Traditional Shakespearean theatre made use of male actors for both male and female characters—The Two Gentlemen of Verona, performed by the Judith Shakespeare Company, offers a tongue-in-cheek take on the original style: cross-dressing.
While the script stays true to the original Shakespearean text, the performance of The Two Gentlemen of Verona is brimming with ingenious surprises. All men in the play don skirts and exaggerated corsets over their t-shirts, while the women are dressed in button-down shirts and ties. Adding to the satire is the cast’s dramatic, intense line delivery and comedic use of pop culture allusions (most notably, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air handshake). The unique versatility of the performance is both its merit and its downfall. [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Cross-dressing,
Judith Shakespeare Company,
The Barrow Group Theatre,
Two Gentlemen of Verona,
William Shakespeare
Following the footsteps of many modern works, Christian Marclay’s Festival is more of a novelty than actual art. Festival, described by Marclay as a “fusion of image and sound,” is a dual showcase of visual and performance art. The visual aspect of the exhibit features clothing, wrappers, record sleeves, and print media adorned with musical symbols; various artists are invited to musically interpret these items.
On view at the Whitney Museum of American Art until September 26, Festival is on the mediocre side of the museum art spectrum. While Festival is initially engaging, it is easily dismissible–Marclay appears to rely solely on unconventionality for meaning rather than real substance. [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Christian Marclay,
Whitney Museum of American Art
Among the likes of Danielle Steel novels and big boxes of Godiva truffles, Love, Loss, and What I Wore is an all-out guilty yet memorable pleasure. The nearly one-and-a-half-hour show consists entirely of engaging anecdotes showcasing the intricate connections women and their clothing. The monologue-style anecdotes cover the whimsical (a woman’s struggle to move on after her lucky shirt disappears), serious (a homosexual bride-to-be’s struggle to find the perfect wedding outfit), and hilariously realistic (a woman’s misadventures in a lingerie shop) ends of the spectrum, leaving viewers chuckling in amusement, leaning forward in intrigue, and nodding their heads in acknowledgement.
Love, Loss, and What I Wore is delicately balanced in such a way that no single component outshines the other. This understated, elegant performance does not make its mark right away; instead, it leaves a wonderfully light, lingering impact for days after.
Info about the New York run available here.
Tagged as:
Love Loss and What I Wore,
Westside Theatre Downstairs
A diamond in the rough, Enjoy (written by chelfitsch founder Toshiki Okada) takes viewers on a unique—albeit unsettlingly confusing—journey through the lives of workers at a Tokyo manga café. Enjoy opens with a captivatingly performed monologue recounting an oddball interaction at a urinal; however, it steadily descends into a confusing smattering of half-recounted tales, complicated love triangles, and witty quips. While the play appears to have no direction by the first intermission, audience members who stick around are given a pleasant surprise as an insightful plot begins to form. [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Enjoy,
Japan Society,
The Play Company
Fans of magic and comedy will rejoice at The Quantum Eye’s hefty offering of outstanding feats and light, quick-witted humor. Renowned mentalist and star of The Quantum Eye, Sam Eaton creates an atmosphere both mysterious and relaxed, shying away from the typical authoritative magician’s image and appealing to the audience as a charming intellectual. The tricks featured in the show range from tried-and-true card tricks to downright innovative acts involving newspapers, books, minty breath strips, and other inconspicuous items. [click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Bleecker Street Theatre
$5 Tickets
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