Extra Criticum

I got a bad case of "venue envy"

OK. Can we just acknowledge something up front? New York City may be the greatest place on earth in terms of the concentration of talent per square foot, but, give me a break... my city sucks when it comes to performance venues!

I'm out in Los Angeles, doing a bunch of workshops for the Dramatists Guild and last night I attended dress rehearsal of a new experimental theatre piece starring E.C. author Paul Outlaw and I got a seriously bad case of "venue envy."

The show is being mounted in a 200-seat theatre in Kaufman Hall on the UCLA campus and I can't recall the last time I've seen so many lighting instruments on one grid! Oh, and the sound system is unreal. All wireless mics with pristine audio and the cherry on this sunday is a projection system which can hook up to live video to deliver premium HD on a back wall that's approx. 50' x 50'. I just wanted to move in.

OK, talk me down, people. What are some of the equally fabulous (and accessible) venues in NYC I'm forgetting?

Far from each other on two sides of a great chasm: the visuals of 2012 outclass its script

Just saw 2012. Lives up to everything you’d expect it to be – dazzling, escapist, disaster porn. The visual effects are not just stunning to look at they are also remarkable in the attention to detail and the sheer imaginative breadth of their execution.

But there’s an odd disconnect between the level of visual achievement and the lack of imagination brought to the script. Plot, character and general dramatic tension don’t seem to be high on the list of priorities here.

But, ah, those visuals!

Middle-Aged Grump

Ever since my parents took me to see "Angel in my Pocket" starring Andy Griffith back when I was, oh, about four years old at the Mosinee Theatre in my hometown, I've been a fan of being in a theatre with a group of people with only popcorn in my hands and a soda to keep me company. I even have had a lifelong ritual: buy the popcorn, lightly salt it, shake the bag and close it up (to keep the popcorn hot) and sit down and not eat any until the movie starts... not the previews, but when the actual title of the movie comes up THEN I can start eating.

Having a theatre in my hometown was a joy because it was easy for me to go, even when my friends weren't interested in going with me. Even when the Mosinee Theatre closed down and I started going in earnest to the Grand Theatre in Wausau, about twenty minutes away, I wasn't deterred. The Grand Theatre was cool because it was a large old style theatre and even had an intermission during the movie - something I took for normal (and still miss).

 

Taking Us Above and Beyond Our Wildest Expectations: Miss Coco Peru is Undaunted

Just got home from seeing Coco Peru's show, Miss Coco Peru is Undaunted in the basement of the West Bank Restaurant on 42nd (a.k.a. the Laurie Beechman Theatre). Generally speaking, when you step into a cabaret room and the performer on stage is a guy in a dress, there are natural expectations. You expect to be amused. You expect for there to be some singing (or possibly lip syncing). You probably also expect for a few off-color remarks.

What you wouldn't necessarily expect, however, is a fully-realized and thoroughly well-crafted evening of theatre.

Laziness or Lack of Vision? Why are most musical theatre directors neglecting the chorus?

 
If you've been to see a Broadway musical in the past few years, you've probably experienced this:

There's a big musical number, featuring the entire chorus, which means anywhere from 15 to 40 bodies are suddenly on stage. They're all singing at the top of their lungs. The sound is glorious. But, wait! What's this? They're not really moving. They're just... standing. That's right. Standing. In rows, facing either the audience or each other as they sing.

Huh?

Note to board: Please don't recline during board meetings!

This post'll be short.Apologies for being absent from the blog for awhile but the Fall production schedule here has been brutal.

But something happened this past weekend that really got my panties all in a knot. (is that the expression? well, you know what I mean).