BLACK MONK (Off-Broadway)

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 11/4/08 at 7:55pm

Hey All -

Aside from the brief synopsis that's been provided, I'm wondering if anyone knows *ANYTHING* about what to expect with this show? I'm considering booking, and I'd LOVE to know what's the deal this one... Billed as a chamber musical, huh? Seems intriguing enough. Has the PLAYBILL artwork been released yet? That usually does a good job of sparking interest.

Best,
- Mike

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 11/4/08 at 8:21pm

is it being put on by a nonprofit?

[fleetwood26]

Posted: 12/6/08 at 11:42am

I just saw this last night. REALLY interesting little chamber musical. Very serious and very Chekhovian, but quite powerful. I'd seen Julie Craig in "The Fantasticks" last year, and she was lovely again, as was Scott Robertson and Elon Rutberg, who I haven't seen before, but was rather good (and scary - there's a whole lot of intense crazy in this show

And Austin Pendleton - that creepy little gnome - always a pleasure to see him on-stage. I loved him in "Romeo and Juliet" the summer before last, and he doesn't dissapoint this time.

I'll post plot stuff if you guys want, but I'd say check it out. Lovely and complex musical, beautiful design, very nice performances, and an interesting and strong story. There was barely an audience there last night, so it'd be a shame for the show to just pass on by...

[BBBoy]

Posted: 12/6/08 at 12:15pm

Agreed! I was there last night as well. A really fascinating show. I never quite thought that Chekhov could work well musically, but the show is very impressionistic and haunting (this is my season of Chekhov, having finally enjoyed a production of "The Seagull")

Anyway, really enjoyed the show and actually found it quite powerful. In short, the tale of a young artist who, when he returns to his adopted family from college, starts seeing the vision of a prophet who inspires his painting. Much passion and craziness ensues...ya know...

However, very tightly directed and designed, and really wonderful performances from all involved, really elevates what would normally be just another "artist or crazy person?" story - really quite elegant. Austin is always great to see, and the other three actors all were powerful in their respective roles.

And the score - well composed, lots of "shostakovich"-ness, and very fragmentary, alot like "Passion", but it has it's fair share of full songs, which despite some occasional pedestrian lyrics, are pretty strong.

So I say - check it out. Woot.

[Morgaine885]

Posted: 12/12/08 at 11:48am

I liked it a lot, too!

[CyCoSpAz2]

Posted: 12/17/08 at 11:35pm

Not sure if I saw the same production as everyone else here but I found this show to be laughable. I thought I was watching a middle school performance, from a trap-door garden to a brief "let me unbutton your blouse, pull down your bra strap, then kiss your for 24 seconds" sex scene, this production looked nothing short of amateur.

Maybe the actors are not quite comfortable with their manipulation of the sets, but maybe the directing is just pretty bad. Or maybe I caught an off night, but the only applause the show got was when the trapdoor got stuck and the actor had to continuously kick and jump on it to get it back into the stage.

The lyrics for this show are also a joke:
The medicine,
The milk,
Goes right down to my silk.

Really? Maybe it was just product placement?

It looked like a lot of the cast was trying to hold back their laughter when the audience picked up on some of the poorer lyrics and began to laugh.

Shrug. I would never keep someone from seeing a production, but I found the show to be entertaining because it was so bad. The material is solid (it is Chekhov, after all) but this show is a mess.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 12/18/08 at 2:43am

Is there a PLABYILL for this show?
What's it look like?