Behind Every Man

W.E.B. DuBois as matchmaker? Charles Smith’s Knock Me A Kiss is a wonderfully funny and unexpectedly moving imagining of one of America’s earliest celebrity marriages. Running at the Henry Street Settlement’s Abrons Arts Center, the ensemble, under the direction of Chuck Smith, welcomes audiences into the home of renowned scholar and activist W.E.B. DuBois as he sets up the “marriage of the century” between his daughter Yolanda and Harlem Renaissance poet Countee Cullen. The couple wed in 1928 and the marriage was short-lived as Cullen preferred men and Yolanda was unwilling to live in a loveless marriage. The inimitable Andre DeShields portrays DuBois as a man of contradictions. The public DuBois was forward-thinking and interested in social advancement. In Knock Me A Kiss, DuBois at home is imperious and perhaps just like the other men of his time when it comes to his views on women. Nina, his wife, played by Marie Thomas, is only referred to as “Wife.” Nina is neglected and invisible. Yolande, played by Erin Cherry, eventually becomes another instrument for the advancement of the race; she is reduced to “Daughter!” when she fails to follow her father’s directions. One can see that she marries Countee to receive her father’s approval and dismiss jazz musician and conductor Jimmy Lunceford.

What is subtly illuminated in this production is the sacrifice that mother and daughter make in order to support DuBois' plans. It is fascinating that Countee Cullen, played by Sean Phillips, with all of his poetic talk of friendship and love, seems nonplused at the idea of having a phony marriage as long as it will provide him with the social mobility that he needs. For every cause there is a cost and, in this world, the price is a woman’s happiness.

Morocco Omari’s Jimmy Lunceford is dashing, and it is obvious why any woman would fall for him. What is not as clear from the production is why Lunceford would fall for Yolanda. The program notes describe the historical Yolande DuBois as “self-indulgent, underachieving, [and] uncertain.” Yolande is simultaneously spoiled and idealistic. She unequivocally wants to teach the less fortunate and she unequivocally wants a husband who can send her first class to Paris. Erin Cherry’s Yolande spends most of the first act behaving like a pouting debutante, and the theatrical Yolande comes off as immature and irritating. It is only in the second act, as the play’s unfortunate events unravel, that we catch a glimpse of the Cherry’s depth, and it would be lovely to see more of this earlier in the play.

Otherwise, Knock Me A Kiss is a fantastic night of theater, and I hope that the production can find another home in New York City.

Greed Is GREAT-- On Stage, That Is

Michael Lew’s new play Microcrisis is a brilliant dark comedy about our current state of economic disaster. Developed in Ma-Yi Theatre’s Writer’s Lab, Microcrisis is being presented through HEREstay, HERE’s curated programming. Director Ralph Pena has assembled a stellar ensemble that includes Jackie Chung, David Gelles, William Jackson Harper, Lauren Hines, Alfredo Narciso, and Socorro Santiago. Microcrisis offers a wealth of fast paced comedy, social commentary and is ultimately a priceless theatrical experience. Bennett, played by Narciso, is a shady investment banker who puts the likes of Gordon Gecko to shame. He arrives in Kumasi, Ghana and takes over Citizen Lend, a non-profit bank that loans on “microcredit,” which is the practice of giving small loans to small businesses. The Citizen Lend office is run by Lydia (Hines), a bright-eyed Bennington intern who is more than happy to follow Citizen Lend’s protocol and give out loans at 2% interest. Of course, if you are a banker whose only goal is to make money, 2% interest is criminal. Bennett wheels and deals, linking Citizen Lend to Ivy Microloan, a small start up led from the bedroom of Harvard grad and boy genius Randy (Gelles).

In Microcrisis everyone is interested in getting more, and it is this need that Bennett manipulates. Even Clare, an insecure securities rater played by Jackie Chung, is no match for Bennett’s schemes. In Lew’s world, we all have a price and Bennett just has to name it. Won’t sell out for twenty million? How about twenty-one million? With the possibility of making so much money so quickly, details are irrelevant. Nobody wants information, everyone just wants cash. Even Lydia, for all of her good intentions can’t resist the lure of being wined and dined in Monaco. Why be good when you can be rich?

If we are to take Lew’s portrayal as somehow hitting close to home we realize that Bennett does what he does because he can, because we let him. We are easy prey for a fast talker who does not take no for an answer. The only person in the play who is not interested in having it all is Acquah, a Ghanaian businessman, played by William Jackson Haper. Acquah only wants his initial microloan, no more, no less. When Lydia tells him to take more money he says “What do I need with 10,000 cedis?”

Pena and his design team have an exquisite attention to detail. In one scene Bennett is playing racquetball with Frankfurt, his former boss and current Chairman of the New York Federal Reserve, also played by Harper. The court is in a former basement bank vault and the echo created by Rettig’s sound design delightfully enhances and animates the space.

Microcrisis is funny, scathing, and ultimately tragic. One of Acquah’s refrains throughout the play is “this is a joke,” and by the end of Microcrisis , you realize there is nothing funny about the awful truth of our current crisis.

Sight for Sore Eyes

Christian Masciotti’s Vision Disturbance , playing at the Abron Arts Center, is a variation on the doctor-patient relationship with some pleasant surprises. A socially awkward ophthalmologist with a poor bedside manner prescribes classical music for his patient’s eye disorder. It’s true the music can relieve stress, but is it enough? In the midst of her divorce, Mondo, a middle aged Greek Women played by Linda Mancini, awakes one morning to find that her eyesight is impaired. As she describes to Dr. Hull, “I looked up and the chest of drawers, like someone took a hammer. . .The whole room, everything was pieces.” She is suffering from terrible migraines and has lost all sense of depth perception. Add to this the mental stress of discovering that her husband is having an affair and has moved in with the other woman, it is obvious that Mondo is need of medical attention. Dr. Hull’s prescribes symphony tickets, Bach and Tchaikovsky. Mondo, although a lover of classical music, is not impressed by the prescribed therapy but continues to see Dr. Hull, played by Jay Smith.

It seems as if both Mondo and Dr. Hull are suffering from a similar ailment: loneliness. Mondo drives much of this story, never failing to update Dr. Hull on the latest antics of her ex-husband, and Dr. Hull is an eager listener. At one point, Hull suggests that Mondo come in for an extra session, preferably in the afternoon. Mondo says she is only free in the morning. Without even checking his calendar, Hull says “That’s fine. I had a cancellation.”

In Masciotti’s world, all the senses are in fact disturbed. For Mondo, her limited sight affects her hearing and listening to classical music is a form of torture. The inclusion of both live music - Mondo’s attempt at clunky improv on the piano juxtaposed with recordings of classical pieces - offers a lovely contrast. When the piano fails to relive Mondo’s stress, Dr. Hull gives Mondo a drumstick and recommends that she bang on a cymbal until she feels better.

Director Richard Maxwell’s decision to stage Vision Disturbance with a sort of myopic direction is on point with the essence of the play—being limited in sight, in space, in expression. The set, two chairs, a simple wooden floor and matching wall panel obscure the larger theater space, providing a visual limitation for the audience. Mondo’s piano playing prevents us from fully hearing the classical music that she is mimicking. Like Mondo, we cannot see the bigger picture. However, I am not sure if this narrowing served the overall production. In a two-person play with limited design, the performances are central key and Dr. Hull’s clinical monotone performance veered towards the tedious.

The final moment of the play offers a triumphant, symphonic revelation that should not be missed. It would have been interesting to see if there had been more opportunities to reveal some of this depth earlier in the production. Overall, the “big picture” that emerges in the final scene is one worth seeing.

Bob Bless America

bobraushenbergameirca is the love child of playwright Charles Mee and director Ann Bogart, and what a joyful happy child it is. A tribute to American Artist Robert Rauschenberg, Mee describes the play as “A wild road trip through our American landscape—in a play made as one of America's greatest artists, Robert Rauschenberg, might have conceived it if he had been a playwright instead of a painter.” Siti Company’s production is an altogether delightful and splendid event. Under the artful eye of Ann Bogart, cast and crew have created a dazzling spectacle, and just like on the best road trips, one surprise whizzes by right after the other. Playing at DTW, bobraushenbergameircais a collage of moments, a series of events some of which are related. It is an exploration of the art of life where everything is imminent; unexpected danger could be delivered along with your pizza, or love can show up in the face of someone you don’t even like.

It is not a biographical portrait. The first person we meet is Bob’s mom, played by Kelly Maurer. It is through her that we are introduced to her son. As she leads us through a collection of photos, what she describes is not what the audience sees. Bob’s mom, as narrator, is an unreliable witness so when she proclaims that, “art was not a part of their lives,” we have reason to doubt.

What is undeniable is the spirit, finesse, and charisma that fills the performance. Throughout the production, one can see a loose narrative of couples meeting, breaking up and getting back together again. The characters walk the line between reserve and release, between holding back and letting loose. Standout performances include Ellen Lauren as Susan and Will Bond as Allen. At one point Susan explains the difference between men and women while devouring a cake. “Women feel what they feel when they feel it and then when they don't feel it any more they don't feel it," she says. "Unlike a man who won't know what he feels when he feels it and then later on he'll realize how he felt and so he'll talk himself into feeling it again.” This episode is a moment of unexpected comic genius. Will Bond as Allen is magnificent. Elastic in his physicality, every gesture is larger than life and yet perfectly suited for the moment.

Ultimately that is the gift that is SITI company’s bobraushenbergamerica. Even in its exuberance, there is an economy and restraint. No moment is wasted and each episode is thoroughly satisfying. Bogart and her team tap into what seems to be an essential quality of the play—delight, and they infuse every moment of the evening with that feeling.

Oh yeah, what about the war?

Witness Relocation is playfully presenting the English language premiere of Five Days in March, written by Japanese writer/director Toshiki Okada and translated by Aya Ogawa. Written in 2004, Five Days in March is an almost love story set in the days leading up the US invasion of Iraq. Two strangers, Yukki and Minobe, meet at a rock show and spend five days in a love hotel, leaving only to grab a meal and purchase more condoms. Much of the escapades are re-told to the audience. The bulk of the play is direct address and the production is an intimate combination between stand-up comedy and open-mic night. While Will Petre and Kourtney Rutherford eventually portray Yukki and Minobe, the other actors tell us about Yukki and Minobe long before we meet them. Mike Mikos sets up the evening for the audience, trying to open the story in a very casual roundabout monologue. In fact, the specter of the casual is evident throughout the production—casual sex, a casual anti-war protest, a casual war.

Overall, this is a well-crafted event under the direction of Witness Relocation’s artistic director Dan Safer. Heather Christian gives a divine performance as Miffy, the overly awkward and intense young woman who moves to Mars after being snubbed for the last time. Christian brought the most range, nuance and variety to her role. I would have enjoyed a greater balance between the actor’s conversation with the audience and the inclusion of the ensemble work and dance numbers. The production was weighted more to the extended monologue, which came close to tedious as the ensemble dance numbers were infrequent.

It is not until second act that we actually have the opportunity to see Yukki and Minobe in conversation at the said Shibuya love hotel and this moment is a splendid theatrical blurring of time and space. Mikos is telling us about the couple and then finds himself in conversation with Minobe. Next, they both find themselves in the hotel room with a sleeping Yukki. Mikos then can only try to make himself inconspicuous, sitting atop the hotel fridge sipping his beer.

Throughout the production, the audience is reminded that the events in discussion happened on and around those five days in March when the US went from threatening military action on Iraq to being at war. What is lost and is perhaps purposely tangential is the war itself. There is a moment in the play when Minobe muses, “This is probably my estimation, but probably after three days we’ll leave this hotel and each of us’ll go back to our lives, but, by then, probably according to my estimation I think that the war is going to be over.” Minobe and Yukki decide that for the duration of their liaison, they will not turn on the news to find about the war. Minobe, like many of us, wished for something that was quick, easy, casual. Five Days in March is a reminder that we are still at war and that, since the beginning, this war has been a side note, something that has been happening outside and away from us. The production prompts us to wonder how long we can hide out and divert our attention.

Unfinished Business

An aged Albert Einstein (Richard Saudek) says to an impatient and menacing Time (Lucy Kaminsky) “I have long felt you by my side but there is so much work to do.” The same sentiment can be applied to Triple Shadow’s Breath on the Mirror , which seems more like a work in progress than a finished production. Conceived and directed by Beth Skinner, in collaboration with composer Edward Herbst and videographer Paul Clay, Breath on the Mirror is a multimedia production set in the last year of Einstein’s life. With the assistance of Time, Einstein looks back at his younger self and his relationship with Mileva Maric (Gabrielle Autumn), a former student who became his first wife. The show includes live music, video, mask, puppetry, and dance, making it a truly multi-media, interdisciplinary performance.

Unfortunately, all of these elements have little to rest on as the play itself is missing a clear narrative to connect its various components. Breath on the Mirror is about an hour long, and much of the piece feels unfinished. Rather than witnessing a cohesive evening of performance, Breath on the Mirror is a collection of presentational moments loosely knit together. Throughout the evening, there are moments that are visually impressive and theatrically engaging, but there is not whole, only parts.

Several ideas are presented in the play, but none of them seem fully developed in spite of the artistry of the presentation. The videography for the show is a splendid example of how the video transforms and shapes a space. While each video installment provides a new opportunity, the performers have little engagement with the created space. The projections, which include live-feed video, move us from classroom, to moving train, to forest, and back again. At the beginning of the play, Time writes equations on a chalkboard that is projected onto the back wall of the theater. Einstein can barely keep up with the larger than life notations, a suggestion that the ideas Einstein was wrestling with were much larger than Einstein himself.

Given the first exchange between Einstein and Time (who I presumed was Death until I looked at the program), a competition has been set up between them. Who doesn’t want more time? However, the need for the competition is unclear especially as it relates to the decision to explore Einstein’s relationship with his first wife. It was during this time of his life that he started to develop his theory of relativity, but this play suggests that there is a personal relationship between man and wife that has not been adequately dealt with. What does Einstein need from Mileva? Forgiveness? A second chance?

One element that particularly stands out as successful is Herbst’s live music, which helps to shape and drive the piece. He plays several instruments throughout the evening. Repetitive melodies juxtaposed with jarring, sharp accents frame perceptions of time as either rolling merrily along or moving faster than light.

On the whole, however, Breath on the Mirror seeks to create a performance piece that questions our ideas of time and existence, but ultimately leaves too many dramatic questions unanswered.

The Life Aquatic

Polybe + Seats’ latest installation, A Thousand Thousand Slimy Things: An Aquatic Spectacular of Conservation and Change, is an ambitious attempt to investigate our relationship to the sea. It is a theatrical convergence of our romanticism of the ocean and our actual daily destruction of it as land loving consumers. Under the direction of Jessica Brater, the ensemble (Carmel Amit, Jenni Lerche, Elaine O’Brien, Sarah Sakaan, Eugene Michael Santiago, Hilary Thomas and Ari Vigoda) admirably offers an evening of theater that reminds us that ultimately we are all sailing into uncharted waters. The performance is inspired by the real life mermaids of Weeki Wachee, Florida. Since 1947, Weeki Wachee Springs State Park has been the home and performance venue for the Weeki Wachee mermaids. In 2003, lead by Weeki Wachee’s mayor and former mermaid Robyn Anderson, the mermaids lead a campaign to save the park from closure. Upon arriving at the Waterfront Museum in Red Hook, one is greeted by the protesting mermaids, played by Carmel Amit, Jenni Lerche, and Hillary Thomas.

The ensemble efficiently and effectively navigates through the space and through the multitude of characters that the members take on. As a unit, the actors function as a school of scientists. Dressed in white lab coats, they flitter, measure, and investigate. But to what end? Science can tell us what is happening but certainly cannot undo the damage. Ari Vigoda is completely captivating as John, an explorer who is set adrift on his best friend Jake Jr., a melting iceberg. Unlike the school of scientists who take a mechanical and distanced approach to their work, John serves as the emotional center.

A Thousand Thousand Slimy Things has all of the right conceptual and artistic elements.The performance takes place at the Waterfront Museum and Showboat Barge in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Spending an evening on the water, seated on a 96 year old barge, one can feel the motion of the water beneath one’s seat. Natalie Robin’s lighting design compliments the space, drawing attention to the interior when necessary and at other moments beautifully taking us underwater. Set designer Eli Kaplan-Wildman and costume designer Bevan Dunbar use only reclaimed objects for the design. As the performance progresses the stage becomes overrun with the dross of our daily life: water bottle, rubber bands and plastic bags. The visual mess juxtaposed with a lyrical script suggest the abyss that has been created between our idealized relationship to the sea and our actual indifference. The text for the piece included excepts from Moby Dick, Rachel Carson’s The Sea Around Us, The Little Mermaid, Ibsen’s Lady From the Sea, as well as transcripts of interviews of the Weeki Wachee mermaids.

In spite of the precision and cohesion of the ensemble, what is lost is the overall journey of the evening. A Thousand Thousand Slimy Things is a collection of moments, not a unified event. Artfully told and visually compelling, ultimately the play skims the surface but does not quite get to what lies beneath.