy (Journey’s End, Venus in Fur) portrays both of her sons and he is convincing in the very different roles. While the explosions that detonate the first act are memorable, the quieter war in the second half cuts even more deeply. The lighting design by Bradley King is additive to the mood in Alexi Kaye Campbell’s play.

An apologia is a vindication, a justification or an explanation. How Kristin chose to live her life and how her children attempted to process it now that they are middle aged is the meat of this feast. The play is imperfect. Some of the dialogue seemed forced and unnatural. That did not matter to me. I thoroughly enjoyed this play, these performances and this story. Maybe one day I can imagine wanting to spend time with my mother on her birthday, listening to her apologia. I doubt that will happen. When one works so very hard to spread hatred and meanness, there is a point where the walls are fortified too high. Better to find a castle of one’s own and thrive.

www.roundabouttheatre.org

About This Reviewer - December 5, 2018April 12, 2019

Bindlestiff Open Stage Variety Show (Dixon Place)

Every first Monday of the month, the Bindlestiff Open Stage Variety Show takes place at Dixon Place downtown in the East Village. I ventured in to see what was described online as a “non-stop variety show experience that may include world famous magicians, gender bending jugglers, circus legends, trained rats, clown bands, aerial artists, wire walkers, sideshow performers, stripping clowns, living cartoons, physical comedy, contortionists, performance artists, emerging burlesque starlets, and more.” Could there really be more?

In the lobby bar before the show, I overheard two men talking. One said he was performing in an ice show in Washington. The other mentioned that he was travelling to Christchurch, New Zealand for a show in January. In our seats, the young lady next to us wasn’t performing that night but had come to show support for her fellow artists. I have always been attracted to stories of the circus, its people and its history. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn is one of my favorite novels. Side Show is an underappreciated, spectacularly fine Broadway musical. Ladies and gentlemen, let the show begin.

Keith Nelson is the host of this show, introducing the acts and performing in between them. His spinning top routine made a strong case for the toy as a rediscovered classic, not that anyone could replicate what he did. A recent guest on The Late, Late Show with James Corden, Mr. Nelson was equally talented and funny. The acts he introduces change with each performance. This particular evening opened with an aerial modern dance by Jennifer Anne Kovacs. Dixon Place is big enough that these artists have ample room to dazzle in many forms.

Acts performed at the Bindlestiff variety show may be works in progress or developmental experiments. All one has to do is sign up for a timeslot. Over the course of two hours I saw Donald Trump dancing with and defiling an Earth balloon (Glen Heroy), an operatic singing trapeze act (Elizabeth Munn) and Zeroboy as Johnny Z, a Corleone-style gangster with impressive sound effects. Wearing her undersea gear and flippers, Eva Lansberry presented a small round suitcase puppet show as a visual aid during her aquatic dance. I was instantly reminded that is has been a long time since I’ve watched Creature From the Black Lagoon.

Tanya Solomon opened the second half of the show with what seemed to be a simple variation on a boardwalk magic ball and cups trick, only to surprise and delight with a great finish. There’s an air of dress rehearsal to some of these performances but the risk taking is what drives the energy in the room. At nearly two hours long with a ticket price of $12.00, the entertainment value is, to quote the defiler, “huuuuge.”

The audience was filled with performers who are invited to share what they are doing and where they are performing next in a short group chat after intermission. The ice show man going to Washington, it turns out, is in the Cirque de Soleil show, Crystal. Other venues mentioned include the Muse in Brooklyn, the Spiegeltent, The Tank and Nut/Cracked, the holiday show at the Flea Theater. Artists plugging their gigs and sharing their talents with their community. While Ringling Brothers may have shuttered, the circus is definitely alive all over New York City and at prices that scream “come inside, curiosity satisfied.” Start spreading the news…