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Boogie Of The Apes (2014 Frigid New York Festival)

Karen Tortora-Lee — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 20:07:03 +0000

When I was around ten years old I wrote a play based on the epic, Gone With The Wind. There were just 2 actors in my play, myself and my 8 year old friend. We bypassed a lot of the Civil War story line – and even dismissed the romantic plot. Instead we focused on the food. The lack of food. The search for food. How hungry we were. Which of course is a tipping point in GWTW but certainly doesn’t have the monumental payout as other plot points like, you know, the actual war. I played Scarlet, my friend played Mammy, and we read our lines in Brooklyn-tinged southern accents as we waved paper fans we’d gotten in Chinatown to simulate staving off the vapors.

My point? For decades (and at will) we could quote that awful play, still drawl “What’ll we dooooo?” as we waved our hands in front of our faces. Unquestionably the memory brought as much joy as the actual play-acting did all those years ago. I invite you to reach back into your own memory – I’m sure you have a similar reenactment at the ready, be it a diluted amalgam of the Star Wars franchise or that one scene from Indiana Jones that no backyard theatre play was complete without. Feel the smile growing on your face? That warm glow spreading through you? Well, that means you’re starting to understand the genius that is Broom Street Theater’s Boogie of the Apes currently running as part of the 2014 Frigid New York Festival.

Director Rob Matsushita has a knack for understanding how to create a compelling piece of theatre which incorporates pre-existing material provided by Power Records, while still effectively saturating it with layers of inventiveness that are at once homage and satire of the source material.

And what source material there is! For while Power Records in and of itself is malignable for the way in which it distills the Planet of the Apes franchise, Matsushita (who not only adapted the material but also wrote the wry commentary which bridges one story to another) also pokes fun at a franchise which made itself finite by the end of its first film, as well as its second, yet still managed to pump out more films. Or, as narrator Jessica Jane Witham tells it “Planet of the Apes was a movie with a pretty clear end point, yet it spawned a crap load of sequels.”

Witham – who turns cool and smooth after sharing a spirited and enthusiastic opening number (choreographed by Katie Ramos) with her fellow cast members - swaggers through scenes to deliver some exposition before leaning off to the side smirking through a haze of cigarette smoke. She is so energetic, so inviting, so enjoyable to watch that boatloads of praise need to be heaped upon her – for while this entire show is one great exciting fun present she is the instruction manual that helps you put it together so that you can enjoy the damn thing. And we all know that no matter how much you wanted that toy – if you can’t put it together to play with it, it’s kinda not as good.

One by one, the Apes movies are acted out using little more than the types of props kids have been using in endless rec rooms across America since … forever. This homespun aspect is what makes Boogie so enjoyable, and the way in which each actor (notably Kathy Lynn Sliter, Anthony Cary and Dan Myers) relates with their ape nose, their toy gun or their fake mustache is where the enchantment has room to bubble up.

Witham consistently points out – in between narration and reduction – that these records just race from plot point to plot point with no thought to characterization. But this straight-man narration affords the actors a means to live within their play while simultaneously existing outside of it.

The set up is both deceptively simple and brilliant. Rivaling Milli Vanilli, this cast is so good at lip syncing that it’s often easy to forget that the so-bad it’s good (or actually – sometimes it’s just bad) dialogue was pressed onto vinyl upwards of 40 years ago. Instead, you’ll just lose yourself in the kitchy goodness of these corny retellings. Don’t fret, however – if you like your dialogue delivered live and not via the magic that is the 45rpm rest assured these actors (unlike Milli Vanilli) prove how well they can act, cavort and emote on their own without the help of Power Records. The last movie in their account (Conquest of the Planet of the Apes) is 100% Broom Street Theater ensemble and gives each actor an opportunity to drench all that camp with their own flavor.

Overall, Rob Matsushita’s direction is not only clever but kind. Yes, kind. Of course the Power Records are maligned and parodied. But they’re also lovingly elevated to a richer, more playful, and far more complex piece of theatre in exactly the way it was meant to be done.

You see, the theatre of childhood which mimics pre-existing canon doesn’t HAVE to be good. It doesn’t even have to be logical, or focus on the narrative which the original focused on. It merely has to be something you can lose yourself in as you grab props from around the house and dive headfirst into your richly textured world where (in the case of my Gone With The Wind world) a cheaply made paper Chinese fan becomes more antebellum and less Asian and your search for food is more important than the Civil War.

So grab hold of those memories of your childhood, leave your love for anything Planet of the Apes at the door – because that’s not what this play is about. This play is about fun. This play is about play. And this play will have you rifling through your old boxes for bits of memorabilia when you get home to keep that childhood feeling going – if only for a little while longer.

~~~

Boogie of the Apes
Company: Broom Street Theater
Directed by:Rob Matsushita

Remaining Performance:
Mar 03, 7:05PM

Click HERE for tickets

Running time: 1 h 0 min
Price: $16.00
Seating: General Admission

The Kraine Theater
85 E. 4th Street
New York , New York 10003
2nd and 3rd Ave

Horse Trade Theater Group will present the 8th Annual FRIGID New York Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4^th Street between 2^nd Avenue and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1^st Avenue and Avenue A) February 19-March 9. Tickets are available for purchase in advance at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling 212-868-4444.

The Happiest Medium Is Partnering With FRIGID New York Festival 2011

Karen Tortora-Lee — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:40:40 +0000

If this is the first time you’re hearing of FRIGID then you’re either new to THM, new to New York, new to off-off-Broadway theatre in general, or just not paying attention.

The Annual FRIGID New York Festival, presented by Horse Trade Theater Group, is now in its 5th year but I promise you this will be the most exciting one yet. Why? Because this year The Happiest Medium is proud to be partnering with the Festival bringing you in-depth (and very entertaining) Q&As with each of the participating shows, reviewing as many as our hardworking contributors can cover, and moderating a kick-ass Virtual Rock Paper Scissors Tournament. If you’ve never seen one of those in action, you’ll want to stay tuned. These guys are SERIOUS about what they throw.

So what exactly is FRIGID?

“FRIGID New York is an open and uncensored theatre festival that gives artists an opportunity to let their ingenuity thrive in a venue that values freedom of expression and artistic determination. In true support of theatre on the fringe of the mainstream, 100% of box office proceeds will go directly to the artists. Riding the fringe of winter FRIGID will kick off the annual North American Fringe Circuit with a bang!

FRIGID 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 1st 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.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. And, since someone else said it already – I didn’t have to. So, keep watching this space – and let the FRIGID Festival excitement begin!

Feeling the Chill? It’s FRIGID!

Karen Tortora-Lee — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:52:53 +0000

Gosh, it’s cold outside. Like, tried-to-dial-my-cell-phone-so-took-off-my-glove-and-immediately-regretted-it-because-my-fingers-froze-into-a-claw type of cold. But does it have to be frigid inside too?

According to this festival … yes it does! With January ’09 having the sad distinction of being the month that saw the close of such long running hits as Hairspray, Spamalot and Spring Awakening, as well as other fine productions (such as All My Sons, Boeing-Boeing, Dividing The Estate, Grease, Gypsy, and Young Frankenstein), 2009 is already turning into a sorry year for Broadway. But don’t let it get you down! Go catch one or two or five of these great shows at any or all of these cozy theatres: The Kraine Theatre, The Red Room or Under St. Marks. (And yes, I used “cozy” euphemistically the way those people do when they’re trying to get you to rent their “cozy extra bedroom” … come on, folks it’s obviously a closet!).

FRIGID is around for 2 weeks starting February 25th so I again ask you to DVR LOST, put on your mufflers and your mittens, steel yourself with the Luden’s cough drop flavor of your choice (nothing’s more annoying than having to listen to that annoying chick two seats away dry-choke her way through the show. Having been that annoying chick at three recent performances now, I can tell you — if spitballs were still popular with the over 4th grade set, my hair would have been littered with them) and get your little butts out to see one of these great shows!

And don’t forget, this is a theatre festival … just like those street fairs where endless booths of home made soaps and funnel cakes and throw-the-dart-to-win-a-prize games hold secret joys you could never predict … that’s what this festival will do for your mind. There’s Comedy at one theatre. Drama at another. Solo Shows. Poetry. Puppets. WHAT? Yes. I said it. PUPPETS. Real live (but not alive) puppets. And all tickets are between $8 and $15 dollars. That’s less than three rings in the ring toss game. (Because you know you need more than three rings if you’re gonna win, right?) And what do you actually win anyway? A Spongebob Squarepants doll? A Stewie Griffin doll? Something equally loseable-on-the-way-home-able?

But instead, for $8 – $15 dollars the Frigid Festival will give you all these words and thoughts and emotions and visuals. And … you know, like I mentioned before … puppets. Which are like dolls. Only dolls that stay in the theatre and don’t get lost on the way home. (Or, at least if they do, it’s not YOUR fault … it’s their own fault. And that, my friends … is just a little creepy.)

Look at this. Look at what you have to choose from.

Sorry. That was probably a little too overwhelming. Why don’t I give you a small sampler platter, a dainty dim sum platter, a tiny tapas bar portion of what you could see some time in the next 2 weeks:

The Dysfunctional Guide to Home, Perfection, Marital Bliss, and Passionate Hot Romance
This “How To” piece will use a blend of vintage and original writings to teach you how to be the perfect housewife (or househusband) – Dysfunctional style.

habeas corpus
“What would you like to be rid of?” Fueled by anonymous responses from all over the country as well as live audience responses within the theater itself, the real kim harmon performance collective creates a voracious and tender multi-media performance art experience.

Hysteri-Killy! A One Freak Show
A magical, multimedia march through the mad mind of a manic -depressive, cockeyed optimist.

The Expatriates-Liz Maher as Zelda Fitzgerald

The Expatriates
F. Scott, Zelda Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, and Ernest Hemingway are placed into a devilish purgatory to face their lives all over again. Flappers, booze, and jazz are the guides to untold wealth and unimaginable excess leading this fast paced show barreling towards certain destruction.

So, now … go grab your honey, or use this as an excuse to find a new honey … and go get Frigid.

The Happiest Medium » Kraine Theatre

Boogie Of The Apes (2014 Frigid New York Festival)

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