Dystopia Gardens: Soylent Green meets Sleeper.

Ladies, gentlemen and other fellow Fringe enthusiasts, Will Nunziata and Jerry Sean Miller do it again: with their hilarious multi-media one-act, they instantly drop us into One World, a place allegedly so polluted that people live inside humongous domes and savor food pills. “Allegedly,” by the way, is the keyword.

A cross between Soylent Green and Woody Allen’s Sleeper, Dystopia Gardens is a futuristic fantasy that bears a strange reflection of our own reality. One World is led by an almighty leader, who wears a diaper and gets cloned periodically, his brain transplanted into a younger body. The only problem is, he seems to grow more and more delusional with every iteration. The domes are collapsing, the food pipes get clogged, but he is happy as long as he gets his banana cream. Oh, and he’ll cheerfully sign anything into law for the treat.

Needless to say that requires a certain amount of toughness to keep the citizens in place. “You’re watching us, we’re watching you,” says the shiny TV screen on which two brain-dead anchors deliver what’s considered news in Domes society. Everyone must wear the same white robes, love the leader and reproduce by means of bodily fluids exchanged through plastic tubes attached to their genitals. If they produce a child who asks too many questions, the child gets electrocuted early enough for the parents to start over. “What are the food pills made of?” inquires one overcurious fledgling who just doesn’t want to be like everyone else. “People,” his dad replies, incapable of comprehending his offspring’s shock and dismay.

The coming of age doesn’t go well for Adam Applegate who gets zinged by his own father – but manages to survive the deadly volts. Moreover, he miraculously finds a way out of the dome and discovers that there is a beautiful world outside the dome where trees grow and flowers bloom. The question is, can his Song of Angry Men (in the key of Les Misérable) get the citizens of One World to follow him – and can he live to see the liberation?

Dystopia has come a long way since the duo first presented it at The PIT theater last year. It lost a bit of sarcasm, built up more drama and turned a series of mini stand-up comedy skits into a human story. Grant and Julienne bump into each other at the DMV – Department of Marital Vows – and the computerized matchmakers accidently pair them up. They turn out to be a match made in tyrannical heaven – they even agree to break the rules and ditch the fluid tubes in favor of the banned good ol’ sex. But their happiness doesn’t last long. Grant decides to join Applegate’s rebellion meeting and things go awry.

If you ever wanted to know what our global-warming, polluting, WTO-governed future may bring but were afraid to ask, visit Dystopia Gardens at Dixon Place (161A Chrystie Street NYC.) See for yourself whether two citizens of Our World can play about two hundred dystopian characters in under two hours. You may laugh harder than you ever have. After all, One World’s broadcast makes Fox News sound real.

~~~

Dystopia Gardens
Writer: Jerry Miller & Will Nunziata
Director: Paul Stancato

1h 15m
dystopiagardens.tumblr.com
VENUE #5: Dixon Place
Thu 25 @ 7 Sat 27 @ 2

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So What Really Is Salamander Stew?

Shakespeare meets The Nightmare Before Christmas in Salamander Stew, a Romeo and Juliet musical powered by love and a mighty joint, currently playing at The 4th Street Theater as part of the New York International Fringe Festival. There aren’t too many international productions in Fringe this year, but a lost-in-time enchanted forest does the trick to make this one feel far removed from New York. The only verse-play in the festival, Salamander Stew takes you into a phantasmagorical world of slithering creatures, hungry spirits, and deceptive rather than deciduous trees. Everything we always read about the deep dark woods but were afraid to experience unfolds before our eyes in its native wickedness. If you are a Harry Potter fan, a Tolkien geek or if Beetlejuice was one of your favorite movies, Salamander Stew is a must.

‘Tis the premise – classically simple: Young, naïve and lovesick Steven stumbles upon beautiful woodlands. It’s hard to tell whether the spell descends on him from the evil powers of the trees or the sinful potency of the grass he smokes, but once he takes a respite in the welcoming shade, the thicket takes him. His inflamed mind takes him on a psychedelic trip: he meets his love, he loses her, he wakes up in the lizards’ lair exhausted and hungry, but all he is offered to eat is a nauseating salamander stew.

A sprig of spinach.
A slice of radish.
Whiff of ginger.
Paw of rabbit.

Orange claw.
Forest thatch.
Lizard’s lungs.
Down the hatch.

There aren’t many props on the stage: a leaf-covered layer and a couple of beautifully authentic stumps adorned with fuzzy yarns is all the magic. The treacherous forest as well as the evil inhabitants it harbors, are acted by the energetic cast of seventeen. They spend hours on their make-up, transforming themselves from human into sprawling plants, slithering serpents and ghastly gnomes. On the way to the theater, they practice jungle sounds, chirping like birds and rustling like leaves. Their efforts pay-off: the moment we set foot in the door we feel that instead of a theater, we have wandered into the endless woods.

A lot happens in this one-act musical: dancing, drumming, singing — all in a quick aggressive pace that never slows down, moves the story forward and keeps our attention. So do the lighting effects, transporting us from the pitch black to the vampirish white to the soft shade of the love scenes. The cast works well together, especially when performing the Red-Eye dance in complete darkness, creating a believable illusion of dozens of hungry red eyes glowing in the infinite wilderness. A charmingly poetic old English script executed in the best traditions of Stomp, has a lot to offer, but there is only one thing is doesn’t do.

It never explains what really is Salamander Stew.

When it doubt, Google it. According to Urban Dictionary, “Salamander Stew” is a code name for sex.

~~~

Salamander Stew

Writer: Michael Fixel
Director: Juliet Fixel and Ron Shreve

1h 0m
www.facebook.com/salamanderstew
VENUE #12: 4th Street Theatre
Thu 25 @ 6:15 Fri 26 @ 2 Sat 27 @ 10 Sun 28 @ 4:30

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“Ladies and gents, girls and boys, scalawags and scurvy dogs! Tis time fer Three By the Sea!” – this is how the new children’s play by Donna Latham begins as the eager audience settles down – some in chairs, others on the floor. The Looking Glass Theatre has a long history of children’s productions, going back to at least 1998. As many off-off Broadway venues, it won’t startle its patrons with extravagant décor, but will impress them with the unlimited creativity of its teams. Blue fabric stretched across the stage becomes the ocean, white and blue balloons deliver the impression of dangerous surf, whirling umbrellas help to master the waves that toss around a coyote – as a modest cast of seven actors brings the sea stories to life, creating over a dozen characters – some human, others animal, and even mystical.

The first two rows of seats are essentially pillows on which the little theatergoers can practice their show-viewing skills, and at times even partake in the performance or share their own thoughts and advices. Among other things they will learn why coyotes howl at the moon, what a foghorn is and why mermaids wear red caps. Without further ado, Buccaneer Bocephus Q. Fizziwater tosses us into the “wondrous trio of tales about watery worlds.”

Fisherman Paddy throws his fish bait into the harbor, but the sea greets him with an unusual catch. Emerging from the waves, a mermaid comes to rest on a rock. Smitten with her long green hair, Paddy snatches her red cap – which means the mermaid will forget her previous sea life. He convinces her to marry him (which proves to be not that difficult.) Then he convinces the local judge to marry them (which proves to be slightly more difficult as the judge is spooked by the bride’s long beautiful tail – but finally agrees, seduced by Paddy’s gold coins from his bride’s sea treasures.) Paddy’s new wife loses her tail and comes to live with him in his hut – but surprise, surprise – has difficulties fitting in. She doesn’t like to cook and clean, but prefers to swim in the sea all day long, until she finally gets the attention of the local gossip queens who decide to get to the bottom of the problem.

The next story introduces  a cute smiley she-rabbit who get accosted by a hungry coyote while resting at the river. “Don’t eat me,” she pleads with the predator who keeps drooling at the “tasty little morsel.” “I’m all bones,” the rabbit objects, proposing a much tastier dinner to the hungry creature – a huge round piece of “river cheese which floats in the waves as soon as the moon comes up.” The only problem, she says, is that the cheese is too big for her grab – but it would be just the perfect catch for the coyote.

The last fable washes Foghorn Franny, an eighteenth century sea lass, onto a modern day beach run by the local clique of hot chicks who rule the shore (or at least think they do). Franny starts building a ship to go back to “Pops” ignoring the snotty prima donnas who make fun of her weird clothing and speech. But then something happens and Sydney, the top diva, loses her cool – and needs Franny’s help.

In a funny entertaining way, the show teaches about fitting in and being nice to the people around you – the simple life lessons that kids could use as well as their grown-up chaperones. Adults may prefer chairs to the pillows, but just like their offspring, they can’t help their reactions – the stories bring out the inner child in everyone no matter their age. “No, not the riches,” a father growls with disappointment when Paddy throws a treasure trunk back in the waves realizing things from the sea belong to the sea, his wife including. “Dude, that you should’ve kept!”

~~~

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Three Sisters, Olga, Masha and Irina lead a quiet but not content life in a small garrison town of Russia, much longing for Moscow they had left elven years ago. The oldest, Olga, is only twenty-eight, yet she is already considered an old spinster; at some point admits that she would marry “any man, even an old man if he had asked.” Masha, having been wed to a kind-hearted but much older high school teacher Kulygin, is very obviously unhappy with her life. Irina is twenty, beautiful, cheerful and wooed by Baron, an army lieutenant prone to political philosophizing, Solony, an army captain who incessantly tries to put Baron down to make himself look better, and Fedotik, a sub-lieutenant and an amateur photographer. The three sisters have a highly educated and promising brother Andrei, who with his level of education could have been a professor in Moscow, but instead marries a seemingly gentle vulnerable Natalya, who turns into a shrew. The Moscow nostalgia is an ever-present and almost palpable entity like Russian snow in winters – everyone believes that if they could only return to Moscow, life would be so different. They may be right, although we never find out what exactly is holding them up.

The play (By Anton Chekov) takes us through several years of the family’s life and its slow deterioration. Andrei’s wife Natalia takes control over the house and pushes everyone around while exceedingly doting on her children. Masha falls in love and has an affair with Lieutenant-Colonel Vershinin, a complex man whose mentally unstable wife tries to kill herself periodically; yet Masha and he can never be together because they are both married. Baron and Solony challenge each other to a superfluous duel and Andrei mortgages the house to pay for his gambling debts. Even the town suffers, consumed by fire. As it always is with Chekhov’s plays, there are neither clearly defined protagonists nor villains, and while no one is at fault, there are no clear solutions. Many Chekhov classics can be best summarized as “the best laid plans of mice and men”, and Three Sisters is no exception. No one’s dreams seem to be ever taking flight, in fact, those who are unable to dream cope the best.

Three Sisters is not a big budget production, yet a well-staged and emotional work of director Alberto Bonilla and producer Richard Mazda, currently playing at the Secret Theater (Long Island City, Queens). Alberto Bonilla says that what attracted him to the characters was “their fallible natures, the fact that Chekhov has written such vulnerable and hopeful yet flawed people against a background of change.” What is truly amazing is that a story which is over a hundred years old never loses its actuality. A century later we face the analogues problems and challenges, lose similar hopes and mourn the same never-fulfilled aspirations.

The talented Queens Players cast does an excellent job of creating believable characters that pull us into the story. We root for them, often for their mutually exclusive desires, we feel their discontent and desperation, and relate it to our own every day struggles. This old classic makes us re-evaluate our own existence and stays with us long after the curtain is drawn. Which is what a good play is supposed to do.

~~~

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(photo Alia Thabit)

In the revival of Clarinda Karpov’s play, Ankhst, Dr. Alexandra Philips (played by Karpov), a once renowned archeologist comes to an Egyptian dig to resume her career interrupted by a nervous breakdown, hoping to immerse herself in her work and find peace. Together with her co-workers she uncovers a previously unknown tomb, in which she finds an urn full of ashes – a very unusual burial form for Egyptian people who believed in mummifying their dead. As she documents and records her findings inside the burial chamber, Philips is visited by an apparition that both scares and interests her. The only thing Philips is not sure of is whether she indeed had seen a spirit if it was a product of her inflamed imagination that had lead her to a nervous breakdown in the first place.

However, the creature returns the next day, confirming that he is an imprisoned spirit of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhnaton, who had once been the husband of Queen Nefertiti and the father of King Tut-Ankh-Amun. The restless spirit and the recovering archeologist form an unlikely friendship, sharing their life stories as the days go by. Philips confides that her family never took her work seriously. Akhnaton “shows” Philips his childhood and his path to the becoming a pharaoh. “I wasn’t born to rule,” he tells Philips, revealing that he was, in fact, a younger sibling, but then his older brother died. He reveals that he was the first man who believed in the existence of only one god, a concept rejected by the high priests of his kingdom, who did not want to give up the power.

Lost in her conversations with the dead Egyptian king, Philips starts to fall behind on her work, yet she fiercely refuses help, insisting to be in the tomb alone. Her strange behavior causes concerns amongst her co-workers, diminishing her chances to secure an academic position. Having been held captive in his tomb for centuries, Akhnaton wants to finally be at peace, but what he’s asking Phillips to do for his freedom would jeopardize her career and her duty as a scientist. Will she give it all up to set the dead spirit free and rise from the ashes like the phoenix admired by her ghostly friend, who, after all, may only exist in her imagination? The choice is hers to make.

Straddling between the past and the present, this transcendent story educates us about ancient Egypt as well as archeology and even theology. Music and dance intermixed with the story line help to recreate the authenticity of the old civilization, and so do the embellished costumes and coin-sewn sashes. Since modern day political situation makes it hard to travel to the Pyramids on a whim, you may want to skip the flight and listen to the story first hand. And meet a ruler of ancient Egypt in person.

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Mark Twain’s short story A Fable gets a dazzling rebirth in A Wonderfully Flat Thing, when Manju Shandler (the artistic director who had previously designed masks and puppetry for The Lion King on Broadway) brings her creative talent to this small but charming production which appeals to everyone from age three and up.  The script has been adapted for the stage by Valerie Work, Manju Shandler, & Basmat Hazan.

In this reinterpretation, Mark Twain (Jake Goodman) is working on a new story that has to do with a big mirror in his room. When he falls asleep, his Cat (Emily Hartford) discovers a beautiful cat in “the wonderfully flat thing” and runs into the forest to tell her friends about it. Skeptical at first, the menagerie decides to investigate and convinces Donkey (Jake Goodman) to go into the house. Donkey, of course, sees a donkey in “the wonderfully flat thing,” contradicting Cat’s story. The controversy is brought up to King Elephant (Shawn Shafner), who sends out Snake (Sarah Painter) followed by Ostrich (Sarae Garcia) to settle the matter. Snake reports witnessing a snake. Ostrich comes back in tears, telling a sad story of a big clumsy bird who wanted to soar with the seagulls, but couldn’t fly. Finally, King Elephant embarks on the adventure himself, discovering his own reflection in “the wonderfully flat thing.”

The tale is deceptively simple, but there’s a lot to read between the lines, as well as in the characters’  costumes – so brilliantly designed by Shandler - and even in their self-reflections and mental images that are brought to us via multi-media effects (designed by David Tirosh) and additional background puppetry.

Donkey, an old gent with strong opinions, is elegantly clad in an old-fashioned cardigan with a red-white-and-blue trim and a button that proclaims “No, you can’t!” Snake’s self-reflection brings out a familiar scene of a snake snatching apples off a tree; we definitely had been exposed to that one before. And, trumping and trampling, Elephant is a picture of a monarch, who had long ago outlived his use.

Flamboyant, picturesque costumes, alluring puppets and colorful stage décor instantly transform the LABA Theater into an enchanted forest where the fascinating animals live. What’s more, the children can sit on the front row red carpet if they want to fluff Ostrich’s lacey skirt, pet Snake, or “Hee-haw” back at Donkey. Unlike the more formal shows that require enough discipline to remain seated in thy chair and stay quiet, AWonderfully Flat Thing, pays as much respect to the stiff societal rules of proper etiquette as did its creator. The little audience is free to shout, giggle, crawl, jump and interact with the characters. “The house is there,” they shout to the seemingly lost Donkey. “Wake up!” – to the sleeping Mark Twain. “Ooh,” they sigh at the sight of a sobbing Ostrich, “Don’t cry!”

After the show the puppets come out to mingle. Ostrich lets the little fans fuzzy up her feathery tutu, the cat draws a feline-loving crowd and if you never high-fived an elephant, well now’s your chance to slap that big round paw. And, if you want to bring home a souvenir, you can buy a few tiny, colorful, rubbery finger puppets from the concession stand.

“For kids, it’s an entertaining riddle, a romp on stage with surprising puppets,” says Manju Shandle. “For adults it’s a piece about self-reflection.” But, perhaps the best moral of the story is expressed by Mark Twain’s own words: “You can find in a text whatever you bring, if you stand between it and the mirror of your imagination.”

~~~

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In the modern day of striking computer graphics, photo-shopped pictures and short attention spans, it is not easy to impress a sophisticated New York theater-goer with a hundred years old romance play in black and white, especially when it’s only acted in the form of ardent letters. Yet, the remarkably talented crew of Opus d’Amour manages to pull us into the story within minutes.

Opus d’Amour is a fictionalized vision of a true romance story of the Russian composer Alexander Scriabin (Ty Hewitt) and the love of his life, Tatiana Shliotzer (Haleigh Spasojevich), which lasted from 1903 until Scriabin’s death in 1915. Inspired by the collection of Scriabin’s letters to his lover, the playwrights Anna Forsythe and Michelle Vugmayster, recreated Tatiana’s side of the correspondence that had been missing since the Soviet era. The play originally premiered at a sold-out performance at the Baryshnikov Art Center in 2008.

It is hard to tell whether the nineteen-years old Tatiana fell for Scriabin or his compositions, or both, but she was the one who wrote the first letter after the performance the composer had given at her house. She signed it Tatiana Feodorovna, using the formal notation – her first name and her middle name, which is always the name of the father. She indicated her hope to see him again soon. Scriabin replied promptly, signing the letter formally as well: Alexander Nikolayevich. As their letters progressed, so did the signatures: they began to address each other as Tatiana and Alexander, then as Tanya and Sasha. Their passionate affair took off, carried and enveloped by the music he wrote and she admired. They were too much in love to care about Moscow society’s stern looks: Scriabin was married and had children, and Tatiana had broken every rule in the Russian aristocracy book. Yet, their blissful ignorance could not last forever and when Tatiana became pregnant, they were forced to seek refuge abroad.

Every talent needs a follower and every creative soul a supporter, and this was Tatiana’s role in Alexander’s life. She was his muse and he was her everything. Yet, while the two needed each other more than air, they were not destined to be together. Divorces were beyond rare in the early twentieth century Russia, and required the consent of both parties, which Scriabin’s wife Vera refused to give. She, in fact, had followed him to Europe so he couldn’t really be with his beloved.

With a simple set of black lacquer chairs and music stands against the white background of the austere walls decorated only with old music sheets, Spasojevich and Hewitt make this long-forgotten story come alive under the thoughtful directions of Nadia Fosklou. And it’s not until Scriabin will finally write his famous love poem Opus d’Amour, will colors lit up the set as a culminating musical accord. Engaged by the play’s beautifully orchestrated duo-chromatic style, we follow the couple through their passion, societal rejection and struggle to be together as if peeking through a delicate gossamer lace of the la bemolle minors and c sharp majors, scribbled on the white music sheets in black filigree.

~~~

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Zaritsas: Russian Women in New York – a life-changing documentary by Elena Beloff will be screened on Oct 24 at the Astoria/LIC Film Festival.

Elena Beloff, a graduate of the New School University where she had studied film production, wanted to make movies since she was a little girl in her hometown in Tatarstan, Russia. When she was in high school she came to the USA as an exchange student and returned later to pursue her dreams. While living in New York Elena came across the infamous phenomena of the Russian women stereotype as materialistic gold-diggers and mail-order brides so she decided to make a film to explore the alleged stereotypes. As she was composing her student version of Zaritsas, she worked as an extra on the set of Law & Order where she met Vincent D’Onofrio who also starred in Men in Black and produced The Whole Wide World, and who became interested in her work and sponsored her film.

Elena’s documentary tells the stories of five Russian women in New York. Sasha, an exchange student loved the city and decided to stay. Katya’s dream is to quit her prestigious job at La Perla and become a photographer. The rapper Elena Ouri lives and breathes her songs and music – many about her vision of God. Tatiana rebuilt herself from rape and loss of her husband. Irina, an exotic dancer, takes refuge at a spiritual retreat to rebuild herself, and finds a job in the New York Jewelry district – with the emotional support of all the other women in the film.

The film is named Zaritsas, (The Queens) because of a Russian song about women locked in a cage of societal judgment much like the medieval Queens were trapped in their castles. Full of personal dilemmas and intense emotions, the film was an interesting cultural insight, and Elena Beloff was excited to answer the questions it raised.

What prompted you to make this movie? Did you feel bogged down by the stereotypes? Were you yourself tired of being placed in a stereotype bucket after telling people you are Russian?

EB: When I first came to the US, I began hearing stories about Russian mail-order brides and how easy it was to get a Russian wife if one wanted to. Then, in New York in 2000 I often heard about the article “From Russia with Sex” by Michael Gross which depicted Russian women as cold hearted gold-diggers. Also, while living in Brooklyn for a few years I became aware of strippers’ phenomenon – so many Russian girls were doing it that it seemed like a norm. I became curious about the stereotypes and how and why they developed. Over the years I met Russian women who married or went out with older rich men to better their lives without being really in love. My heart was aching when I saw women in such situations.

You followed several Russian women in New York to tell their life stories and journeys. That took a lot of time and effort. How long did it take you to make the film, how did you manage your life while making it?

It took me two years to make this film. It was certainly a lot of work, but it was worth it. I was working on my film full time and also supported myself doing hypnosis sessions. I am also trained hypnotist.

You mentioned that the film was produced by Vincent D’Onofrio. How did you find him and convince him to be your producer – or was it his idea?

I met D’Onofrio on the set of Law & Order, I was an extra there. I was still studying the New School University at the time and just finished a student version of my film about Russian women. He saw a trailer and believed in my film. His production company sponsored it.

A few personal tidbits: where were you born, why and how did you come to New York and what made you choose film-making as your career?

I was born in Russia in Tatarstan. I came to the US originally as an exchange student and went to high school in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Later, I came back again to pursue my dreams in NYC. Filmmaking is my passion. I chose it because I can communicate my vision, beliefs and love for art through film.

Will you be joining us at the festival?

Yes, I will join the festival. The ladies [from the documentary] will come as well. I will bring friends and they will vote for me.

What are your aspirations and what’s the next big project?

My aspirations are to make more films, documentary and feature films. Right now we are in production of my documentary film about Hypnosis.

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Burlesque is about fun and mischief, and Revealed Burlesque is as mischievous and revealing as it gets.

The producer, Doc Wasabassco and co-producer GiGi La Femme, who is also the star of the show, have the moxie and sexy to create a one-of-a-kind neo-burlesque, that combined everything from female allure to the beauty of a human body to a hearty laugh with some deliciously dirty thoughts thrown in. Hosted by the hilarious Bastard Keith along with his stage kitten sidekick, Madame Rosebud, this monthly striptease extravaganza makes your fantasies come true. Perhaps it can even teaches you a thing or two that you always wanted to know but you were embarrassed to ask.

Revealed Burlesque lives up to its name and exceeds your expectations. Consider yourself warned, ladies and gents, the unabashed and uninhibited nudity jumps at you even before the curtain flies up. Madame Rosebud, a female kitten impersonator, who somehow earned a mysteriously charming nickname of a “girl who fell to earth,” simply can’t help it: her stage costume consists of a French-esque hat, soft and comfy leg warmers, and a scarf that she stylishly wears tied behind her chiseled back. Well, if that doesn’t pull your lips up in a smile setting your mood for the evening, this burlesque scene may not be your cup of tea.

Unlike most traditional burlesque shows where every performer enters the stage in a classic striptease garb of glossy gloves, silk stockings and everything in between, predictably removing it piece by piece until all that’s left is a pair of pasties and a strip of lace smaller than a fig leaf, Revealed Burlesque takes the sassy art into a different dimension. Every number is different and not only in the color of pasties.

Marlo Marquise does the classic black-and-red number of high heels, black corset and stocking, ultimately leaving the stage in nothing left to lose. Darlinda Just Darlinda, enters the battlefield wrapped in a red cloth which reveals the crack of her plump buttocks, mounts a red chair and makes your wildest fantasies come true. Not only her earth moves, but so does the concrete foundation of the theater, and perhaps even the rocks of the underlying island of Manhattan scream and shudder in that climaxquake. Kobayashi Maru, the borg of the show, who does her Revealed number enveloped in the mysterious lights of her electrical costume makes you think of a nudist Christmas tree. Both Calamity Chang and Sapphire Jones tease and taunt their audience with their feather fans huge enough to conceal their entire bodies – but only when they want to. And Gigi LaFemme, the star and co-producer, wraps up the night with her lively dance she starts in a lavender bikini and ends in her birthday suit. Gigi is certainly one of New York’s sultriest striptease stars and she does it artfully and with flair, which may be why she won the title Miss Coney Island 2010 and a Golden Pastie Award for Best Booty Shaker 2009.

And of course, the evening just wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t for our hilarious host. Bastard Keith whose talents as MC  encompass being a stand-up comedian and comic poet leaves audience laughing as he recites his fall poem Bitches Love the Falling Leaves. After all, stripping is well and good, but a shot of good ol’ slightly dirty humor is like your favorite topping on ice-cream.

Yet, with all its teasing and pleasing, Revealed Burlesque never goes overboard and never crosses that line of becoming just another place where la femme fatales take off their clothing. It never stops being fun- that special kind of enticing feeling when a couple can sit together holding hands while they watch yet another burlesque number without feeling odd or out of place in any way.

An excerpt from Bitches Love the Falling Leaves (with permission to quote from Bastard Keith)

Women like so many odd little things
It’s hard to remember the list
Like puppies and jewelry and donkeys that sing
Or babies or Florida Independent candidate Charlie Crist

But if it’s your aim to get into her pants
You Harrys and Davids and Steves
There’s only one way to be in with a chance
Bitches Love the Falling Leaves

~~~

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Costume ensembles are just about the only thing that carries Dream of Marionettes as a show. Perhaps the idea of adding a burlesque spirit to a marionettes’ rebellion against an abusive puppeteer who exploited his dolls and threatened to throw them in the furnace seemed like a new twist on the old Pinocchio tale, but the script is simply too flat.

When the dolls get a hold of their Stromboli’s magic wand, they turn the old, bald and goateed owner into a marionette himself, force him to obey their orders and make fun of him in every way imaginable. Nothing wrong with some healthy femme fatale domination, especially when it comes to burlesque, but it’s just never gets funny. In fact, every joke is a cliché, every song sounds like something we’ve heard before and the story comes out lame. Even the promised burlesque part doesn’t seem to really “take” – barely anyone takes any clothes off during the show.

The Bottom Line? The Marionette’s cast, which actually does know how to sing and dance, and the truly great costume designer were the highlights of the show.

————–

Dream of the Marionettes / Le Reve des Marionettes
Les Marionettes Productions

Written by Johanna Divine and Christy Leichty; Music by Johanna Divine and Daniel Coolik
Directed by Steven Cooper and Christy Leichty
Choreography by John Vincent

Final performance: Sunday, August 29th at 2:30pm

www.DreamOfTheMarionettes.com

Ellen Stewart Theatre at La MaMa (66 E 4th St)

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