Yippie! – Revolution On Demand (FRIGID New York 2011)

Diánna Martin — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:27:26 +0000

A energetic and fascinating ensemble piece, Yippie! blends fact and fiction to create a behind-the-scenes look at the rise of Jerry Rubin’s Youth International Party of the 1960s. In a “what if?” take on the Chicago 1968 riots, writers/directors Randy Anderson and Harrison Williams look at the darker side of what happens when even flower children can take a life in the name of revolution, albeit perhaps unintentionally.

The play is segmented in scenes that go back and forth in time to before and after the riots, from when the freewheeling energetic men and women get stoned and talk of bringing down The Man; and afterwards, when they are all brought in for questioning/trials for the accidental death of one of their own, who the police want to blame on leader Jerry Rubin. In between there are group musical numbers, and plenty of physicality by the ensemble, who work well together.

The staging was great, as were the use of the actors in a myriad of roles including simply holding the flashlight on another and becoming the interrogator. It was these moments that stuck with me the most; Morgan Lindsey Tacho as Nancy, Jerry’s girlfriend, was most memorable and her work was simply executed and exciting to watch. TJ Roberts in the lead role made some fine choices, but the actor’s continued grabbing of his crotch became, for me, more of a distraction than a character impulse. All in all the actors took the work and had a lot of fun on stage, and that’s always a joy to see, because the enthusiasm spills over into the audience.

One of the more memorable moments involved Jane and John Doe being confronted by their aunt; who is nothing more than a dress, shoes, hat and gloves that are moved/voiced by the ensemble. It was a great device as well as a metaphor for the perceived emptiness of the minds of the previous generation by the youth of the time whose mantra of “never trust anyone over 30” was uttered by the characters in the same breath of the play’s mantra “a movement that isn’t willing to risk death isn’t for shit!”. It’s small moments like that that add up to a solid piece.

Yippie!, while pushing the envelope on provoking thought as well as audience reaction, manages to, for the most part, deliver the goods on turning history on its ear and making what could have been “just another hippie play about revolution” into a really entertaining evening.

~~~

THIS SHOW HAS NOW CLOSED.

YIPPIE!

Written and Directed by Randy Anderson & Harrison Williams

Presented by The Beggars Group Brooklyn, NY
The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street) $16
Wed 2/23 @ 9pm, Fri 2/25 @ 8:30pm, Sun 2/27 @ 1pm, Thu 3/3 @ 9pm, & Sat 3/5 @ 7pm

FRIGID New York Festival 2011 will run February 23-March 6 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1sr Ave and Ave A). Tickets ($10-$16) may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444. All shows will run 60 minutes long or less.

FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: Yippie!

Karen Tortora-Lee — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:37:58 +0000

Welcome back to another installment of FRIGID New York Festival 2011 Q&A! We’ll be running these throughout February until the Festival starts, so be sure to check back to read all about the great shows that will be taking part in the festival. Also – don’t miss the winner-take-all game of Rock Paper Scissors! Today’s Q&A is with Randy Anderson who is the Co-Producer, Co-Writer, Co-Director of Yippie!

YIPPIE! is an explosive look back on the events that defined the Youth International Party. 1967 meets 2011 in this time twisting exploration of freedom, fun, and fanatics.

answers by Randy Anderson, Co-Producer, Co-Writer, Co-Director

Antonio Asks: What makes FRIGID such a warm and welcoming experience for your production?

Because FRIGID has only 30 shows it makes it a great pop-up community. And Yippie! is a play about a community. So bringing our community to the wonderful pop-up community of FRIGID just seems natural.

Diánna Asks: What about this play do you feel most drawn to personally, and because of that, what message do you hope the audience walks away with?

I’ve always been attracted to the 1960′s social movements. The youthful vibrancy and unrest that characterized these movements is exciting for me as a progressive. For the past decade, there has been a battle in our society that has pegged progress as a dirty word so like the Yippies did in the late 60′s, we want to demonstrate to our audience that progress is good for everyone, and we want to do it in a very entertaining way. Because, it’s gotta be more fun to be ‘in’ the revolution than out of it.

Karen Asks: That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?

The play is about the Yippies so Yippie! is actually pretty logical. Probably the only logical thing we’ll do with the show. Yipppies aren’t very logical. Yippie is what the members of the Youth International Party called themselves. Our play focuses on Yippie co-founder Jerry Rubin, who was actually the first Yuppie as well. But who wants to see a play called Yuppie? The great thing about Yippie is that it’s fun to say.

Stephen Asks: You must have a favorite part of your show. What makes it your favorite?

We have several protest sequences which are by far my favorite. They’re physical bits that capture large scale protests with 8 actors. It’s inspiring to watch.

Lina Asks: How much of your show was inspired by true events?

Actual events are the backbone of the play. But, this is NOT an biopic production. We utilize real events to illustrate larger points, and we manipulate the hell out of these events for our own purposes. Therefore, it should be taken as a work of fiction. When we did the show ten years ago, we almost killed the Yippie mascot Pigasus in the show. It was an effective tool to illustrate a violent revolution verses a peaceful one. But the daughter of a Yippie founder came to see the show, and left in tears. It turns out, Pigasus was her favorite bedtime story as a child and there we were on stage making chops out of her childhood.

THM Bonus Question: If you could play a virtual game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with another FRIGID Show which show would you take on? And what would you throw?

Fucking Girls – And we’d throw a paper.

Thanks YIPPIE! – for participating in The Happiest Medium’s FRIGID New York Festival 2011 Q&A. And for playing our game! You’re officially PAPER. So you may win TWICE. Or, not at all. This is how it works in the crazy world of the VIRTUAL ROCK PAPER SCISSORS TOURNAMENT!

Meanwhile, for the rest of you – don’t forget to check out YIPPIE!