The Happiest Medium » Greek Mythology

The Maiden – Stream Of Subconciousness

Karen Tortora-Lee — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 01:30:39 +0000

In the dark and hazy mirrored halls a woman stands teetering on a towering wooden stool – eyes blindfolded and arms shackled to the ceiling. She is motionless, speechless; an altogether eerie presence. Beneath her in the darkness, piles of whitewashed suitcases act as a barrier between her world and some other place. She is Persephone and this is The Maiden, currently playing at The Club at LaMaMa.

This reboot of the Greek abduction myth is the brain child of The Nerve Tank and while it certainly falls under the category of innovative independent theatre, it does so in a way that is expectedly innovative and predictably independent. While there’s a lot to be distracted by it’s not a distraction that transports fans of avant-garde theatre to any new lands. Still, The Maiden does have its enjoyable moments and clocks in at just around an hour – so if you’re in the mood for a little left-of-center performance you’ll probably feel The Maiden is worth the price of admission.

The text, by Chance D. Muehleck, is an amalgam of rap lyrics, movie speeches and bits of poetry which are restated, overlapped, whispered, chanted and spoken in every available manner in order to coax out a subtle nuance or, at times, do the opposite. To this end there are moments when the words (intentionally) become so repetitious as to become almost hypnotic thus losing all their meaning and allowing the tone and timbre to supply the intention of the scene.

The Maiden (photo by Raymond Haddad)

Mark William Lindberg as Hades rides about the environs on a stunning four wheeled chariot (designed by Greg Henderson and Melanie Armer) which he steers expertly as he waves a golden megaphone. His ensemble designed by Miodrag Guberinic is goth black with accents of golden bullets which make their intended statement. As Lindberg channels P. Diddy and raps “I got it all but I really need a wife at home” he comes across more like Eminem dunked in Marilyn Manson. Don’t get me wrong -this is actually a very enjoyable thing. Other moments, however, just seem rehashed, familiar, and pat.

Still, for all its contrivances director and choreographer Melanie S. Armer offers forth an underworld that is at times exotic yet robotic – futuristic yet ancient. Some of the most intimate and – if not erotic then at least arousing – moments between Hades and his Persephone (Robin Kurtz) occur as they recite parts of “My Century” By Gunter Grass (referred to moments before in “The Rape Joke“). The blandness of the passage which explains how he “bought his first straw hat to wear while strolling to the Mühlentor” is neatly counterpointed with a Persephone who shimmies up Hades’ chariot and mingles her breath with his before dismounting. Their shared reality throughout this play is often mimicked by the chorus who sometimes watch, sometimes persuade, sometimes invade, and who are the trio of Admiral Grey (who also composed), Brandt Adams, and James “Face” Yu.

The result of all this movement, talk, quoting and perplexity is somehow more Alice In Wonderland than Persephone. One has the sense that this underworld of non-sequiturs is simply another plane of awareness – and calls to mind the stream of consciousness propelled from a grown up Alice as she endlessly drops down the rabbit hole.

Overall, The Maiden is an hour’s worth of one parcel of words leading to another. Midway one must simply come to terms with the fact that leaning forward and concentrating with extreme effort is no more the theatre experience intended here than leaning back and allowing the whole performance to simply wash over you. There’s no correct way to be an audience member, there’s no correct way to interpret theatre, and ultimately if you like your nights of theatre to end with a question mark, or an ellipse rather than a more decisive period, then The Maiden will be exactly the type of theatre experience you’re looking for. As for me …

~~~
The Maiden

La MaMa’s The Club
74A East 4th Street (2nd Floor)
(btw Bowery & 2nd Ave)
New York, NY 10003

March 28 – April 13, 2014
Created by The Nerve Tank
Friday – Saturday at 10pm and Sunday at 5:30

CLICK HERE for tickets

Jasper In Deadland – Take A Dive To The Dead Side

Karen Tortora-Lee — Fri, 28 Mar 2014 00:14:57 +0000

No matter your age or where you are in life, chances are you can identify with sixteen year old Jasper. Seems his world is a cacophony of tweets and gossip and shout outs and “don’t forget to”s that ring hollow from people who barely have their own lives together. There’s so much over stimulation in Jasper’s life that it’s impossible for him to hear his own thoughts, let alone sort out his own path. So is it any wonder he’s anxious to escape all the noise and just get to where he feels the safest? Dodge the warring parents, the nosy classmates, the bombastic crowds and just float underwater where it’s all just blissful?

If only it were that easy. Cue best-friend-not-girlfriend Agnes who professes her love for Jasper and then does what any teen does when she’s rejected: she makes a simultaneous cry for attention and leap of faith and dramatic gesture. She emulates his aquatic skills and dives off a cliff. Did she survive? Maybe. That’s for Jasper to find out.

And so begins Hunter Foster and Ryan Scott Oliver‘s musical Jasper In Deadland, currently playing at the West End Theater and running until April 13th.

Matt Doyle as Jasper | JASPER IN DEADLAND [ photo by Matthew Murphy]

Jasper takes the dive himself and (as it’s one he’s done countless times before) he emerges – not dead – but on the deck of the Ferry (yes that Ferry) as it rocks across the currents of the Lethe river. Determined to track down Agnes whom he hopes has survived, he makes his way past Cerberus – the three headed hound guarding the entrance of the underworld (three huge heads designed and constructed by Puppet designer Elizabeth Ostler). After duly noting the warning that “DEADLAND IS A PLACE WHERE YOU FORGET LIFE // IF YOU REMAIN TOO LONG … AND JOIN THE DEAD FOREVER ” he finds himself in City Circle run by the slick and nefarious Mr. Lethe (Ben Crawford).

If Jasper was seeking out peace, it’s unfortunately illusive. Deadland, it seems, is just as bustling – if not more-so – than the world he left uptop. It comes replete with its own infrastructure of denizens as well as neophytes. For those who are feeling a little lost, one need only follow helpful tour guide Gretchen. Eager to help Jasper navigate the whirls and pops and find his Agnes, Gretchen gives him a run-down of what he’s got in store. (AS EACH MEMORY ERASES, THE PHOTOS OF FAMILIAR FACES SMUDGE AND BLOT— BUT YOU WON’T CARE A LOT; YOU’LL FORGET YOU FORGOT.)

Not only is Jasper up against unbelievable odds (“There’s like a billion-trillion souls in Deadland”) but he also must race against time … for the longer he stays below the more his memory of all that was above begins to erode. Plus, he’s having trouble navigating the town without being followed. In the short time he’s been in Deadland he’s been making headline news as “A Living Soul Among Us!” and everyone wants to touch the boy who can bring back a flash of their undead life with just a bump, a grasp or a graze. As he gamely dodges thrill seekers and moves from one hot spot to another, sub plots begin to bubble up and thicken the plot. Lurking in between everything is the evil Mr. Lethe who keeps Deadland in his clutches through advertising, mass production and despicable dosing. Of course he does.

Foster and Oliver leave no moment in the play unused – in between the large bricks of the grand quest, the battle between good and evil and the star-crossed lovers the team has taken care to use a cement of humor, and mythological allusions galore. If at times it seems a bit crowded, plot wise, it’s at least an enjoyable crush.

In a cast this small there is no room for weak links – and there are none. Lead by the boyishly charming Matt Doyle with a winning and engaging Allison Scagliotti by his side, each actor on stage is in turn funny, magnetic and powerfully spirited. The cast of nine is dynamic and bursting with talent – all but Doyle and Scagliotti play numerous roles and will often switch characters with head-spinning alacrity. This consummate cast magically doubles and triples their output – there is often so much energy, so much vocal power and so much artistry that during many of the musical numbers they will fool you into thinking they number in the dozens.

Matt Doyle and Allison Scagliotti in “Living Dead” [photo by Matthew Murphy]

And while the cast of Jasper In Deadland moves seamlessly as a team, almost each member gets their star turn in which they can connect with the audience. Danyel Fulton as Ammut virtually stopped the show with her electric number “HUNGRY FOR YOUR HEART” hitting notes and blasting through walls in a way that called to mind Patti LaBelle. Yet able to run pace with all the fireworks of that number were quieter moments like the beautiful duet (A LOVE UNTOUCHED) between Allison Scagliotti and Bonnie Milligan whose voices blended into a luscious froth of harmony and heartbreak. Milligan, for her part, turned in several scene-stealing performances including a Beatrix Portinari which had the audience in the palm of her hand the minute she tossed her hair and shot them a wicked glance.

Director Brandon Ivie’s staging is often a bit frenetic yet seems to be intentionally so – and serves the story line. How else to explain the safety of living inside another person’s life than to show the chaos that exists without it?

Herrick Goldman’s lighting design and Ed Chapman’s sound design embrace the magic and innovation of independent theatre – many of the more powerful moments sit squarely on the scaffolding of the lighting and sound design which beautifully intensifies the emotional impact of many of the more ethereal scenes in Deadland.

Jasper In Deadland, with its high-octane cast, stunning visuals and whimsical staging knocks it out of the park. This may be an age-old story, but it’s filled with up-to-the-moment flourishes that will delight you from start to finish. I say dive on in.

JASPER IN DEADLAND
Book by Hunter Foster and Ryan Scott Oliver
Music and Lyrics by Ryan Scott Oliver

Directed by Brandon Ivie

March 16 – April 13, 2014

West End Theater
in the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew
(263 West 86th St., NYC)
$50 regular seating, $65 premium

To purchase CLICK HERE or call 212-352-3101

The Happiest Medium » Greek Mythology

The Maiden – Stream Of Subconciousness

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Jasper In Deadland – Take A Dive To The Dead Side

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