Entries Tagged 'Theatre' ↓

written by: Nate Weida
directed by: David J. Sorrellis

Michelle and I went to see Byuioo this past Friday. It was showing at The Mazer Theatre as part of the Fringe NYC Festival.

It’s a musical loosely based on the Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, sung entirely in gibberish. Very cool production with some very well written music and terrific choreography. The concept is fresh. I could definitely see this having some sort of Off Broadway run. It’s quirky enough to appeal to the Blue Man Group / De la Guarda crowd. Interestingly enough, most of the cast were from North Carolina, including the writer Nate Weida. Seems he was a graduate of the Chapel Hill High School. (The director was his teacher there.)

It was inspiring to see such an original work.

directed by Jace Alexander

I saw a very cool production at The Zipper Theatre this past Monday night. It’s called Once Around the Sun. One of it’s cast members is my very good friend Wes Little.

Here’s a description of the story from the website:

“An invitation from a beautiful stranger offers a struggling New York musician the opportunity to escape his disappointments and take a leap of faith into his dream… but at the risk of betraying family, life-long friends and true love.

Seduced by his desire to finally be heard, he makes some unexpected choices and ultimately discovers the flight to glory is nothing like he could have ever imagined.

With an original score that includes rock, pop and swing, ONCE AROUND THE SUN takes an honest, intimate and irreverent look at one man’s efforts to define himself as an artist and find his voice as a human being.”

Top: Kevin Mambo
Middle: Caren Lyn Manuel, Asa Somers, Wes Little
Floor: Jesse Lenat

Wes plays Richie, the drummer in the band. He actually has quite abit of stage time and has to act, which he does quite well. The music is great and the singers are fantastic. So far they have a limited run through September 18th.

Written by Naomi Iizuka
Directed by Courtney Sale
Produced by The Management Company

Michelle and I saw Aloha, Say the Pretty Girls at Victory Hall in Jersey City this past Friday. It’s a quite charming 11 person play written by Naomi Iizuka and directed by Courtney Sale. It also featured one of my former classmates at the William Esper Studio, Mike Lavoie.

Really interesting staging, and charming performances by the actors. It’s a quirky play and a bit difficult to summarize. It was one of those plays where the characters are established separately and then end up running into each other throughout the rest of the show. The main thing was that I enjoyed the characters and was quite touched by alot of the moments. I hope to see more work by Courtney Sale in the future!

Rain - Cirque Eloize
The New Victory Theater
Written & Directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca

Michelle and I went to see Rain this afternoon at The New Victory Theater. It’s quite a beautiful and extraordinary show performed by Cirque Eloize. (It’s very much in the circus tradition of Cirque du Soleil, except much more intimate.)

I was particularly inspired by the biography of one of the performers who was from NYC:

“Jonas Woolverton is a native of New York City. He graduated with a B.A. in film production; studied dance and theater; and played accordion in the circus/rock band Circophonique!. While working as a filmaker in San Francisco, he saw Cirque Eloize’s Excentricus and his life and career path were forever changed. He knew that he had to work with this company and dedicated himself to studying the enigmatic Cyr Wheel. The Clow Conservatory at the Circus Center in San Francisco gave him the formal training he needed, and he was hired to perform German Wheel and lay accordion in The New Pickle Circus’ Circumstance, directed by Gypsy Snider, and received rave reviews. Ecstatic to be a part of Rain, he is living his dream. One day Mr. Woolverton plans to combine his passion and experience in the circus with his love for making films.

(The Cyr Wheel is a kind of human size hula hoop that the performer spins around in. It looks a bit like a coin when it spins on a table and is about to fall flat. I SO want to try one!) I guess it’s inspiring to see someone take a vastly different career path from where they started and end up being successful.

I’d also love to see other work by the director, Daniele Finzi Pasca. It seems quite intriquing.

The show was rich in detail and vibrant images as well as filled with moving and tender moments. I only wish I could see them again before it closes on Sunday!

Michelle and I went to see Slava’s Snowshow on Friday night. The show involves clowning, and I was expecting something along the lines of Cirque du Soleil. Honestly we were both pretty dissappointed, especially since the reviews had been pretty good. Things opened well enough, and the physicality of the performers was impressive. It’s just that the bits seemed uninspired and there was very little energy to the performance. The program stated that “The Snowshow company is made up of a number of clowns; it is rarely known in advance which clowns will perform at which performances.”, so I’m willing to chalk my experience of the show up to an off night by the cast, or perhaps a lack of chemistry between this particular cast. (Luckily the tickets were only $30 bucks and the seats were pretty good, so it wasn’t a total loss.)

Michelle and I went to see Avenue Q this past Sunday night. I knew most of the music and had been wanting to see it for some time. (We had terrific seats in the second row stage left. This was my Christmas present from Michelle… and a very groovy Christmas present it was indeed!).

The show was absolutely amazing and entirely lived up to my expectations. It’s a kind of depraved Sesame Street for adults, but in good way. (The puppet handlers are right on stage with the puppets). One of the standout actors for me was Barrett Foa. He played the parts of two of the main characters Princeton & Rod, and seemed to be everywhere at once. Interestingly enough the understudy for Christmas Eve (one of the characters) was Angela Ai who I went to grad school with. (I think we may have known each other in passing…).

I completely recommend this show!

I may make a more detailed post later, but I wanted to capture my initial feelings about this years Tony Awards. I have to admit I don’t think I’ve ever watched a Tony Awards before in my life. Broadway was never my thing, to be honest. But having begun studies both as an actor and a singer, I’ve gained a new respect and appreciation of Broadway shows. (I include in this appreciation Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway as well…).

Anyway, I’d say I was most impressed with Hugh Jackman. He really is an amazing talent. He performed one of the showcase numbers from “The Boy From Oz”, and it was terriffic. Also surprising to me was the success of Avenue Q. They surprised everyone (including themselves, it seemed from their response when almost the whole cast rushed the stage…) by winning Best Musical. The two composers who wrote the score/lyrics looked like a couple of giddy music nerds when they won the Tony earlier in the evening for Best Score. I’ve not seen this show yet (I’ve only heard the music…), but based on the music alone it’s one that I’ve been dying to see. I’ll give a full report in a later posting.

Though I didn’t see the complete broadcast, the one thing that seemed really apparent was the pandering to younger audiences with the addition of “urban superstars” as presenters. LL Cool J presenting with Carol Channing? Ewww…! Creepy. And I’ll admit that I didn’t hear the full version of Beyonce singing whatever classic Broadway number she sang, but the first few lines were enough. It’s kinda the Puff Daddy syndrome, I guess. (Hmm… what’s that? You’re casting ‘A Raisin in the Sun’, one of Tenessee Williams most classic plays? What? Sean “Puffy” Coombs is available? Sure he’s never acted before, but fuck it he’ll put the asses in the seats! It’s all about the Benjamin’s, baby!).

But that’s an entirely different rant! : )

I just saw a play called Engaged at the Lucy Lortel Theatre, in the West Village. It was put on by the Theatre for a New Audience, and written by W.S. Gilbert (of Gilbert & Sullivan). It was a farce, and a really enjoyable one at that. One of the most impressive things for me was the actors use of language (something I’m currently working on in my Voice/Speech class with Pat Fletcher) and their physicality. It’s a limited run, and will be long gone by the time I actually get this Blog out of the Beta stage, but it does give me something to practicing my posting with!

I’m not sure exactly what to make of the most recent musical that I’ve seen, Caroline, or Change. Officially it’s in it’s last night of previews and opens tomorrow at the Eugene O’neill Theatre. I’d heard really good things about the show from classmates, and apparently the lead actor Tonya Pinkins is a former student at the same acting school that I attend, The William Esper Studio. Vocally the performances were stunning. (Ms. Pinkins feature in the second act is a real treat, and the child lead Harrison Chad is amazing). I’m not sure why I didn’t leave the theatre with the same impression that everyone else seemed to. During the first act I felt really disconnected from what was going on onstage. It may have had something to do with my seats. TKTS is a beautiful thing, and I wouldn’t be able to meet my goal of seeing at least 2-3 shows a month without them, but my 54.00 seats were bascially in the nosebleed right rear mezzanine. Though I did have a full view of the stage, there were times when I really had to stuggle to understand what the singers were saying. At intermission I moved to an obstructed view seat in the front right orchestra, and though there were times that I couldn’t see people that were singing due to where they were on the stage, I enjoyed the second act much more than the first.

To me the book seemed abit all over the place, without a real clear and tight storyline, but as I say it may have been that my seats for the first act really never let me get in tune with the show. From the buzz of the crowd and the general buzz that I’ve heard about this show I think it’s probably on it’s way to some type of Tony, especially with a book by Tony Kuschner (Angels in America) and music by Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie). The acting was good, especially when I was able to be closer to the stage. Overall I enjoyed the show, and especially liked Tonya Pinkins. Both her vocal performance and acting were wonderful.

As a side note I made one of those wonderful NYC discoveries while kiling time before the show. I found what may be one of the last independently owned cool little used book/clothing stores near the theatre, where I picked up a hard copy of “The Magic Lantern”, an autobiography of Ingmar Bergman for 5.00. I’ve never seen any of Bergman’s films, but have heard about him (especially the Sevent Seal). It will be a good excuse to check out his work.

I just saw I Am My Own Wife tonight at the Lyceum Theatre. It’s a wonderful one man show with a truly remarkable performance by Jefferson Mays. It’s based on the life of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a German transvestite with a passion for collecting antique furniture and Victrolas. It’s difficult to really sum up the play here… I’d recommend checking out the website, and definitely checking out this show while you have the chance.