Swing Joined: 11/7/10
Has anyone else gotten a chance to see Venus Flytrap at the Workshop Theatre on W.36th?? This show is AMAZING! I went to check it out since Marcia Milgrom Dodge was directing it - she directed Ragtime on Broadway which I loved - so I checked out the show. Fantastic!! If you haven't seen it, make it a definite part of your to-do list this week. They close this Sunday I think. In my opinion, Venus Flytrap should be ON BROADWAY!!
Here's the website that I checked out to get the tix - www.theactivetheater.com plus industry people and equity folk get in for free with their card. This kind of show makes me grateful that there is some great raw theater still left in the city.....
Late night doobie sessions with Johnny Fever!
Who would play Les Nessman?
Hmmmm....my spidey-senses are tingling.
Pay no attention to the shill BehindTheCurtains.
I don't mind shills so much when they shill openly, but the whole act of pretending they are just an enthusiastic audience member is about as tired and believable as the Kenyan Ambassador who just wants me to "hold" some funds in my account for them.
Well, I have tickets for Saturday, and have heard some good things. I would not worry too much about shilling because the tickets are so cheap - expecially for New York. I am looking forward to it.
Swing Joined: 11/9/10
I saw Venus Flytrap opening weekend and loved it! I was impressed with the amount that was achieved in the intimate space of The Workshop Theater. It is clear that there is a professional group of people working together to tell a story that is topical (with issues surrounding sexuality and our acceptance of it), and delivered through a charming lens of wit and style (1940's film noir), that I agree should see a larger audience. This is the first Active Theater production I have seen and I look forward to the next. Congrats to all!
A cold shill just went down my spine.
Updated On: 11/9/10 at 03:44 PM
Perhaps the show could be renamed "Sockpuppetry of the Venus."
The Backstage review wasn't too good.
"Venus Flytrap" is missing a key element that drives classic noir: suspense. Playwright Anthony Dodge, married to the director [Marcia Milgrom Dodge], includes the obligatory mistaken identities and last-minute reveals, but there is little immediacy to this production's twists with such lingering emphasis on the static tableaux. An uneven cast magnifies these faults. The real mystery in "Venus Flytrap" is the production's ambiguous attitude toward the genre that inspired it. Besides its clear visual tribute to 1940s film noir, the production alternates between homage and critique, unsure whether to deconstruct the genre or reinvent it. What results is a watered-down version of classic noir that broaches gender issues without making a statement.
Venus Flytrap The Active Theater at the WorkShop Theater Reviewed by Nicole Villeneuve
Swing Joined: 11/9/10
What is this discussion actually about? Shills or actually going out to see live theatre? Whether it's Venus Flytrap, Through the Night, La Cage or whatever....watch some theater and appreciate. Don't artists support one another anymore? Whoa.
Swing Joined: 11/7/10
Nice. You left out a few things from the review tho:
"Director Marcia Milgrom Dodge adroitly mirrors the images associated with film noir, giving the production a cinematic quality. These images are aided by lighting designer Paul Miller's keen awareness of the genre, defined both in name and in style by its cautious approach to light. Elbrick, whose performance in 2007's "Coram Boy" garnered her a Tony nomination and a Theater World Award, plays fluently with the jive idiom that runs throughout Dodge's script; her wry smile, emerging from beneath the brim of her hat, adds to her charm." And other mentions as well.
Not all shabby as you can see. Any other reviews we can compare this to?
My senses are telling me that Elbrick is BehindTheCurtains.
Swing Joined: 11/7/10
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