The Secret Agenda of Trees

Struggling semi-white-trash single-mom families are nothing new to the theatrical canon, nor should they be: they make for great drama. Drunk one-night stands with strange, domineering men that turn into lengthy, tainted-love relationships: those are no surprise neither. But The Secret Agenda of Trees handles the two with such a succulent grasp of language that Colin McKenna's play rises above its stereotypes and major dramatic cliches (like a drug overdose and rather restrained recovery). It also has one final trick up its sleeve: a gifted daughter who styles herself after Rosemary Clooney and lives in a fantasy world, but who also nurses her own addiction to a wannabe Salvatorian-gangbanger named Carlos (Gio Perez is, unfortunately, the one character in the play who doesn't surpass the stereotype). That's original, or at least Sarah Lord's brilliant portrayal of her is, flushed as it is between monologuing dream narratives and fearless real-world experiments. Make no mistake, Veronica is the heart of this piece, and she pumps with such ferocious strength that there's more than enough blood to circulate even through the limper, less defined vessels of the show.

Doublethink

***1/2


PS122 (where else?)

After severely disliking last year's An Oak Tree, I was leery about this production of Doublethink which, like ...Tree, features performers who walk into Act 1, Scene 1 completely unknowing of what the hell's gonna happen over the course of the show. In ...Tree it was a long list of orders: "Okay, stand here now". "Say this". "Now look over there". etc. It got very tedious and I could sense the actor's frustration with being micromanaged. Doublethink generally begins with the same concept (though here there are two actors who cannot see each other who are performing the same tasks). It is when another layer of reality (which I shouldn't give away here) is added that this performance art experiment really pops and becomes this trippy, fascinating, avant garde study in human behavior. These actors, like in ...Tree , still have those "what on earth have I gotten myself into?" looks on their faces but that's exactly what the creators of Doublethink were hoping for.
Also blogged by: [Aaron]

Doublethink

Attention: you've got the rest of this weekend, and this weekend only, to catch Doublethink, by Rotozaza, at PS122, before this marvelously human exhibition vanishes from the stage. This double-blind experiment in trust, communication, and committment is absolutely thrilling, and even after the whole thing becomes a wonky avant-garde display, our two surrogate guest performers (on my night, Steve Cuiffo and Theo Kogan), are too innocent to make us feel as if we've been used or toyed with in any way. For all the instructions they're fed in private (or publically, for the first thirty minutes), they're still ultimately as much in the dark as us, and it's a thrilling Space Mountain-like ride for those of us willing to follow down the rabbit hole. And but so then plus, my personal commendation to Neil Bennun and Silvia Mercuriali for so smoothly operating that ride; I couldn't ask for better Mad Hatters and White Hares.

[Read on] [Also blogged by: David]

Sweet Love Adieu

Lion Theatre
Left at intermish.

note to self: your ADD makes you tune out Elizabethan verse.

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.