PigPen Presents: The Mountain Song (Fringe Festival 2011)

Karen Tortora-Lee — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:12:43 +0000

When I was scanning the list of Fringe shows that I intended to review this year my heart gave a little leap when I saw that PigPen would be returning again this year with The Mountain Song. True, I’m probably not supposed to have a favorite before I even see the show, but after being completely and utterly entranced by last year’s Fringe offering The Nightmare Story I eagerly awaited their next play the way a doting mom awaits a favorite son’s visit home from college.

“What’s this play about?” I heard someone ask, as they navigated the Fringe Fairway of 4th Street and saw our long line. “It’s about a carpenter who’s trying to get to his daughter’s wedding …” someone answered. Clearly this person’s never seen a PigPen production before. For, while this may be what the story is “about” … this was not what we were all waiting to see. This simple synopsis does little to account for the fact that half of PigPen’s remaining shows are now already sold out.

A few moments later as we filed into the theatre it became clear what we were there for: the exuberance, enthusiasm and unbridled talent of the troupe that calls themselves PigPen made up of Arya Shahi, Ben Ferguson, Dan Weschler, Ryan Melia, Curtis Gillen, Alex Falberg and Matt Nuernberger. They commanded the stage as they played music they’ve become popular for, foot-stomping, head-bopping, hand-clapping folk music played on banjo, fiddle, tambourine, drum, guitar, and accordion. Later they will add in an electric guitar.

As the story settles in they captivate and charm the audience with a unique blend of shadow puppets, song, inventive props, and good old fashioned imagination. While much of their appeal rests with their easy humor and their wry delivery when the story calls for deep sentiment these guys can conjure up a feeling of heartbreak or poignancy as easily as they evoke airplanes, serve up giants, or give a voice to a mountain. So yes, we watch as the carpenter goes in search of his daughter in order to attend her wedding. But that’s not what we’re held by. It is the way each moment of their story carries a hidden treasure, a drop of exhilaration, a perfect twinkle of resourcefulness and realization. “That’s a good story,” they conclude, “sad but pretty … they way a story ought to be“.

As always the only disappointment with PigPen is when the play is over; it’s hard to watch them leave the stage – the same way it is hard for a child to watch that favorite relative go home at the end of a giddy day of make-believe. The good news is PigPen is relocating to New York City so those who can’t get enough of them will now be able to see them a lot more. And as long as they’ll be putting on shows, I’ll be in the audience, watching: amazed and dazzled.

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PigPen Presents: The Mountain Song
PigPen Theatre Co.
Writer: Alex Falberg, Arya Shahi, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Dan Weschler, Matt Nuernberger, Ryan Melia

1h 0m
www.PigPenTheatre.com
VENUE #12: 4th Street Theatre
Thu 18 @ 6:30 Mon 22 @ 7:15 Thu 25 @ 10 Fri 26 @ 3:45 Sat 27 @ 12*

PigPen Presents: The Nightmare Story (Fringe Festival 2010)

Karen Tortora-Lee — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:03:27 +0000

If you’re looking for a simple little story, told in a simple little way, but one which deceptively leaves you with the feeling that you’ve just seen a full scale production, The Nightmare Story is the show for you.

Taking a cue from old folk tales, the men of PigPen begin to weave a tale that begins in the dark and is brought out from the shadows.

The troupe opens with a musical show (Something drummed up to keep the audience happy while it files into seats and waits for the show to start? Meant to serve as a back story? Just for fun?) Regardless of the motive the result is the same – driving Ukrainian Folk Music consisting of tambourine, banjo, accordion, violin, whistling, and a makeshift drum of sorts (reminiscent of the empty plastic pickle barrels). The music is infectious, toe tapping, head bobbing music, and you can’t help but enjoy yourself.

Before you even have time to get the last tune out of your head the talented troupe of travelers (comprised of Alex Falberg, Arya Shahi, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen and Ryan Melia) transform themselves into Storytellers, playing hot potato with the words but keeping the line of the story unbroken and lively. After a brief debate about where to start the story (With the little boy? Or with the little boy’s mother?) they carry you away to a land where too many nightmares can cause a person to die, and exposure to someone with too many nightmares can force you to break away from your safe little world in order to go and find a cure.

With well placed songs that bring an unexpected tear to your eye, or (at the very least) a poignant lump in your throat, it’s surprising what these young men teach through their story – theirs is a lesson of losing, of growing, of journeying far in order to come home victorious; it’s the story of becoming a man and discovering the world . . . discovering that it’s terrifying . . . yet beautiful . . . and can blow away like a scrap of torn paper at the whim of a stranger.

Like any good bedtime story, The Nightmare Story relies heavily on darkness, shadows, lone beams of light, and sweet tones. Not too scary, but not too sedate it manages to pack a lot of story in its brief 45 minutes.

These young men are triple threats – actors, musicians and singers – and all of their talents bob and weave amid each other flawlessly. Whether it is the way they tell their story by finishing each others sentences, or the way their voices harmonize till they find that golden spot, or the way their instruments can fill up the room and drive emotion to the surface. These men have perfected the art of the ensemble.

It is astonishing what this troop can do with flashlights, bits of string, screens, rear projections, shadows and simple props. The audience’s imagination becomes another player in this story, and moves and dances amid the actors on stage. Nothing was more magical than seeing a theatre full of adults leaning forward expectantly in order to watch one of the characters – in order to climb a mountain – simply do what parents have done for their children for years . . .turn their fingers into a pair of legs and “walk” across things that now have become huge. So simple – so effective – so Fringe.

So? What are you sitting there for? Go!

~~~

PigPen Presents: The Nightmare Story

PigPen Theatre Co.
Writer: Alex Falberg, Arya Shahi, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Daniel Weschler, Matt Nuernberger, Ryan Melia

45m

www.PigPenTheatre.com

VENUE #6: The Club @ LA MAMA

Click on the date to purchase tickets:
Wed 18 @ 9 Fri 20 @ 4:45 Sat 21 @ 7

The Happiest Medium » PigPen Theatre Co.

PigPen Presents: The Mountain Song (Fringe Festival 2011)

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