A lot of people have been asking me to post about the plays last night, since I actually *did* get to go. I like this thread.
First of all, a huge thank you to those involved for implementing student rush and making a night that will become one of my fondest memories a financial possibility.
This is a hard thing to "review" because the plays were so short, written in such tiny amounts of time -- they were
far from perfection, but that's totally okay. It was much more about the spirit and the event than anything else, so I guess I can just make this more of a "report" of sorts.
Split by musical interludes written and performed by a crazy man called John Linnel with an accordion, there were six ten minute plays. The playwrights wrote them overnight, after the entire team -- actors, producers, playwrights, directors, etc -- met around ten the night before. Each actor was to bring one prop and one costume to be used in the process. The directors chose their plays, and had from 8 the morning of the event to just before curtain to rehearse and be ready. They were performed on the set for A Naked Girl on the Appian Way.
Before the plays, two students who were part of programs implemented by Workng Playground (the organization benefitted by the event) recited poems they wrote about
why they wrote. Both were excellent.
As a whole, the plays were hysterical; even the most serious of the six had its laughs. The acting talent was absolutely the best you can find anywhere, which kicked everything up quite a bit.
1. "Claire's Intervention" by Greg Kotis, directed by Maria Mileaf, starring: Kate Burton, David Moscow, Terrence Mann and Fisher Stevens. Terrence and Kate (actors names matched character names, here) are out at a restaurant. Apparently Terrence knows the guy who created the place (Claire), and the whole premise is something to do with organically grown food. Turns out that Kate's last name is McDonald... of THE McDonald's, and the basic plotline is her freakout about organic food versus cheap, fast, decently good food that her family creates.
The play was really funny, and managed to fit a decent plot arc into ten minutes.
2. "This Is Now" by Steve Harper, directed by Mary Kate Burke, starring: Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Tracie Thoms, Margaret Collin, William Sadler and Hayden Christensen. Tracie and Wilson played cousins Kevin and Grace, who drove together to upstate New York to visit Grace's ex, Nick (Hayden) and his father, Tate (Sadler). Grace wants to go because Tate has cancer, and she had a lose end to tie up with him -- he had hit on her a long time ago, but she has feelings for him. He's about to have a risky operation. Kevin had written a short story, and being that Tate is a very prolific writer, Kevin wants Tate to look at his work. Nick gets upset with Grace's confession, but ultimately he ends up mad at his father. Peace is more or less made, and Tate agrees to look at Kevin's stuff, though Nick storms out, we can probably suspect he'll be back. Collin played a ghost, but it was unclear as to exactly of whom.
The most serious of the six, the play was fine for the most part, but the subject matter of who this female ghost was was a bother. She commented to Tate throughout -- perhaps she was his wife, but it was never explained. The lights went down with her laughing during Grace and Tate's embrace. Granted, they did only have ten minutes, but it was a bit confusing. Wilson did extremely well with something *far* from what he's known for, and has great comedic instinct. Tracie just does as well on stage as it seems like she'll do on film.
3. "In the Dark" by Warren Leight, directed by Indhu Rubasingham, starring: Ashlie Atkinson, Charlotte D'Amboise, Kathryn Erbe and Adam Pascal. Adam played a womanizing, slightly boyish, slightly immature character called Roger, heh. He was the brother of three girls, all four stuck in a house during a hurricane, going through some of their old stuff. His entrance is with a message from their father, something about securing things in the house. They spend most of the time bickering; much of the plotline was character-based -- an introduction to the various familial personalities and such, while we also learn about their eccentric parents. The power goes out for some time, and each of the four siblings deals with it in his or her own way, whether it be to go "hey, remember my ex? The recovering anorexic?" or to recite the state capitals in backwards alphabetical order. Adam had a nice monologue about the workings of family, and all you heard in the dark was his voice. The lights come back on, they're happy, and that's basically the end.
Everyone was great -- especially Atkinson, of the women, anyway. The play had little action, but the dialogue was funny, since it was mostly character development. Adam was FANTASTIC. He'll never outgrow some of his campy hand motions, but they worked. He did a nice little sailor gesture, flailed a bit when he whined at one of the sisters, "Winniiiiie!" etc. He danced with a teddy bear, and almost put on a plush bunny mask. He was being really silly up there, but his part did have some serious moments. I laughed so hard that I cried. It was wonderful to see him on a Broadway stage again, and he absolutely held his own, partly by use of his charm and partly because he's becoming a legitimate, viable actor. Sure, there are imperfections, but the leaps and bounds are amazing to see. I am so proud of you, Adam. (And happy birthday.)
4. "That Other Person" by David Lindsay-Abaire, directed by Christopher Ashley, starring: Elizabeth Berkley, Andrew McCarthy, Cheyenne Jackson, Cady Huffman, and Rachel Dratch. Tappy (Elizabeth Berkley) is standing in the middle of the room, dripping wet. She's just fallen into the pool. Everyone else in the room -- two couples with inter-relations via cheating (which were so confusing that I've forgotten them) -- has no idea who she is. She eventually says, after saying that she fell into the pool while she was spying, that they shouldn't call the police because they know her. She had an operation that took her weight down several hundred pounds, and is now thin and beautiful. She has a 15 year old son who sniffs paint and wants to meet his father, who turns out to be Jack (McCarthy). Jack is married to Ginge (Cady Huffman) who isn't happy at all. Bickering ensues, but by the end, Jack agrees to at least meet his son.
Great ensemble performance -- very tight. The plot and character relations were a little bit confusing, as the play was fast moving, but again, they only had a day.
5. "Pressure is a Privilege" by Betty Shamieh, directed by Ari Edelson, starring: Michael Williams, Rosie Perez, Anthony Rapp, John Gleeson, Connolly, and Ally Sheedy. Williams and Perez played Don and Carmen, husband and wife, about to go to the opera together. But Don must decide between his wife and spending time with his friends, he tells the audience. Apparently Carmen does not want to go, because she says that last time, one of Don's friends hit on her. She tells him to go to them and ask for himself which one is guilty. So, he goes. Each blames each other, and the scenes play out of what may have happened, had each individual been responsible. Ally Sheedy was Butterfly, who told Carmen that if she were Don, she'd lick Carmen head to toe. Anthony was a philosophy professor, who gave Carmen a seductive, philosophical little monologue of something mighty sensual. John Gleeson Connolly played Marcello, an Italian guy who barely speaks English, but as the characters put it, had no problems touching. All three confess, and then Carmen tells Don that it was neither of them, once she hears of the confessions. Don recapitulates his dillemma, and the lights go down.
The funniest parts by far were the fantasy scenes, but the plot itself felt a little thin. Again, most things excusable. Two favorites in this one, Anthony and Rosie. Nice to see Anthony play something totally different from what he's known for, and Perez is simply hysterical.
6. "The Windows" by Adam Bock, directed by Hal Brooks, starring: Anthony Mackie, Ben Shenkmen, Alan Tudyk and Andrew Royo. Mackie, Shenkmen and Tudyk played three dancers, who think that Royo is a big Broadway producers. The better part of the play was sheer comedy, with the three attempting to (a) prove they aren't gay and (b) impress the so-called Producer, Mr. Martin. They find out that he's some sort of salesman, and not a producer, much to their displeasure. Neither can offer the other any service, so they kick him out.
Powerhouse cast, especially thrilling to see Ben Shenkmen on stage, after falling in love with him seeing Angels in America. I loved Adam Bock's work on Swimming in the Shallows this summer and this play had some of the same fast-moving comedy, but was a bit more outrageous than Swimming was. Funny, in any event, though.
So, all in all, hugely fun and fascinating night, worth every penny and then some. Thanks for reading all of this, if you did. I know it's long. And, Adam Pascal kisssed me. That's all you need to know.
A work of art is an invitation to love.
Updated On: 10/26/05 at 09:57 PM
