Category: Theater

#909: Classical Theatre of Harlem

I know what it says about this city, the country, and our world that the production of Macbeth presented on an outdoor stage during a steamy summer was not crowded until–well, ever. I arrived an hour before the show and there were 4 other people there. The audience didn’t start to filter in steadily until a half hour before the play started, and even at curtain time, there were still seats available.

I know what it means that this fantastic night of theater is relatively unknown in the city, despite being an innovative adaptation filled with talented actors.

I know it’s important to recognize and discuss why this free event was the first time I’ve been to a free event here that didn’t require a fight or at the very least strong patience to attend. Continue reading “#909: Classical Theatre of Harlem”

#889: See Troll

I’ve been to my share–and likely yours as well–of small plays in New York. So I think I have a decent background to draw upon when viewing one.

At an hour and 20 minutes, Troll was at least a half hour too long–not because it felt long, but because there was a scene of at least a half hour that had nothing to do with the rest of the play. Continue reading “#889: See Troll”

#805: See a robot ballet

Professional ballerinas don’t have to worry about robots taking over their jobs anytime soon.

Still, it was more than a little creepy to see these machines dancing around the stage, playing music, being applauded by the audience.

Continue reading “#805: See a robot ballet”

#803: UCB East

Witnessing some of the worst stand-up comedy (this category has a lot of competition so I can’t just give it the prize outright) I’ve ever seen, I felt uncomfortable.  After the show, I felt bad for these comedians for being so terrible.

Later, I felt dumb for feeling bad.  So they were terrible.  Do I have a monthly show at the Upright Citizens Brigade?

No. Continue reading “#803: UCB East”

#661: Watch Phoenix

I get it.  Two people on a small stage.  It’s probably very difficult to make this convincing, especially when one of the actors is Julia Stiles, who is famous and therefore has to try even harder to get the audience to see her as a character and not a celebrity.

But I did not enjoy this play.  I’m sure both actors are very talented in general, but as people who were supposed to be interacting in a “dark romantic comedy,” they fell way short.

Continue reading “#661: Watch Phoenix”

#658: Watch The Importance of Being Earnest

In my mind, Oscar Wilde can (I mean, could, when he was alive, of course) do no wrong (I mean, as a writer, of course).

So the Hudson Warehouse Theater Company’s outdoor production of the play was always going to be good in my opinion.

Continue reading “#658: Watch The Importance of Being Earnest”

#627: See Of Mice and Men

It was always inevitable, of course.  You knew it from the moment the curtain rose and the familiar sense of this isn’t going to end well bubbled and gurgled up into your throat.

But you tried to enjoy the experience anyway, since everyone was so talented and objectively it was impressive.

Still, that nagging feeling of this is hurtling toward devastation wouldn’t go away, and while on the one hand, you wanted to just get it over with, on the other hand you wanted to stop time so you might never have to reach the instant everything goes so terribly wrong.

Continue reading “#627: See Of Mice and Men”

#606: Be in a play

Like, a real one.  On a real stage.  Not like in second grade when I played Diggy Dog in my classroom’s production of The Animal Music Men.

“How did you find out about this?” everyone asks when they hear I’m in The Vagina Monologues.

“I don’t remember,” I tell them, which is true.  I don’t remember what I was looking up online that led me to the ad for the interest meeting for the Bushwick-based BABE group’s 2nd annual performance of the show.  I do recall when it was though, and I do remember why I decided to attend an interest meeting for a play even though I’d never acted before.

Continue reading “#606: Be in a play”

#605: Sleep No More

This is not a review for Sleep No More–if you want spoilers, just visit Yelp.

This is more an alert that if you suffer from Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), this is not the show for you.  Or it is–if you want to attempt to overcome this affliction.

As you probably know, at Sleep No More, the actors are all in separate places simultaneously enacting different scenes.  So even if you wanted to, you’d never see everything.  Even if you go at the earliest time and stay for the full 3 hours (I did, and I recommend this fully).

At first, when I found myself wandering around empty rooms, I felt the panic of FOMO seeping into my brain.  I knew there were great scenes going on all around me, but I didn’t know when or where exactly.  Plus, everything was dark, and I’m bad with directions.  But after I chased the first guy to run past me and ended up in a room by myself with him but then was bored because nothing was really happening, I started to get over it. I wandered in a creepy forest for a while.  I pulled back curtains into rooms I would never approach in real life.  I took candy from a candy jar.

Continue reading “#605: Sleep No More”