by The Happiest Medium on February 24, 2012
The Happiest Medium Review by Guest Contributor Linnea Covington
If you have ever had dreams of your dolls coming to life and doing a sexy strip tease, this show is for you. Produced by two-time FringeNYC winning performer and playwright Cyndi Freeman with storyteller Brad Lawrence, both whom are burlesque performers, Scratch & Pitz Burlesque and Variety Hour proved a comical hour of pretty girls, awkward men, song, and a tantalizing strip-off between our heroine and the Devil. That’s right, the Devil. Played by Lawrence, who goes by Handsome Brad in the burlesque world, the Devil comes on stage dressed to the nines with the intention of garnering a few souls for his collection. What he didn’t reckon was facing off against Cherry Pitz, played by Freeman, a pink puffy-wigged aspiring variety show host who is a combination of Lady Gaga and Fran Drescher with just a splash of Jersey Shore.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on February 23, 2012
The characters of this show may be tiny, a little wooden, and come off as a little stiff but Poe-Dunk: A Matchbox Entertainment is anything but rigid. In fact, this innovative, charming, engaging show by Playlab NYC directed by John Pieza is a lively piece of theatre thanks to the man behind the matches – Kevin P. Hale.
Hale conceived this show which can be though of as a trip at break-neck speed along the autobahn of Edgar Allan Poe works (in the course of an hour over 30 Poe works are mentioned, performed or touched upon). Hale is also the sole performer, voicing all the characters and maneuvering scores of itty-bitty matchstick puppets around their eensy-weensy sets. Don’t worry, though, thanks to a projector every microscopic bit of theatre is visible to the audience and there’s not a bad seat in the house.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 20, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
LOL: The End.
Keep It Movin’ Productions
Come to a place where tragedy meets comedy meets stupid. A funny and physical look at natural and human-made disasters through the eyes of three clowns. Award-winning writer/performer Una Aya Osato is joined by her family, Michi Osato and Yoshimasa Osato.
Show Times:
- Fri 2/24 @ 10:30pm
- Sat 2/25 @ 2:30pm
- Tue 2/28 @ 10:30pm
- Fri 3/2 @ 7:00pm
- Sun 3/4 @ 7:00pm
Answers by
Una Aya Osato (co-playwright/co-performer)
and Michi Ilona Osato (co-playwright/co-performer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
The Osatos: LOL: The End is a funny and physical look at natural and human-made disasters seen through the eyes of three clowns. Overwhelmed by the magnitude of destruction we all live with, our family looked to clowns with the hope that by allowing the “idiot” to interpret for us, that we would be better able to understand disaster and find the ways that still remain to come out hopeful and laughing. LOL: The End as a title came about through a back and forth juggling of the ideas of the show between us sisters. Natural disaster, apocalypse, human created unjust catastrophes, the media, the future, hope…ultimately LOL: The End made the most sense.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 20, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
‘Til Love Do Us Part
High Frequency Theatre
A graveyard. Two funerals. Two strangers. Grief. An escape. And a mysterious young girl. Oddities of darkness and light come alive through intense emotion and intimacy.
Show Times:
- Wed 2/22 @6:00pm
- Fri 2/24 @ 10:30pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 5:30pm
- Thu 3/1 @ 9:00pm
- Sat 3/3 @ 4:00pm
Answers by Andrew Hall
(Playwright)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Andrew: The title, ‘Til Love Do Us Part, comes from the legendary phrase commonly used in marriage ceremonies: ‘Til Death Do Us Part. A friend of mine read the play, which at the time was entitled The Eulogy of an Endless Marriage. She hated the title. She began to make countless suggestions. And then she said it. She meant to say it should be retitled ‘Til Death Do Us Part, but she accidentally said “Love” instead of “Death.” And it made so much sense to me. The play on words has become a dark symbol of the love/hate relationship the audience watches develop over time.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 20, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Aerial Allusions
AGAWA SAPPHIRE
By Azana Productions
A journey looking into the perspective of humanity through feminine/masculine viewpoints using traditional/non-traditional movement; combining Dance, Clown and Theatre to express the emotions of two individuals. Think, Cry, Laugh, Intrigued and Entertained by the observations these introspective minds!
Show Times:
- Wed 2/22 @10:30pm
- Sat 2/25 @ 1:00pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 5:30pm
- Tue 2/28 @ 7:30pm
- Wed 2/29 @ 6:00pm
- Sat 3/3 @ 2:30pm
Answers by Azana
(Performer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Azana: It’s an insinuation that I’m an airhead, aerialist and air-sign. It alludes to lofty ideals but also quirky action. It suggests slightly more than acting, but confirms nothing. It’s as vaugly expressive as I am.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 19, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Stripper Lesbians
Company: Rising Sun Performance Company
Evan, a woman’s studies major, is writing a killer senior thesis– by becoming a stripper at her favorite strip club. In between her current girlfriend, a stripper-lesbian, and her ex boyfriend, an unemployed Tisch graduate, Evan dances the line between love and betrayal. A comedy about what it really means to be ‘in love with a stripper’ and what it means to become one.
Show Times:
- Wed 2/22 @ 11pm
- Sat 2/25 @ 6:30pm
- Mon 2/27 @ 11pm
- Thu 3/1 @ 8pm
- Sat 3/3 @ 3:30pm
Answers by: The Whole Gang!
(Because we’re an ensemble company,
we’re gonna answer this ensemble style!
Everyone’s got a little something to say!)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Kate Foster (The Playwright): The title was the joke that fit. When I was writing the play, I would tell interested parties I was writing about strippers and lesbians. People kept on giving me the classic double-take, so I had a feeling Stripper-Lesbians was onto something.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 18, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Drowning Ophelia: A New Rock Musical
Company: The RIFF Collective
In Drowning Ophelia, we see one girl with a microphone and the story of Hamlet told through an exciting theatrical concert of sex, drowning, and rock ‘n’ roll.
Show Times:
- Sat 2/25 @ 7pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 2:30pm
- Mon 2/27 @ 10:30pm
- Thu 3/1 @ 6pm
- Fri 3/2 @ 9pm
- Sun 3/4 @ 1pm
Answers by JD Cannady
(Director and Book Writer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
JD: Drowning Ophelia is an homage and riff off of the classic Hamlet story. After her self-proclaimed “tragic” drowning, Ophelia finds herself in purgatory with nothing to do. When the story comes back to her, four hundred years later, will she drown in the details over again or rise above?
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by The Happiest Medium on February 18, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
I’m Only Explaining This Once
Written & Performed by Moe Rosen – New York, NY
Hi I’m Moe. I changed my name last year. This show is about why. It’s hard to explain, so I like to do it in large groups to save time.
Show Times:
- Thu 2/23 @ 11pm
- Sat 2/25 @ 5pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 2pm
- Wed 2/29 @ 9:30pm
- Fri 3/2 @ 6:30pm
- Sun 3/4 @ 5pm
Answers by Moe Rosen
(Writer / Performer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Moe: The title has to do with my name and changing it, that is so impossible to understand that I literally had to write a one man show about it in order to explain it to friends.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 17, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Man Saved By Condiments!
Company: Theatre Arlo
Based on the true story of a man whose car went off a bridge, broke his hip, and survived for five days by eating the packets of condiments he found under his seat.
Show Times:
- Thu 2/23 @ 9:30pm
- Sat 2/25 @ 11pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 3:30pm
- Tue 2/28 @ 6:30pm
- Fri 3/2 @ 11pm
- Sat 3/3 @ 9:30pm
Answers by Bill Stiteler
(Director)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Bill: It’s based on the true story of a man who was trapped in his car for five days. He survived for five days by eating condiment packets.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 17, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Musical Pawns
Company: Lost Music Productions
Musical Pawns mixes fact and fantasy, humor and pathos in attempting to explain why David Nowakowsky’s musical masterpieces have disappeared for almost 100 years. A musical treat by North America’s best singing actors.
Show Times:
- Fri 2/24 @ 5:30pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 4:00pm
- Mon 2/27 @ 9:00pm
- Tue 2/28 @ 6:00pm
- Fri 3/2 @ 8:30pm
- Sun 3/4 @ 2:30pm
Answers by Ron Graner
(Writer/Producer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Ron: They were “Musical Pawns” in a deadly game of political chess.
There are many governments who still try to suppress the arts and especially music. In Turkey it is still dangerous to play Kurdish folk-tunes. The government fears the music may spur “Nationalist feelings” among the Kurds, who will try to separate from the country and form their own independent state. Cambodian music and dance found safe refuge in Canada and the United States and other Western democracies during the Kymer Rouge period, before being restored to its original home. . There are many, many examples where music, poetry and religion are considered dangerous. Think of what’s happening now in Tibet! Even Elvis Presley, and The Bare Naked Ladies have had their troubles with bureaucracy and they live(d) in a modern democracy!
In the case of David Nowakowsky (1848-1921) his music disappeared until 1989. Even his tomb-stone was destroyed!
I am trying to tell the story as political satire, and to have as much fun with the political absurdities as I can. The music is drop-dead gorgeous. The Dance numbers are insanely funny. I can say this in all modesty, because I only wrote the words. The music (for the most part) is Nowakowsky’s and the dances were created by Sean Hawk, one of our multi-talented singing-acting-dancing performers.
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