The Red Bull Theater specializes in “heightened language plays” with the Jacobean plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries as the cornerstone of their focus. In 2015, they performed John Ford’s Tis Pity She’s A Whore, published in 1633. To say that the play remains shocking is an understatement as the central plotline reimagines Romeo & Juliet but as brother and sister. The production was dark, intense, beautifully acted and revolting but not for the reasons you might think.
This season, I signed on for the entire season, including a selection of single performance readings. Just actors, scripts, chairs and podiums where you get to explore a piece of theater not regularly seen. One of these readings was a hilarious retelling of William Congreve’s The Way of the World, a Restoration Comedy from 1700, as reimagined in the Hamptons. (Kristen Nielsen, screamingly funny.) In sum, I am a big fan of Red Bull’s mission and their work.
They have adapted Nikolai Gogol’s The Government Inspector as their final production this season, starring the talented Michael Urie (Signature Theater’s Angels in America, his award winning tour de force Buyer & Cellar, upcoming Torch Song Trilogy). Written in 1836, The Government Inspector satirizes human greed, stupidity and the extensive political corruptness of imperial Russia. The play is a funny piece, using humor to shine a critical mirror on the characters, their behaviors and a flawed society. Unfortunately, this production was disappointingly flat. Not that there were no laughs but if the direction had landed on telling the story either deadpan straight or wildly farcical, it may have worked better for me. The combination of individual styles threw this one off balance.
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