The Happiest Medium » Fringe Festival 2011

Salamander Stew (Fringe Festival 2011)

Lina Zeldovich — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 18:47:23 +0000

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

BETTE DAVIS AIN’T FOR SISSIES (Fringe Festival 2011)

Karen Tortora-Lee — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:01:55 +0000

Sure, I knew that the star of Bette Davis Ain’t For Sissies was going to be a woman. But there was still a part of me that gave a little stutter when I saw Jessica Sherr walk onto the stage, about to embark on her journey to embody this legendary actress. There’s a reason why Bette Davis is a favorite of drag performers, a la Cher, Judy and Liza. Because legends like these have enormous shoes to fill and sometimes the dainty feet of a woman just slosh around in those heels. However, I wasn’t here to see a drag show. I was here to see why Bette Davis Ain’t For Sissies. Unfortunately this “comedy solo show” (which had very little comedy) never really clarified that for me.

We’ve all had at least a passing acquaintance with Davis – she was, after all, a huge movie icon and has become part of the pop-culture lexicon. But when one steps back and takes stock of the idea of telling her story one must realize that she was born in 1908; with a Hollywood career that began in 1930 -meaning her story takes place closer to 100 years ago at this point than anything contemporary. So, while she herself is a fascinating woman, much of her story is a bit long in the tooth. Still, a good story is a good story, and one that is worth telling – if done well – will captivate no matter how old the subject matter. Sadly, I’m not sure this play was worthy of its indomitable subject.

That Jessica Sherr resembles Davis is undeniable – as her website will remind you before it even loads properly, She’s Got Bette Davis Eyes, and there are truly moments when she flashes a look or strikes a pose and channels the actress so fully that it’s a bit unnerving. However, aside from a few moments of channeling is this enough to hang a whole play upon?

Written by Sherr this is undoubtedly a love letter to a woman we are meant to see for all her humanity, not just the larger-than-life persona that she, her studio, and her fans created. You will see no echoes of the “It’s going to be a bumpy night” Davis or the “But you are, Blanche … you are” Davis whom drooling fans mimic with such glee. Rather, Sherr presents the broken woman who tires of being the head of household to a lazy husband … the woman who battles Jack Warner when he insists she act against type … the woman who sneaks away for romantic trysts with Howard Hughes, fully knowing she’s sharing him with Katharine Hepburn. Most of these memories are recounted as Davis sits alone, chatting to her Oscars and to herself. A little contrived but not altogether unheard of for a show of this type.

Overall the entire production lacks the actual pop that Bette Davis herself had. Director Theresa Gambacorta allows the story to unfold slowly, so slowly in fact that there were moment when I (and apparently other audience members, based on quizzical whisperings) were wondering if Ms. Sherr was pausing dramatically or searching for the hook to the next scene. Long stretches with no dialogue in a solo show never feel comfortable.

Full disclosure: I’ve been a Bette Davis fan since childhood, and was hoping to find one of my glamorous Hollywood icons brought thrillingly to life in front of me. Unfortunately, I was treated to an hour of rather uninteresting anecdotes. Between the bold title and the even bolder subject matter I was expecting a night of thrilling theatre. Or at least a bit of a bumpy night. Unfortunately, this is one piece of theatre that just didn’t deliver. With several of Sissies performances already sold out I’m curious – is it the actual production that’s garnering such accolades or is it the enduring strength of Ms. Davis’ charisma that is moving ticket sales? Actually, I think I know the answer.

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BETTE DAVIS AIN’T FOR SISSIES
Writer: Jessica Sherr
Director: Theresa Gambacorta

1h 10m
www.BetteDavisAintForSissies.net
VENUE #3: CSV Kabayitos
Fri 12 @ 9:15 Sat 13 @ 7 Sun 14 @ 3 Thu 18 @ 5 Thu 25 @ 9 Sun 28 @ 4:15

Ampersand: A Romeo & Juliet Story (Fringe Festival 2011)

Karen Tortora-Lee — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 14:59:56 +0000

Ampersand: A Romeo & Juliet Story (written by Mariah MacCarthy, directed by Amanda Thompson) is just that … “A” Romeo & Juliet story – not a 100% faithful retelling of THE Romeo and Juliet story. First of all, Romeo and Juliet are both women. So, right away, by making this a gender-issue play and bringing in questions of Juliet’s orientation – questions she must ask herself as much as we the audience must ask of the play – an entirely different layer is added to this tale which is deeper and more complex. And since this layer is deeper and complex, so is the love story. There’s an urgency that doesn’t -can’t- exist in a heterosexual telling of this story, and that adds to the thoughtfulness and despair. And the hope.

Sometimes, no matter what two people do to stay apart, fate will find a way to throw them into each other’s arms. And sometimes fate will even use trickery, deception, and camouflage in order to make sure that these two people don’t miss their meeting. Take rocker Romeo Montague (Lauren Hennessy) and homecoming queen Juliet Capulet (Brigette Choura) who both hail from fair Verona, Iowa. They are currently embroiled in a bitter family feud as their mothers – mayoral candidate Claire Capulet (Jeremy Michael Lagunas) and current mayor Evelyn Montague (Matt Welsh) – sling mud at each other and expect their daughters to do the same, while still acting with a modicum of decorum. Easier said than done.

Romeo (Lauren Hennessy) & Juliet (Brigitte Choura) Photo by Kacey Anisa

Romeo – an out and proud lesbian – professes to have a crush on the presumably straight Juliet and goes about getting her attention by penning a tune called “Hey Bitch” and then letting it go viral on YouTube. This move is tantamount to a boy pulling a girl’s hair in the school yard and then running away – with much the same effect; Juliet is intrigued, but feigns annoyance. And of course, she’s straight so there’s really no underlying interest. After all, she has a fiance doesn’t she? Never mind that Paris Roberts (Nic Grelli) is somewhat wimpy, rather spineless, and altogether sexless. (They’ve agreed to wait until marriage to have sex and he doesn’t seem to push the point much).

So when Romeo does herself up in male drag in order to pursue another woman (Rosalind), and finds herself instead romancing a masked, unrecognizable Juliet, this couple truly doesn’t know what they’re about to embark on. What they do know is, they’d have more luck stopping a freight train with their fist then they would stopping this attraction they both feel.

In this version, Romeo and Juliet do not pine for each other desperately and live in a far reaching fantasy of flight, fancy and fairyland (okay, okay, I know that they died in the end. But I’m making a point …) in Verona, Iowa these two gals are living it day by day and that means dealing with what it means when one is out and one is not, when one is proud and one is not, when one is willing to do anything for the relationship and one … well, one isn’t so sure.

The only thing I found more of a distraction than anything was the blurring of gender lines in terms of casting. While I applaud the idea that anyone can play anything and I agree with the intention behind it I just couldn’t quite understand what purpose was served by having the mothers played by men in drag … and was even further confused by the grandfather being played by a woman (Anna Savant). It was strange to insert gender-bending actors in a play that dealt so strongly with a character struggling with her orientation.

Lauren Hennessy and Brigette Choura are perfectly cast as the desperate, star-crossed lovers; Hennessy in particular. Her Romeo is confounded by this deep love which twists her in knots – making her feel unconquerable one moment (“Daisy Girl”) and crushed the next (“Plastic Girl”). She is breathtakingly real … often funny, sometimes sarcastic and deeply sexy … her chemistry with Choura (not only during their intimate moments but during her moments of longing as well) can be felt all the way in the back row, and considering this show is playing at The Ellen Stewart Theatre that’s saying a lot. When she sings she seduces and bewitches everyone in the room.

The music by Brian Kirchner is very good, not only standing well on its own but remarkable at underscoring moments in the play when words are not enough. The choir – Diana Oh, Julie Ek and Lauren Weinberg – have some wonderful moments and their “How Will It Happen To You” which closes act one is positively mesmerizing.

The great thing about Ampersand: A Romeo & Juliet Story is that it will leave you not only entertained but with a lot to think about. And that’s what important theatre is all about.

~~~

Ampersand: A Romeo & Juliet Story
Purple Rep
Writer: Mariah MacCarthy
Director: Amanda Thompson
2h 30m
www.purplerep.com
VENUE #9: The Ellen Stewart Theatre @ LA MAMA
Thu 18 @ 2 Sat 20 @ 12 Sat 27 @ 7:45

CRAVING (Fringe Festival 2011)

The Happiest Medium — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:31:21 +0000

The Happiest Medium Review by guest contributors Anjali Koppal and Saurabh Paranjape

Craving, writer/performer Delphine Brooker’s one-act, one-woman play about her own battle with anorexia and bulimia, is a unique animal. Rather than indulging in the kind of pedantic damnation of outside societal influences that one expects, Brooker chooses to frame her narrative as a view into the inner thoughts of a bulimic girl after she has already made peace with the idea that being thin is what real beauty is all about. Thus we get some rather poignant, yet funny, anecdotes about the practical difficulties of maintaining a bulimic lifestyle in shared bathroom living situations and the bothersome battles with hunger pangs triggered by a stroll past a Parisian bakery.

Layered on top is also a coming of age story of a girl barely out of her teens getting a rude introduction to the real world as she travels to the Europe of her dreams and discovers more than her fair share of its seamier side. As a result, what could have turned into yet another exercise in pointless soapbox finger pointing turns into a striking, unflinching performance that presents the idea of ‘beauty’ in its ugliest form.

Delphine Brooker / Craving

On the plus side, Brooker is an energetic presence, and the play benefits tremendously from her seemingly effortless grace on stage. The writing is sharp and economical, and for the most part the play has an honest feel to it, like being at a dinner party where a particularly gregarious guest is recounting a very engaging story. Brooker also makes surprisingly brilliant use of the single prop at her disposal, a sheer scarf, to transport us into everything from her bedroom to a night club to a beach. There are times when Brooker over-explains the setting though, for example, having pulled up a sheet and yawned, it seems unnecessary to say “It is now morning”. The show could really benefit from a fuller set, even if it is as plain as a white wall with images of the various settings projected onto it, so that we can concentrate on the story rather than having to sit through descriptions of the play’s various locations. The end also feels a little rushed, as Brooker’s recovery from anorexia is treated almost as a footnote. She admitted as much in the post-show Q&A, nothing that this was a common audience complaint at past shows as well, but that in her opinion the recovery ought to form the basis for a different play altogether. We hope she writes that play some day, and presents it as a companion piece to what is already a strong, hard hitting performance. Brooker also hinted that she would be interested in bringing this play to high schools across the country to help teenage girls understand the perils of a poor body image, and all we can say is ‘Amen to that’.

~~~

Craving
Delphine Brooker
Writer: Delphine Brooker
Director: Doug Curtis and Heather Moore

1h 0m

www.cravingnyc.ca
VENUE #18: The Studio at Cherry Lane Theatre
Sun 14 @ 12:15 Sun 14 @ 6:15 Tue 16 @ 8:45 Wed 17 @ 7:45

The Happiest Medium » Fringe Festival 2011

Salamander Stew (Fringe Festival 2011)

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BETTE DAVIS AIN’T FOR SISSIES (Fringe Festival 2011)

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Ampersand: A Romeo & Juliet Story (Fringe Festival 2011)

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CRAVING (Fringe Festival 2011)

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