Bridge & Tunnel (Sunday, 1.29.06)
Helen Hayes Theatre, New York, NY
By: Sarah Jones
Starring: Sarah Jones
Close your eyes and you will be transported. The remarkable Sarah Jones captures each inflection, each mannerism. Open your eyes and you will swear that you see a middle aged immigrant from Pakistan, a Chinese woman, an elderly Jewish woman from Staten Island, a second-generation Vietnamese teenager from Chicago. Jones remarkably transforms herself in seconds from one character to the next, and back again.
Jones’ actual performance, however, is not the only remarkable thing. It is also the beautifully written words themselves, also penned by Jones, which are touching and funny all at once. Jones is a poet; she has captured these characters in the way they speak, but also in what they say.
Taken together, these characters capture the immigrant experience – at least, the experience of immigrants interested in becoming part of American society. For this reason, the show rings true as a story about the people of New York City – it tells the story of all of these different people, with different backgrounds and different experiences, but all with one thing in common – their desire to share their experiences and themselves with others. These are community builders.
That said, Jones has wisely put this all in the backdrop of the post 9/11 world, where there is great danger of prejudice. The show starts with the M.C., who is Pakistani, talking on his cell phone to his worried wife about a relative taken in for questioning by the authorities. From this, we understand and appreciate all the more the experiences of these people, all so different, and yet all so contributing to our society and all that is good about it.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Review-In The Continuum (1.28.06)
In The Continuum (Saturday, 1.28.06)
Perry Theatre, New York, NY
By: Danai Gurira, Nikkole Salter
Starring: Danai Gurira, Nikkole Salter
Two women discover they have AIDS. Though their circumstances couldn’t be more different, this one fact ties them together, and their stories inevitably interweave. The beauty of this phenomenal play – really a series of two intertwining monologues – is in how the each woman’s stories intersects with the other’s.
Strictly speaking, In the Continuum is not a play – it is really performance theatre, a combination of monologue, poem, one-character play, dance, and song. The story told here is about AIDS, but it is different from the story we’re used to hearing. This is the story of AIDS in Africa, and it is a story which needs to be told. But what is so compelling is the story is also about these two individual women – in telling a story that is universal and pervasive, this piece never veers into the general, and always sticks to what is most compelling – the stories of individuals.
Not enough can be said about the two marvelous playwrights and stars, Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter. Each has to play several characters while also interweaving their story with that of the other actor. This difficult piece requires tremendous timing, and these two have it. The flow is so seamless, that there could be one actor or a dozen on the stage. But here there are two, and they tell a remarkable story.
In the Continuum is remarkable. It is a deeply moving story that needs to be told. It has a message, a message about universality and the world’s identification with the struggle of the disease which afflicts so many and invades the corners of our so many lives. It is also the story of powerful resolve, and how the most powerful and good of human spirit lives on even as forces work to try and destroy it.
Perry Theatre, New York, NY
By: Danai Gurira, Nikkole Salter
Starring: Danai Gurira, Nikkole Salter
Two women discover they have AIDS. Though their circumstances couldn’t be more different, this one fact ties them together, and their stories inevitably interweave. The beauty of this phenomenal play – really a series of two intertwining monologues – is in how the each woman’s stories intersects with the other’s.
Strictly speaking, In the Continuum is not a play – it is really performance theatre, a combination of monologue, poem, one-character play, dance, and song. The story told here is about AIDS, but it is different from the story we’re used to hearing. This is the story of AIDS in Africa, and it is a story which needs to be told. But what is so compelling is the story is also about these two individual women – in telling a story that is universal and pervasive, this piece never veers into the general, and always sticks to what is most compelling – the stories of individuals.
Not enough can be said about the two marvelous playwrights and stars, Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter. Each has to play several characters while also interweaving their story with that of the other actor. This difficult piece requires tremendous timing, and these two have it. The flow is so seamless, that there could be one actor or a dozen on the stage. But here there are two, and they tell a remarkable story.
In the Continuum is remarkable. It is a deeply moving story that needs to be told. It has a message, a message about universality and the world’s identification with the struggle of the disease which afflicts so many and invades the corners of our so many lives. It is also the story of powerful resolve, and how the most powerful and good of human spirit lives on even as forces work to try and destroy it.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Review-Rabbit Hole (1.27.06)
Rabbit Hole (Friday, 1.27.06)
Biltmore Theatre, New York, NY
By: David Lindsay-Abaire
Starring: Cynthia Nixon (Becca), Mary Catherine Garrison (Izzy), John Slattery (Howie), Tyne Daly (Nat), John Gallagher Jr. (Jason)
There is nothing perhaps so tragic as the loss of a child, particular a young child in an accident. In the aftermath of such a tragedy, how is a child’s parents to cope?
That’s the set-up of David Lindsay-Abaire’s new drama, Rabbit Hole. In this well-crafted play, Lindsay-Abaire refrains from stating the obvious, refrains from composing long speeches, and instead relies on situation and good acting to make his point. The play is filled with some great one-liners, especially coming from Tyne Daly’s Nat, who uses her tremendous comedic timing to great effect.
But the play is also filled with some touching moments, particularly provided by Cynthia Nixon and John Slattery. The play probably works and succeeds because of its ability to avoid being overly wrought or overly dramatic. Though the movie of the week may portray such a tragedy as being played out through a single big dramatic event, in reality, there is no such big drama. Lindsay-Abaire wisely avoids such big moments, satisfied instead with a series of more subdued scenes. There is also no epiphany, no denouement, no moment when everything rights itself. The characters go through a process, and while you sense that there is progress being made, you are never really entirely sure.
The result is also that none of the individual characters stands out either, and in this case, this is a good thing. It makes the play extremely well-balanced and relies on all of its actors and characters to build the story. There is no particular individual who stands out, and in this excellent, cast, no particular actor who stands out. Similarly, there is no weak link.
Cynthia Nixon’s performance is both touching and accessible on an emotional level. She is guarded, to be sure. But if there is a barrier between her and the audience, it is a necessary one. No woman who lost her young son in a tragic accident would ever simply invite outsiders in. Indeed, Nixon has difficulty even inviting her husband, her mother and her wife back into her world, let alone the audience. John Slattery works well with Nixon, pushing her boundaries, while at the same time dealing with his own obvious frustrations.
John Gallagher, Jr. also gives a nice performance as the young man who, by circumstance and through no fault of his own, perpetrates the accident which takes the boy’s life. Gallagher is self-conscious throughout, but yet he feels compelled to reach out. His discomfort makes sense, and it gives Nixon’s character a change to react and respond in a realistic way.Of course, what makes the play work so well -- it’s lack of a big moment -- is also what leaves the audience a little unsatisfied at the end. The drawback of this type of construction is that there is no “pay off” – no single scene which registers that feeling of emotional satisfaction. But then again, the play is so realistic, that it is still satisfying in its own way.
Biltmore Theatre, New York, NY
By: David Lindsay-Abaire
Starring: Cynthia Nixon (Becca), Mary Catherine Garrison (Izzy), John Slattery (Howie), Tyne Daly (Nat), John Gallagher Jr. (Jason)
There is nothing perhaps so tragic as the loss of a child, particular a young child in an accident. In the aftermath of such a tragedy, how is a child’s parents to cope?
That’s the set-up of David Lindsay-Abaire’s new drama, Rabbit Hole. In this well-crafted play, Lindsay-Abaire refrains from stating the obvious, refrains from composing long speeches, and instead relies on situation and good acting to make his point. The play is filled with some great one-liners, especially coming from Tyne Daly’s Nat, who uses her tremendous comedic timing to great effect.
But the play is also filled with some touching moments, particularly provided by Cynthia Nixon and John Slattery. The play probably works and succeeds because of its ability to avoid being overly wrought or overly dramatic. Though the movie of the week may portray such a tragedy as being played out through a single big dramatic event, in reality, there is no such big drama. Lindsay-Abaire wisely avoids such big moments, satisfied instead with a series of more subdued scenes. There is also no epiphany, no denouement, no moment when everything rights itself. The characters go through a process, and while you sense that there is progress being made, you are never really entirely sure.
The result is also that none of the individual characters stands out either, and in this case, this is a good thing. It makes the play extremely well-balanced and relies on all of its actors and characters to build the story. There is no particular individual who stands out, and in this excellent, cast, no particular actor who stands out. Similarly, there is no weak link.
Cynthia Nixon’s performance is both touching and accessible on an emotional level. She is guarded, to be sure. But if there is a barrier between her and the audience, it is a necessary one. No woman who lost her young son in a tragic accident would ever simply invite outsiders in. Indeed, Nixon has difficulty even inviting her husband, her mother and her wife back into her world, let alone the audience. John Slattery works well with Nixon, pushing her boundaries, while at the same time dealing with his own obvious frustrations.
John Gallagher, Jr. also gives a nice performance as the young man who, by circumstance and through no fault of his own, perpetrates the accident which takes the boy’s life. Gallagher is self-conscious throughout, but yet he feels compelled to reach out. His discomfort makes sense, and it gives Nixon’s character a change to react and respond in a realistic way.Of course, what makes the play work so well -- it’s lack of a big moment -- is also what leaves the audience a little unsatisfied at the end. The drawback of this type of construction is that there is no “pay off” – no single scene which registers that feeling of emotional satisfaction. But then again, the play is so realistic, that it is still satisfying in its own way.
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