At this point it is fair to say that Seclusion Smörgåsbord has become a semi-permanent series on Theater Reviews From My Seat. I’ve begun receiving more requests to watch certain live streams especially from smaller theater companies. This post includes one from Thornhill Theatre Space.
Our Lady of 121st Street (LAByrinth Theater)
In 2002, the LAByrinth Theater Company produced Our Lady of 121st Street by Stephen Adly Guirgis. He went on to win a Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for his excellent play Between Riverside and Crazy. Director Elizabeth Rodriguez mounted a virtual production with eight members of the original company. Heavyweight actors Bobby Cannavale and Laurence Fishburne were also on hand to shine a bright light on this hilariously dark comedy.
Vic (Bobby Cannavale) is upset. Someone stole the body of Sister Rose from the Ortiz Funeral Home. They also stole his pants. He is grieving this revered nun who taught and advised many children in their neighborhood. A bunch of locals and out-of-towners will be attending this funeral. The assortment of characters is large but the smallish scenes made the video viewing exciting. When a favorite character came back in another scene, it was cause for celebration.
Balthazar (Felix Solis) is the detective who boozes it up. Inez (Portia) is the ex-wife of the now famous disc jockey Walter “Rooftop” Desmond (Laurence Fishburne). His scene in a confessional with Father Lux (John Doman) is more conversation than confession. Why is he there? Feeling guilty about his many affairs while married.
One of these trysts was with Norca, a friend of Inez, his wife. Norca is tough and aggressive. Detective Balthazar interviews her about her whereabouts when the crime was committed. She tells him “I was at home fucking your mother up the ass with a strap on.” Cursing is used in abundance and the jokes are very funny. When Inez and Norca are sitting in bar near the funeral home, they get to the point. Inez says to her, “You fucked my husband.” Norca retorts, “How many times I got to apologize for that?” Inez zings, “How about once?”
Flip (Russell G. Jones), a closeted lawyer, and his lover Gail (Scott Hudson), a community theater actor, travel from Wisconsin to pay their respects. Not wanting to appear gay with the uber effeminate Gail, Flip lands the gut punch. You are no Al Pacino, he says. “Everything you’re in you’re the worst fucking one.”
The play is not really one with forward propulsion but is rather an observational study on the importance of lives, relationships and belief systems. There are even more memorable characters in this hugely entertaining play filled with outrageous scenes of people behaving badly. Or trying to be good. Imperfections and the comedy of life are celebrated. The pain underneath is what makes it all so real.
The LAByrinth Theater Company announced that over 17,000 people watched this performance. They accepted donations on their website.
Of Darkness (and Light) (Thornhill Theatre Space)
Thornhill Theatre Space is a digital social media theater space. With the pandemic hitting they created a live stream series titled “Couch Readings” of new plays. I was invited to take a look at their offerings and selected Of Darkness (and Light) by Tyler Mathews. The subject matter caught my attention as the United States was gripped in violent nationwide protests amidst a global pandemic.
Lina (Secorra Carillo) and her daughter Sebold (Raelynn Willbanks) are on the move. They are scavengers in the midst of an apocalypse. They find an empty warehouse to shelter in from a storm for the night. A hooded stranger appears coated in white powder. Regis (Ben Savory) simply says, “Help me.”
Lina is coughing and promises that she is not sick. A disease is spreading which is killing people. This short play is not all darkness. The characters are young, confused and scared. There are a few cutesy moments which at first seemed forced against the deep anguish of the situation. Those sections, however, provide a view into their remaining, if fleeting, hopefulness. Without that lightness, there would just be despair.
Of Darkness (and Light) was recently selected by the Pittsburgh Virtual Fringe Festival. This production and others in its series of Couch Readings can be viewed on Thornhill Theatre Space’s Facebook page. A link to the fringe festival:
pittsburghfringe.org/ofdarknessandlight
the [title of show] show (Vineyard Theatre)
The Vineyard Theatre set a fundraising goal. If they raised $100,000, the original cast and creative team of [title of show] would reunite for a special virtual benefit performance. I never saw this well-loved musical which rose from the now defunct New York Musical Festival to a short run on Broadway. Apparently my focus was blurry due to pandemic brainwave shortfalls. The reunion was a created variety show not having anything to do with the original.
The team wrote skits, sang songs, featured invited guests and performed a heartfelt tribute to Grandma. “A Virtual Date with Brooke Shields” was accurately titled. She mixed drinks and talked through a mask as if on a date with you. Billy Crudup did another, more cranky but equally entertaining date later in the show. Heidi Blickenstaff repurposed a famous Bee Gee’s tune to “How Deep Are Your Roots?”
The Orange County School of the Arts was going to present Now. Here. This. before the coronavirus struck. Most of the creative team of [title of show] wrote this musical. The school production was going to be the first adaptation of a more inclusive version. The kids and their parents in isolation got together and made it happen. This variety show streamed the song “More Life” which provided a joyous example of how to go through a roadblock.
Silliness such as “Show Us Your Pets” and the fabulous “Diva Interrupted!” segment kept the laughs – and stars – coming. The singular highlight of the show happened late. Micaela Diamond (The Cher Show) and Nathan Salstone (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) sang a gorgeous rendition of John Denver’s “Sunshine On My Shoulders.” In the middle of a seemingly never ending stay-at-home (especially for us city dwellers), it was cathartic to hear: “sunshine, almost always, makes me high.”
The Vineyard Theater will host a live discussion with the creators of this event on Tuesday, June 2nd on its weekly series The VT Show at 5:00 pm est.