We attended the Inaugural Meeting of the Athanasius Kircher Society last night, which featured:
In all, a delightful and enlightening evening. I didn't take pictures but here's a Flickr set. Being our Resident Expert on the History of Scientific Congresses and Societies, Ph.Deb is going to offer her services to the Athanasius Kircher Society in the interests of Historical Accuracy.
When they talk about a War on Christmas, they mean this show. Two of our favorite acts were in it -- the Pontanti Sisters and the Wau-Wau Sisters -- plus Dirty Martini and of course your host, Murray Hill. Fa Va Va Va Va, Va Va Va Voom!
That is all.
Vin Knight is appearing in "Gatz," an Elevator Repair Service show that stages the complete text of The Great Gatsby over seven hours. Now showing in Minneapolis.
Lisa Jolley is starring in "Jolley on the Spot," her improvised cabaret act, which is totally great. Mondays in October starting 10/9.
Burlesque, country-western, Night Ranger, Cirque de Soleil, clowns, punk, trapeze -- I have not laughed so hard at a show in a long long time. See them next time they're in your town. The Wau Wau Sisters. (Warning: Splash/Flash page is noisy.)
The problem was not Cyndi Lauper as Jenny. She doesn't quite have the chops for the stage, but her solo ("Solomon's Song," with a touch of reverb) was quite affecting. The problem wasn't Nellie McKay as Polly, although doing an Audrey Hepburn imitation is not the same thing as acting innocent, darling. The problem wasn't so much Ana Gasteyer as a shrieking Mrs. Peachum. The problem wasn't that the show was nearly stolen by Jim Dale as Mr. Peachum and Brian Charles Rooney as drag Lucy Brown.
No, the problem was Alan Cumming. He's a fine actor, but he just cannot pull off the role of Macheath (Mack the Knife). On stage, it's simply unbelievable that he could be a killer, a rapist, a thug. A libertine, yes. But he plays too low status, and doesn't radiate any menace. It's essential for the play that we view him as a criminal, and about the most criminal act Cumming's Macheath seems capable of is bisexuality.
It's playing until June 25 if you must see it. I'm glad we were in the cheap seats.
Stefanella's Drive-Thru: Burn Baby Burn:
"He tells me that because of the occupation the magazine doesn't run stories on dance companies based in Israel."
An imaginative staging, and an interesting interpretation -- is the whole play really the tale "of sprites and goblins" told by the young prince Mamillius? -- by the all-male Propeller troupe. Some of the performances are uneven, and it's a difficult play in many ways, but by all means go see it.
I smiled at this exchange early in the play, when the two kings talk about their relationships with their sons. It reminded me of our boys:
Leon. My brother,
Are you so fond of your young prince as we
Do seem to be of ours?
Pol. If at home, sir,
He’s all my exercise, my mirth, my matter,
Now my sworn friend and then mine enemy;
My parasite, my soldier, statesman, all:
He makes a July’s day short as December,
And with his varying childness cures in me
Thoughts that would thick my blood.Leon. So stands this squire
Offic’d with me.
The Citizens Band. "Weimar cabaret, as filtered through Edward Gorey and Jacques Brel," says Debbie. A bit of Tom Waits, adds I. Last night and tonight only; get there early so you can get a spot at the front of the crowd to actually see.
This closes on September 4th, so get tickets before it does. A must see; Bill Irwin and Kathleen Tuner are great, and it's one of the most powerful works of the American Theater.
Midway through the first act, Debbie and I locked eyes after this line:
George: Martha, will you show her where we keep the, uh, euphemism?
"Is that why you call the bathroom the 'euphemism'?" she asked. Yes! I confess it, I've been cribbing that joke from Edward Albee for the past fifteen years. He can sue me for back royalties.
Gospel + Mime + Marketing = Best. Flash. Intro. EVAR.
"These identical twins silently interpret contemporary Gospel music with dramatic gestures and animated facial expressions, portraying man’s resistance of life’s evil temptations and His transformation from doubter to believer."
Yes, not just gospel mimes, but identical twin gospel mimes! They're the self-proclaimed "Fathers of Gospel Mime." Is there some sort of Gospel Mime movement I was unaware of?
Via robotfilter
We saw Hecuba, with Vanessa Redgrave in the title role, at BAM last night. It's only up until the 26th, see it if you can. Although these tragedies, they're kind of a downer.
"I love musical theatre, especially the classic stuff, like Rodgers and Hammerstein."
Brian Johnson, of AC/DC, commenting on his new musical Helen of Troy.
Via NewYorkology.
We took the kids to CIRCUSundays at the WaterfrontMuseum in Red Hook, and it was great! The Waterfront Museum is, in fact, an old (covered) barge, which makes juggling and acrobatic acts more interesting as the entire stage rocks. (Only a bit.)
We go to the circus a lot, and tend to enjoy the smaller circuses (circii?) over the 3 ring, Barnum & Bailey type shows. This was about as small as it gets, with just four acts, and nothing but a rope on the floor separating the kids in the front (including ours) from the performers. The kids loved it, especially "Billy Bones, the Good Pirate" clown. "Mr. Amazing" juggled and made Kierkergaard jokes; Michael Moschen, "the only juggler ever to receive a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant" did such amazing things with his hands we swore he must have 12 fingers.
Foodwise, there's great hot dogs and beer to be had from a couple of guys with a grill, before the show. We recommend the chipotle corn on the cob. Afterward, walk through the park, jump the small fence, and grab some key lime pie from Steve's. You can eat it there or take it back to the pier and have dessert with the Statue of Liberty. A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
If Edward Gorey had re-written "Really Rosie", and thrown in some Punch & Judy, and the love child of Riff Raff and the Emcee from "Cabaret" and the ghost of Jacob Marley was the Emcee, and it was set to the music of the Tiger Lillies, it might be something like this. Or not. But go see it. Now.
We saw Cheek by Jowl's production of Othello last night at BAM. Greatly disappointed, mostly because we hated Iago. Not in the good way you are supposed to hate Iago, but in the bad, I really don't like this actor's interpretation way of hating Iago. He brought so little nuance to the role, it seemed that he had just stepped out of a Guy Ritchie movie. Raw emotion trampled out the meaning of the words. Not until the always-pivotal III.iii was there a scene where he was really worth watching. Othello was good, but not great. So we left during intermission.
We saw NDT at BAM last night, in an all-Jirí Kylián-choreographed program. I hated the first piece, Claude Pascal, which came across as a sort of Life Cycle Players (the send-up of avant garde theatre we did in the Purple Crayon) with sound effects, set to music that sounded like a piano was being masticated. However the evening was saved by the last two pieces. 27’ 52” had dancing that was quirky, energetic, and emotional. But my favorite was Last Touch, a slow-motion piece in Victorian dress. "It's like a collaboration between Ibsen and Edward Gorey," Debbie said, and I was also reminded of Bill Viola's "The Quintet of Remembrance" and, of course, Wisconsin Death Trip. It's also one of the few dance pieces I've seen that is actually frightening.
Friday night we went to see Wonderful Town, a revival of the 1953 musical by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green (of Singin' in the Rain fame). It's pretty great in a 50s-view-of-30s-NYC kinda way, and Donna Murphy is fantastic, as is (Yale's own) Jennifer Westfeldt.
So I'm sitting on the aisle, and when intermission comes, I look up to see a tall grey-haired man striding up the aisle. We make eye contact briefly, and I think, "I know that guy from somewhere -- he's someone famous. A politician, I think." But I can't quite place him.
Then I'm on the way to the Men's Room, and I pass him on his way out, followed by three large men in long coats, each wearing a plastic earpiece. Secret Service. And it hits me:
It's Donald Rumsfeld!
We figured that if he was enjoying himself for an evening, we could relax. Nothing really bad was happening. And, as Debbie pointed out, at least he was at a light-hearted musical like "Wonderful Town." We would worry if we spotted the SecDef at, say, "Little Shop of Horrors."
I first saw this phenomenal play in 1985; it seems even more telling in the post-9/11 era. See it.
I can totally see myself in 1982 seeing the original "Regard of Flight," Bill Irwin's postmodern slapstick, and loving it. The Regard Evening also includes a new "postscript" wherein the three actors worry about getting older, about their websites, and about their ukuleles. Through 2/1/04.
