JEAN-CLAUDE CARRIÈRE’S
THE CONTROVERSY OF VALLADOLID
March 2005
The Run is Over
The Public Theater

Reviewed by Ronit Feldman

The year 1550 marked an important juncture in Native American history, although they might not have realized it then. After being massacred, raped, and tortured by their European conquerors, the fate of the indigenous tribes was being determined thousands of miles away by the Roman Catholic Church in the then-Spanish city of Valladolid. It was here that a debate determined whether the inhabitants of the New Indies were in fact human beings. The outcome of the trial elicited repercussions still felt today, a reality driven home by the Public Theatre’s superb production of The Controversy of Valladolid.

Written for French TV in 1992 by Jean-Claude Carriere (author of over fifty screenplays, including The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Birth, starring Nicole Kidman), the script made its theatrical premiere in Paris in 1999. The Public Theatre’s production marks Valladolid’s American debut and it couldn’t be more timely. Themes of oppression, religious ordinance and colonization carry an especial poignancy since the US invasion of Iraq.

The action unfolds in a monastery where two men hold court before the pope’s legate. Bartolome de Las Casas, a priest who has lived in the colonies and seen the atrocities firsthand, champions the natives' rights as human beings. Las Casas’ descriptions of the mass killings and gory tortures enacted by the Spaniards tug at the heart, and Gerry Bamman’s portrays the character with equal parts fervor and restraint.

Las Casas’ opponent is Gines de Sepulveda, an Aristotelian scholar who argues that the natives are merely “creatures disguised as humans,” meant to serve the superior species—those who have accepted Christ. He justifies the abuse by saying that he is after the greater good, the salvation of souls, a logic that we can at least understand, if not accept. Steven Skybell’s performance emphasizes Sepulveda’s calm rationale, which wisely prevents the character from sinking into pure villainy.

While the real-life debate between Las Casas and Sepulveda took place in private, the play is based on their books and letters, which recorded much of what transpired. The production is more than a history lesson, though. Expertly directed by David Jones, Valladolid speaks to the heart just as readily as it engages the mind.

In one particularly unsettling scene, an Indian family is brought before the court and forced to undergo “tests” to determine their authenticity as human beings: do they have feelings? instincts? The chilling investigation is filled with irony; while Sepulveda challenges whether or not the natives have a conscience, he proves the absence of his own.

Anyone who follows current events will pick up on the parallels between Valladolid and modern politics. Certain phrases even echo the language used by our present media, as when Las Casas asks, “Just because we worship the one true God, is it necessary that we become the police of the earth?” Other passages mimic the vocabulary used to describe Abu Ghraib.

The most powerful moments, though, are about the personal prejudice that thrives in environments where multiple cultures coexist. The play’s surprising (and true) conclusion addresses this best with a moment of silence between Las Casas and one of the minor characters. It is a silence that has lasted hundreds of years, and still grips our culture today.

The Public Theater| 425 Lafayette

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The Knitting Factory Main Performance Space| 74 Leonard Street

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Samuel Beckett’s
Endgame
The Run is Over
Irish Repertory Theate

Reviewed Saturday, March 19, 2005 by Caroline Smith

In the plays of Samuel Beckett less is always more. The whole notion of conventional theatre, wherein time and space are comprehensibly executed on stage, is extinguished. The play is simply set, “here” and “now.” However, in a ramshackle set with filthy curtains drawn over the windows, we ask ourselves, is this play actually set “here” and “now?” For a little less than two hours we have no idea if the sun has risen or has set. And then we ask ourselves, haven’t we all been here before? Beckett’s succinct stage directions demand much more than what they simply convey. His work is comparable to a recipe. He lays out the ingredients, the order, and the certainty, but he allows a director to insert himself and add his own touch. Director, Charlotte Moore, paid meticulous attention to detail in this production.

In Endgame, the characters do not waste dialogue. The staccato nature of their words, rebuttals, and stutters draw back the filthy curtains and reveal some universal themes. Beckett presents four characters that are battling with their isolation. It’s a humorous battle, nonetheless. In revelations of humility and anguish, the characters rely on one another to die. Although dreary in its tone, these familiar themes ultimately usurp extraneous furniture or big lights you would find in a box office musical. In this production, Beckett strips the flower and leaves the stem. Everything is there but he does not appear to leave traces of self-commentary nor does he attempt to justify his characters.

And the characters? Tony Roberts, playing Hamm, sits blindly in his wooden throne stabbing us with bouts of laughter. His voice summons Nagg and Nell out of their trashcans, and Clov limping to side. Absurd or “unbelievable,” as Clov so eloquently put it, their handicaps hold them together like glue. In an abundance of empty space, this seems to be a play about nothing, but is filled with everything. Beckett does not suggest for anything to mean more than what his writing has already accomplished. The dialogue is rich and unpretentious. Academia aside, NewYorkCool readers, see this play. You’ll leave full.

Starring: Tony Roberts, Adam Heller, Kathryn Grody & Alvin Epstein

Tickets are $45-50. (212-727-2737) www.irishrep.org

Irish Repertory Theater | 132 W. 22nd St
( between Sixth and Seventh Aves)

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Kyle Jarrow’s Gorilla Man
I Was a Teenage Ape Man
The Run is Over
PS 122


Photo Emily Wilbur

Reviewed on March 14, 2005 by Ilise S. Carter

Most teenagers will tell you that the world just doesn’t understand them. They will also tell you that the seemingly overnight appearance of hair in places where it has never appeared before is more than a little disconcerting. Further, you’d be hard pressed to find a teenager who didn’t think his or her family comprised of a bunch of embarrassing freaks. These principles of adolescence, writ however large, are at the heart of Kyle Jarrow’s Gorilla Man, directed by Habib Azar.

Taking a page from Katherine Dunn’s cult novel Geek Love, Gorilla Man follows the family-as-sideshow model. In Jarrow’s version, however, the focus is on the younger generation’s search for acceptance and understanding. It all begins with young Billy’s (Jason Fuchs) rapid discovery that he is becoming increasingly covered in fur; his father is not a deceased accountant, but a homicidal man-beast imprisoned in a far away jail (Matt Walton); and his mother (Stephanie Bast) does some of her nurturing with a pistol. All of this, of course, leads to a much soul searching and some musical numbers.

The set up for this musical, is actually unique and charming in that the accompanying piano player (Kyle Jarrow) and drummer (Perry Silver), who regularly interject themselves in to the action; offering advice to the characters and plot points in the interest of moving things along. Sadly, the difficulties comes with the actual songs, which lack any feeling of being an ensemble piece and can sometimes lapse into pop sappiness.

After his mother’s rejection, Billy soon finds that the world is full of adults who each have a tale to tell, no matter how cynical. Whether it’s faith, as represented by an overzealous truck driver with an unshakable belief in Jesus and a possible violent streak, or politics, which take the form of manipulative small town politician bent on turning his constituency into an angry mob (both adeptly played by Burl Moseley). Billy fares little better in matters of luck and love, encountering both a fortuneteller and perhaps the most luckless woman ever (Nell Mooney), who also impart him their own world-weary insight.

All of this builds toward the eventual reunion with his father and an ensuing wild man bloodbath, which in turn lead to yet more soul searching and more bemoaning of the unfairness of his fate. After all of this Billy is still confused and unfocused, which is not surprising when you consider that the playwright hasn’t given him any help in the form of a lucid theme or plot line, leaving the show with an adolescent element. This is not to say that Gorilla Man is without its charms -- there are a number of funny moments, clever staging techniques that take good advantage of its limited budget and some very talented performers. However, Jarrow’s script and Fuch’s performance have an almost painful earnestness. The show actually works best when it doesn’t take the lessons of life so seriously and approaches them with a bit more humorous cynicism. But, that, as any adult whose come through a difficult adolescence can tell you, comes only with time, experience and practice.

For more information: www.ps122.org & www.gorilla-man.com

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STEPHEN ADLY GUIRGIS"
'THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT'
WORLD PREMIERE
Tuesday February 8th through April 3rd.
The Run is Over
The Public Theater

Reviewed By Jessica Cogan

Recently it’s felt as if religion is a topic virtually abandoned by artists. Discussions about God and spirituality have been largely hijacked by a religious right with whom few artists want to be identified. So it’s gratifying to see a play like Stephen Adly Guirgis’ The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, a play that comically, cleverly and movingly takes up religion, forgiveness and God’s love.

The play follows the story of Judas, Jesus’ famous betrayer, as he appeals his eternal damnation in a courtroom in Purgatory. Judas (Sam Rockwell) is practically catatonic in his despair. Working on his behalf is the tenacious lawyer Fabiana Aziza Cunningham (Callie Thorne) who calls forth witnesses ranging from Judas’s mother Henrietta (Deborah Rush) to Sigmund Freud (Adrian Martinez). The play moves between flashback and present time to flesh out the details surrounding Judas’ actions. Those called to testify include Pontius Pilate (a brilliant Stephen McKinley Henderson), Mother Teresa (Liza Colon-Zayas) and one seriously sexy Satan (Eric Bogosian). An unsympathetic judge (Jeffrey De Munn) presides over the case and the frenetically hilarious Yusef El-Fayoumy (Yul Vazquez) serves as the prosecutor.

The play also weaves in commentary from above. A fierce Saint Monica (Elizabeth Rodriguez) gives voice to some of Guirgis’ most acerbic and expletive-ridden speeches. Saints Matthew (Jeffrey De Munn), Thomas (Adrian Martinez) and Peter (Craig “Mums” Grant) also weigh in as those who knew Judas best. And Jesus (John Ortiz) delivers a particularly poignant monologue near the play’s end.

Director Philip Seymour Hoffman keeps the story moving along at an uneven but effective pace. The word is that the play’s length has been trimmed to its current 2 hour 40 minute length from more than 3 and a half hours, and the play now seems just the right size. Action moves fluidly from overhead to center stage and back again.

The writing and performances in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot are its great strengths. Guirgis captures the frustration and confusion of Judas, unforgiven and yet unwilling to forgive in return. But it’s difficult to determine where the great writing ends and the fantastic performances begin. Rockwell is heartbreaking as Judas; Bogosian slippery and serpentine as Satan. In supporting roles, particular standouts include Stephen McKinley Henderson as a ferocious and indignant Pilate, Kohl Sudduth as a simple and sweet member of the jury and Jeffrey De Munn both as the despotic judge and the weary Caiaphas the Elder.

The LAByrinth Theater Company, Hoffman and Guirgis have created a beautiful thing in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. And it’s a pleasure to spend an evening thinking about God and religion and not worrying about how they’ll affect my civil liberties.

LAByrinth Theater Company presents The Last Days of Judas Iscariot written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. The play runs at The Public Theater through April 3. Go to www.publictheater.org or call 212.239.6200 for more information.

The Public Theater| 425 Lafayette

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The York's Theatre Company's
The Musical of Musicals - The Musical!
Open Run
The New Dodger Stages

Reviewed by Wendy R. Williams

All the different segments work.  The show starts with a dead-on send up of Rodgers and Hammerstein set amid the corn fields of August, then moves on to a cynically twisted scene set in an apartment house in the dark world of Sondheim.  Next it was time to idolize-a-diva in the Jerry Herman scene. I have seen many middle-aged-community-theater divas ham it up as Mame, so those jokes killed me. A total Phantom junkie, I loved the Andrew Lloyd Webber piece.  The night I attended, when it was time for the Webber piece, someone in the audience groaned and said, "He deserves to be skewered." But they sure did laugh during the scene and all the Weberesque songs were beautiful.  The show ends with a very witty Kander and Ebb segment, with the final bits sung in many different languages.  Life is so very Cabaret! 

The York Theater has an excellent road show on their hands.  "Musical" has a simple set and most of the music is supplied by an on-stage piano.  This show could easily be performed in a large cabaret space.  Throughout the country there are people who cut their theatrical teeth on musicals and they will be a perfect audience for this show.  I only hope that if it tours, it tours with this cast. Bravo!

Reviewers note: I saw this show last July at the York Theater and wrote the review at that time. I saw it again on opening night February 10th. and it was even more fun than the first time.

Tickets are $55 and $59.50 (Friday and Saturday evenings) and are available through Telecharge at (212) 239-6200 or at the Dodger Stages Box Office. For information visit www.musicalofmusicals.com.

Dodger Stages, Stage Five |340 W. 50th Street

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Marc Spitz’s
The Name of This Play is Talking Heads
March 2005
The Run is Over
Under St. Marks

Reviewed by Tara Koppel

I’m not the first person to note that television is a comfort. It helps us forget about the backlist of bills that leads to prescriptions for the backlist of pills.

Have you ever been asked Monday morning how your weekend was and you can’t even remember what you did?

This truancy of recall is not because you were doing something worthwhile like getting wasted, but rather it’s attributed to three things that you hold very near and dear: your ass, your couch, and of course, your television.

Why do we do this when there are so many other productive opportunities to take like exercising, washing our car, and making our boyfriends spend lots of money on us.

The Name of This Play is The Talking Heads is directed by Andy Goldberg and written by Senior Writer of Spin Magazine, Mark Spitz. It takes a comedic and inventive look at the phenomenon of media punditry. In Talking Heads, Pete (Brian Reilly), writer for Head Phones Magazine prepares to make his TV debut, when he is introduced to the fabricated nature of the television media.

The show Pete will be on is similar to shows like VH1’s I Love the 90’s and MTV’s watered-down reality shows, where the commentary is light-hearted and to be taken at face value.

A nervous Pete asks to watch Frankie (Matt Higgins), a standup comic do his interview, so he can get familiar with the types of questions he will be asked during his own interview. The topic for this particular show is “What do you think is Rockatrocious?” Producer Tom (James Eason) asks questions like, “Jerry Lewis marrying his 13 year old cousin. Is that rockatrocious?” Frankie’s responses are conducive to what the audience wants to hear: safe; funny; unassuming; uncontroversial types of answers.

Pete tries to rebel against this superficial media industry where everyone in the business seems to be artificial clones of one another. He wants to offer insightful opinions to the viewing audience, but this attempt at defiance will not happen without its challenges.

As for writer Mark Spitz, I’m a new fan. Behind the comedy, the audience gets to witness a revealing snapshot of the media. Spitz’ weaves in appealing life idioms. For instance, one of the characters mentions that really smart people aren’t funny. Because to be funny requires letting go of logic and reason, and smart people just aren’t capable of that.

Every line was embraced with originality. I hate it when writers inadvertently beg for laughs. Mark Spitz doesn’t allow for any cheap shots like this one:
Why does Snoop Dog always carry an umbrella?
- Fur-drizzle…( Please forgive me.)

The Talking Heads is about the reality of the fake. But we need this fake. I know I do. It gives us all a false sense of security. But I better go for now. My favorite show is on.

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Christopher Kyle's
Plunge
The Bridge Theatre Company
Theatre 54

Reviewed on April 9, 2005 by Caroline Smith

The seats of this cozy theater should have leaned forward, as if peering over an abyss because this aptly titled play, Plunge, made everyone do just that. A play opening with a naked figure silhouetted by a pool can convey one of two things: sex or… well, you fill me in on the second. Nevertheless, this was a classic story of love and betrayal with the intelligent and witty writing to float on. This certainly wasn’t Young And The Restless, this was something you needed a parachute for when it was time to take the “plunge.”

In front of the swinging screen doors, these four alleged best friends and graduates from Kenyan college are nostalgic over bottles of wine. Behind the swinging screen doors, they are screwing each other, screwing strangers, and screwing themselves. The concept of love seems to drown in the swimming pool. An unsettling marriage and pregnancy follows college for one couple, Harris and Val. Clare has been fooling around with Harris and temp, Jim at the office. As I watched these characters dig themselves into the grave, I thought that Matty, the stoner in the bathrobe, ironically was the voice of the play. Though the image is lewd, his characteristic spread eagle squat and open bathrobe had nuances of friends undressing for one another and finally, revealing all.

The constant setting and re-setting of the table was Clare’s desperate need to smooth things over, to regain normalcy, and to pretend. The pouring of the wine gave way to sharing, telling, and at times forgiving. These symbols perform the same functions in our own lives and I respected Kyle’s writing for this.

To take the simple and tarnished idea of friends and lovers and then paint the stage with fresh, evocative, sexy, and young faces was very New York Cool. Behind those screen doors, these characters were different people with only desire to cloak their naked bodies. In front of those screens these same characters were covered up and drowning.

The play’s end will shock and its honesty will push you over the edge. I’m only sorry you can’t take the plunge and see this show. The run ended on April 9th, followed by a quick Q&A. These fine actors are founders of the Bridge Theatre Company and you can see two of them, Amos Crawley and Jennifer Laine Williams, in the next production of “Never Swim Alone & This Is A Play” at Shelter Studios Theatre 54. The run starts May 11-22nd.
The Bridge Theatre Company at Theatre 54 - 244 W. 54th St. 12th Floor www.TheBridgeTheatreCompany.com

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Reviewed by Rachael Roberts

It was a dark and cold night, I was having a terrible day and was giving the evil-eye to all those who crossed my path. I knew I was going to a sketch comedy show down at Juvie Hall and should lighten up a little, but I was in a really, really bad mood; nothing was going to make me smile. But despite my best efforts to wallow in self-pity and loathing, The Royal We, an incredibly talented group of improvers who hail from The Second City Training Center, had me crying with laughter, shocked at how fresh and non-cliche their comedy was.

I didn't think I could ever hear another joke about the election or see another skit about Osama Bin Laden, until The Royal We opened my eyes to their fresh and edgy satire. This hilarious troupe of improvers attacked all things prescient to the Ipod generation, from the brainwashing of the masses to how to get out of paying a brokers fee on an apt.

Be All That You Can Buy, which is playing at Juvie Hall Saturdays April 2nd 9th and 16th at 8pm, interweaves video, song and dance with high energy sketches to great effect. These improvers certainly know how to push the envelope without hitting us over the head. The hour and a half long show is jam packed with unique characters played by the very talented Lauren Antler, Becca Greene, Matt Johnson, Jerry Miller and Will Nunziata who have been performing together to sold out audiences since 2002. They use a minimum of props and sets, letting their high energy and fun videos dominate the stage.

So whether you are as happy as a robin in Spring or determined to stay an uptight miserable hag, go check out The Royal We and challenge them to make you laugh. Not only will they have you howling and possibly peeing in your pants, they will also teach you some great ways to outsource your friendships and how to get rid of that pesky one-nightstand out of your apartment the next morning. Useful indeed. www.theroyalwe.org

The Gene Frankel Theater | 24 Bond St.
(btw Bowery & Lafayette)

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The Three Musketeers: A Musical Adventure
April 15—May 14, 2005
Wings Theatre

Reviewed on April 18, 2005 by Ronit Feldman

Tucked away on Christopher Street, a small basement theatre breathes life into a stretch of Greenwich Village known more for its drinking holes than its drama. It’s here that the Wings Theatre stakes its claim. While the entrance lacks street signage, a recent Monday night production drew a crowd that packed nearly every seat. The show, The Three Musketeers, is part of a series of new musicals that bills itself as “fare you won’t find on the boob tube.” That’s partly true.

Based on the 19th century novel by Alexandre Dumas, this two-act production features a lush musical score and epic storyline absent from any modern sitcom. But the themes—betrayal, honor, adultery, deception and love—will strike a familiar chord with anyone fond of pop culture, from The Bachelor to Desperate Housewives. The story follows the adventures of the young Frenchmen D’Artagnan (Ryan Boda) as he attempts to prove himself to the king’s three best musketeers: Athos (Stephen Cabral), Porthos (David Weitzer) and Aramis (David Velarde). The classic good guy/bad guy plot thickens when Cardinal Richelieu (David Macaluso) and the evil Milady de Winter (Pamela Brumley) conspire to discredit the queen, Anne of Austria (Kim Reed), in the eyes of King Louis XIII (Josh Grisetti). Musketeers to the rescue!

Director Jeffery Corrick keeps the first act lively, employing a varied cast of characters who engage in song, dialogue and swordplay. Act two takes a darker turn as a murderous plot comes to a head and some sinister secrets are divulged. The music by Paul L. Johnson and book and lyrics by Clint Jefferies pay homage to old-fashioned storytelling, and a few standout performers allow the material to really shine. Josh Grisetti is a hoot as the pretentious King Louis XIII, with petty affectation pouring from every effeminate finger. Pamela Brumley’s rich soprano oozes haughtiness and seduction, perfect for the evil Milady, while Kim Reed infuses the powerful Queen Anne with a poignant vulnerability.

Packed with complex music and a multitude characters, it’s an adventurous undertaking for the small Wings Theatre, but they do it with bravado…just like the musketeers would want it.

Book & Lyrics by Clint Jefferies; Music by Paul L. Johnson
Based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas

Tickets are $19 (212-627-2961) www.wingstheatre.com

The Wings Theatre | 154 Christopher Street

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Jessica Wood’s
WOOD’S HOODS
The Run is Over

Reviewed on March 30, 2005 by Troy Tolley

I was lucky enough to make it to the closing night of Jessica Wood’s one-woman comedy-drama show, Wood's Hoods, held at THE RED ROOM on East 4th in the East Village. Filled with Laugh-Out-Loud moment by moment, Wood’s Hoods is more than a comedy sketch; it’s an empowering real-life tale paralleling the wondrous myth of the Phoenix. To quote the Feng Shui Master, Lam Kam Chuen, the Phoenix is “an amazing bird who never dies, but flies ahead to the front, always scanning the landscape and distant space, representing our capacity for vision, for collecting sensory information about our environment and the events unfolding within it. With its great beauty, the Phoenix creates intense excitement and deathless inspiration.”

If that does not describe the heart of Jessica and her work that night, I do not know what does.

Wood’s Hoods unfolds the story of her own life, captured through the interactions and influences of no less than 20 characters across 7 different neighborhoods across time. The stronger threads holding the hilarious and painful together are her hippy parents, both “stoners”, who at once raise their child to be a gentle Vegan who fears the wrath of cheese, while offering no shape or security for the strong-willed and curious girl on their hands.

Transforming neglect into an opportunity for adventurous exploration, Jessica tells of her trek from ghetto to ghetto across L.A. suffering and savoring the somehow-comical friendships among gangs, drugs, and drama. Escaping L.A. and the violent Mexican gangs addicted to cheese and oldies, Jessica finally lands in New York, only to find more challenges and disappointments, ultimately depicted in the shock of exposure to high society’s sexual freedom and her surprising intimacy with a porcelain sink. Her journey takes her through the Lower East side’s transformation from drug dens to bistros, Hell’s Kitchen’s crack head prostitutes and naïve tourist girls, all culminating happily and most currently into Brooklyn, where her strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, and white skin forces the cigarette salesman at her subway station to change his redundant shout of “Newports… Newports…” to an enthusiastic yell of “Marlboros!! Marlboros!!”

Jessica transforms herself from an unassuming, approachable, adorable young woman into the many varied characters (read: caricatures) who inspired, tripped, and even trapped the process of her growing up, somehow making a journey that should be seen as terribly sad into a journey of joy, freedom, and opportunity. She manages to honor every character portrayed, unleashing their own absurdity and hilarity without diminishing or mocking them.

This is a one-woman show that has been created by someone who knows who she is; someone who knows that one small change in the ingredients of her life, however painful or challenging they may have been, would have created a different person she may not have liked and loved as much as she does.

Jessica’s Wood's Hoods is the epitome of theater at its best: absolutely embodying tragedy and comedy as two sides of the same coin… and more importantly emphasizing that the end results are all a matter of choice, perspective, and self-awareness.

Although Wood’s Hoods has closed, you can find the raunchy, achingly funny Phoenix named Jessica hosting NYC’s MOST BRILLIANT COMIC @ 3 of Cups every Monday Night at 8pm for FREE!