So I saw Annie Baker's "The Flick" at the Barrow Street Theatre last week and, as usual when I see one of her plays ("Circle Mirror Transformation" at Playwrites Horizons, her translation of "Uncle Vanya"at the Soho Rep), had the satisfaction of seeing exceptional theatre. The play takes place in a Massachusettes movie theatre where three employees cycle between taking tickets, selling concessions, working the projector and, for the time they are on stage, cleaning the theatre.
Rose, Sam and Avery are a sad-sacky bunch. Rose, played by Louise Krause, seems at first like a disaffected punk, all snarky and dark-humored. Matthew Mayher's Sam is in his mid-thirties has no direction in life beyond pride in his current menial job. Avery, the very fine young actor Aaron Clifton Moren, is a black college student and son of a university professer, whose psychological problems have caused him to take a hiatis from school. As a film nut with a seemingly endless store of movie trivia on tap, he propels the action of the play forward. Slowly, the characters reveal more about themselves and begin to connect as they metaphorically dance around each other.
This is one of the last remaining movie theatres in Massachusettes that actually show films on celluloid which is what has attracted Avery to work here, sweeping popcorn off the floor and scraping gum off seats. But the new owner plans to digitilize and Avery will be left rudderless once more. Small dramas are played out over the course of the three plus hours but the play is really about so much: race, class, love, longing, loss and the inevitable march of time.
"The Flick" is three hours long and the theatre is small and not air-conditioned. During much of the play there is silence on stage and what dialogue there is often fragmented as in real life. The New York Times critic Charles Isherwood makes a point in his review of saying that the play is difficult to sit through for some people; both times he saw it there were people who either walked out during the play or left at intermission. I only wish that the enormously tall, wide and fidgety man sitting in front of me had done so.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Friday, May 1, 2015
Putting Up My Shingle Again
Apologies for my long absence but life has been fairly chaotic recently. I'm back and had much to comment on.
April 13th was my second time at Irish Arts Center for Muldoon's Picnic. The evening kicked off with the hilarious "I Haven't Seen The Movie But I've Read The Book" performed by Paul Muldoon and the Wayside Shrines. Also on the roster were the writer and memoirist Mary Karr, Irish poet Nuala Ni Dhomhanaill and Larry Kirwan of Black 47.
Nuala Ni Dhomhanaill read her poems in Irish Gaelic paired with Muldoon's translations. Her mermaid poems are myth but such that she considers 'a basic, fundamental structuring of our (the Irish) reality, a narrative that we place on the chaos of sensation to make sense of our lives.'
Larry Kirwan read a passage about Rory Gallagher from his book "The History of Irish Music" and performed songs from "Transport," his musical about Irish women deported to Australia in 1846. But it was his story about his recent visit to a community of Irish called Red Legs who haved lived on Barbados since the 17th Century, brought there as slaves for British planters, that resonated most profoundly.
Mary Karr surprised with her rocking performance of "I Hate That Big Fat Bitch Who Had You First" which she wrote with Rodney Crowell and performed here with The Wayside Shrines.
But the unexpected visit of Larry Kirwan's 20-something son Rory (named no doubt for Rory Gallagher) performing a spoken word piece got the youth vote and was the highlight of the evening.
I look forward to many more Muldoon's picnics. They will resume in the Fall. For more information you can visit www.irishartscenter.org or follow Irish Arts Center on Facebook.
I'll be back with observations about my beloved Soho Rep's readings from their current Writer/Director Lab, a mini-review of "An American In Paris", snarky comments about the new musical "Iowa" and "The Heidi Chronicals" and much, much more.
April 13th was my second time at Irish Arts Center for Muldoon's Picnic. The evening kicked off with the hilarious "I Haven't Seen The Movie But I've Read The Book" performed by Paul Muldoon and the Wayside Shrines. Also on the roster were the writer and memoirist Mary Karr, Irish poet Nuala Ni Dhomhanaill and Larry Kirwan of Black 47.
Nuala Ni Dhomhanaill read her poems in Irish Gaelic paired with Muldoon's translations. Her mermaid poems are myth but such that she considers 'a basic, fundamental structuring of our (the Irish) reality, a narrative that we place on the chaos of sensation to make sense of our lives.'
Larry Kirwan read a passage about Rory Gallagher from his book "The History of Irish Music" and performed songs from "Transport," his musical about Irish women deported to Australia in 1846. But it was his story about his recent visit to a community of Irish called Red Legs who haved lived on Barbados since the 17th Century, brought there as slaves for British planters, that resonated most profoundly.
Mary Karr surprised with her rocking performance of "I Hate That Big Fat Bitch Who Had You First" which she wrote with Rodney Crowell and performed here with The Wayside Shrines.
But the unexpected visit of Larry Kirwan's 20-something son Rory (named no doubt for Rory Gallagher) performing a spoken word piece got the youth vote and was the highlight of the evening.
I look forward to many more Muldoon's picnics. They will resume in the Fall. For more information you can visit www.irishartscenter.org or follow Irish Arts Center on Facebook.
I'll be back with observations about my beloved Soho Rep's readings from their current Writer/Director Lab, a mini-review of "An American In Paris", snarky comments about the new musical "Iowa" and "The Heidi Chronicals" and much, much more.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)