by Karen Tortora-Lee on January 29, 2012
Flux Theatre Ensemble’s production of Menders (written by Erin Browne and directed by Heather Cohn) currently playing at The Gym at Judson will catch you by surprise – but not all at once. It will do so in subtle ways, often, and always differently than it did moments before.
First you will be drawn in by the simple aesthetics of the piece, which unfolds with a wisp of mystery but a promise of payoff in the end because, of course, that’s the way all good stories wrap up. Not necessarily with a good ending, or a bad ending, but a powerful ending which simply means one interlude has come to its natural conclusion. Director Heather Cohn understands how to build the perfect scaffolding around this story, which is a story of stories — each story within it also coming to not a good ending, or a bad ending … simply a powerful one.
Next you will be moved by the poem Mending Wall by Robert Frost which is recited in part by each character in kind as they move about the stage and gather items, disappearing and reappearing from behind several substantial walls that dominate the set (beautifully and cleanly designed by Cory Rodriguez). You’ll know what they’re reciting if you’ve read your program cover ahead of time — if not, it will come up soon enough and the elegance with which the symbolism is used is exquisite; each time lines from the verse are repeated they catch your ear differently, each iteration vibrating with a deeper meaning of what it means to keep people out, or in, or know precisely which it is that is being done. I’m sure those who have already seen the show were quick (as I was) to sit with the poem and see it through fresh eyes.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on March 21, 2011
These women of the arts hail from different disciplines, but they all have an indomitable spirit and a luminescent spark that makes them amazing human beings who are out there every day, doing amazing work.
Today we continue our series with Emily Owens. Without exaggeration I can say that Emily paved the way for making The Happiest Medium what it is today. Way back in 2008 when I was a fledgling reviewer and still trying to figure out how to fill a weekly column quota (for another site) publicist Emily Owens contacted me about some shows she was representing. I was new to it all and eagerly accepted every show that she sent my way. ”Just you wait,” my husband (and the co-founder of The Happiest Medium) said, “One day you’ll be getting so many offers from so many publicists that you’ll be turning them away!” I couldn’t imagine what that would feel like.
Well, here we are, two and a half years later and I’m proud to say that Emily Owens and I continue to enjoy a very successful business relationship to this very day. And, Stephen was right – these days THM gets so many offers to review shows that we have to be very choosy with what we follow up on. I’m grateful … but overworked and overwhelmed at times by the amount of shows that are happening in Manhattan. Having a relationship with a someone like Emily — a publicist I can trust – ensures that The Happiest Medium is always covering the best, newest, and greatest of what’s out there. Emily has been critical in getting me together with some of my very favorite people in this industry, and – I’ll say it again – I wouldn’t be where I am if I hadn’t begun reviewing shows repped by Emily Owens. Most recently, as the publicist for the Frigid New York Festival 2011, she made it possible for The Happiest Medium to become a Media Sponsor and the relationships we were able to build during that festival were invaluable. Never mind just plain fun!
I’m in awe of her energy, her intuition and her connections. And I thank her from the bottom of my heart for what she does not only for me, but for all the talented people who count on her to publicise them the right way, every day. Now let’s hear her story …
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on February 14, 2011
Liz Douglas, Lori E. Parquet, Becky Byers, & Chris Wight
A few weeks ago when I interviewed playwright Liz Duffy Adams about her new play, Dog Act, now playing at the Flamboyan Theatre, she told me “I love stories about how people recreate social/political systems and civilization in the midst of catastrophe, and protect human culture through the darkest of times. So having the central characters be performers who are the sole source of art in a very dark future seemed exciting to me, and potentially theatrical.” In a nutshell, this is what Ms. Adams set out to do, and it is exactly what she did. Under Kelly O’Donnell’s masterful direction Dog Act manages to artfully combine the darkness and desolation of a lost world with the lightness and hope that is the very spirit of the theatre – be it vaudeville or otherwise.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on January 20, 2011
Liz Duffy Adams (photo by Joanna Eldredge Morrissey)
It’s no secret that as far as Theatre Ensembles go, Flux is one of my very favorites. Consistently turning out quality work that never fails to leave audiences utterly captivated and amazed, they set the off-off Broadway bar very high – only to sail over it with each successive production. I’m always expectant when I know a new Flux show is coming around because for me it means - as a reviewer as well as an audience member – a guaranteed great night of theatre.
Well, I won’t have to wait much longer to get my Flux Fix – because Liz Duffy Adams’ post-apocalyptic dark comedy, Dog Act, will be coming to the Flamboyan Theater (at the Clemente Solo Velez Cultural & Educational Center) on February 4th. Dog Act “follows Zetta Stone, a traveling performer, and her companion Dog (a young man undergoing a voluntary species demotion) as they walk through the wilderness of the former U.S.A. with their vaudeville troupe. They are heading toward a gig in China, if they can find it…and if they can survive to get there.” Sounds like nothing I’ve ever seen before – and exactly what I’ve come to expect from Flux!
In an interview with Liz Duffy Adams I was able to find out how this extraordinary play found this extraordinary ensemble; how she was able to make vaudeville and post apocalyptic themes mesh, and what undergoing a “voluntary species demotion” actually means . . .
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by 4 Cents Reviews on May 13, 2010
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. Continue Reading…
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on November 13, 2009
Cast - The Lesser Seductions of History (Photo Credit: Tyler Griffin Hicks-Wright)
Watching the Flux Theatre Ensemble bring August Schulenburg’s “The Lesser Seductions of History” to life is like watching seasoned acrobats performing an intricate, balletic routine; one which -in order to succeed- relies on trust, timing, and blind leaps of faith … knowing that your fellow performers are exactly where they should be and will deftly handle the assist, even as they fully commit to the leap they are taking themselves. One miscalculation and the whole thing comes tumbling down, and then forget about the net. But no one here falls; in fact, they soar. The thrill of watching this seasoned group of actors move between each other and react off one another with precisioned timing is what makes Lesser Seductions so … well … seductive.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on April 30, 2009
Five Finger Discount
I’ve never been involved in a bank heist but if I were, I could never be tasked with the role of Getaway Driver. I can’t navigate with any certainty when the car is required to do above 30 mph on a city street. Ask me to drive at break-neck speed through urban obstacles and then set you down at the end safely and I assure you: I can’t do it. But Adam Szymkowicz can … and in his new play Pretty Theft directed by Angela Astle he shows us how he navigates those narrow streets and dark alleys like a pro. In the hands of a lesser writer (or the wrong director) I could see this play crashing into a wall and laying in a twisted heap of shards and confusion. But it doesn’t, it gets it right every time, and that’s what makes Pretty Theft so appealing.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on November 20, 2008
My husband’s home town in Michigan is so small that, to them, the word “theatre” is 1) spelled “theater” and 2) always preceded by the word “movie”. And if you want to get to that “movie theater” you’ll need a car — because the closest one is 13 miles away in the next town over. Growing up, if he wanted a theatre experience of ANY kind he needed to head to Chicago.
Meanwhile, New York is so rife with theatre space that you can’t go to a Starbuck’s without being within a stone’s throw of one. Heck … there’s one in the building where I work. There was even a theatre connected to the restaurant I had dinner in last night. If you climb on any mailbox and squint, you can see independent theatre going on everywhere in New York.
I’m particularly fond of theatre companies who put on well crafted plays written by up and coming writers. Johnna Adam’s Angel Eater’s Trilogy is just such a work, and FLUX Theatre Ensemble is just such a company.
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