by Stephen Tortora-Lee on May 1, 2012
Lovecraft Festival (Photos by Aaron Pachesa Photography)
THE OLDEST and strongest emotion of mankind is fear,
and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.
When I think of Howard Phillips (H.P.) Lovecraft’s Weird Stories I think of very intelligent people, facing the unknown. An unknown that is not known for a reason, as if we as human beings had evolved a blindspot to these things in order to protect our sanityand allow us to keep functioning as a society – especially after the world turns out to be different than we had ever imagined it. The truly alien nature of the entities that cross the paths of the protagonists (as opposed to “heroes”, as they rarely have a resounding victory) of these stories reminds us of the fragments of dreams we might have which don’t make sense, but disturb us greatly for reasons we don’t quite understand.
RADIOTHEATRE has taken Lovecraft’s stories in this 3rd edition of their regular Lovecraft Festival, and made them more horrific by performing them as a radio play – where we are forced to believe the unbelievable because the story is being told to us aloud – instead of just letting us process the strange visions of Lovecraft only in our heads. Unlike most of Lovecraft’s stories, which are generally written in the style of a tortured lone soul chronicling his story, the tales being told are split into 3 voices (or in the case of The Horror On Martin’s Beach, a town) so there is always someone we can truly connect and sympathize with – even as the monstrous consumes them (and us) with fear.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on March 5, 2012
Every year the Frigid Festival gives us a hangover – of shows, that is! A Frigid Hangover has nothing to do with alcohol but it has everything to do with shots! As in — these shows get one more shot at entertaining audiences.
HORSE TRADE THEATER GROUP
PRESENTS THE
2012 FRIGID HANGOVERS
THE BEST & BRIGHTEST FROM
THIS YEARS FESTIVAL
Horse Trade Theater Group (Erez Ziv, Managing Director, Heidi Grumelot, Artistic Director) is proud to present the third annual FRIGID Hangovers, March 5-10 at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery). They’re bringing back the best and the brightest from this years festival, so don’t miss your second chance to catch standout performances of the shows below:
FRIGID Hangovers will run March 5-10 at The Kraine Theater. Tickets ($18-$20) may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444.
* * *
Stripper Lesbians
Hangover: Mon 3/5 @ 7pm
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.
What we said: Sure, the show is sexy, shows a lot of skin, and has no problem exploring the more intimate moments of the relationship, but Rising Sun’s inherent intelligence as an ensemble ensures that your skin is served up with a side of thoughtful, though-provoking drama which explores the title rather than exploits it.
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by The Happiest Medium on March 3, 2012
The Happiest Medium review by guest contributor Katelyn Manfre
John Grady loves the show “Fear Factor.” He has his theories and his predictions about how the insane game show will play out, and is especially drawn to the “Couples Edition,” where young die-hards compete, and, predictably lose, to the old married pair with many anniversaries to their name. Despite his intrigue and obsession with these thrill-seeking duos, Grady has only had one serious relationship in his life: with Abby, his Bernese mountain dog.
In Fear Factor: Canine Edition (running at The Kraine Theater), Grady tells the hilarious and heartbreaking story of his life with Abby, and some of the moments that bonded them forever. Intercut with an account of Abby’s last days before she had to be put down at the age of 13, Grady’s stories are beautiful and impassioned, but told simply, with ease and humor.
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by Diánna Martin on March 1, 2012
Part historical odyssey, part musical, Musical Pawns centers on the career work of Russian composer David Nowakowsky, a brilliant contemporary of Tchaikovsky and Wagner, whose works have been lost for nearly 100 years. Guarding his unpublished manuscripts for decades were his Grandson and then Great-Grandson, and the play also follows their life as Jews in war-torn Nazi Germany. When their lives were suddenly always on the line, it was difficult to protect themselves, much less protect these 2,500 + works of a musical master.
The production as a play itself is difficult to follow. Much of this is due to the fact that the narration and scenes switch back and forth between past and present – and variations in time on the past. Combine this jumpy timeline with the case of actors playing several different roles and the result is unnecessarily complicated. The choppy time-line is further marred by a schtick – beginning with very verklempt generalized depictions of Jewish yentas, lawyers, and even the great-grandson of Nowakowsky (played albeit with feeling by Emanuelle Zeesman). I was confused by much of it, and I usually can figure these things out pretty quickly.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 28, 2012
The Happiest Medium Review by guest contributor Linnea Covington
Whether you’re M4W, W4M, M4M, or W4W, there is something for everyone in Missed Connections: An Exploration Into The Online Postings Of Desperate Romantics. The play consists of five actors—Jennifer Jean Anderson, Ricky Dunlop, Lauren Roth, Jake McKenna, and Julia Mattison—five Kindles, a handful of accents, and a whole lot of sass. The premise proved simple: scour Craigslist for the best and the worst missed connections postings. For those of you who don’t know what a ‘missed connection’ is, it’s an electronic posting on a website that people do when they see someone and 1) didn’t manage to talk to them, or 2) lost contact with them. It also has become the sort of place where people send long, steamy rants as a sort of digital therapy.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on February 28, 2012
More often than not, when the question of “how do you want to die” comes up the answer is often “in my sleep” or “surrounded by my friends and family”. The hope of most human beings is that, when it’s our turn to check out, we do so peacefully and with someone caring by our side. In David Stallings’ The Stranger To Kindness (directed by Heather Cohn) now playing as part of The 2012 Frigid Festival we see what happens when neither choice is available.
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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 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?
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 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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