Dating in the big city is tough.  There are millions of people, many of them interesting, well educated, good looking.  How does a single girl who works long hours and hasn’t dated since her relationship ended 18 months ago find love again?

If you’re Theresa Bedell (Kate Dulcich) you agree to be set up on a blind date with Tony (David Hudson). After all, nothing is more natural than the fix-up, right?  And that’s how Boy Gets Girl by Rebecca Gilman begins.  Two unattached people agreeing to meet on the recommendation of a mutual friend who actually isn’t a close friend of either.  Still, why not?

Kate Dulcich as Theresa Bedell and David Hudson as Tony | photo Credit: Gary Wong

Theresa is like any other cultured, smart woman who’s been single in the city for a while.  A savvy contributor for The World Magazine (think along the lines of The New Yorker or Vanity Fair) she knows her boundaries and she knows her type.  So, while she agrees to meet Tony for a drink she’s not quick to jump into anything. It’s obvious that their first meeting doesn’t produce any fireworks.  Conversation is of the 20-questions variety and more differences bubble up between them than similarities.  They have different backgrounds, like different things, have different senses of humor.  A swing and a miss, an awkward pause … next topic, repeat.  Still, he’s nice enough – eager to please – and when he quickly invites her out to dinner for that weekend Theresa (against her better judgement) says yes though there’s more than a hint of a shrug conveyed in her body language.

Fast forward to the end of date number two; dinner’s been eaten, plates have been cleared, and Theresa is ready to put this thing out of its misery.  There’s noting wrong with Tony … at first.  And he’s certainly trying hard to win her over.  However it’s his desperate need to view them as a couple and plan a relationship for them that has alarm bells going off in Theresa’s head. When she does the right thing and cuts Tony loose before he gets the wrong idea he reacts badly, his wounded pride tinged with a flash of anger which makes Theresa glad she got out of there fast.  Bullet dodged. Normally, this is where the awkward fix-up scenario ends, right?

Except this time it doesn’t.

In a slow boil Tony’s fascination moves from a casual, unannounced drop-in at her job (maybe if she just got to know him … maybe if they could just be friends …) to flowers (which Theresa refuses to accept) to voice mails of apology which turn angry and then violent and threatening.

Gregory Ryan as Howard Siegel and Kate Dulcich as Theresa Bedell | Photo Credit: Gary Wong

For a while Theresa is alone in all of this.  Buttoned up at work, one of the boys, not one to suffer fools it’s difficult when she has to take people into her confidence.  She certainly isn’t making a friend of her new, ditsy but well meaning assistant Harriet (Talisa Friedman) who is the exact opposite of her in every way.  Eventually she confides in her two male co-workers: her editor  Howard (Gregory Ryan) and fellow writer Mercer (William Peden).  While, to her face, they are sympathetic, alone they wonder if perhaps this is just a case of a nice guy being persistent and Theresa over-reacting.  After all, in every movie the persistent guy gets the girl in the end, right? Mercer even goes so far as to lay out a scenario of a possible story that could run in the magazine where he examines stalker behavior which resulted in a happy ending.  The two men think this is a fantastic idea.  It’s not until Mercer is exposed to one of the notes Theresa receives and hears the gruesome details which – at this point – have escalated to brutal sexual and violent filth that he begins to consider that maybe using a co-worker’s personal hell for story fodder isn’t such a good idea.

As things escalate the men (finally) begin to understand the harm Tony is causing Theresa — especially when detective Madeleine Beck (Kellie Johnson) is called in and begins to outline Theresa’s options.  Besides taking new routes home from work, changing her phone number and saving all emails, voice mails, notes and letters Theresa is advised to consider moving out of state and changing her name.  ”But I’m a writer!  I write under this name!” Theresa says indignantly, even as she knows that slowly she’s being stripped of her identity.

An identity she’s working hard to maintain.  Her work day consists of pursuing stories and when her boss (rather thoughtlessly) assigns her to a Russ Meyer type filmmaker named Les Kennkat (Robert W. Smith) who is unabashedly obsessed with women, particularly their breasts, his cavalier misogyny rubs Theresa the wrong way – especially right now.

Watching a self-possessed, strongly anchored woman lose total control of her wits, her life, her ties and ultimately her world is beyond chilling.  Boy Gets Girl does for blind dating what Fatal Attraction did for extra-marital affairs.  The real story here is how easily this all happened to Theresa despite the fact that she dated defensively and nipped things in the bud as soon as she saw an opportunity to get out.  Truth is, Theresa wasn’t at fault and should not be blamed- no more than a rape victim should be blamed for wearing a certain outfit.  No woman is asking for this.

Director Michael Menger does an excellent job at unfolding this story, while the build-up is slow the pacing and action is not. And in a play with numerous set changes Menger manages to make use of them; he works with sound designer Shaun Gunning to give a city-hustle-and-bustle feel to the frenzied movement so rather than feel like we’re watching the props being switched around we get more of a feeling of just watching the city move and meld.  One particularly inspired scene change involves Tony – who hasn’t been seen for a while during the play -rifling through Theresa’s apartment.  While this is all done in darkness before the scene begins David Hudson still uses all the maniacal rage of his character to destroy the room and bring it to ruin.  It’s a subtle but brilliant choice.

Boy Gets Girl is both a solid ensemble piece as well as a star turn.  Ultimately what makes Boy Gets Girl so compelling is  Kate Dulcich’s complete understanding of Theresa’s many facets.  Guarded, jaded, strong, vulnerable, articulate, frazzled … all these emotions come tumbling out precisely as they are meant to and are given even weight.  Yet without each supporting character this wouldn’t be half as interesting; each of the other characters coax out a note which ultimately makes this a richer melody.  Whether Theresa is painstakingly explaining rules (both personal and professional) to the naive and too-sweet-for-her-own-good Harriet or trying to fight 70 years of male chauvinism in the form of Les Kennkat it all works to serve the main theme.

Boy Gets Girl is a chilling tale of what can happen when taking a chance on the wrong person costs you everything.  In a society where so little is private there are real monsters lurking, ready to destroy us.  Worse, sometimes that monster has a nice face, a good job, and a bouquet of roses for you.  Be warned.

~~~

Related Posts:

• 4 Cents Review: Blessings Abound At Jacob’s House
• Just My Luck – “The Luck Of The Ibis”
• Wonder Twins Activate! – The Secret Language of “You May Be Splendid Now”

4 Cents Review – When 2 reviewers each give their 2 cents.

Today Antonio Minino and Karen Tortora-Lee give their 4 Cents about Jacob’s House which is playing at The Access Theatre.

Karen Tortora-Lee:

I am convinced of a few things regarding Flux Theatre Ensemble and August Schulenberg after seeing Jacob’s House now playing at the Access Theatre.

1) August Schulenberg is physically incapable of writing a bad play, even under circumstances which – to anyone else – would dictate otherwise.  Also, I’m pretty sure he’s using some sort of magic pen.

2) Flux Theatre Ensemble is so rife with talent and so limitless in their craft that I think were they challenged to produced a show that consisted of nothing more than throwing tissues into the air during rush hour so compelling would their show be that they’d shut down traffic as an audience of taxi drivers, bridge & tunnel gals, and street vendors would all hush to watch them do what they do best.

Do I sound like I’m building Flux up to be more than they actually are?  Perhaps.  But I’m out of metaphors that do justice to this theatre ensemble, and now, this latest play, Jacob’s House, and its back-story (which I’ll explain) have me throwing glitter into the air in praise.  So indulge me while I honor them.

The biblical story of Job has been mined for its metaphors ad nauseum – everyone who’s loved and lost or your sentence here and lost has been compared to Job.  But who would have thought that the gods of Irony would have chosen to snicker at the Folks of Flux by watching as they prepared to produce  J.B. (based on the story of Job) and then test their faith by taking the play away from them?  Yet that is exactly what happened – mid step, with half of the production in full force the news came down that the play could not be done, and thus started the strange road that led to this magical story that became known as Jacob’s House written by August Schulenberg, directed by Kelly O’Donnell and cast with some of the finest actors in the business.

Walking into the Access Theatre is like walking into your grandmother’s attic, rafters and all.  The set, designed by Jason Paradine, immediately transforms the room into a space of secret hiding places and dusty stories, the perfect setting for three children to discuss/quibble/fight over their father – Jacob’s – Last Will and Testament.  Dinah, the oldest of the siblings (Jane Lincoln Taylor) would turn the place upside down if she could, seemingly searching for something that’s been long missing.  Joe (Zack Calhoon) is the middle child who seems to find himself lost in the memories kicked up by the ghosts of the house and Tamar (Jessica Angleskhan) is the snappy, fast talking youngest “child”, part of the family in a more imaginative way, and much more set on the monetary value of everything and just wanting to get the house, the blessing, and get it all over with.

As the three battle out the inheritance, past melds with present and coexists in the same space, spreading out the history of the family that started with Jacob and ended with them.  Color- and gender-blind casting do much to make this a magical tale almost immediately; anyone can be anyone in this story, and once that  rule of “the first rule is that there are no rules”  is established it becomes easy to buy into much of the magical realism that swirls around the theatre.

Antonio Minino:

Unlike Karen, I had never seen a Flux show. I’ve wanted to since I first heard of the company back in 2008, when I collaborated with Flux member Marnie Schulenburg, but my company MTWorks and Flux seem to share the same taste in scheduling.  However, after last night I have been banging my head with inanimate objects for missing 2 years of what, after seeing Jacob’s House, I consider exceptional work.

The word “ensemble” is one used with great liberty in NYC, mostly to categorize a company that uses actors on more than one instance, but a real ensemble is one that shares a same wavelength, that creates a taut line between all the actors, both on stage and off.  And so, in that respect, the cast of Jacob’s House is a true ensemble, and under the direction of Kelly O’Donnell the lines are pulled taut and let loose at just the right moments.

I don’t know if Schulenburg has a magic pen, but he certainly has a steady grip  — this is a well-focused generational play that studies the complexities of one single family during a time of exposed emotional gashes, and after all the greed, muck, jealousy and memories are cleaned off, the blood is thicker than any little old house, or sentimental treasure, as secrets are slowly revealed.

Singling out performers in an ensemble is a bit unfair, especially when the whole cast did exceptional work, not only at delivering their intentions, but also at listening  (one of the hardest tasks for an emerging actor). Having said that — and with my apologies to the rest of the cast — I must highlight the work of Bianca LaVerne Jones and Isaiah Tanenbaum. Ms Jones juggles three characters; showcasing her ample talents and uncanny skill to interpret them with hardcore earnestness. Holding the key between past and present is Mr Tanenbaum who plays the Messenger. He is an imposing presence and the light of the play, even when his message is that of darkness.

Karen Tortora-Lee:

I definitely agree with Antonio, that the secret to Flux’s success — as I’ve seen time and time again, but illustrated so beautifully in Jacob’s House — is how all the arms of talent reach out and clasp each other so firmly.  Director understanding writer, ensemble understanding director, with sound design (Elizabeth Rhodes) and lighting design (Kia Rogers) skimming along the edges with just the right touch, like gilt on the edge of a beautiful book.  One which – I still contend – was written with a magic pen.

~~~

Related Posts:

• Dog Act – All This World’s A Traveling Stage
• Every Dog (Act) Has Its Day – An Interview With Playwright Liz Duffy Adams
• The Seduction Of The 60s Lives On In “The Lesser Seductions Of History”
• Angel Eaters Trilogy – A Three Course Meal
• The 2012 National Newborn Festival Is Almost Here!

RUMSPRINGA! (OR - Jocelyn Kuritsky and Amy Landon telling "The Secrets of an Amish Ghost"; photo credit: Aaron Epstein)

Up front – full disclosure.  For the first few minutes of The Luck of the Ibis I was a little confused by what was going on and therefore not fully checked into the play yet.  I was waiting for something to click (something always does) and then the girl in the corner (Amy Landon) said Rumspringa. And boy oh boy, THAT made me perk up.  I am an absolute FOOL for anything to do with Rumspringa, and I love any plot that can incorporate it, even vaguely.  Even just in passing.  Which … (more full disclosure) was about as much as it was mentioned here. (Oh, Rumspringa, we hardly knew ye). But the point is, it got my attention, and from that moment I was invested.

I tell this to you for a reason.  Because The Luck of The Ibis (Written by Jonathan A. Goldberg and directed by Tom Ridgely)  is filled with a whole lotta crazy and the only way to enjoy it (and you WILL enjoy it … I promise) is to find something to latch on to quickly and then just go with the crazy till it runs out.

Nathaniel Kent, Jessica Pohly and Amy Landon in "The Coronation of the Shrimp Queen"; photo credit: Aaron Epstein

Maybe for you it won’t be the mention of Rumspringa, but rather it will be how the two sisters are named Metonymy (Jocelyn Kuritsky) and Parrhesia (Jessica Pohly)  … it sounds funny – say it out loud.  Or maybe your click will be the so-thick-you-can-(gladly)-eat-it-with-a-spoon accent Nathaniel Kent drizzles over every word uttered by his blustering Captain Kraken.  Or maybe it will be the way shrimp play such a huge role … not only growing to mythical proportions, but finding their way into bodies and exploding out in a rain of pink.  Ahh, am I getting ahead of myself?  Well … that might be your hook too – the way this play mixes more flashbacks and flash-forwards than the this past season of LOST — a plot device that is always leaving you guessing where the HELL you are in the story.  Don’t worry, though.  Even THAT is explained, and in a way that is satisfying (now let’s hope that LOST will be as neatly wrapped up …)

So, let me start over.  First of all, everyone in this play is FREAKIN crazy.  There is a plot here that is so winding and convoluted on the page that to try and even give you a sense of what you’re in for would be to spoil the whole experience.  Heck, I didn’t even mention President Reagan (Brendan Donaldson doing a spot on impersonation of a Reagan impersonator),  El Chupacabra (again, the delightful Nathaniel Kent, using a different spoon this time, but pouring on the Latin machismo as if his mythical life depended on it), or Clewrissa Baumberg (Amy Landon) who was a teen detective a la Nancy Drew and despite being an office manager now, yearns for the days she was solving crimes.  These days she’s hopped up on sleuth-enhancing drugs (“Sherlocks” and “solvents”).  I didn’t mention the convict or the errant dad (Donaldson again), or the Lighter-Than-Air Museum or the  … you get it.

Don’t get me wrong, like LOST (to keep a simile going) – which sounds crazy when all the building blocks are laid end to end – Ibis has its own paradigm, and therefore it can follow its own rules.  The big thing with plays that attempt to create their own mythology is that they just really need to be consistent within the boundaries they set up for themselves.  Luckily, Ibis is not only consistent but funny, entertaining, and surprisingly poignant.  An unexpectedly touching “underwater” ballet performed by Mr. Kent and Ms. Pohly was both moving as well as heartfelt, and the final scene put a lump in my throat.

Amy Landon, Jocelyn Kuritsky, and Nathaniel Kent in a "Confrontation with El Chupacabra"; photo credit: Aaron Epstein

Everyone in the cast pulls double and triple duty – and even the sisters Metonymy (Jocelyn Kuritsky) and Parrhesia (Jessica Pohly) who seemingly stay in the same character for the whole play manage to jump the timeline so often that they’re required to take on the mantle of other personae just as much as the others in this versatile company.  Every single member of this talented ensemble is captivating in a different way and will hold you in the palm of their hand as they spin their part of the tale, campaigning for their version of the truth.  Special mention to Ms. Landon who tells the “Fate of the Hero Ur-Shrimp” dressed as a giant shrimp with such dynamic realism that you feel like you were there.  Sorta.

Ultimately while the story here is fanciful, wacky, ephemeral and dreamy it is not needlessly scattered, pointless, unfulfilling or unfaithful to its ultimate goal of staying true to themes of hope, transformation, transitioning, and autonomy.  Hmmmm … maybe it really was all about Rumspringa all along.

Related Posts:

• The Land Whale Murders Is A Whale Of A Tale and The Tale Of A Whale
• REAL DEAD GHOSTS: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2014 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Wonder Twins Activate! – The Secret Language of “You May Be Splendid Now”
• Boy Gets Girl – Not Always A Happy Ending
• 4 Cents Review: Blessings Abound At Jacob’s House

UP LATE WITH SKIP CARTER!

In the middle of these recent late night wars our country is once again divided.  There’s Team Leno, Team Conan, and then there’s the small little group of insurgent insomniacs who stay up waaaay past all that  to tune in for “Up Late with Skip Carter” (Local Channel 27′s second highest rated non-animal variety slash talk show).  Every night at 2:30 his is the little talk show that could  … but then couldn’t — as “tonight” happens to be the last episode (for a while at least) of this home grown chat-fest.  Luckily, we’re there to see it play out.   While the only people watching maybe be you, me, and the cameraman, Skip Carter (Nick Lehane), his twin sister Lacy (Lauren Glover) and his one-man-band Carl (Gabriel Millman) are, to borrow a phrase,  dancing as fast as they can.  And, viewing audience or not, this swan song is almost as “awwwwwww” inspiring as Bette Midler crooning to Johnny all those years ago.

Skip Carter (Nick Lehane) sister Lacy (Lauren Glover) and one-man-band Carl (Gabriel Millman)

We come upon You May Be Splendid Now (written by Dan Moyer, directed by Will Brill & Emma Galvin) unexpectedly, but then we’re dumped right into the lap of this homey little talk show that’s one (but only one) step up from closed-circuit TV.  Skip begins the show with a charming patter, a quick finesse and a winning manner (all the while having his set-ups continued by Lacy who acts as punchline or nonsensical segue depending [it appears] on whim). Soon enough he bravely tells the viewers that this will be their last show for a while.   Seems twin sister Lacy will be heading off to Southeast Asia –   Thailand, Malaysia — in the hopes of  “finding herself” (I smell a lost opportunity for a little “I’ve Never Been To Me” right about here, but hey … this isn’t my show …).  This frees up keyboardist Carl to devote more time to Fauxgleberg – his Dan Fogelberg tribute band.  Carl is as deadpan as Lacy is cute and Skip is winning, and somehow they all roll together like the wheels of a wobbly little tricycle.  It’s small,  but it’ll getcha there.

You don’t have to be half of a twin set in order to understand what’s going on throughout You May Be Splendid Now,  you just need to have had that effortless shorthand with someone, that creative chemistry, that little man that lives in both your heads that leads off with an “ … aaaaaannnnnd …. ACTION!” which launches you both into your oft-repeated routine, the one you both know by heart, the one you both know so well that you can improvise the hell out of it and still keep it on track. If you’re lucky, you’ve had that kind of shorthand with someone, and you’ll recognize it when you see it here.  So, while “Up Late with Skip Carter” starts out as one thing, after a little lane-change bump, you realize that you’ve been thrust into The Carter Twins’  brain and that tonight’s little tricycle ride is headed down a new path …

The Carter Twins from Haverdale, hanging it all on the bones of their late night show, soon let their story unfold in the way two people who know each other inside and out tell their story – not in exposition and pokes of “remember when” but in reenactments that rely on stream of consciousness and dedication to preserving a shared history.  Soon you realize that they aren’t doing a simple Talk Show — they’re doing what a Talk Show would be if it were produced by Reality Show King Mark Burnett.  There’s no backstage here.  This is is.

As the layers are peeled back on this duo Lacy’s sweetness and Skip’s endless jokes become clearer for what they are – built long ago as a coping mechanism, and comfy as an old shoe, she on the left, he on the right, and walking through the world together in an effort to steel each other against the tragic loss of losing their parents and the paralytic fear of being alone.

Carl on the keyboard, for his part, is as funny as the Twins but in a whole different way.  As Skip and Lacy play off each other he’s left to play off himself, using deadpan keyboard sound effects to punctuate sentences or move the scenes along.   While at first he’s little more than window dressing he slowly unfolds as the bit of spirit gum that keeps the fanciful Carter twins a bit grounded.  Mr. Millman knows exactly how to underplay a moment to great effect – by keeping his character restrained rather than empty he is then able to reach poignant emotional upswings when he’s brought out from behind the keyboard and into the spotlight … not just on “Up Late with Skip Carter” but in the reality of it all as well.

Planted on this trio is the obligatory talk show guest -   Mr. Branson Burger-James (Dan Wohl) – a nice bookend as Mr. Burger-James was also the very first guest on “Up Late With Skip Carter”.   Six years ago Branson was a lacrosse player and treasurer of Haverdale High’s Film Appreciation Society.  Six years later Branson is a full-on Goth – makeup, clothing, claw and all.  He morosely discusses his new passion for “a sport I invented myself … Clawball” and hypes the 3 Gothic Metal groups he heads up:  Beast of Eden, The Furious Bastards of Unbridled Fury and…Clobberdick.  Now … don’t get me wrong.  I’m certainly a fan of angst-y gothic death metal band members and their inability to cry.  But the extra story thread derailed the plot a bit for me, and having Mr. Wohl play out some of his story off-stage felt a little awkward.  Still, he does his brooding-best to make you like him and certainly makes you want to go and wail off in a room somewhere.

But back to the main show:  Ultimately Nick, Lacy, and even Carl have some deep issues to work out, and surprisingly are able to do so in their fashion – using funny voices and made up scenarios in the middle of the night on TV.   Over the course of this final show there are a few hidden secrets that see the light of day (such that it is at 2:30 am) and a few surprising little twists that come to their logical conclusions.  While this may have been Skip Carter’s final performance in Haverdale, the crew of You May Be Splendid Now will be doing a few more performances as part of the Shelby Company trio “Great SCoT: New Plays!” Don’t let this show go “off the air” without catching it before it’s gone.

~~~

Related Posts:

• Just My Luck – “The Luck Of The Ibis”
• Boy Gets Girl – Not Always A Happy Ending
• 4 Cents Review: Blessings Abound At Jacob’s House