Little Velvet Square: "Almost an Evening" Touches That Tender Little Spot...Almost

Feeling Around With A Little Velvet Square:

by Jesse Schmitt

When F. Murray Abraham’s God (“Who Judges”) character begins his stumping about humanities perpetual misinterpretation of the Ten Commandments, it seems intended as an eye opening experience for the audience assembled in the theatre. It also is addressed universally towards the-audience-within-the-audience that his character is playing to. However a line is soon crossed which sets off Mark Linn-Baker (“God Who Loves”) and sends them off into a battle royal which could have only been punctuated by a Springer character running on with a steel chair. It’s the message that gets muddled for both Mr. Abraham and a pair seeing the show-inside-the-show, after their show, as they discuss the merits of Mr. Abraham’s God over dinner which sets off a disagreement which evolves into a fight which could only be punctuated by a Springer character running on with a steel chair. It is only then that Mr. Abraham the actor who had “played God” arrives at the very restaurant where these two audience members are discussing his performance from just previous…

And on and on it goes.

Perhaps the description of this closing piece “Debate,” from the playwright himself could have better prepared us for this circuitousness when in the playbill we are warned: “Cosmic questions are taken up. Not much is learned.”

This is the feel of the evening in the trio of short works from Mr. Ethan Coen which make up “Almost an Evening,” his current presentation of short works at The Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street, currently running in New York City. There is plenty of pathos, plenty of wrath, and plenty of humor in the nearly 90 minutes of stage time in the three short pieces. I dare not call them “plays” in the traditional sense so much as vignettes or scenes; pieces of human interaction strung together to take the audience on a fully self-aware evening of theatre.

Mr. Coen is one half of the Oscar saddled Coen brothers; the Hollywood dream team who are responsible for such instant classics as "Raising Arizona", "O’Brother Where Art Thou", and "No Country For Old Men" just to name a few. However far from the glitz of Hollywood Bleecker Street is, the playwright did not come to the party empty handed. Many may recognize Mr. Linn-Baker as “Cousin Larry” but there is a whole talented troupe including Mr. Murray Abraham, J.R. Horne, Jordan Lage, Mary McCann, Del Pentecost, Joey Slotnick, Johanna Day, and Tim Hopper; each under the watchful eye of director Neil Pepe.

However, much to the benefit of the audience, this is not some self-congratulatory Hollywood ‘in crowd.’ While George Clooney does make a brief appearance on a magazine cover in Hell, the location of his appearance seems not at all coincidental. No this group are ensemble performers and they all approach the words of Mr. Coen under direction of Mr. Pepe with careful consideration. Many of the players are actually members of The Atlantic Theatre Company (William H. Macy & David Mamet’s theatre school) who is a producing agent for this show.

And their performances were all generally really good. So I hesitate to say anything more about the evening...But I will.

Here's my biggest gripe. In “Almost an Evening,” the heightened reality and overall story arc are predominantly absent. I feel like many of the lines spoken in these pieces are done so into the mirror; as though Mr. Coen himself were onstage, feeling shy. This, from one of my favorite filmmakers is outrageous; I'd certianly expected a lot more "Pop!" Some of the scenes in this evening reminded me of Larry, Curly, and Shemp more than Coen Brothers favorites like "Fargo" or "The Big Lebowski." Heck, even "The Man Who Wasn't There," has a beginning, middle, and end; it's the "Almost" in this evening which was the biggest qualifier and, unfortunately, it is also the biggest let down.

But my tone is all off because the acting was great! There is a fun irony which the players are able to pull off with grace and elegance. Everyone seemed to hit their spots and they all remained largely connected. Still, the conflicted tenor leaves one exiting the theatre as a maudlin drunk. The banter the actors share is delightful, and while some of their phrasings are witty; the spectacle is apparent; the bickering, jarring; the dynamism, relative. “Rage Against the Machine: If That’s the Way You Feel.”

I get it that Mr. Coen didn't want to take any playwright's milk money; so much of what is said in the theatre has already been said before. But we come to the theatre exactly for that; why do you think Shakespeare is continually remounted? It felt as though Mr. Coen saw the vertical distance in the pole vault, set his bar down and just walked away rather than giving it a go.

That said, “Almost an Evening,” more than lives up to its name. There is a certian "yuck-yuckiness" to the pieces which, in the end, is disappointing. Mr. Coen even evokes Mr. Mamet at one point and like a damsel, tied to the tracks it seemed as obvious as the freight train’s coming in the distance. And to be there is exactly where I felt I was. What this show does have going for it is just about everything else; the players give it their all and each are able to shine at moments; the direction is snappy; the production is nice. While the endgame is par for the course, if you’re looking for an enjoyable, but not impressively memorable evening at the theatre in the Village, “Almost an Evening,” is as just as good an option as any.

On Mamet & The Current Revival of Sexual Perversity in Chicago

Seminal Work? Or Museum Piece?

By Jesse Schmitt

David Mamet has always been one of my favorite writers. More than the fact that he so ably and deftly carves out of his characters words, a sickening portrait of the Old West, Marlboro Man, American male machismo which has dominated this nation’s perception of reality and life and to a large extent for a segment of the population, still does.

I’ve known a less publicized and more intimate David Mamet; through his words, I’ve studied his teachings. Many people may know that he and actor William H. Macy began the world renowned Atlantic Theatre Company; what many do not know is that in addition to his writings for the stage, screen, and his directing, David Mamet is also a book author. I learned a lot about theatre and live performance from his books “Writing in Restaurants,” "True and False," and “Three Uses of the Knife.”

I learned what it meant to be an actor from a playwright’s position and what steps need be taken for a show to really gain traction and spread wings. David Mamet is the one whose words gave me courage to break out on my own and it is, in large part, due to his “it’s not going to be easy but this is how you do it,” approach which put the real world in real terms for me. His plain spoken attitude showed me that writing in itself is a job which requires a leap of faith and more importantly, a trial-and-error command of your own perception of yourself, even when others have written you off for dead.

Equally important, I’ve always respected his talent and his opinion; how could you not? Love it or hate it, the opinion in all of the cannon of Mamet shoots out like a lightning bolt; you are never at a loss for words as to where the artist’s voice is in his pieces.

So I have a definite opinion of David Mamet and his various works at various stages in his career. Many people know many titles in the Mamet catalog: “Glengarry Glen Ross,” “Oleanna,” “Speed the Plough,” “American Buffalo;” all of these plays and many more have helped us to define a writer who is still at his pinnacle of influence, has effectively and effortlessly crossed genres, and continues to pump out a respectable amount of work if for no one’s sake than his own amusement or his own outrage.

It is with the greatest amount of respect for the original playwright and for the artists involved in this most recent production of “Sexual Perversity in Chicago (The Flight Theatre 6476 Santa Monica Blvd. Hollywood)” that I say, I still have a tough time stomaching that play. I’d been lucky enough to see this play previously in Edinburgh Scotland at the Fringe Festival in 2001. I didn’t like it then and my opinion has not changed. I went into this show with an open mind; I even desperately wanted to like it; but time has not changed the core of this show.

Even Mamet’s own opinions on the work appeared bitterly laced with acid: “…as a callow youth with hay sticking out of my ears, I sold both the play and the screenplay for about $12;” this led to the majority of his subsequent productions being kept in check by his own production vehicle. Despite the fact that reference was alluding to the less than phenomenal “About Last Night” movie adaptation of this show; the subtext was clear. The artist did not want this to become his seminal work; he was much too smart for that. He knew that this tiny one act play which had helped propel him to prominence may be a step along the path but he did not want this to be the work about which his entire career was based and on which his name would be made.

Yet still, it is produced and still people take these four shallow characters down the road which was crafted for them and still it is troubling and missing the point and purely a vanity project.

Just ask Joe Kreimborg; the star and producer of this show. Mr. Kreimborg plays Danny Shapiro; an insecure office worker who is the morning after wingman of his more than outspoken co-worker, Bernie (Jeff Markey). Bernie tells the tales and Danny sits in awe. Even though we're introduced to him in the subordinate dynamic, Danny ends up hooking up with this woman, Deb (Agatha Nowicki) who probably sleeps with him because she is at a crossroads in her life. Deb is in a similar situation as Danny as she plays wing-woman to her spurned best friend. It may seem that this is the perfect situation for both Danny and Deb as they can help their friends come to terms with their insecurities. However this is not the case; Bernie has feigned interest in his friends real life relationships; Danny has just crossed Deb’s totally over the top best friend and roommate Joan (Necar Zadegan).

Such is the life of the dating masses; however it’s too bad that Joan and Bernie have their own ideas about losing their friends to the commitment and sacrifices which go along with steady relationships. Joan has been scorned; Bernie hyperbolizes his own sex life; neither one of them is comfortable losing their sounding boards to the “wah-wah” of pedestrian relationships.

In this production, Joan and Bernie seem to be the only one’s who have hit their stride. You always know what’s going on in their head; it could be the writing, which may be what Mamet was saying, but there seems to be another thing going on. Mr. Kreimborg, as the stated in the program producer, seems to have his own ideas about this character and hasn’t seemed to (I hope) listen to the director (Alex Feldman)

I can’t blame the director because when the star of the show is also the producer, they will do whatever they want. As a producer who has made a fool of themselves onstage before by not listening to a director, I know. However I can’t totally hold the director harmless; let’s just say that Mr. Feldman could have done more.

I understand that Danny is engendered in the text as “meek” and “shy” but the portrayal of Mr. Kreimborg of the character was totally obnoxious, unbelievable, and not current with the spirit of the times. It was the 70’s man! Their costumer, set dresser, and props person got things right; Mr. Kreimborg missed it. Specifically, he mumbled his lines, he talked to his shoulder, and there was this perpetual, effeminate, giggle which sprung up from his Danny which was his trademark sound and, in this text, gets a resounding thumbs down. Maybe if he’d “thrown it in” once or twice for effect; but it was like every other word. For Mr. Markey it must have been like yelling at a three year old!

Bernie was well played; his intensity transcended the babble; similarly with Ms. Zadegan; her portrayal of Joan as an untrusting, cynical, aggressive, and Girl-Power’ish woman, who is conflicted due to her overwhelming need for her friend, was well played. But Ms Nowicki was completely unmemorable. When Ms. Nowicki and Mr. Kreimborg were onstage together, it was like peeling back fingernails across a rusty chalkboard.

But maybe that’s the point. It seems like a young, inexperienced writer who would make observations and generalizations like this. So maybe, for all of our sakes, we had just better leave “Sexual Perversity in Chicago” on the shelf. As a period piece, it’s bearable. But even then, when we’re trying to move forward the discussion and get beyond certain stereotypes, it would seem necessary to leave certain works alone for a few hundred years, before we’re able to get to a point where revivals like this seem “quaint.”

Or you could just do whatever the fuck you want…heh-he!


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030504/ai_n12739273
http://www.plays411.com/newsite/show/play_info.asp

Because of Beth & Live! Nude! Girl! Hit the Street

There is always a lot of buzz about the theatre scene in New York City; there are a pair of shows popping up in the next couple of days which you may regret not finding out a little more about when you had the chance.

The New York Premiere of “Because of Beth” is currently up at the Workshop Theatre (312 W 36th St 4th floor) and will continue its run until the 20th of January.

“Because of Beth” deals with familiar and very difficult themes that all of us will need to deal with at one point in our lives. Beth is a recently deceased mother, ex-wife, and fiancé. The problems here are a common one in any family who has gone through a divorce; her children are quarreling, their father, her ex-husband has been long estranged and is only reintroduced with the passing of Beth. Introduce the players who have been there the whole time with an outsider, in a sense, and you’ve got a powder keg which is just waiting to burst.

“Because of Beth” was written by Elana Gartner and directed by Clara Barton Green. If you’d like more info on this powerful show you can visit the SmartTix page for all ticket and scheduling information (https://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showcode=BEC6)

Another new show which is generating a lot of buzz is the Equity reading of “Live! Nude! Girl!” at the Bleecker Street Theatre (45 Bleecker St – Lafayette & Mott) According to the shows press information: "What if a 1950s Midwestern housewife got so sick of making meatloaf every Tuesday night that she snapped — and ran away to Las Vegas? What if her mother could drink like Dean and her daughter entertain like Sammy? And what if this housewife went from the silent and submissive bottom to the tough, impulsive and calculated top of the heap? Live! Nude! Girl! is an original musical that tells the story of a once in a lifetime chance for one woman to break out of her rut into something original and cool."

The show is at 7PM on January 14. With book and lyrics by Donna Kaz and music by Wayne Barker, there has been a lot of positive chatter for this pending showcase. For even more info check out (http://www.playbill.com/news/article/114058.html)