Archive for the 'Theatre' Category

I never realized what true devotion was until I experienced the Buffy Sing- a- Long at the IFC Center. For those of you who don’t know: this is a staged screening of the all singing Buffy episode: “Once More With Feeling”.

As the show unspools on the big screen, actors lip synch and pantomime the action on stage. Much audience participation, glitter and bubble blowing ensues.

I was shocked as I approached the theater and saw a line stretching up sixth ave. I was even more taken aback by the crowd. It was a surreal mix of middle aged, overweight men with goatees and ponytails; little Lisa Loeb clones; college kids; business people and of course the ubiquitous Japanese party girls that seem to spring up where you least expect them.

This was a whole new experience for me and I was stoked. Unfortunately, the showing was at midnight and by the time I got to the theater I was exhausted (read: drunk).

So instead of a straightforward, coherent review of this event, I am going to just transcribe for you the notes I found scrawled on cocktail napkins in my pocket when I woke up this morning.

-I’ve never seen so many people be so happy to be standing in a line.

-UNCOOL COOL TIP: Order tickets early, then go and drink in the Waverly bar- conveniently connected to the theater. The drinks are moderately priced, and you don’t have to wait on the line with the increasingly disturbing shiny happy people. Oh, and they let you into the theater first.

-A dude with an eye patch just gave me a goodie bag. Inside are many treats including plastic vampire teeth. I am happy.

-A chick just handed my girlfriend a pair of granny panties and told us,”You’ll know when to throw them.” I am confused.

-Buffy trivia contest. Seven contestants play to get a chance to perform a scene in front of the throng. Everybody but me knows the answers. If you know who killed vampire Willow and how, get off your ass right now and go to this show.

-I think contestant #3 is cocky and I don’t care for his prima donna attitude.

-There are several video montages, one to a song titled, “Coin Operated Boy”. My girlfriend loves it, I think its sexist.

-The positive energy in the crowd is infectious. These people are ready to ROCK!

-Giles (our host for the evening) takes the mike, reviews the contents of our goodie bags, and refers us to a card that let’s us know when to do stuff. There’s a kazoo, but we’re not allowed to use it yet- Giles is mean.

-The show starts and the crowd takes on a quiet reverence. It doesn’t last. People are soon shouting back at the screen, singing lovingly and cackling.

-This is very reminiscent of the Rocky Horror shows I used to go to in the early 90’s- only without all the blow and drag queens.

-The show is over. Buffy gets over her sense of ennui, and makes out with Spike.

-Giles tells us there’s a short break, then anybody who wants can hang around and they’ll watch another episode together. It’s almost 2:15 AM so I have to go home.

-Despite knowing next to nothing about the Buffyverse I genuinely dug this experience.

-P.S.- They were right, I totally knew when to throw the panties.

For upcoming shows click HERE!

The Freak show is alive and well in Brooklyn, really. At Sideshow by the Seashore lives the last bastion of the vaudeville scene that once defined Coney Island. It’s a classic venue offering mentalists, magicians, burly’q and an old fashioned 10 in 1 show.

I went for a visit on a Friday afternoon when they were holding an open casting call for anybody to come out and break world records. I was immediately won over by the congenial, good humored, fuck all attitude of the salt of the earth people who showed up.

Paul Nardizzi: A stand up comic and soccer player he holds two world records. The first is doing a standup routine that lasts 8 minutes and has 73 punch lines in it. The second is juggling a football with his feet, getting upwards of 40 bounces. Today he attempted to break his juggling record. He didn’t succeed, but was still met with warm applause and encouragement.

Paddy Doyle, “The World’s Fittest Endurance Athlete”: This dude holds over a hundred world records. Last week he broke ten records in an hour. Today he strapped a backpack filled with 40 pounds of sand to his back then did step ups using two cider blocks stacked up as his step. He did this for an hour! He beat his old record, of 716, by doing it 911 times. A true gentleman, he thanked everybody for coming and shook all our hands.

Pete Tino, “The Human Floor”: For this one the entire crowd had to go out to the street where Pete took off his shirt and lay down on his back. Then 15 people, collectively weighing 2,313 lbs, stood on him for ten seconds. Pete told me he’s very big in the S&M and B&D scenes. I totally want to party with this guy.

Jared: He is a Blockhead. A Blockhead is somebody who hammers long pointy items into their sinuses. He also dresses like a vampire. Jared took a tootsie roll pop, with a scary long stick, jammed the handle in his left nostril then touched the pop with his tongue.

Thomas Blacke: A magician looking to break his own world record of being the fastest man on the planet to tie a balloon into a poodle. Victory was his as he performed this feat in 4.18 seconds blowing the minds and winning the hearts of all in attendance.

The Great Throwdini: Attempted to break his own record of catching 25 knives thrown at him by International Knife Throwing Hall of Famer Dick Haines. Long story short: The ENTIRE audience fled the theater as Throwdini took a shot to the palm and disappeared backstage in a spray of blood. Good times!

Paul Carpenter: Attempted to regain his world record for the quickest escape from a strait jacket. It took him three attempts, but in the end he triumphed, setting a new record of 10.94 seconds.

Take the trip out to Coney Island and check this place out. It’s a chance to catch a rare glimpse at artistry that most people will never be lucky enough to experience. Also, it’s a blast.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Upcoming shows click HERE!
• Take the F, N, D or Q to the end of the earth
• This Weekend is Alumni Weekend - Adult Tickets ONLY $6
• Sign up for SIDESHOW SCHOOL or take a BURLESQUE WORKSHOP
• THEY SERVE BEER!

You really have to love a Lanford Wilson script- I mean come on- the man’s a cool playwright & he’s not even dead, yet. (Happy 80th B-Day Lanford!)

I was excited to watch the The Sackett Group’s production of The Mound Builders at the Brooklyn Music School Playhouse directed by John C. Scheffler; and was taken on a thrilling ride through a tale of love affairs, broken hearts, violence, deceit, mistrust, betrayal, secret bi-sexual fantasies, who the baby daddy, drunken stupidity and possible disappearance/murder.

The first 2 minutes of low energy made me a teensy bit worried, but the pace picked up quite quickly & pulled me right into a dynamic performance. It was a bit like a choose your own adventure game- you kinda got to pick your own ending or at least got to draw your own freaky conclusions- fun!

The straightforward lighting design smoothly transitioned the intentional lapses in time. The set was simple, yet completely adequate. What was up with that cheesy desk, though?

Noteworthy performances by Johnathan Pereira (Dr. Dan Loggins) and Deborah Harris (Delia DK Erikson); Pereira’s realistic presence brought believability to this physical role. Harris, stationary for most of the show delighted us with her killer line delivery and interaction with other characters.

By far, the most challenging role in the Mound Builders is that of Chad Jasker, powerfully played by Paul Newport. The most natural and comfortable performer on stage- Newport eats, lives & breathes Chad Jasker. The play is worth coming to see for Newport’s performance alone.

Of course, even with a good production there are always little poopsies along the way, so- here’s what bugged me:
1) Were those twist off beer caps?? I’m guessing that’s a no no for 1975.

2) 3 women at imaginary window downstage describing what the audience can’t see to move the plot along- okay fine- it’s a well-known theatrical technique built into the script, but WAIT… this blocking was sloppy. Where exactly WAS that imaginary window? The gals were looking in different directions! Seriously guys, it’s called the 4th wall & it’s taught in like Theatre 101. So, pick ONE spot, please.

3) Play jumped back & forth in time, really should have been made more clear- if office represented a different time, then leave it that way- it was confusing!

4) Sorry, but you lost me on some of the costumes. In this kind of play, if you notice the costumes it’s probably not a good thing. One character’s wardrobe in particular was all over the place & didn’t make sense at all. (But hey- Jean had a FABULOUS pair of wedges! I totally want a pair for spring to go with my new pedi.)

5) Was that elastic on the ancient burial mask? Okay, maybe I’m easily distracted, but it drove me crazy, nonetheless- next time maybe find a period appropriate alternative.

Now, back to the good stuff: I liked this show a lot- liked the theatre, liked the cast- impressive. This, the solid directing, plus the friendly antics of Producing Director Dov Lebowitz Nowak both before and after the performance- will make me come see another Sackett Group production.

Overall: Great show, very well done– support NYC theatre and go see it!!! Runs through April 29th Thursday’s through Saturdays at 8 PM, Sundays at 3 PM.

Psssstttttt, hey there… yah, you… apparently there’s a secret universe unbeknownst to the rest of us – some sort of underground clown culture that is truly a world of its own.

I had the dorky pleasure of experiencing this at The New York Downtown Clown Revue on April 16th. I am NOT a clown, so I decided that the next best thing was to watch the show WITH a clown, so I spent the evening hanging with my clown friend Funny Honey and watching her reactions.

I was greeted at the door by a creepy, drooling zombie-like clown that started following me, and after a brief moment of almost frantically running for my life in the opposite direction, I decided that I must be in the right place.

Christopher Lueck, host and producer of the show, explained that this was a Clown Playground of sorts where the goal is to present the broadest range of clowning styles, sort of like a workshop where clowns can explore their craft. So, the revue is different every time with new performers. Amanda Pekoe, another producer watched the show with the audience. Most of the audience consisted of members of the clown community (and then there was me!).First up was DZIECI. Picture an entire chorus full of bucktoothed, burlap-swaddled odd- looking characters singing in 4 part harmony. WHAT REALITY DID I FALL INTO?? They were acting out an innocent sacrificial lamb sacrifice (puppet lamb of course). Funny Honey squeals, “Hahaha- I love puppets!” in her adorable sing-songy voice. I smile.

Suddenly the lamb talks them into an innocent HUMAN sacrifice instead, followed by the group chasing the poor biggest dumb guy through & on top of the audience (quite literally). The audience clowns were laughing and I was giggling in spite of myself.

I honestly felt quite guilty watching and laughing at them because they kinda seemed like a group of retarded children. A friendly clown audience member explained to me that that was indeed the point- this Grotowski inspired style of clowning intentionally breaks all the rules to take you to a deeper realm of gutteral, more primal performance, where uncomfortable reactions from the audience are a good thing. Apparently this form of performance is rare and seeing DZIECI perform was actually a unique privilege.

Brent McCoy was a more traditional type of clown in big pants and suspenders and it was fun to watch him juggle 3 orange traffic cones while balancing 2 on his head. Dottie Lux performed a hot little burlesque number in clown face- she can really work a crowd and a pair of fishnets and pasties.

Ariane Anthony (pictured above) gave a quirky-fun performance/lecture on the earth’s animals and environmental concerns while intentionally sharing the most unsexy cabaret number ever known in the history of cabaret numbers, complete with briefcase, librarian glasses and clown nose. (Go Ariane for bringing awareness to earth/animal issues in a creative way- as a tree/bunny hugger- I was quite impressed!)

My absolute favorite clown act of the evening was Mark Gindick. This extremely physical performance started with air guitar and transitioned into body guitar when dance partner Kathryn Fraggos joined him on stage. Soon they were awing us with lifts and twirls in true ice-skater fashion to a crazy version of “Roxanne”. Kudos to choreographer, Wendy Seyb.

Overall: A few of the performances went on a tad too long, but they were all pretty cool and creative. For clowns it’s clownarific! For general public its dorky fun. For boring, stupid or high-falutin’ people it would be something to avoid at all costs. So, if all the world’s a stage & everyone’s a clown, go dust off that silly old red clown nose & make somebody smile. The New York Downtown Clown Revue happens on the 3rd Monday of every month.

A Letter of Appeal to Walt Stepp and Tom Herman (writer and director of The View Form K Street Steak, respectively):

Oh boy! Another scathing, satirical look at politics written and directed by ex- flower children who have become disenchanted with the results of their hippie revolution and now feel the need to spread the message that our government is fucked up beyond all belief.

Well thanks fellas, but let’s not forget it’s old acid freaks and coke heads like you, and good ol’ boy President Bush himself, that have made politics in this nation the horribly corrupt system that it is today.

Now, I appreciate a socio- political satire as much as the next guy. Hell, I love Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove and that movie is drier than the eczema in my Grandma’s ear.

But Gentlemen: political ideology, and comic taste aside you way over the hill potheads were so busy taking yourselves seriously that you forgot the Golden Rule of the entertainment industry: BE ENTERTAINING!

Granted, the concept is a sweet one: Revealing the seedy underside of the relationship between congress, the media and the stranglehold lobbyists have on both: nice! Sure, it’s been done before, most notably in the films Wag the Dog and Thank You for Smoking.

Yet, staging it all in the form of vignettes presented by a venrtiloquist and his dummy: very nice! Honestly, kudos on the concept gentlemen.

But then you had to go and ruin it all by trying to be so preachy and highbrow that you simply forgot the funny. Not a joke in the entire show garnered a laugh. Not even the one’s you boys cued with rim shots!

Okay, so I didn’t enjoy the show. Granted, it may be my fault: Afterall the promotional materials led me to believe it was a puppet show. (Yes, I am a moron… And a jackass.) Still, I know funny and this show weren’t it.

I wouldn’t be so bitter if it wasn’t for what I experienced during the intermission.

I stood in the lobby of the Altered Stages theater and drank my complimentary wine (thanks fellas) while Mr. Stepp hung out with a bunch of his geriatric cronies congratulating himself. His fellow retirees surrounded him and all confirmed what a genius he was.

He soaked up their syncophantic praise and reasserted to his nearly dead ex- Deadhead pals how funny he and his play are. He wallowed in their praise like a pig in shit.

They smiled and congratulated him, kissing his ass with their denture filled lips. But believe me kids, not one of these life hogs cracked so much as a smile during the performance.

In short, it was this little scene combined with the uninspired staging and script that now leave me in the unenvious position of declaring your show, the false idealism behind the script, the entire failed free love experiment of the 60’s and the absurd pomposity of your very existence: BULLSHIT!

Then again this is just one humble kid from New Jersey’s opinion.

Best of luck in the future,

Objectively yours,

-Venditto

for those of you out there who can’t wait to run out and catch this show before it closes, click here for more info.

Reverie Productions new play, “RearViewMirror”, now playing at 59E59 Theatres, is without a doubt one of the best new plays of the year. Three young actors sit on stools on an empty stage. They tell their intertwining stories, mainly in monologue form, rarely interacting directly with each other. Penn (the understated, perfectly cast Mark Alhadeff), is a guy who loves Orthodox Jewish women, His girlfriend, Agatha (played by astonishing actress Audrey Lynn Weston), is struggling with her own faith, and finding her identity in unikely places. Thrown into the mix is Inez (played by the very solid Sarah Nina Hayon), an Orthodox Jewish woman who has just left her husband and is also working to find herself.

The play is inspried by the classic Greek tragedy, “The Bacchae”, and explores similar themes by using its own, modern, distinct voice. Obsession, sexuality, faith, and self-awareness are all explored, abandoned, and revisited by these three compelling characters, and although there is no action on stage, the 80 minute play is not for a moment anything but thrilling.

Playright Eric Winick has captured something extraordinary here. His characters are complicated, sympathetic and intriguing, and the story they tell is beautiful, tragic and funny. The choppy ending sticks out in the midst of his clear, crisp story, but the three talented actors pull it off with real passion. Weston sticks out as a truly diverse and exceptional actress, finding humor in all the right places, and comitting to the dramatic moments, and the troubled character. Hayon and Alhadeff shine as well, and together thet are most certainly one of the best young casts around.

Director Carl Forsman has accomplished something phenomenal: three characters sitting in stools as one of the best productions in town today. His direction is seamless and committed, and his love of the script and the characters is elegantly apparent.

“RearViewMirror” is not only a good play, but most likely the must-see production of the Spring. Don’t miss it.

Tickets and Information available online.

“Blindness” at 59E59 Theatre is a stage adaptation of Jose Saramago’s award winning novel by the same name. My hopes were extremely high for this production, as the novel is a fantastic and brilliant look at human nature– “Lord of the Flies” with a terrifying, much darker edge. One man is struck by a sudden blindness, and little by little the blindness spreads through the entire city. Those infected by the blindness are locked into a former mental institute and the government officials abandon them, harass them, shoot them and above all abuse their power in ways that are both apalling and realistic.

The play’s technical aspects were truly inspired. The show was staged impeccably behind two sheets of white scrim, the lighting was beautiful and the movement in the narrow space was choreographed with professional precision. These aspects lent themselves well to the eerie atmosphere of the play, and reall echoed Saramago’s writing and ideas.

Where the production fell short, unfortunately, was with the sub-par acting. Despite the beautiful vision, the story was told by actors forcing emotions instead of letting them occur naturally. The material is intense, and the actors were awkwardly melodramatic, where they should have been understated and terrorized. The story is already painful and dark, therefore it was unnecessary to have constant screaming and tantrums on stage. Some of these unfortuante mistakes could have easily been in the directing, and perhaps the director and I simply have different ideas about Saramago’s original story and the emotions behind it.

The adaptation itself was ery true to Saramago’s text which was an interesting choice given the unusual writing style. It was refreshing to see a novel being used with gentle accuracy rather than absurd “interpretations”, and I applaud director/adaptor Joe Tantalo for honoring the beautiful novel and making strong choices with the text.

Perhaps it is simply hard to compete with such a gorgeous novel, and those who haven’t read the book may find themselves enthralled by the full world that Tantalo and his cast have created. It is a fully realized project with bold choices and a unique point of view, so even with its faults, it is a work that deserves recogition.

The performance schedule is Tuesday - Saturday at 8:30 PM and Sunday at 3:30 PM and 7:30 PM. Closes April 8. Single tickets are $25 ($17.50 for 59E59 members) and are available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or online

I’m an actor and I have actor friends. This means that I have seen, and quite frankly been a part of, A LOT of bad theater. Bad acting, bad directing, bad sets, bad writing. Bad, bad, bad. That being said, I’m obviously not easily impressed. So I went to see the first production of MTB Studio’s THEATRE UNPLUGGED with less than great expectations. The play is being presented at the MTB Acting Studio. It’s a small space with 3 rows of chairs, the equivalent of a black box theater but nicer. It’s simple with hard wood floors and black curtains surrounding it. There was no set, few props, and no lighting or sound effects. In fact, the house lights were up the entire time. We were up close and looking right into the actor’s eyes and they were looking back at us. There was nowhere to hide.

Thankfully, I didn’t feel the need to. It was brilliant and the actors held my rapt attention for the whole time I was there. (Keep in mind, that I am a person that can fall asleep anywhere and on this particular Sunday, I was a bit hungover.) The play, a satire about greedy politicians and little people coming together to save the day, is entirely relevant and I really enjoyed it. If you are a fan of acting, you should see this show because the acting was flawless. I looked hard for the weak link in the cast but I just couldn’t find it. I especially enjoyed the performance of Noelle McGrath who played the title character. She was simply delightful. I look forward to the next production from THEATRE UNPLUGGED.

This is the kind of theater that should be supported and celebrated. Seating is limited, so make your reservations in advance!

“There once was a boy called… Edward.”

Well, I’ll be honest when I sat down in my seat at BAM to watch a dance show of Edward Scissorhands I was thinking there was no way I would ever like this thing- I am such a cult fan of the movie- frankly I was a little pissed they made it into a dance show. HOWEVER, about 1 song into it I had a huge change of heart. I was completely sold and dancing in my seat along with the cast- it WASN’T trying to compete with the movie, just taking the story to a new medium. It was over the top in the most spectacular way!

Devised, directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne (my new hero), Scissorhands is one of the great love stories of all times, I’m talking right up there with “The Princess Bride, An Affair to Remember” and Rocky (don’t laugh at me- I swear it’s romantic!!).

The dancing was a melange of ballet, modern dance, jazz and isolated dance moves. One of my favorite moments was the unique dance of the topiaries which was hysterically happy- it made me wish the shrubbery in my yard could dance like that!

The orchestral arrangements were whimsical and playful. Often the use of individual instruments would set the mood, such as the sultry use of the saxophone for Edward’s seduction scene or the use of chimes and bells.

Lez Brotherston’s bursts of colorful costumes of bubblegum pinks, oranges, purples and turquoises were eye-catching and each was a perfect compliment to the characters. His use of different textures from satins to velvets to organzas and beyond combined with the subtle use of patterns like plaids, polka dots and stripes created an overwhelming and fun style. Brotherston’s sets were simple, colorful and aesthetically pleasing and the lights shown in brilliant kelley greens, shades of warmth and sky blues, capturing the heart of the show.

Oh and the characters were great stylized stereotypes. Let’s start with Edward- okay, so look- if it couldn’t be Johnny Depp, then they definitely got the right crew (sharing the role are outstanding performers Sam Archer and Richard Winsor). I wanted to go hug sweet Edward. Slut neighbor was my 2nd favorite- she was slutty and sensuous and fabulous.

The neighborhood scenes were priceless (& only a few times dragged on a tad too long). Favorite moments were the cuckold neighbor, Edward’s seduction scene- which MY GOD totally reminds me of what fun you can have with a washing machine… ohhh, ohhhh, oh, sorrry, where was I?

Overall: Let’s just say that Tim Burton rocks my world and Matthew Bourne is a jewel that I will definitely keep my eyes on! Go see it.

PS For Johnny Depp’s Eyes Only: Dear Johnny… were you there on opening night? I was skimming the audience for you, hoping you would attend. If you don’t like this review, then feel free to spank me… did I actually type that out loud? Haha… email me, just kidding, no really email me….

Its a familiar paradigm:

The Yin Yang of Art imitating Life, and Life in turn imitating art. Seinfeld even once pulled the meta-tasticly ironic quadfecta of Art-imitates-Life-imitates-Art-imitates-Life in the brilliant episode #155 known as “The Muffin Top” (The show’s Cosmo Kramer hosts a Jay Peterman reality tour -which is based on Real-world Kenny Kramer hosting a Seinfeld reality tour based on The TV show Seinfeld, which is based on the real lives of Jerry Seinfeld and Kenny Kramer. Whoa.)

In attempting to apply this to the Barefoot Theater’s performance of “Dog Day Afternoon” I found an even more complex display of the spiral: It seems I’ve stumbled upon Art imitating Art imitating Journalism imitating Life. Or is Journalism a bridge between Life and Art? . . . Christ I need an aspirin.

In 1972, two men held up a Chase Bank on Ave P and E3rd st. in Brooklyn NY. What ensued was a bizarre 14-hour Urban Dramedy in which it was discovered that the cause for the hold-up was so that the “mastermind” (if he could be called one) needed money for his male-wife’s sex change.

Only in New York, right? Well, only in Brooklyn to be exact.

The story was unique and fascinating enough to inspire journalist P.F. Kluge to write a feature article in Life Magazine entitled “Boys in the Bank” as if the sex-change bank-robbery weren’t enough, the other factors that simmers in the stifling heat and tension of the summer of 1972 in Brooklyn, seeped through every inch of the Brooklyn streets on that strange, strange day.

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