by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 26, 2011
Jersey Shore is a show on MTV that, in and of itself, is already parody – boldly mocking an easily mockable subculture known as the Guido and Guidette. All executive producer SallyAnn Salsano had to do was sit back, let the cameras roll, and watch as these buff, well tanned, dark haired over-accessorized not-too-bright kids perfected the art of GTL (Gym, Tan, Laundry), avoided making out with Grenades, beat up the beat on the dance floor, got drunk, then got into each other business (and beds) and just generally ran amok. The formula was keyed into the system early on and everyone involved with this runaway hit just had to sit back and ride the wave of success ever since, following their cash cows from the eponymous Jersey Shore to Miami, to Italy and back again. So, frankly, does a show this rife with built in self-mockery require a parody … in the form of a Rock Opera no less? If that show is Jersey Shoresical: A Frickin’ Rock Opera then the answer is (cue the fist pump) oh hell yeah.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 25, 2011
“Facebook me later …” is as ubiquitous a request these days as “Call me later … ” or “Text me later …”. For most people Facebook has become their main source of communication these days. Why, I’d even wager you found this review on Facebook.
As adults we all know how we’re using it to keep in touch, get our news (or our “news”), stay connected, and be in random chatter streams with our friends, our “Friends” our friends-of-friends and our frienemies. We’ve learned the art of the passive-aggressive post, learned how to limit our feelings to the right amount of characters, learned that by randomly quoting songwriters, celebrities, philosophers and politicians we can let their words speak for us when we’re too lazy to encapsulate our own feelings. But of course – it’s desperately important that we DO transmit our feelings at least once a day (though some have inner Facebook timers that go off on the hour …) or else our friends, “Friends”, friends-of-friends and frienemies start to wonder how we’re doing. And we can’t have that.
However, unless you’re a parent, and a “cool” parent at that – one whose teen daughter is divulging everything she’s thinking and feeling (unlikely) – do you have any idea how 13 – 15 year old girls are using Facebook? Girls who are already challenged with navigating the socially awkward minefield of adolescence now must deal with the added pressure of projecting it all onto The Social Networking Site. facebook me, created by and starring The Arts Effect All-Girl Theater Company (with script by Katie Cappiellois) is based on the lives and experiences of these young company members as they maneuver through fitting in, standing out, trying to be noticed (but not for the wrong reasons), all while attempting to not alienate their best friends, their boyfriends and their families. Because at any given moment a fatal mis-step will get posted on Facebook by those best friends, boyfriends and family members and damage control worthy of that necessary by BP after the oil spill doesn’t even begin to describe what these girls must summon. Continue Reading…
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 21, 2011
Bill Connington Long Island Film Fest
The short film ZOMBIE will be screened on Monday, August 22 at the New York City International Film Festival. The program of shorts is at 11:35 am – 1 pm at the Abingdon Theater, 312 West 36th Street, 2nd floor. ZOMBIE is the last film on that morning’s program. Tickets are $5.
ZOMBIE tells the story of a mild-mannered “normal-seeming” serial killer, who abducts innocent victims, and attempts to turn them into his “zombie” slaves. The stage play was presented at the New York International Fringe Festival, Off-Broadway at Theater Row for an extended run, and at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater in New York. It was also recently performed in Seattle, and a production is planned for Mexico City. Continue Reading…
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 21, 2011
There was so much to be excited about before heading into Gleeam – the Glee / Scream Mash-up Musical written by Andrew Lloyd Baughman with lyrics by Phil Close and directed by Emily Jablonski. First of all, the advanced artwork was fun and clever. The iconic loser “L” now holds a menacing knife! How cunning! Secondly, the idea was how-can-you-miss?-perfect: two well-recognized, well-received high school memes thrown together to create one fantastic pot of crazy zaniness. Hilarious! Thirdly, the venue (Le Poisson Rouge) is sexy and spooky all at the same time, glowing red against oceans of black. “This is gonna be good,” I thought to myself as I took my seat and waited – I’ll say it – gleefully … while taking in the gorgeous backdrop done by talented artist Jared Davis.
It didn’t take long, however, to realize that Gleeam was actually not going to live up to its advanced hype.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 19, 2011
The mother/daughter dynamic is a convoluted one – speaking myself as a daughter who has both benefited from the advice of a strong willed woman while at the same time fought to get out from under the weight of Mother’s somewhat (shall we say) “insistent” personality. So, for me, Mary-Beth Manning’s Mother she’s with you wherever you go was a show that I knew was going to bring up a lot of issues before it even started. The wonderful thing about this solo-show, however, is that while Mary-Beth’s mother Joanie is one hundred percent a unique character unto herself, Manning manages to hit upon the universal themes we all struggle with when dealing with a person who is both our constant source of inspiration and comfort as well as our constant source of agitation, depending on the day.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 18, 2011
Here’s the story … of The Bardy Bunch: The War Of The Families Partridge And Brady.
It’s 1974 and two families, one Brady, one Partridge are at war. Their battlefield exists in cancelled sit-com land and their weapons consist of killer dance moves, cut throat ballads and production numbers meant to slay you in the aisles. Their story is a mash up of well-known Partridge and Brady references retrofitted into such Shakespearean plays as Hamlet, MacBeth, Romeo and Juliet, among others.
The result is everything Fringe has come to be celebrated for: an innovative, enjoyable, hilarious night of theatre written by Stephen Garvey and directed by Jay Stern that isn’t afraid to push the envelope.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 17, 2011
Sure, I knew that the star of Bette Davis Ain’t For Sissies was going to be a woman. But there was still a part of me that gave a little stutter when I saw Jessica Sherr walk onto the stage, about to embark on her journey to embody this legendary actress. There’s a reason why Bette Davis is a favorite of drag performers, a la Cher, Judy and Liza. Because legends like these have enormous shoes to fill and sometimes the dainty feet of a woman just slosh around in those heels. However, I wasn’t here to see a drag show. I was here to see why Bette Davis Ain’t For Sissies. Unfortunately this “comedy solo show” (which had very little comedy) never really clarified that for me.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 17, 2011
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.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 15, 2011
The Three Times She Knocked (Photo by Josh Jones)
How innocently these things can start … a knock on the door, a simple question, met with a glance that – to the person meeting those eyes – may appear to linger too long or bore in too deeply. Is this the beginning of a forbidden love affair between two already-married co-workers? Or just the planting of the seed of a what-could-be fantasy in the mind of a man already hungry to harvest a new crop of sexual obsession? For Eric (Bob D’Haene) his spark for Tara (Isabel Richardson) is set off innocently at the office, but is flamed into a bonfire each one of The Three Times She Knocked on his office door.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 14, 2011
Oh, you’ll love walking into the theatre at Dixon Place to watch I Light Up My Life: The Mark Sam Celebrity Autobiography – Mark Sam Rosenthal’s (Celebrity!) solo show. The music is cranking with such anthems as The Pussycat Dolls “When I Grow Up”, Katy Perry’s “Firework” and Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” and the walls are glowing with projections of Mark in his candid, semi (one assumes) nude “oops, you caught me being cute!” poses. You’ll just love walking in, almost as much as Mark Sam Rosenthal himself does.
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