“History is written by the victors” said Winston Churchill and while that may be true, history is certainly interpreted by the artists.  History of The World, written by Judith Malina currently being performed at The Living Theatre not only illustrates this, but exemplifies it.  Filled with dramatic scenes of artists, philosophers, thinkers, and game-changers this interactive staging takes the audience through a journey where the goal is not so much to witness history as to experience it, explore it vicerally, and (ultimately) to know it in a way that the history books could never emulate.

The Living Theatre, founded by Malina (and Julian Beck) in 1947, is the oldest experimental NYC theatre still in existence.  This latest conceptual play is the perfect cocktail of experimental theatre with long roots: it simultaneously reflects the freshness of understanding the subtle nuances of contemporary themes, original ideas and developing concepts; while still being richly imbued with many years of  development in the experimental milieu. The result is an evening of everything New York underground experimental theatre should be – stirring, moving, a little unpredictable — at times a little uncomfortable.  If you give yourself over to the process, History of the World will allow you to experience moments of true fear, actual deeply moving pain, and (ultimately) invite you to raise yourself to a higher emotional plane – all in 90 minutes.

As the performance starts, the audience is led into a space by a number of black-clad “Guides”** who are there to inform and facilitate as they gently invite you to imitate, mime and mirror their movements in a way that soon makes sense.  There is a natural flow to the evening as the group of performers constantly swirl around creating different tableaux, scenarios and events.  While there might be an initial sense of “wait, what am I supposed to be doing here?” it is quickly swept away by the current of emotions  – after all, you are not there to carry the show but rather to be more vitally a part of a living history lesson.  There are no wrong moves — there are no wrong emotions.  And if there are any things that don’t feel good you are not expected to do more than you can.  (It is recommended, however, that if you have problems kneeling for periods of time … or sitting on the floor … you make that fact know to your Guide who will be more than generous about making you comfortable during the evening’s events).

A great deal of history is covered – quickly but not hastily – and some moments are made of pure poetic beauty (my favorite was the vignette of Amelia Earhart’s plane soaring into the skies) accompanied by nothing more than simple yet effective lighting and sound effects created by the ensemble.  Throughout the evening there is also music composed by Sheila Dabney which is played by Patrick Demayo on drums and Eric Olson on guitar.

As with any experience in life, the more you give during the evening the more you find yourself receiving as you bring your energy and core from the cave dwellers to the digital age.

The last ten minutes of History Of The World finds the room creating a new, next level and it’s astonishing how a group of strangers can unite under the umbrella of one thought and intensify it to a stunning roar.  Of course, in the midst of OWS (and its many rippling influences in today’s society) it’s even more poignant to note how fiercely this need to align energies drives all human beings.  Sometimes the goal is to align in order to change history.  Sometimes, as with this show, the goal is to gather in order to witness history.  Regardless of the purpose, the outcome is the same: a true sense of community, of bonding, and of uncovering something within ourselves that we didn’t see before.

By all means, take this opportunity to experience the latest chapter of The Living Theatre and of History of the World.  It will give you a stirring perspective of the world -and of your place in it- that you’ll carry with you for a long, long time.

**History of the World is performed by:   Diana Oh, Tom Walker, Sheila Dabney, Monica Hunken, Soraya Broukhim, Brad Burgess, Homa Hynes, Jay Dobkin, Kennedy Yanko, Kyle Ryan, Brent Barker, Antwan Ward, Mary Round, Miranda Rovetto, Rose Lovell, Jen Emma Hertel, Anna Agostino, Ana Holly, John Gasper, Erin Downhour, and Martin Lutz.

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Related Posts:

• Magic Trick – Baring It All (Fringe Festival 2012)
• The Foreplay Play – What Comes Before
• You’ve Ruined A Perfectly Good Mystery! (Fringe Festival 2011)
• The Un-Marrying Project: Passion Is Easy – Commitment Is Hard
• Be [un]afraid … Very [un]afraid: The Neos Show Us The Many Faces Of Fear

One thing about Fringe Festival is that it encourages experimentation among the already experimental crowd of off-off-Broadway and regional theatre troops from around the country.  You can read more about their developmental process here, really quite fascinating actually. This piece is interesting in part because of the comedy interwoven into the structure (a fun mix of parody and literary criticism), but more importantly the methodologies of how the story is told (using audience participation) are worth going to the play by themselves. Mercury Rep, a Madison, Wisconsin based company, has been a past fringe favorite, and  they get a chance to make their mark this year again.  You’ve Ruined A Perfectly Good Mystery! is truly is a good example of the type of theatre that the New York International Fringe Festival exposes to a larger audience.

In some ways this performance acts like your standard parody play where the characters in the play are aware that they are, in fact, fictional characters.  In this case the characters at the core of this play are Sherlock Holmes (played by Christopher Younggren) and his collegue in crime fighting Watson (played by Matthew Schrader).  To avoid copy-write infringement (and to add to the humor) they are referred to as The Detective and The Doctor as well as some long and convoluted silly sounding names.

But more important than the characters which are the raw ingredients for this play, the play starts with The Narrator  played by Jamie England.  She enters the play by introducing us to our heroes and informs the characters (and audience) that this will be a “chose your own adventure” adventure.  She’s (overly) enthusiastic, full of witty puns, and dedicated to the deepest conventions of having the story go exactly as she wants even if her own characters disagree vehemently.

The Detective would rather test his wits and figure out the answer instantly himself but is stopped by the narrator.

Add to the mix, Liz Angle as Lady Bosom-Heaving whose father Lord Heaving, a prominent inventor and scientist, has been kidnapped.  She asks our heroes for help and a romance begins to blossom between her and the Doctor.  The Doctor is dashing and charming very often you’ll find yourself rooting for him time and again. The villain of this story is Iago Von Evilton played by Matthew Korda -  a smart villain who has plans to take over the world via Mind Control, Ghosts, or Robots depending on how you choose.  He also interacts with the Narrator but as a villain doesn’t play as nice and usually does what he wants regardless of what the Narrator tries telling him.

There is an ensemble that plays everything from a sexy maid to kurukos of various sorts (there is a recurring role for a windy door in the play) or funny Irish and French characters, to the crazy Lord Heaving to whatever abomination Iago VonEvilton is destined to pit against our heroes.  This ensemble is played by Tim Irvin, Andrea Kleiner, Paul Milisch, Veronica Raulin, and Colin Woolston.

The costumes by Sydney Krieger are great at setting the period as well using flamboyancy to comedic effect.  The set by Tim Irvin, Bryan Streich, and Veronica Raulin is basic but extremely functional and with the actors versatility gives us a very real illusion of traveling the vast distances mentioned throughout the play.  The props by Kirk Stanti are laugh-out-loud funny, whether it is the giant magnifying glass or the various clouds and trees and bushes that are moved about via kuruko in various scenes.

Generally being part of the audience is fun, as you shout out your favorite direction at various parts of the show (Drugs or Sex, Ireland or France and a few more)  but other times a bit disappointing or maybe even a bit scary when we realize that we don’t have the control we thought we had, or when our choices have unexpected and unsatisfying results.  Various cult references, notably “walk this way” among others were scattered throughout and may very well be different on different nights due to the variance in plot from the “Choose Your own Adventure” angle.

When we the audience enter into a dialogue with live theatre, especially when the audience Chooses the Adventure, there often can be some rough spots.  And I think that some were purposefully inserted so we might analyze over what might be the best way to have an interactive play, or to get a groan rather than a laugh as something was pushed too far.  If there is any problem that I had with the performance I saw, it might have been that there was actually a few too many things to think or laugh about, that the plot was too overcome by the meta-narrative.  The advice I would give to the writers would be to tighten it up just a bit so that a few less jokes made a bit more impact.  The direction by Sam D. White is in general great at showing the confusion of the characters as they are overwhelmed with having to deal with plot forces they have not had to deal with before, but perhaps a moment or two more where when the actors are being emotionally moved by the events surrounding them among the flurry of gimmicks bombarding them, to have a moment or two more of conviction before being jolted back into frenetic action.

At the end the real question is who is the “You” in the title?  Who ruined the perfectly good mystery? Is it the Narrator or is it the audience?   Is a predictable plot better than an unpredictable plot?  Can you select the series of choices to get partial nudity on your night?  Can you make the Detective happy with your choices?  Who are you rooting for?  The “good guys” or the “bad guys”?

These questions and more may be answered if you go to see the final performance tonight at 8:30.  Will you go?  Choose your own adventure!

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You’ve Ruined a Perfectly Good Mystery!
Writer: Christian Neuhaus and Rick Stemm
Director: Sam D. White
Choreographer: Rick Stemm
2h 0m    www.ruinedmystery.com
VENUE #4: Teatro LATEA

Thu 18 @ 8:30

Related Posts:

• Virtual Solitaire (Fringe Festival 2011)