Serendib

I've come to expect good things from Ensemble Theatre, and their latest presentation, Serendib (part of the First Light Festival), is a serendipitous gem. Using agile, arm-throttling puppetry (designed by Emily DeCola) and working off a wryly comic but intelligent script (about scientists and monkeys, no less!) by David Zellnik, this jungle-themed show is an engaging work of parallels between man and ape. The conclusion drawn--that "we all eat at the same banquet of fears and desires"--isn't exactly surprising, nor is the plot's presentation, but the puppets are great, and the fluid way in which Carlos Armesto has managed to have the actor leap from their human role to their monkey alter-ego makes for a theatrically promising evening. Plus: more puppet sex than Avenue Q -- and a monologue during one particularly vigorous rutting. Who can pass that up?

[Read on] [Also blogged by: David]

John Fugelsang's All The Wrong Reasons

Heads up!
I caught Fugelsang's one man show at New York Theatre Workshop last weekend and it's pretty darned special.
My review is here.
NYTW is offering discount tix below.
I say GO!


Tickets for all performances March 23 - May 6 are just $35 each (reg. $50).
Use code AWNYTW6 when ordering.
To purchase tickets, call TeleCharge at (212) 947-8844 or visit http://www.broadwayoffers.com/.

New York Theatre Workshop also offers both Student Tickets and CheapTix Sundays.

CheapTix Sundays: All tickets for all Sunday evening performances at 7pm are just $20 each! Tickets are available in advance but must be purchased at the NYTW box office on a cash-only basis.

Student Tickets: Full-time students with a valid student ID may purchase $20 tickets for all performances (subject to availability). Limit one ticket per ID. Tickets must be purchased in person and require an ID at the box office.

The NYTW box office is located at 79 East 4th Street (between Second Avenue and Bowery) and is open Tuesday - Saturday from 1pm - 6pm.

Prometheus Bound

photo: Richard Termine

Prometheus was bound to a rock for thousands of years. Theatregoers have an easier stretch of it at the Classic Stage Company's heavy-handed production of Prometheus Bound: just eighty minutes of monotony. I won't say that nothing has been done to mitigate the theatrically static nature of the centuries-old play - there is dramatic music that raises the pulse, and some interesting use of movement for the female chorus - but what has been done is not nearly enough. I spotted at least half a dozen fellow theatregoers snoozin' only a half hour in. The big news here is meant to be British actor David Oyelowo as the bound Prometheus, and while there is something to be said for the ferocity of the rage he sustains for the length of the play, I longed to see him in something (read: ANYTHING!) else.

The Pirate Queen

photo: Joan Marcus

**
Hilton Theater

It was kinda fun watching Jeff McCarthy, after so brilliantly playing the most sarcastic character in the history of musical theater in Urinetown, attempt sincerity while decked out in a Della Reese wig. The valiant trooper gives it his best shot as does everyone else (each also trapped in their own personal wig hells) in this musical that definitely looks and sounds like a Boublil-Schönberg but gives us neither the memorable melodies or invest-worthy book that made Les Miz and Miss Saigon work so well. All the homoeroticism, step-dancing, endless sword-play made this feel less of a high-stakes passionate epic and more of a cheeseball pageant attempting to capitalize on the Riverdance phenomenon. Is it good enough to secure a best musical Tony nom? Possibly. Depends on how good the wigs are in Legally Blonde and LoveMusik.

The Pirate Queen

photo: Joan Marcus

It's nearly impossible to take anything that happens seriously in the lavish new musical The Pirate Queen, which combines the earnest bombast of Les Miserables and the visceral choreography of Riverdance with a historical preposterousness not seen since Princess Amneris' pop-art fashion show in Disney's Aida. A lot of professionalism is evident in the musical stagings and in the design, but it's all more than a little crazy: whenever the story (of a 16th century swashbuckling Irish lass who defied gender conventions by leading men in battle against England) starts to sag, you can be sure the boys in the ensemble will soon be pounding boots to floor in costumes that sometimes show off their chest waxes, so very popular in Ireland in the 1500's. The book should be a lot better than it is - what could potentially be a sensational girl-power story is sabotaged at every turn and has no more emotional punch than a pageant - and the music only has a Celtic flavor when it's time for a jig. Mostly the songs sound like Celine Dion cover bait, or alternately like rough drafts for numbers from other Boubil-Schoenberg shows; play along from your seat and spot the wannabe "Her Or Me," "Master of the House," "At The End of the Day," etc. Stephanie J. Block does all she can in the title role - she's likeably determined and gets a moment or two to break through the spectacle - and Linda Balgord is entertaining if you don't mind that she's asked to play Queen Elizabeth as a drag queen might in 1980 at The Pyramid. All my attention went to Hadley Fraser whenever he was on stage: he sings with so much gusto and passion that you think, yes, now this crazy musical will finally start to soar. No such luck.

Blackbird

By now the confrontational dance of abused and abuser is almost a dramatic cliche - in this case, Una (Alison Pill, exceptional) corners Ray (Jeff Daniels, staggering) in his workplace and forces him to deal with the lingering damage of their sexual relationship (which ended when he was forty and she was twelve). He served time, changed his name and is terrified that she's tracked him down; she's a walking, rageful wound, desperate for closure. We've seen this dance before, but rarely with the force and the impact of David Harrower's stunning, psychologically astute play, which shrewdly plays tricks on the audience's sympathies before its jolting final scenes. Although it's unlikely to be as popular, partly due to its ugliness and its graphic content (I counted six walkouts at the performance I saw, attention: David Bell!), theatregoers are going to be talking about this play as they did with Doubt, debating what *really* happened. You'll hear some praise about how Harrower has written shades of gray into the situation. That's only true up to a point; for me, while open to many nuances of interpretation, this brilliant play is ultimately a grim reminder of the life-long reach of abuse. It's the best and most riveting new play I've seen so far this year.