JEAN-CLAUDE CARRIÈRE’S
THE CONTROVERSY OF VALLADOLID
Tuesday Fridays @ 8PM
Saturdays @ 2PM & 8PM
Sundays @ 2PM & 7PM
February 15th - March 13th
Official Opening February 27th
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 50 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 native’s
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 a particularly unsettling scene, an
Indian family is brought before the court
and forced to undergo “tests”
to determine their authenticity as humans:
do they have feelings? Instincts? The
chilling investigation is filled with
irony: while Sepulveda challenges whether
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
DAMAGED CARE
Friday and Saturday @ 8 PM
Sunday @ 2 PM
March 11 through March 13
Dillon's Restaurant & Lounge
Photo by Mary
Blanco
Reviewed
by Elias Stimac
Instead
of asking if there is a doctor in the
house, patrons of “Damaged Care”
have been asking “Are there two
doctors on the stage?’ And they
would be right. The show, billed as a
“musical comedy about health care
in America,” features the Two Singing
Doctors -- Dr. Barry Levy and Dr. Greg
LaGana. The medical mirthmakers also wrote
the material, which aims its lyrical arrows
at today’s healthcare targets.
With the emphasis in the media on everything
from prescription drug advances to The
Surgery Channel, Levy and LaGana could
not have had better timing with their
project. The two were classmates at New
York’s Cornell Medical College,
and their mischievous rapport carries
over to the stage, where they dissect
health topics with wit and wisdom.
Directed by Michael Schiralli, with musical
direction by Brad Ross, the show is lighthearted
despite its serious undertones. “Damaged
Care” takes on many topics that
musical theatergoers probably have not
heard sung about before -- reduced insurance
coverage, hospital mergers, "cost
containment," medical errors, and
the threat of "superbugs." Also,
the doctors often stay after the show
to answer questions, which would cost
a lot in any other circumstance.
The songs have titles like “Doctors
in Cyberspace,” “The Spare
Parts Blues,” “A Health Care
Policy for the Millennium,” and
“That’s Sick!” Even
if you don’t have a clue as to what
they are technically or biologically referring
to, you can’t help but admire how
Levy and LaGana operate. They practically
finish the other’s sentences, that’s
how in sync they are under the spotlight.
Trust me, you don’t need a second
opinion on which comedy to see in New
York City – just order two tickets
to “Damaged Care” and you’ll
still be laughing in the morning.
Tickets:
$10 plus $10 food or drink min. To Purchase
Tickets: www.theatermania.com
212-352-3101.
Reservations: 212-307-9797For more information,
visit: www.damagedcare.com.
Dillon’s
Restaurant & Lounge| 245 W 54th St.
Samuel Beckett’s
Endgame
Tuesdays @ 8pm
Wednesedays at 3PM & 8PM
Tuesday, Thursday & Friday @8PM
Saturday @ 3PM & 8PM
Sunday @ 3PM
Through April 10th.
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)
STEPHEN
ADLY GUIRGIS"
THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT
WORLD PREMIERE
Tuesday through Saturday @ 8:00PM
Saturday and Sunday @ 2:00PM
Sunday @ 7:00PM
Tuesday February 8th through April 3rd.
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
Chekov's
The Seagull
Thursdays - Saturdays @ 8:00PM
Sundays @ 7:00PM
Opening March 13th
March 10th-20th
Bernie West Theater Baruch Performing
Arts Center
Reviewed by Caroline
Smith on March 13, 2005
The small, unassuming
stage and intimate seating in The Bernie
West Theater gave me the impression that
this version of ‘The Seagull’
would be a bird of another feather. Anton
Chekov, literary genius, often sets his
plays in painted, sprawling landscapes
and orchards bearing fruits. Therefore,
I think it is understood that my eyes
were clouded with doubt when I sat down
before a stage smaller than my Manhattan
bedroom. Needless to say, I was proved
wrong.
To all NewYorkCool readers: This was Chekov
on a diet. Superfluous space and fat pauses
had been trimmed away from this production.
What had remained were the play’s
important themes of suicide, unwed pregnancy,
and unreturned love. The traditional heavy
mood of his dramas, revealed by the rising
of the thick, velvet curtain, was not
the mood in this production. Replacing
the curtain was a soft, comic light that
would guide the actors into the story.
We were no longer an audience, but a bevy
of birds. With our necks craning, we perched
in our seats and leaned into the light.
Elizabeth Carroll, the woman who played
Nina, was not the typical star that evening.
She was indeed the show’s ingénue,
but gave the character a dry tongue and
a bit of redheaded sarcasm. Her modern
choices diverted from the play’s
idea of Nina. Instead, she and the cast
held up a magnifying glass and showed
us a play deep-rooted in humor and wit,
while sustaining the Chekovian picture
of Russia in the early 1900s.
In a Chekov play, a vase of flowers is
of equal importance to a character on
the stage. The play demands each from
beginning to end. It is true however,
that some actors will find a way to stand
out. Stephen Savona played the handsome
Trigorin and love interest of Nina. He
had the Guiding Light look coupled with
classical training. I think I was drooling.
Back to the point, his presence and talent
did not upstage the others. From the Director’s
Notes:
“Rather by allowing his stories
and characters come to life, he guided
them gently into the port of the storm.”
– Thomas G. Waites
I saw remarkable collaboration and dedication
in this performance. From Konstantine’s,
played by actor John Keegan, early shooting
of a seagull to his suicide later on,
the cast looked to one another for humor
and laughter in times of death and failure.
It wasn’t until the tragic final
acts when the familiar pauses and Chekovian
silences surfaced the stage. The play
had abandoned its diet and ended as Chekov,
once a medical doctor, had prescribed.
When the actors heard Konstantine’s
fatal gun shot, their bodies artfully
froze, but to describe them as ‘lifeless,’
would not be describing Chekov’s
painting.
This play has a short run from March 10-20th.
Thurs-Sat performances @ 8 PM and Sundays
at 7 PM. I strongly encourage you to attend.
It was a great Opening Night on March
13th. Tickets are $15.
THE BARUCH PERFORMING
ARTS CENTER’S BERNIE WEST THEATRE
|17 Lexington Ave.
(between 22nd and 23rd)
