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Fringe NYC 2012
MY DATE WITH TROY DAVIS Sgouros Theater
(upstairs) @ 115 MacDougal Street
This poorly realized solo-piece was more like a blind date gone sadly, quickly awry.
Climbing up the 2 rickety flights of stairs to get to this venue was far more interesting than this shtick about a young fellow
in prison lamenting - weakly, the tragedy of the late prisoner, Troy Davis. Daniel Glenn portrays a "rich white boy on
death row" somehow relating his Davisian-brand view of the world. Davis was a convicted murderer in Georgia - regarding
the death of a police officer. In the fall of 2011, Davis failed in getting a last minute, final amnesty. The CNN web site
noted "International figures including Pope Benedict XVI, Desmond Tutu, and former President Jimmy Carter, entertainers
such as Susan Sarandon, Harry Belafonte, and the Indigo Girls, and others have joined with Amnesty International, the NAACP
and other groups in supporting Davis' efforts to be exonerated". All appeals failed. The effort by Davis and his
supporters to find relief as the final hours, minutes and seconds wound down was certainly a lot more dramatic than "My
Date With Troy Davis" - written and performed by Daniel Glenn, directed by Amy Suratt.
- KEVIN MARTIN
MORMON-IN-CHIEF
Kraine Theater,
East 4th Street Written by Matthew Green, Directed by Austin Regan
This is a dull, somewhat lengthy Mormon
on Mormon piece of "political comedy" (my quotes) with a thin, pseudo-entertaining TV sitcom veneer; good for napping
if you need to catch up on any sleep. This "work" is not much more than a wannabe kind of Seinfeld outing with quick,
cutesy, white-bready one-liners, ideal for mid-week TV viewing, - if you have nothing else to do with your life. The audience,
curiously enough, seemed to be having a good time through and through. Whenever I awoke from my slumber, I was hearing
a good deal of Ha-Ha-Ha-ing, and could not understand it, really. The reason could be that the audiences of this early
21st century have overdosed on too much boob-toobery while growing up. The lighting was fine. - KEVIN MARTIN
THE MEDEA PROJECT
Performed @ The Living Theater, Stanton Street.
Bruka Theatre and Sandra Brunell Neace
Writer: Sandra Brunell Neace Director: Sandra Brunell Neace
"The
Medea Project" is an exquisitely acted, well-presented piece examining the issue of (frequently) maternal filicide in
contemporary life. Originally produced by Bruka Theatre in Reno Nevada, this is a fresh and intelligent ensemble piece (all
women, thank-you very much) that energetically explores the killing of kids by their moms - and maybe dads, once in a while.
"The Medea Project" is replete with fresh video news clips of various case examples taken from recent memory: murderesses
Jennifer Yates, Susan Smith, et al. Writer and Director Sandra Brunell Neace skillfully moves this exploration of filicide
forward. This is a painful topic when one thinks of all the innocent lives so horribly terminated. "The Medea Project"
- while also recalling the ancient rage and revenge of the Euripiidean Medea as part of its denouement - is an excellent and
genuinely thought-provoking work. (Pssst: The lighting/imaging was a bit off during my visit. Please fix.).
- KEVIN MARTIN THE ABDUCTION OF BECKY MORRIS
Connelly Theater, East 4th Street
A compelling, odd premise of a (perhaps) unintended
dream/nightmare kidnapping, acted by a decent cast, - this exercise in wild imaginings as near-suspense material is an interesting
piece. When the repressed desires and private regrets of one youngish wife hook up and activate the memory of disregarded
longing, you might get a character like the state trooper’s wife - "Rebecca", who yearns and burns to reconnect
to an intimacy of a past contact once thrown away. Let it suffice that the playwright, Alison Crane (also acting in
the title role), makes some useful energy of her new-found situation as the playwright, creating a few unconsciously lustful,
conflicting impulses for audience absorption (albeit thin in the area of resolution). There is no doubt that the circumstances
offered up here are intriguing, and, - without giving away the goods - perhaps worthy of our own reflection(s): how much more
interesting would my life had been if I had only .... , and so on. We all have a regret or two, in some way or other,
yes? For the most part, "The Abduction of Becky Morris" is fairly directed, while parts of the blocking
could have been neater, sharper. Among the actors, all of whom acted rightly from start to finish, actor Mary Ruth,
in the two roles of Agent Pearson and Linda Goodkind ("It's Linda"!), was an total stand-out, every step of
the way. Jason Wilson, as both Reverend Deputy Blackhawk and Reverend Dale Goodkind, was excellent. Costume choices
were strong, and sound was wonderfully appropriate. -
KEVIN MARTIN
EDWARD GANT'S AMAZING FEATS OF LONELINESS
Cherry Lane Theatre, Commerce Street (West Village)
The play bearing the above
title went rather smoothly - and energetically, for about the first 10 or 15 minutes, and then sank into a kind of wet, drowning
oblivion, - paddling with dull interest to the conclusion's dry, barren shore. I could not understand much
of the piece, even though the part of Gant was appealingly acted by Ian Hopps; that is, the actor seemed to have to paddle
up-stream, as it were. To top it all off, the piece did eventually reach its end, and the audience was mainly courteous,
- but the cast never took a curtain call! That was something that I am sure I have never before witnessed. Maybe that
was a message from "Edward Gant's Amazing Feats Of Loneliness", leaving perhaps some of us just feeling, well,
- a little lonely. EGAFOL is written by Anthony Neilson, directed by Michael Saarela.
- KEVIN MARTIN
THE
SLAVE WHO BECAME A MAN
Kraine Theater, East 4th Street
A
strong presentation for witnessing a modern take on societal oppression in contemporary U.S.A. is this play with 9 actors
in substantive roles - in a pro-communistic perspective of capitalism at work in our daily national life. The play may
serve to remind contemporary thinkers that the social and economic travails of today's America are the echoes of past
institutional prejudices, harking back to African-American slavery, with the plight of the wronged millions, since then, that
have sought to enter upon the level playing field of justice and freedom, - morally, politically, and legally. The play's
addendum notes refer to the current way of life under Mr. Barack Obama, and his own apparent success at keeping the
unpleasant tide of economic and social unfairness moving, intact, against the masses. The play gives a certain
foretelling to this reality by showing the early plight of William and Ellen Craft, both slaves in the pre-Civil War years,
and their fascinating escape to freedom, outside the U.S. The ending is a little fascinating, and unexpected.
The entire cast - including the impressive effort of actor Aaron Seglin as the Traveling Minstrel (as the story's narrator),
deserves strong acknowledgement. Based on the real life writings of William Craft and adapted by Georgiana Hart, "The
Slave Who Became A Man" is directed by Keith Hoovler; the excellent costumes, lighting, and sound by Lynn Lewis, Ed Pearson,
and Jason Davis, respectively, all demonstrate fine skills.
- KEVIN MARTIN
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