by Karen Tortora-Lee on November 3, 2010
In vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.
Jeremiah 46:11
To call T. Schreiber Studio’s Balm in Gilead a “play” is an understatement. Step into the Gloria Maddox Theater and find yourself stepping back in time – to a sensation, a memory, a peek into a world that few escaped and even fewer survived. The show is a visceral experience - astonishing in every detail and desperately authentic.
Playwright Lanford Wilson may have been writing of a world he knew well in the 60s, but Matt Brogan’s set takes that world and offers it up to the audience in such careful nuance that – rather than watch the play – your first instinct is to avert your eyes – hurry past – to not become ensnared in this sticky world of wickedness. Under Peter Jensen’s direction everything in this play reaches out at you and it’s impossible at first to feel comfortable in this microcosm of hookers, junkies, dealers, transvestites, street thugs, gamblers, drug users, derelicts and transients who are so plentiful that they brush past you as you quickly aim for your seat. Once you are able to look – you’re afraid to be caught staring.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on November 1, 2010
It’s not every day that The Henson Foundation takes an interest in your work – but then again, it’s not every day that man takes flight either.
The first time man conquered the air was when Alberto Santos-Dumont flew the first controlled airship. Despite the fact that – at the time – Santos-Dumont was one of the most famous men in the world, his legacy – and his story – has been overshadowed by that of the Wright Brothers.
This is where Tony Chiroldes comes in. For years now, Chiroldes has been perfecting the art of telling this particular story as meticulously as the man himself worked to perfect the art of flying. Chiroldes’ play, Before Icarus Fell, has made a long journey, but this week it alights briefly at the Studio Theatre at Theatre Row.
Tony took a moment during this busy week to tell me about his journey . . .
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on November 1, 2010
“A good review is never good enough . . . a bad review is devastating . . .”
Critical Mass (written by Joanne Sydney Lessner and directed by Donald Brenner) exposes a dirty little secret of reviewers: for some critics, reviewing is a bloodsport. For those critics who are out for blood, the review itself is an arena for them to not only grind their ax, but to then wield it in an effort to deliver that final blow that will not only cripple an artist’s confidence but – in some cases – kill their entire career as well. Some critics approach their job with a delicious sense of malevolent relish – the more they dislike what they are seeing, hearing, reading or otherwise reviewing the higher they construct their dark tower from which to throw their prey, waiting in anticipation for that satisfying SPLAT at the end of the long fall.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 30, 2010
“How delightful are the pleasures of the imagination! In those delectable moments, the whole world is ours; not a single creature resists us, we devastate the world, the means to every crime is ours, and we employ them all, we multiply the horror a hundredfold.”
– Marquis de Sade
The Company XIV ensemble Dénouement—A Murderous Masquerade (Photographer: Corey Tatarczuk)
Company XIV has joined up with Brave New World Repertory Theatre to create a show that, in three acts, covers all the grown-up Halloween thoughts that haunt the recesses of the minds of those too old to go door to door asking for candy on the appointed day.
To step into the space of Company XIV is to surrender yourself to the world that Austin McCormick and his cohorts create. First act – Dénouement —A Murderous Masquerade – is at once devilish, devious, and delirious – it will beguile you, possess you, and then -once it’s had its way with you- will leave you emotionally drained, begging for more.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 22, 2010
What I’m about to tell you will sound very controversial . . . you may not even believe me at first. Frankly, I probably shouldn’t even be writing about it at all, but I’m compelled to. You see, last Wednesday night at 8:00pm I was an eye-witness to an alien invasion.
Not just any alien invasion – no . . . this was a Kentucky goblin siege. There were goblins. There was crazy banjo music. There were slo-mo shoot-outs. There were romantic entanglements. There were personal issues to be ironed out. There was a proposal of marriage. There were spooky noises of several different varieties. There was a rebellious teen who wanted to be a beatnik. There were people who weren’t what they said they were. There was a surprisingly serene baby. And when it was all over, there was a solid resolution for all involved. If I didn’t know better, I’d say what I’d witnessed was actually a theatrical play. Hey . . . wait a minute . . .
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 20, 2010
Happiest Party
Come on, you know you’ve been waiting for it! Ever since that save-the-date you’ve been waiting for this link so that you could RSVP for the fizziest, blingy-est party of the season that will be glossy, glitzy, and glittery, filled with confection of every kind!
Sweet party people in their addictive party clothes sending out their seductive champagne party vibe. There will be so much talent, so much lusciousness, so much excitement in this one room on this one night that you’re almost intoxicated already just reading about it.
Click here to purchase your tickets for THE HAPPIEST MEDIUM (In 3-D) First Year Anniversary Party hosted by Fringe Darling FRANCA VERCELLONI.
We’ll see you there!
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 17, 2010
Austin McCormick (photo by Cristina Ramirez)
I can count on one hand the men whose talent leave me dazzled – and while they all strike a chord for different reasons they all have one thing in common: the ability to amaze me in a way that I’ve never experienced before. Like the first time I heard a Sondheim phrase and had to stand still, or the first time I saw Philip Seymour Hoffman perform live (in True West) and couldn’t remember to breath – that’s how I felt when I saw choreographer Austin McCormick’s Company XIV performing Le Cirque Feerique. So dazzled was I that I went twice – and am thrilled that – just in time for Halloween – Austin will be bringing another new, dazzling show that audiences can experience: Dénouement—A Murderous Masquerade. I had a chance to talk with Austin McCormick about how he swirls magic together time and time again to create pure beauty.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 16, 2010
Stinky Flowers
Don’t go near the stinky flowers! warns the cast of Stinky Flowers And The Bad Banana - but if you’re in the mood for a children’s show that sits comfortably with adults as well, you may want to ignore this advice and head straight for UNDER St. Marks where you’ll be offered up great bunches of stinky flowers, along with tales of bananas, Gunkerville, and birds; all told by army brats who are used to moving around but who now must also learn to move along, and ultimately move past.
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