Iranian-Canadian actress Tara Grammy portrays three distinctive characters in her one-woman show, co-authored by director Tom Arthur Davis, Mahmoud. We see her as the titular Mahmoud, a Toronto-dwelling, Iranian ex-patriot taxi driver in his middle years; as Emanuelos, a gay Spanish immigrant working happily as a department store cologne salesman; and as Tara, a twelve year old Iranian-Canadian schoolgirl with aspirations to acting. Each character is richly invested with a clutch of mannerisms and a particular voice, stylizations which -while attention-grabbing – come perilously close to stereotypes. There’s something more than just a little cartoonish about Grammy’s turn as the rapid-speaking, gasp emitting young Tara, and her Emanuelos could cause Will & Grace‘s Jack McFarland to blush. There may be a political point being made here about westerners – they’re spoiled, shallow, and self-centered – but it’s a pretty broad one. Mahmoud, by contrast, an immigrant who fled Iran during the cultural revolution, is shown as friendly and engaging, with a moderately pitched voice. Even though he wants to talk relentlessly about how wonderful his former country is, and he’s no slouch when it comes to sounding off at other predatory drivers, he’s the soul of modesty. But it’s a comedy – isn’t it? – so go with it.

We’re in Toronto and it’s 2009. The television news media is focused on the protests and social upheaval surrounding forthcoming presidential elections in Iran. All of the characters are vaguely impacted, even Emanuelos who, it transpires, is dating a nice Iranian man (who just happens to be Mahmoud’s closeted nephew). The stories begin to draw together and broader themes of cultural displacement, immigration, racism, and homophobia come into focus under a wider banner of -’what price personal liberty?’ The writing in this regard is skillful and more subtle than the performances suggest. Time passes, things change. Tara gives up on the notion of ever being seen as anything other than Iranian. Emanuelos becomes engaged to his boyfriend, who returns to his country to “announce their plans.” As things continue to heat up in Tehran, the three characters encounter each other in telling exchanges. Tension mounts until the video-captured shooting of a young Iranian woman attending a rally is broadcast around the world; the Neda story. Various simmering issues in the lives of the three principals abruptly erupt with dramatic consequences. The comic vein the piece began in has been left well and truly behind, and the stereotypes melt into more recognizable flesh and blood individuals.

There has been method in Grammy’s broad impersonations after all. Commencing with almost two-dimensional types, the story closes in on the real individuals as the political, social realities of their lives close in on the characters themselves. The climax has a somewhat melodramatic, symbolic over-reach perhaps, but the story holds together and is deftly brought off. For all her enjoyment of comic overkill, Grammy is an agile and attractive performer. She proves disciplined and well timed, both in conducting the story’s narrative flow, and in her changes from one character to another. The performance is all the more praiseworthy for being enacted on the limited platform stage at Jimmy’s No. 43, with no curtain or props; just fluidly synchronized lighting (Jenna Koenig) and sound effects (Mike Conley). As co-author, director Tom Arthur Davis knows what he is looking for from her, and she delivers here handsomely.

Mahmoud is a winner of a   2012 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award, and will be part of the Fringe Encore Series.   Details about the encore performance are below:

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Mahmoud
Pandemic Theatre
Writer: Tara Grammy and Tom Arthur Davis
Director: Tom Arthur Davis, Consulting Director: Soheil Parsa, Assistant Director: Omar Hady
One Iranian actress, three characters: an Iranian engineer-cum-taxi driver, a fabulously gay Spaniard, and a pre-teen Iranian-Canadian girl. Their stories intertwine in unexpected ways in this personal and hilarious story. Learn more about Iranians, and maybe even yourself.
Huron Club. 9/22 at 8PM; 9/23 at 3PM; 9/25 at 8PM; 9/29 at 5PM; 9/30 at 5PM.
1h 0m
Solo Show   Comedy
 
www.mahmoudtaxi.com

The FringeNYC Encore Series will present 19 “Best of The Festival” shows in rotating repertory at SoHo Playhouse and The Huron Club (both located at 15 Vandam Street between 6th Avenue & Varick) as well as at The Players Theater (115 MacDougal Street between Bleecker and Houston Streets). Tickets are $18, available at 212-691-1555 or www.SohoPlayhouse.com  

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The Happiest Medium Review by guest contributor Rebecca Bernard

What would you be if you truly were your best self on all fronts of life: in work, play, mind and body? Why, you would be “better than you!” says Steve Seabrook of the show Steve Seabrook: Better Than You, a show conceived and directed by Kurt Bodden. Using the format of a motivational speaker, Bodden takes us through the highlights of a weekend crash course workshop aimed for greatness. We as audience members become his subjects as self-help lectures and demonstrations unfold. In the spirit of Tony Robbins, Seabrook spouts rhetoric and catchy affirmations that all conveniently tie back to merchandise and 5 disk sets that can be purchased before leaving the theatre.

Bodden is a charismatic performer, grabbing his audience from the moment he steps onstage and first addresses us as “people he would not want to be at 7pm on a Friday night.” This he insists will all change towards the end of the workshop as we undergo a revolutionary transformation. Also a gifted improvisor, Bodden often includes the audience’s energy (or lack of energy) in his performance, delivering some of the wittiest lines within these moments.

Though the speaker’s material is solid, the true magic of this piece lies in the contrast Bodden creates by showing Seabrook both on and off the stage. A relationship is forged between he and an offstage lighting designer that allows us to see a different and more vulnerable side of Seabrook. It soon becomes clear that Seabrook is not always the better version of himself he describes onstage, a point driven home when the lighting designer offhandedly compares him to the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz.

It would have been nice to see Bodden take this idea one step further by allowing us to not only see Steve Seabrook unravel backstage, but onstage as well. Instead we are left with more of the same, having been granted a peek under the wizard’s curtain, to then continue with the illusion that has just been broken. The audience sees the “light” of who Steve really is, but we are left wondering, is he aware of his own?

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Related Posts:

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I like nothing better than being naughty at the Opera.  Neophytes might consider this akin to making out in the last pew of church but, actually, it’s not.  I mean, really.  Generally, no matter which opera you’re attending there’s all this drama unfolding in front of you … all this intense emotion, this deep passion, this hear break, this “I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN” melodrama.  How could it not inspire you to get a little frisky during intermission?

Well, okay, usually it’s kinda impossible to get frisky, but a gal can dream.  But wait – hold the phone.  What’s this? Morningside Opera is actually encouraging frisky behavior with their latest opera, The Judgment of Paris. Just look at that poster!  It’s hotter than a Russ Meyer film.   I, of course, will be there.   Let’s not forget these are the folks who supplied the fabulous burlesque performer Medianoche to do a strip tease during their Diva Search Karaoke – so you know they’re serious when it comes to sizzle. I chatted with Amber Youell who is a performing in  Judgment of Paris, while also serving on Moringside Opera’s board of directors.  Listen as she tells me how they intend to push the boundaries and seduce their audience loud and clear.

Morningside Opera definitely stretches the boundaries of what people typically think of as Opera – in a good way! Tell me a little bit about this latest production and what audiences can expect.

Amber Youell

We’ve done a couple things to play with the genre in this production. The origin of this opera is a musical contest: four composers (John Eccles, John Weldon, Daniel Purcell, and Godfrey Finger) were to set a libretto by William Congreve. Weldon’s won the original contest, though Eccles won in a restaging in the 1990s. In our version, we’ve mixed and matched our favorite numbers from the various settings. However, our staging is where we really push the boundaries. First, we’re performing in a very intimate pub location (Jimmy’s No. 43)–we encourage the audience to eat and drink heartily through the performance! Second, we’ve refigured this beauty pageant between the three goddess as a strip-show, with a couple of other surprises thrown in.

You play Juno. Tell me about a favorite moment in the production for you involving your character.
I love playing Juno because, like her, I’m a mom and I have a pretty bad temper. Although I’ve played Juno before, in this production I get to reveal her really bad-ass side. My favorite part is when I get to unleash this on Paris (who is played by my real-life partner) during a very surprising, edgy, minor-key aria.

Opera plots, traditionally, have always been rife with sex — but to the outsider opera is considered stuffy and uptight. It looks like Morningside is working to get the casual audience member to understand something that’s always existed in the medium. Is that true?
Opera is always a sensual art-form, but The Judgment of Paris almost begs for raunchy retelling. At a pivotal point Paris sings “When each is undress’d, I’ll judge of the best, for ’tis not a face that will carry the prize.” Of course the original singers wouldn’t have literally unrobed, but their subsequent arias are an aural translation of the visual seduction of striptease–whether through florid melismas, delicately seductive melodies, or bombastic fanfares. Centuries of theorists have discussed opera’s “seduction of the ear.” You’re absolutely right in that we’re trying to get this message across loud and clear. I think this production would be a great intro to the world of opera because of its short length (45 minutes), casual setting, and hilarious staging.

Give me one word that does NOT describe The Judgement of Paris.
CAN’T THINK OF ONE, YOU PICK! appropriate uptight reverent.

You know, I like all three of those words – so I don’t want to pick either!  Thanks, Amber, for giving us a little taste of what’s to come on August 3oth.

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Ages 18 and up.

Tickets $12 in advance/$15 at the door

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