Theater in the Now

By Ed Malin

Duncan Pflaster’s A Touch of Cinema is part of Spotlight On: Rise of the Phoenix at The Wild Project. Aliza Shane directs this story of resistance, set in a land far away but only too close.
At first, it looks like actress Dina Kummerspeck (Diánna Martin) and her painter husband Tomas (Lars Engstrom) are preparing for just another charming dinner party for their in-group of movie stars. However, when Dina retorts that it’s not just a party, we should believe her. Dina’s arriving friends lament that it’s been too long, and note her electronic ankle shackle. Dina is under house arrest; after being persecuted over her perceived seditious film “Canine Teeth”, she has undergone “re-education” and is prevented from appearing in public. Regina Fontaine (Kristin Vaughan) is many shades of elegant, with the kind of class that has been phased out by the hated new regime of President [unmentionable]. Martin Dure (Russell Jordan) has a flamboyant way of suggesting that they liven up Dina’s shackle with some rhinestones. Graeme Tupper (Michael Andrew Daly), their co-star, sympathizes with Tomas over the loss of his famous mural, which is about to be painted over by a state-sanctioned artist. Tomas, who had not been told of this, is also sad to hear that Martin has been blacklisted. Mind you, even in a room full of thespians, Graeme’s pal Sally Haze (Lucy Spain) stands out. The young ingénue always seems to be trying very hard to please.

photo by Duncan Pflaster Photography and Graphic Design

The current regime is very hostile to the arts. We hear the story of the career that was ruined when the censors asserted that a cello sonata was too similar to the national anthem of another, non-fascist country. So, even though Dina is banned from performing, she respectfully asks her assembled colleagues and friends for an impromptu read-through of the new screenplay she has written. Someone in the room immediately urges the group not to do anything that would be misconstrued as treason. Others are too intrigued not to read it, while the rest need to be reminded of ground-breaking films of the resistance, such as Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” and the French actress Arletty’s risk-taking performance in “Les Enfants du Paradis” during the Nazi occupation. Martin has a way of flirting with the affable Graeme—who appreciates Martin’s “masculine vulnerability”—and the two finally share a stage kiss. In the end, Dina has in fact made another movie. The reading has been filmed and will be taken out of the country by several people in that very room who will be starting a new life as refugees in a land that supposedly welcomes them: the United States of America. Who is afraid of starting over? Who among them is a collaborator? Who has yet to come out to their mother…at that age?
A Touch of Cinema is a stirring reminder of the power of the arts during repressive regimes. Where the story takes place is anyone’s guess, but it doesn’t matter. Since World War II, many countries have forgotten the lessons of history. The characters in this play say that America is/will be the place that, just like in the movies, fights evil and offers freedom to all. Duncan Pflaster gives his characters many witty finishing touches, from the classy (lipstick color “cherries in snow”) to the campy (“Trying to be unobtrusive? With those shoulders”). If you like “Casablanca” and the other fascist-busting films of the 40s, you will find this play moving. If you are not familiar with the 20th Century, work like this and the others referenced herein will give you strength. Aliza Shane stylishly directs the talented cast through many moments that will be familiar to actors and those who fraternize with them. I could become accustomed to Tricia Bastian’s flashy costumes.

By Michael Block

Some people would pay to watch Bette Midler eat. Well, here's your chance! Hello, Dolly! has made a glorious return to the Great White Way in a delightful production. Directed by Jerry Zaks with music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and book by Michael Stewart, Hello, Dolly! is a cheery production that brings back nostalgia for classic musical comedy.
Based on Thornton Wilder's The Merchant of Yonkers, Hello, Dolly! follows Dolly Gallagher Levi, a widow who makes a living through meddling. As a premiere matchmaker, Dolly is seeking a wife for grumpy Horace Vanderelder but it’s really she who plans to marry him herself. Meanwhile, Horace’s niece, Ermengarde, is being courted by Ambrose Kemper while his clerks Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker take a trip to New York City and find an adventure alongside Irene Molloy, a hat shop owner, and her shop assistant Minnie Fay. With an abundance of old-fashioned charm, Hello, Dolly! gleefully embraces the whimsy of romance. It’s hard to do this show wrong. The story is silly. But we forgive it simply because of the nostalgia attached to it. Rather reinvent the show, Jerry Zaks and his team don’t rely on spectacle to tell the story like some of their neighbors do. They allow the show to sing for itself. Scenic designer Santo Loquasto provides some moving parts to the design, and one off beat court room scenic piece, but the intrigue for most of the crowd are the painted drops. No other show in today’s theatrical landscape could ever get away with a painted drop. But this show can. Playing double duty with costumes. Loquasto provides beautiful period fashion alongside some iconic looks. Nothing quite beats the hat parade as the cavalcade marches on in all its glory.

photo by Julieta Cervantes

Dolly Levi is an iconic role. It’s synonymous with a handful of actresses, most notably Carol Channing and Barbra Streisand. But ladies, watch out. Bette Midler is coming for your glory. There’s only one way to describe her: divine. You can say she put herself into the role but isn’t that what we wanted? Midler knows how to hit the comedic beat without batting an eye. It comes natural. But it’s when she tackles Michael Stewart’s soliloquies that Midler radiates heart. Infusing just a tinge of color, the tenderness in which she delivers the text layers her Dolly. As the man she drives crazy, David Hyde Pierce’s Horace is assertively funny. With a lip quiver that rattles his moustache, Pierce plays into the caricature elements of Horace. With an profusion of subplots to explore, this ensemble of supporting players was more than capable to help carry the show. Gavin Creel and Kate Baldwin as Cornelius and Irene were delightful. But the real scene-stealers were Taylor Trensch as Barnaby and Beanie Feldstein as Minnie. Taking on the more comedic sidekick parts, Trensch and Feldstein played into the grand youthfulness of the duo, yet they were some of the honest portrayals on stage. Taylor Trensch is truly the unsung hero of this production. It takes a special performer to make a minor ensemble character come to life and steal the show. Jennifer Simard as Ernestina did what very few can. Simard’s brash and unashamed Ernestina kept the audience on their toes. You never knew what antics she was going to do next the moment the booth curtain opened.
Between the show itself and the superstar taking on the title role, this production was going to find itself getting uproarious applause. I’m sure it’s like it every night but the audience applauded for everything. The overture starts: applause. The curtain rises: applause. Bette Midler steps on stage: applause. David Hyde Pierce steps on stage: applause. The costumes are revealed for “Put on Your Sunday Clothes”: applause. See a trend? But it’s incredibly rare to find a standing ovation occur in the middle of the show. And that happened at the conclusion of the titular song. As they say in sports, “and the crowd went wild.” Like the commercial says, there will be people who saw Hello, Dolly! and people who did not. Hello, Dolly! is a sweet production that stays inbounds. If anything it brought Bette Midler back to musical theater. And that’s a triumph right there.

By Ed Malin

Something lovely from Québec has landed in New York. Award-winning Canadian playwright David Paquet’s play Porcupine is now playing in downtown Brooklyn, directed by Leta Tremblay, translated from the original French by Maureen Labonté. The writer and director state “that there are three major ingredients to the play: surrealism, dark comedy and day to day poetic vulnerability.”
That does a good job of summing up the surprising theater spectacle, which reveals much more than first meets the eye. There is great honesty, such as the way that one person’s happy birthday party brings out the worst in others. There are subtle explorations into woman-on-woman violence (admittedly inspired by competition over an unworthy male) and the much healthier cooperation that might take its place. And there is a surprise birth scene (to the tune of Debussy’s “Claire de Lune”) and lots of balloons.
Maybe, just maybe, feelings are not the best way to choose a solid relationship. Noami (Jessica Kuhne) loves Theodore (Jean Brassard) so very much, she has brought up her great desire to have a baby. While the two sip cocktails in lawn chairs, Theodore replies that he no longer has feelings for Noami and then walks out. Meanwhile, in her tinsely residence, Cassandra (Sofi Lambert) is preparing for her birthday party. She throws a bunch of ingredients into a bowl and then voilà she has an exotic chocolate cake with wild frosting that resembles a porcupine. Strolling down the street, Cassandra meets Theodore and gives him an invite to her party. The next stop for Cassandra is Phil’s Corner Store, where Suzanne (Yeauxlanda Kay) chain-smokes as she minds the register. When Suzanne stands up to help Cassandra with her birthday balloons, we see that Suzanne is pregnant. Cassandra invites the resentful Suzanne to her party. The Owner of the store (Vincent D’Arbouze) is the lonely, virginal gentleman whose dyslexic mother named him Phillilip. He adores Cassandra, and is sorry to have missed her, but is overjoyed at the thought of crashing her birthday party. Suzanne goes for a walk and meets the newly-single, distraught Noami. As the two chat in lounge chairs, Suzanne dozes off. Without warning, Noami swings a baseball bat at Suzanne’s stomach.

photo by Audubon Dougherty

Theodore gets his hair dyed black in the back of the enterprising Phil’s shop. Cassandra feeds Theodore cake and Theodore feeds Cassandra bad pickup lines. They talk about a duck named Gilbert, who Cassandra once rescued. The self-centered Theodore realizes he is not compatible with Cassandra, and goes back home to tease the suddenly pregnant Noami. After learning about Theodore’s day and throwing him out, Noami resolves to go to Cassandra’s birthday party. There, she coaxes Cassandra into putting on a blindfold (for a special variant of piñata games) and then brings out the baseball bat. Suzanne, no longer pregnant, arrives to mediate, but by the time the love-sick Phil gets to the party, Cassandra is pregnant. Phil, the innocent and yet awkward one, sometimes tortures ducks in his spare time, while Cassandra sometimes cuts herself, so perhaps they cannot give each other what is needed Indeed, 33 is a special number since the 3s spoon each other. Counting to 33 can either lead the way to premeditated violence or give one a chance to diffuse a bad situation. After some magical events, some very new and unexpected relationships emerge.
A few master strokes in this play turn the whole thing pleasantly upside down. The happy day on Angelica Borrero’s sets, with the Francophone pop music soundtrack collapses into questions of abusive relationships. Allison Dawe’s costumes include multiple different dresses for each of Cassandra’s moods and several hairpieces and even a ski mask for Theodore as he confronts and then retreats from reality. Jesse Geguzis’s fight choreography shocks every time. Why do people hurt themselves and others? If abuse left a clear sign (such as pregnancy), would we finally be able to stop our hurtful behavior? A puppet duck designed by Jean Marie Keevins—a symbol of hope—later appears. This play certainly does innovative things with the lanterns and balloons which inhabit the set. Sofi Lambert’s larger-than-life happiness soon eases into a variety of other compelling feelings, while Jessica Kuhne’s initial drive for revenge on her beloved later morphs into sympathy for those she meets. Yeauxlanda Kay startles the happy world of the play with the things she says, and then helps heal others with the things she does. The men are revealed to be forever looking for (or recovering from) women. Jean Brassard’s elegance is a nice complement to Vincent D’Arbouze’s awkwardness. Leta Tremblay’s direction helps put the real in surreal, and offers many suggestions for how to build a better world.

Name: Yeujia Low

Hometown: The island city of Singapore

Education: BFA in drama from NYU Tisch

Select Credits: Playing a wench from the 18th century in full costume in an immersive theater segment and offering audiences beer and sausages (Prototype Theatre Festival); playing a 12-year-old illegal immigrant boy in a play;

Why theater?: That sizzling warm glow and that larger-than-life feeling you sometimes get when you’re in a rehearsal room or sitting backstage looking at your fellow actors work.

Tell us about Rhapsody Collective: Rhapsody Collective brings together an ensemble of artists (playwrights, directors and actors) to create new plays from the ground up, which culminates in a final presentation in May. Playwrights, directors and actors each meet once a week, to work on their craft, and to explore new material from each other or existing material, in a safe and supportive environment.

Who do you play in Earth Learned Cruelty?: I play Lucy, a hipster-ish Brooklynite in the midst of breaking up with her boyfriend when…. No spoilers! Come see it May 21st!

Tell us about Earth Learned Cruelty: An absurdist play and maybe horror story and maybe political play but with lots of humanity. It’s hard to describe this play without revealing too much plot-wise!

What is it like being a part of Rhapsody Collective?: It has been wonderful getting to meet many other theater artists in the NYC theater community, and being a part of creating a wholly new play is always very exciting. Additionally, a different prompt is given to the playwrights each season, and it is very interesting how all 6 plays deal with that prompt in very different ways.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love pieces that are raw, and have a degree of strangeness or weirdness to them. Too many inspirations to list, but one at the top of my head is the music of my voice teacher at NYU, Jonathan Hart Makwaia.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: I almost feel like naming them puts a silly jinx of some sort and then I’ll never get to play those roles! So I’m gonna avoid this question!

What’s your favorite showtune?: I don’t really have a particular showtune that I love the absolute best, but I recently watched a group of 6 year olds perform “When I Grow Up” from Matilda and what a tear-jerker!

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: John Doyle

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I don’t think my life would ever be interesting enough to be made into a movie, and if it were, I would hope I’d just play myself! I mean, when else would I get a chance to be the lead on the big screen?? It would be called something random like “The Yellow Crawling Apple” or something just because I’m random like that.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin in Sunday in the Park with George, the off-Broadway productions of Here Lies Love, Heathers, Hamilton (I must have slept through 2014/2015)

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Deaf West Theatre’s Spring Awakening, the recent The Color Purple revival, and this is not theater but Batsheva Dance Company

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Food. I love food!

What’s up next?: performing in a really fun clowning show A Fool’s Paradise at The Brick May 30; music directing a sci-fi feminist new musical in July as part of the SheNYC Summer Theater Festival!

For more on Yeujia, visit yeujialow.com. For more on Rhapsody Collective, visit facebook.com/rhapsodycollective

By Michael Block

This may be a shocking declaration but reality stars have personal stories too! And if you knew their story, you may just fall deeper in love with them. Making her Laurie Beechman debut, Robbie Turner brings a handful of life lessons alongside a playlist of showtunes, some that only the greatest Broadway aficionado would recall, in I’ll Tell You For Free.

photo by Michael Block

Just a girl and her piano, Robbie Turner owns the stage as she shares an array of anecdotes from her life as the kid who glued her feet into high heels and the family that shaped her. Paired with some of Broadway's finest, the RuPaul's Drag Race season 8 queen invited the crowd into her world. Up until her elimination, Robbie Turner was one of the prime narrators of the season. And I’ll Tell You For Free helped to define why. She is an expert storyteller. Even when going on a long-winded tangent, she is able to reel them back. Her ability to recall jokes throughout allowed her comedy skills to shine on. Recurring jokes are in fact comedy gold. Her comfort behind the microphone allowed the night to flow effortlessly. With song selection being a prime player in the evening, if you're looking for standards or top 40, you may have been bummed. But those theater queens had a field day. From Bright Star's "If You Knew My Story" to Jekyll and Hyde's "Bring On the Men," her set list was dynamite. She even got in on the parody game lampooning the preparation of drag in an almost complete reconstruction of "Its a Privilege to Pee" from Urinetown.
There must be something in the water out in Seattle because these Seattle queens' in are ability to bring the theatrics is on point. Expect Robbie Turner to have multiple Beechman return engagements like her sisters Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme.

Name: Jan Sport

Hometown: Old Bridge, New Jersey

Education: BFA Musical Theatre

Select Credits:I Am Kris at The Green Room 42, GLAM Awards Performer, Winner of Lady Liberty Cycle 3, Clubland at The American Repertory Theatre.

Why theater?: My style of drag is heavily influenced in theatre. In theatre school we were always taught that when the characters cannot convey their thoughts through spoken text anymore, they break out into song, and that is exactly what I do in my Kris Jenner act.

Tell us about I Am Kris: I Am Kris is an hour long cabaret about the rise of Kris Jenner and the Kardashians. We take a look at the back story of Kris Jenner's plots to make her daughters famous and how it was really her who got them to where they are now. Through spoken word and parody songs, we get to know Kris and how she handles her insane daughters on a daily basis!

What inspired you to create I Am Kris?: I wanted to create a show for myself. In theatre I was always an ensemble member and I realized that through my own brain and creativity, I could be the star of my own cabaret whenever I wanted to be. Kris kind of fell into my lap and is the reason I started doing drag to begin with. From the get go, people really took to it, and I knew that I needed to do more numbers like the first one I created. By doing this, I realized that I could create a through line with the material and now we have I Am Kris!

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I just love GOOD theatre. I want to go to the theatre to have fun, learn something new, laugh and wag my finger when someone is wailing on stage. Lady Gaga is the artists that inspires me most. She is a wonderful hybrid of what I want to do, which is pop and theatre.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Elphaba in Wicked. I've got the voice, Curtis!

What’s your favorite showtune?: Oh too many. I have to give a few highlights. "Not A Day Goes By", "Without Love", and Biggest Blame Fool"

What’s your favorite song to sing in the shower?:"Voulez-Vous" by ABBA

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: In terms of drag, my goal is to be on RuPaul's drag race in a few years, win (duh), and then release an album that will be good enough to play on the radio, and have RuPaul be featured on a track!

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I'd have to say Tom Daley because I think he looks like a hotter version of me as a boy and would be a GREAT drag queen. He would just have to be voiced by Adam Lambert. It would be a documentary called "Jan Sport: What's In The Bag?"

What show have you recommended to your friends?:The Great Comet of 1812!!! GO!!!

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Raw Cookie Dough

What’s up next?: Taking I Am Kris on the road around the country! I have my weekly gig at Pieces Bar every Wednesday with Shuga Cain, and hopefully will have more by the end of the summer!

Name: Blake Zolfo

Hometown: Crown Point, IN

Education: Crown Point High School; Boston Conservatory of Music - BFA Musical Theatre (class of '15)

Select Credits:Kid Victory (Off-Broadway, Vineyard Theatre, Chita Rivera Nomination - Outstanding Male Dancer in an Off-Broadway Show); The Lightning Thief (International Tour, TheatreWorks USA); Sexyback, or What You Will (American Repertory Theatre New Works Series); Little Murders (Boston Conservatory of Music, WISE Emerging Artist of the Year Award)

Why theater?: I used to say that it was because "theatre allows me to feel the feelings I'm not allowed to in real life". But I think a less dramatic reason would be that I have seen how theatre can be used to create social change, and that kind of power is really alluring to me. I love shows that really make you think - Sweat, Kid Victory, really ANYTHING John Kander has written..

Tell us about 25!: A Premature Retrospective:In the days, weeks, and months leading up to my 25th Birthday, I felt like I had this looming deadline coming up. I felt like "Now my age rounds up to 30!; shouldn't I be something by now?!?!" I felt like many of my contemporaries were already falling in love and getting married. Already booking Broadway Contracts. Already "Something". So I wanted to create a show that captured my journey to discovering what it DOES mean to be 25. What DO I need to have accomplished already. What is OKAY for me NOT to have accomplished? Steve Schalchlin (my musical director) wrote five songs that we're debuting at the concert that were written directly from conversations we've had about growing up. We're also covering songs that deal with age and falling in love and hopeful youthfulness. I'm also reprising the song that I originated in Kid Victory!! It's a fun, heartfelt, hopeful set that I have seen people really respond to. My director, Andy Gale, and Steve really helped to shape this show and I can't say enough how much thanks is necessary to demonstrate how much of the show is truly theirs.

What inspired you to create 25!: A Premature Retrospective?: See above.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love theatre that makes me forget I'm watching actors. When that rare combination of material, actors, and music comes together to create something truly bigger than the sum of its parts. That may sound stereotypical, but I've only experienced it a handful of times in my life. That's what makes it so precious when it DOES happen. The Steppenwolf Revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was one of these shows. The quickest three hours I've ever spent in a theatre. People like Tracey Letts or any of the excellent-dancers-turned-excellent-choreographers (Fosse, Blankenbuehler) really inspire me because they prove you can have interests and talents in more than one area of theatre. I feel that too often, we get told as actors that we need to do ONE THING really really well. And any attempt to pursue other things is seen as a distraction or diffusion of your time and talent, instead of seeing it as an opportunity to make yourself a more fully formed, three-dimensional human being and artist.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Younger Brother in Ragtime. I just found out I can sing "Maria" so Tony is absolutely a role I would love to play soon. Eventually, George in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? or Bruce Bechtel in Fun Home. After the experience with Kid Victory, I really want to work on as many new shows as I can be a part of. I love the process of editing a character/character arc/story arc because it helps to inform the character. You get to ask yourself fun questions like, "Is the part we just cut still true for this character? Why or why not?" What a fun puzzle to put together.

What’s your favorite showtune?: It changes almost DAILY but right now I'm strutting down the street to "Poor Thing" from Sweeney Todd. What an excellent cast album. What an excellent performance Angela Lansbury gave.

What’s your favorite song to sing in the shower?: Oh GOD! If I'm being 100% honest, it's "What Baking Can Do" from Waitress. What an excellent "I Want" song. Also, if I start crying in the shower, the showerhead doesn't judge me.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I've always wanted to work with Kyle Dean Massey (he's someone whose work I have always aspired to and admired). I would love to work with more great dancer/actor/singers like Karen Ziemba and Joel Blum and Jeffry Denman. I learned so much from these three over the course of Kid Victory.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I'd love to have Kyle Dean play me (so people think I'm sexier than I actually am!). And I suppose the title would be something like, "Learning to HufflePuff". (I was officially sorted into HufflePuff by Pottermore.com my sophomore year of college and I remember being SO ANGRY at this sorting. I saw HufflePuffs as dumb, flighty, spacey, air-headed characters from the Harry Potter Books. But recently I've really come around to not only learning to love it, but I actually wore a HufflePuff-themed outfit to the Kid Victory Opening Night Party.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Significant Other was a really strong show this season that really spoke to my experience as a Millennial. Gideon Glick gave an incredibly moving performance and it will stick with me for a long time. OH I WANNA WORK WITH GIDEON GLICK SOON. Like, maybe play his younger brother. Or lover. Those two options are not suggestions for the same show.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: When I need a boost in morale or energy, I listen to Meghan Trainor's newest album, "Thank You". Great beats, straightforward messages. Just a really high energy album.

What’s up next?: Steve Schalchlin and I plan on writing a musical about the life of Jonathan Myrick Daniels, a civil right activist from the 1960s who stepped in front of a bullet to save a young black girl's life and was later put in jail for it. The story seems to lend itself quite easily to a musicalization and I think the story is as relevant as it ever will be. This will give me an opportunity to try my hand in following Tracey Letts' footsteps.

For more on 25! A Premature Retrospective, visit http://metropolitanroom.com/event.cfm?cart&id=249428

By Michael Block

Picture it. A famed drag queen singing original country music. Sound far-fetched? It shouldn't! After taking the world by storm on season 7 of RuPaul's Drag Race, Trixie Mattel has returned to her folk roots and written an exceptional country album. Trixie Mattel brings her entire six song cycle, and a little bit more, to the Laurie Beechman Theatre in Two Birds.

photo by Michael Block

Celebrating the release of her new album of the same name, Two Birds is a comprehensive concert, perfectly structured, leaving you wanting more. While sitting in her un-air-conditioned apartment in Provincetown, Brian Firkus spent his free time with his guitar writing music. What transpired was a collection of songs about love, heartbreak, and returning home resulting in a toe-tapping, emotionally charged country album. Complete with a quartet of musicians, Trixie Mattel takes her sold out crowd on a journey through a genre far from the drag scene norm. Staying closer to concert than cabaret, Trixie lets the music do the talking. She gives just brief anecdotes prior to the songs, allowing the lyrical narratives to tell the story. The artistry that Firkus displays as a songwriter is masterful. You would assume modern country music is all about beer, girls, and trucks, but “Two Birds” goes beyond. Firkus honors the style, bringing a retrospective of country music in the six songs. There is sadness and sorrow in the numbers, some of which are juxtaposed to an upbeat song, yet it’s the emotional context that shines brightest. Though the music arc doesn’t follow the flow of the album, Trixie saves the best for the end of the night. When it comes to gut-wrenching ballads, “Know You All Over Again” is Nashville chart worthy. A song of moving on from love, the song originally premiered in her other show Ages 3 and Up. The lead single from the album, “Mama Don’t Make Me Put On That Dress Again” marries country with the drag persona. Yes this is a concert of a country album but Trixie Mattel still brings the drag, and two country Barbie looks, to the stage. The thirsty crowd begged for Drag Race shade and she delivered, reading some of her sisters.
If you haven’t listened to the entire album yet, you’re missing out. Two Birds is like listening to the album as Trixie gives you treat by bringing the whole "Two Birds" band with her, comprised of Brandon James Gwinn on percussion and backup vocals, Allison Guinn on autoharp, Jeff Koch on bass, and Joel Waggoner on violin. Drag is becoming more and more mainstream. Trixie Mattel has proven that she can cross into mainstream media with “Two Birds.” In the drag world, Trixie Mattel has catapulted to the top of the heap. Don’t be surprised if someone with an open mind invites her to perform at the CMAs, or any of the abundance of other country music award shows. She deserves it.

Lady Liberty Cycle 4 is back with the second round of semifinals! There will be seven queens eager to snatch the crown. Now's the time to meet the queens! Join Brita Filter and Terra Hyman as they host Lady Liberty at the Ace Hotel at 9:00pm directly following the Drag Race season 9 viewing party at 8:00pm!

MEET THE QUEENS

What is your drag name?: Bijoux

What is the origin of your drag name?: Bijou means "jewel" in French. Mine is plural because I'm a man and I have more than one.

How did you get involved in the drag community?: Honestly, It was a very slow, and independent process. After being a fan girl for long enough, I thought, "I love this so much; it's time to try it." I picked up some CVS makeup (NOT AS CHEAP AS YOU THINK), and just started trying to figure it out by myself. I can be a bit shy, so I never really reached out for help from somebody else. I'm really hoping that as I start performing more, I can become more integrated into the community.

Who or what inspires you as a performer?: I'm really inspired by "Classy-Sexy." Go ahead and be totally naked, but then throw on some pearls on to let people know you're worth top notch coin. More than that though, I'm really inspired by people who shine- meaning those people that just have that x-factor. I think that trait genuinely starts with being a nice person, and that's why you will never ever, catch me being a rude queen.

If you had your own show, what would it be?: I would want to do a show with a through-storyline. I would cast other queens and kings in it, with specific characters in mind. LIVE-singing is TBD, but there will absolutely be dancing, and probably stripping.

What is your go-to lip sync song?: I'm actually stuck waiting for Christmas to come around because there's probably nothing I can lip sync better than Christina Aguilera's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

Facebook/Instagram/Twitter: Instagram: @bijoux.xo

What is your drag name?: Laganja Estr.......I mean, Izzy Uncut.

What is the origin of your drag name?: Izzy's just a cute girl name & I figured in drag I was going to be like...fully unedited, totally candid, & just like UNCUT, yaknow? Okay kidding, I just really like uncircumcised dick...so the question bears repeating upon every introduction.

How did you get involved in the drag community?: When I first moved to NYC in 2015 I was going to a lot of circuit parties & I randomly met Shangela at one. She is the first drag queen to become my good Judy & upon getting to know her, I realized how vast this world of queer art & nightlife really is. I slowly got to know a lot more queens through friends of friends & would be at shows several nights a week. Having no outlet for performance or expression after leaving a 7 year all star cheerleading coaching & choreography career behind in Jersey...I decided randomly at a show, "I can fucking do that."& so I did...not so cute at first, & I'm still learning every day...but alas, I'm fucking doing it.

Who or what inspires you as a performer?: Oh god, too many to name...but shit, let's try...Bob The Drag Queen for his quick wit, Miz Cracker for her literal fucking everything (BITCH THAT HAIR?...Also, please Youtube her Bread, Pills, & I Got Love performances...COMEDY GOLD), Aquaria for being an all around full package powerhouse of originality & still only...I believe 8 or 9 years old, right?, Shangela for being a self branding genius & working her ASS off, Jan Sport for being THAT BITCH TO WATCH, she's literally the future of drag, making me feel like even at my best...I'm a tired ass show girl. There's several more, but uhhh...I'm reaching the character count typing this. (There is no character count.)

If you had your own show, what would it be?: Probably something on HGTV where I walk into nautical themed bathrooms & tell the homeowners they're tacky.

What is your go-to lip sync song?: Lady Gaga – “Donatella”

Facebook/Instagram/Twitter: www.facebook.com/izzyuncut | Instagram: @izzyuncut | Twitter: @kyle_eckert

What is your drag name?: Kamilla Kockman

What is the origin of your drag name?: A dream I had of beautiful woman

How did you get involved in the drag community?: I grew up performing, but all I was missing was a wig. So I got one.

Who or what inspires you as a performer?: Beyoncé

If you had your own show, what would it be?: It would be a Musical titled, "Kockman Kronichles."

What is your go-to lip sync song?:“Single Ladies” -Beyoncé

Facebook/Instagram/Twitter: facebook.com/kamilla.kockman.5

What is your drag name?: Miss Ogeny

What is the origin of your drag name?: A deep-seeded love for women.

How did you get involved in the drag community?: Court ordered Community Service.

Who or what inspires you as a performer?: Forcible touching on public transit, Sigourney Weaver & Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho."

If you had your own show, what would it be?: John & Kate plus 8-ball.

What is your go-to lip sync song?: Honestly though, anything from Judy Garland: Live at Carnegie Hall.

Facebook/Instagram/Twitter: @TrentAHayward & @MissOgeny

What is your drag name?: Nadia Fusionn

What is the origin of your drag name?: My drag mothers name is Ivanaha Fusionn so I rightfully went with her last name. As we were searching for my first name she originally wanted me to go by Natalia.. it didn't feel right to me. We went back to the drawing board where we came across the name Nadia. It immediately spoke to me, because Nadia is the perfect fusion of naughty and sexy.

How did you get involved in the drag community?: I had my first performance at The Escape in Portland, Oregon. It was the only underage venue for LGBT in portland and where many queens get a start. I was only a couple months away of turning 21 when I then got asked to became a cast member at The Embers Ave. During my time there I learned a lot about myself and the drag community. My drag mother also hosted her traveling show called the Lipstick Divas where she would bring me and a handful of other queens to cities all around the NorthWestern states and we would have the most amazing turn outs!

Who or what inspires you as a performer?: Porn stars!

If you had your own show, what would it be?: A family friendly show about sex

What is your go-to lip sync song?: I typically only do mix tapes but if I had to choose one single song it would be Nobody's Perfect by Jesse J. It's a fun song!

Facebook/Instagram/Twitter: Ccross_Nfusionn

By Michael Block

Kids these days. At my age, I look at the title of this cabaret and I want to slap the star in the face. A retrospective at 25? It surely is premature! But if you take take it as the great hook that it is, 25! A Premature Retrospective is a celebration of a young man with a bright future. Taking center stage of The Metropolitan Room, Blake Zolfo is the star of tomorrow you need to see today.

photo by Michael Block

Blake Zolfo brings a scattering of music that commemorates his life as he takes a look at his first 25 years. Allowing the songs speak for his story, Zolfo provides quick anecdotes about some of his life highlights that lead into the accompanying song. He could easily relish the moment and give more time to the tales. It is his time in the spotlight. Nevertheless, his story is reminiscent of many hopeful millennial artists but his trajectory is unique. Having recently appeared in Kid Victory at the Vineyard Theatre, in a role that gained him a 2017 Chita Rivera Award nomination, Zolfo nippily honors the moment with a reprise of the song that got him the accolade. The rest of the night brings songs about the abundance of jobs, keeping up hope, sagas of love and longing, and what the future may bring. With a cycle of songs from pop to showtunes, Zolfo’s voice easily transcends style. Zolfo has an effortlessly sweet tenderness in his tone. The night may have only been about an hour, but you could easily listen to him for hours on end. Zolfo is grounded in performance. When he is in between songs, sharing his tales or riffing off his stagemate Steve Schalchlin, Zolfo lights up, exhibiting his affable personality. His charming persona brings you in, leaving you eager for the next round. While he may be at the center, this night was brought to life with the aid of director Andy Gale and music director, and owner of half the night’s content, Steve Schalchlin. Gale helped shape a strong narrative for Zolfo, mixing the style and genre content well. Bringing in some song mashups as well, including Andy Grammars "Keep Your Head Up" paired with "Up on the Roof" by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, gave the night a unique flair. Schalchlin’s music has a nostalgic essence that was ripe for Zolfo’s voice that easily brought it into today’s sound. They are a dynamic pair.
To have equal parts peppy charisma and honest humility that pair so well together is rare. Blake Zolfo has it. Fret not if you missed 25! A Premature Retrospective. You still have one more chance.

Name: Jude Treder-Wolff

Hometown: Berlin, WI

Education: Master of Social Work from Stonybrook University; Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Therapy and Vocal Performance from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; 2 years of Actor training as well as private coaching with Emma Walton and Stephen Hamilton at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor; Completed improvisation training program at The Pit-NYC, Completed Musical Improv training program at The Magnet Theater; Playwriting with John Augustine at 42nd Street Collective;

Favorite Credits: Playing Dr. Charlotte in the first ever Long Island production of Falsettos at Theatre Three; Performing my solo cabaret show Getting Over Myself...Because Nothing Else Seems To Be Working as a fundraiser for a downtown Houston community arts center that raised $30,000 in one night,, and prior to that event the show had a great run of fun performances at a club called Roses' Turn in the village; Writing and performing in Tapestry Of Hope a play with original songs inspired by the AIDS Memorial Quilt that toured Long Island and New York to raise money and consciousness about HIV/AIDS in 1994-1995;

Why theater?: Theater poses the possibility that we can look at anything in life - from the depths of feeling hidden in the most subtle, mundane moments of our lives to the wild, chaotic rides that change everything without notice - and try to understand it together. There is a kind of magic about becoming a character and telling a story that brings a group of people into the same emotional space. The experience of getting a big laugh that rolls through the room, or feeling the tension build in the audience as a story moves in unexpected ways is almost indescribably rewarding. And theater is the best way to learn about people we might not otherwise know about, people we might never meet in real life. I love being part of that.

Tell us about (Mostly) True Things?:(Mostly) True Things is a game wrapped in a storytelling show, with a side of songs inspired by storytelling. In the show, 4 storytellers tell true stories but 3 of them include subtle little lies woven into the narrative. After all the stories are told, the audience has an opportunity to ask questions of the storytellers, (who are not obligated to answer honestly - improvisation is recommended) then votes for the person they think told it straight. Audience members who vote correctly win a prize - a tote bag that says "my superpower is discernment." There are original songs written for the show that set up each stage of the game, and all but one of them gets the audience to sing. The song "Tell Me A Story" welcomes the storytellers to the stage, the song "That's Your Story And You Say That Its True" has an improvised verse for each story told in the show and sets up the audience interaction portion of the show, and "To Be Continued" Is the song that wraps it all up.

What inspired you to create (Mostly) True Things?: There was no storytelling show local to Long Island. So in part because I was always pushing myself to get to open mic shows in the city, or get my name in the bag at The Moth, or pitching stories to established shows, I thought hosting a show would be a way to tell stories onstage on a regular basis much closer to home, and promote the development of a storytelling scene on Long Island. It was tough getting audiences for the first few months because this kind of storytelling was an entirely new form of entertainment for most people, so I created the game which seemed to intrigue people. I wanted the stories to be true so we would be sharing the Moth-style storytelling form, so the lies are always very subtle (e.g. a song playing on a car radio that doesn't fit with the timeline of a story). I also wanted to use my songwriting skills and love of music to set the show apart and it seems to have worked. The songs make the show truly unique. After a few months of doing the show in the waiting room of my office - which we transformed into a performance space for the evening - Newsday wrote a feature article about it and that opened the doors to much bigger audiences and we discovered The Performing Arts Studio in Port Jefferson, NY, a black box theater that is ideal for storytelling. We do monthly shows in that space since 2014 and have branched out to 2 other venues on Long Island, The Pit in NYC and a teen version of the show at The Little Nook Cafe in Sayville, NY.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love everything Sondheim, maybe because I am a creative arts therapist and spent so many years helping people deal with difficult things and try to shape their lives, and Sondheim takes on those big psychological themes. I find theater that looks at complex realities in a really artistic way like Fun Home to be transformational and that inspires me. Hamilton is pure genius and of course speaks to everyone, because it upends conventions, entertains and enlightens. I am very inspired by artists who break boundaries and do independent projects, because it is so very difficult to keep going down an untried path. As a storyteller I continually find inspiration in Spalding Gray. I have read everything he wrote, including his journals, and have seen as much of his filmed work that I can find because he originated a narrative form, was driven to be authentic, and made magic out of the realities of day to day life. He wrote "I walk around the stage on all flaws." The recovering perfectionist in me needs to remember that the best stories and songs may dig into painful or dark things about myself that might be uncomfortable to face but can possibly translate into something that has value for other people. I am also inspired by Kevin Allison, who created RISK! himself, developed it into a platform for so many people to tell their stories to millions of listeners and audience members and is so genuinely supportive of others' work. Also improvisers. All of them.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I recommend the many quality improvisation shows that are available in NYC, TJ & Dave (when they are in town, usually at Town Hall or The Barrow Theater); The Armando Diaz Experience at The Magnet Theater; The Baldwins and Big Black Car at The Pit; Musical Megawatt every Tuesday at The Magnet Theater. Adam Wade from New Hampshire, a monthly show at The Kraine Theater;

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: It would be called "Late Bloomer" with Terms Of Endearment-era Shirley MacLaine playing me.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Binge-watching episodes of Snapped and breaking it up with episodes of Comedy Bang! Bang!

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: I am also a trainer and creative arts therapist, so without theater I would be doing even more theater techniques to help clients and students realize their goals.

What’s up next?: I'm working on 2 new projects: 1) writing a solo storytelling show called This Isn't Helping about bad therapy, 2) writing songs inspired by stories, some of my own stories and some told by storytellers in my and other shows for a show with a working title called Words and Music.

By Michael Block

You don't always get a chance to get locked in a room with someone to hash out your emotions. Steven Dietz takes two of Anton Chekhov's star-crossed lovers and forces them to reexamine their final moments together. Forty-three times to be precise. Presented by The Bridge Production Company, The Nina Variations is an exploration of character in stripped down fashion.
Directed by Coleman Ray Clark, Steven Dietz's The Nina Variation takes Treplev and Nina from Chekhov's The Seagull and pits them in a room together until they say what they truly want to say. Despite being a little over an hour, this play is jam-packed with content. The Nina Variations isn’t just a new way to look at Chekhov. Dietz’s text goes beyond the two characters and their content from the source material by exploring contemporary themes. For example, the examination of the connection between actor and writer as it transcends the room. It’s just one of the many alternate revisions Dietz plays with. Dietz has provided a near blank canvas as to how this play can be presented. From the characters to the vision, Dietz’s text is prepared for anything. Director Coleman Ray Clark takes the Chekhovian comedy approach, but there still are some hardy laughs to be had. The situation is funny for these characters as their saga never stops. But it stays stagnant in the dramatics. Clark tries to find the beats where tone can shift, allowing reprieve from constant heartbreak. And those moments are some of the best in the production.

Photo by Kai Ravelson

With only two actors on stage, how the characters are tackled is essential to the overall tone of Dietz’s play. There is a grand opportunity to create new characters through the broad strokes provided by the knowledge of Chekhov’s original play. Variety is the spice of life. Variety was important to this arc. And it didn’t always happen. Overall, Nina is a difficult character due to the circumstances of her past. Jasmine Kimiko Stiefel brings heaps of angst, integrating a life of pain into her Nina. Where The Seagull ended, it’s a logical decision but it becomes monotonous within the forty-three variations. There are some beats where she breaks through thanks to Dietz’s text. They happen to be some of her brightest spots. Playing opposite Stiefel was Jake Owen as Treplev. Like a writer, Owen tapped into raw emotion. Even if Treplev didn’t control the scene, he ensured that he had a control over Nina. There was an ease about him as he drifted through the world. Both Stiefel and Owen’s ability to grasp classical text heightened Dietz’s own.
The Nina Variations is a relationship play parading as a language play. The words marinate in each of the scenes and Clark’s ability to keep the focus on the text was key. With just a minimal amount of furniture on stage, Clark kept the piece moving, never adjusting the lights between variations. But the variations on the transitional music may be subject to taste. The compositions by Peyton Clifford featured a wide variety of emotions, rarely ever evoking the action prior or what’s to come. In a way, they felt stuck in the wrong period, despite The Nina Variations being timeless.
The Nina Variations is a captivating play to those Chekhovian scholars. If the source material or the characters are not to your liking, The Nina Variations may feel like a tedious theatrical exercise. Thankfully, this production was anything but.

Name: Kim Weild

Hometown: New York City

Education: MFA Columbia University, BFA-NYU Tisch School of the Arts

Favorite Credits: All of them

Why theater?: It saves lives.

Tell us about Soot and Spit: It is a celebration of the perseverance of the human spirit, of James Castle’s life, his determination to make himself into an artist despite how others viewed him. Like all artists Castle made art because he needed to make art. Born profoundly deaf, he never learned to read, write, sign or speak but his art was his language - a beautiful, rich, haunting and powerful language evoking longing, loneliness, humor and silence. It is also the only play that Chuck has explicitly said that he has written that is about disability. We have assembled a truly remarkable group of artists - from actors, to musicians, artisans, crew and more all of whom are helping to bring Castle’s world to life through bluegrass music inspired by John Hartford (a self-taught fiddle player), dancing, American Sign Language and multi-media projections of over 150 of artworks by Castle himself. What we hope is that Soot and Spit will enable its audience to experience the “other”- and rejoice in the unquenchable creativity of the human spirit.

What inspired you to direct Soot and Spit: To me at its core Soot and Spit is about the intrinsic nobility, tenacity and perseverance of the human spirit and it is also about the special bond I share with my brother Jamie. Born five years before me, and profoundly deaf since birth, he himself communicated through drawing and only came to learn American Sign Language later in life. Having him as my brother has been one of my greatest blessings. He has taught me much about love, patience, kindness, compassion, courage, tenacity, true communication, the value of silence - how to feel and hear with my eyes, empathy and perhaps above all - Grace. He has taught me that each of us is deeply original and every day, no matter how hard, we must look beyond the fear of differences in order to connect.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Bold, nuanced, honest, physical theater that virtuosically brings together all the elements of theater in order to tell a great story, create a unique event. Theater that challenges, asks me to lean in, to listen closely, to think. Theater that emotionally engages me. Those who have endeavored and survived to tell the tale. Seriously far too many to list but in theater, the immediate ones that come to mind: Anne Bogart, Arianne Mnouchkine, Pina Bausch, Joan Littlewood, Paul Sills.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Philip Glass

What show have you recommended to your friends?:Oslo

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Binge watching "Billions" on Netflix

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: An astronaut

What’s up next?: American Moor with Keith Hamilton Cobb at the Boston Center for the Arts

For more on Soot and Spit, visit www.newohiotheatre.org and www.ourvoicestheater.com. For more on Kim, visit www.kimweild.com

By Michael Block

Forbidden Broadway has been a staple of the theater scene for 35 years. Never has there been a singular sensation that Gerard Alessandrini has decided to lampoon on its own. Hamilton has taken the world by storm and strategically gets a spoof musical in Spamilton. Doing what Alessandrini does best, Spamilton is a piano parody of the most hyped Broadway musical of all time.

photo by Carol Rosegg

Gerard Alessandrini did not throw away his shot to give the parody treatment to Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton. Bringing his infamous dose of comedy, Spamilton mocks the 11 time Tony-winning show and it's cast and creatives. It's not lyrical wizardry but Alessandrini certainly does an admirable job spoofing Lin-Manual Miranda's words, finding the cheap and easy jabs that get the audience laughing. With hundreds of directions he could have gone, some song's content are brilliant, like "Straight is Back", while others induce some sighs of why, namely "Daveed Diggs'" doing tragically outdated "Fresh Prince of Bel Air Theme Song." But like most parodies, you can't win them all. Even though Hamilton is the prime target of the show, the piece doesn't have the strongest of structures. It mostly sticks to the song order from the source material but it still feels like a regular Forbidden Broadway revue. There is a plethora of loving homages to other Broadway classics' sprinkled in for the tasting. Spamilton is a sure-fire crowd pleaser, whether or not you're part of the elite club who were in the room where it happened. Alessandrini, who also directs, maintains the comedy, implementing any and all sight gags possible. Whether it's through puppets or the iconic Hamilton star placed on both cheeks by costume designer Dustin Cross, Alessandrini provided enough Easter eggs for any super fan to keep hunting. Even on the tight stage at the Triad, choreographer Gerry McIntyre brought a little Hamilton pizzazz, mimicking the original’s. It’s simple and effective.
In the world of parody, embodying the person you’re mocking is essential. It needs to go from look to sound. It seemed effortless for this cast. As the beady-eyed Lin, Dan Rosales matched the enthusiasm of his real life counterpart. Taking on the Daveed Diggs track, Tristan J. Shuler’s smile and excitement matched his big hair. Taking on the women of the world, Nicole Ortiz, who replaced Nora Schell, receives some of the biggest laughs thanks to her Schuyler sister number. Ortiz’s ability to vocally transform quickly is impeccable.
Spamilton, which is transferring to a venue only blocks away from its inspiration, is a laugh riot of a spoof. If you are a Hamilfan, it’s a show to end all shows. If you never really got the hype, this is your opportunity to let Gerard Alessandrini mock everything you’ve always wanted to. Spamilton is bound to have a life as long as Hamilton is around. The test will be how frequently the piece gets updated.

Name: Rebecca Knowles

Hometown: Medfield, MA (currently Brooklyn, NY!)

Education: BFA Point Park University, additional training at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and the American Theatre Wing’s SpringboardNYC.

Select Credits:The Girls in White at 54 Below with Michael Cerveris, PINWHEEL! (world premiere, Random Access Theatre), Save the Robots (NYMF), Pride and Prejudice (Theatre for the New City), Pittsburgh CLO, Dixon Place, Pittsburgh Playhouse REP, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Joe’s Pub.

Why theater?: Oh my gosh, there’s something so powerful about people coming together to sit in silence in a dark room to collectively experience a snippet of human life. I love that theatre helps me to empathize, encourages me to ask questions, and allows me to take creative risks. Plus, I enjoyed playing pretend when I was growing up and I’m always glad to have an acceptable excuse to wear ball gowns on a regular basis, or break out in to song and dance, or dress up like a human fly (all true).

Who do you play in A Month In The Country?: I play Vera, the 17 year old ward who ends up in a rather unfortunate love triangle. She has this amazing arc that I get to delve in to each night over the course of two hours, beginning so full of exuberance and wide-eyed whimsy, and then realizing that growing up and falling in love aren’t quite what she imagined them to be.

Tell us about A Month In The Country: It’s a classic Russian play by Ivan Turgenev who was a playwright around about 40 years before Anton Chekhov. A comedy (no one dies, hooray!) that revolves around Natalya, who’s unfulfilled by her current lifestyle and wants more. (I’m all about a good female anti-hero). She ends up vying for the forbidden love of her son’s 21 year old tutor (definite no-no), a scheme which threatens to destroy the lives of her current lover Michel and her ward, Vera (that’s me!) It’s funny, poignant, steamy(!), moving, and full of love triangles. Let me tell you, a lot happens over the course of a week in the country, let alone a month!

What is it like being a part of A Month In The Country?: I’m so thrilled to be a part of this cast, directed by Susanna Frazer. It’s my first time performing with The Morningside Players and they’re so welcoming and so full of passion for what they do. We have actors of all ages represented in our show so I’ve enjoyed being able to learn from everyone and to see how the show continues to grow and evolve now that we’re in the midst of our run.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love that theatre can exist on a multi-million dollar budget and that theatre can exist in a hole-in-the-wall black box, or in someone’s living room. I think that’s pretty magical and such a unique quality that this art form has. I’m inspired by all of my friends creating their own work, and I’m inspired by projects that move me in some way, whether they leave me laughing or inspire me to think about something in a new light.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: I would love to do more classical work but I also really enjoy being a part of the creative process on new works. So ideally I’d love to keep doing a bit of both!

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I would love to just be in the same room as Viola Davis because I think she has this incredible capacity to bring such life to human beings. Other people at the top of my wishlist are actors Amy Adams (because of course), Tina Fey, America Ferrera, Tracee Ellis Ross, Rachel Bloom, Brie Larson. Directors Jodie Foster, Elizabeth Banks, Niki Caro, Anna D. Shapiro, Liesl Tommy, and Erica Schmidt. Producers Dana Calvo, Marta Kauffman, Reese Witherspoon, Elizabeth Meriwether. Also Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, who is this wonderful Oscar-winning Pakistani filmmaker whose work I was just recently introduced to. PSA: If you are reading this and know any of these people, please tell them I very much admire their work!

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: It would be called "Where the Sidewalks Sparkle" because that’s my favorite part of NYC. And hmm, is it cheating to cast myself? Probably. I will think on it!

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: So many! I missed A Streetcar Named Desire at St. Ann’s Warehouse last year and would have loved to have seen that. Also Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Ooh, my friend and I saw The Play That Goes Wrong a few weeks ago and I have not laughed that much or that hard since I don’t know when. The comedy is well-crafted and brilliantly executed--I had an absolute blast. So, after you come see my show, go see that show!

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Cheese. Anything cat-related. Things that sparkle.

What’s up next?: I'm producing, writing, and acting in my own web series about a plucky feminist princess who trades in her castle for the concrete jungle of NYC. Peek at my Instagram! @rebeccasunnybrookfarm

For more on Rebecca, visit RebeccaKnowles.net

Name: Sarah Suzuki

Hometown: Littleton, CO

Education: BA in Theater from Barnard College

Select Credits:Liminal Space (Rhapsody Collective), Chokher Bali (Hypokrit Theater Company), Macbeth (King’s Crown Shakespeare Troupe

Why theater?: I think there’s something really powerful in performing live. To be in a space with real bodies and real action happening in front of you is not only intoxicating but an incredibly valuable tool for opening lines of communication. Theater allows us to tell stories, create empathy, and feel deeply. I wish I had a more articulate way to describe why I do theater, but, in short, I think theater has the power to save lives.

Who do you play in Mary V: I play Court, one of Mary’s band of sisters. Court is very logical and must analyze everything around her before she can understand it fully. She uses words and intelligence as weapons in her fight against the patriarchy (and also swords).

Tell us about Mary V: When Sister of the Bard have their all-female production of Henry V taken away and given to a more traditional cast, the women decide that it is time to take a stand. However, they discover that going to war, even if your cause is just, has consequences. What unfolds is a funny and bloody battle-of-the sexes that investigates the role of gender and violence in theater both on and off stage.

What is it like being a part of Mary V?: I’m really proud to have had the opportunity to work on this show. Even in 2017, we are so incredibly far from being a gender equitable society (not to mention a race and class equitable society), and this show directly deals with the consequences of being ignored as a woman in a world run by men. The show was written and directed by women, Rebekah Carrow and Charlotte Murray, and also features a female fight director and lighting designer. The cast and crew are full of wonderful people, and it’s been absolutely fantastic to work on the show.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love theater that twists our realities. A woman playing Hamlet, a black man playing a Russian count, an autistic boy being able to fly. I love theater that heightens my sense of what’s possible and subverts my perception of what is “normal.”

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Abigail in The Crucible (I’m very into witches), Jenny in John by Annie Baker

What’s your favorite showtune?: This is honestly the hardest question you’ve asked me. Right now I think it’s “When You’re Home” from In the Heights.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: There are so many amazing female writers, directors, and actors I’d love to work with: Annie Baker, Ava DuVernay, Mindy Kaling, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Viola Davis, etc.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I would play myself, obviously (not too many other half Asians in the entertainment industry), and it would be called “Smashing the Patriarchy: The Sarah Suzuki Story.”

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: I would love to have seen the original cast of Sweeney Todd. Angela Lansbury is a queen.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: A Doll’s House Part 2. The acting and writing is absolutely phenomenal.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Nutella

What’s up next?: I’m in the process of writing and developing a few short films with a good friend of mine! There are some exciting things on the horizon.

For more on Mary V, visit https://maryvpress.wixsite.com/maryv

By Ed Malin

All those who dream, dream big. It may be the annual Dance Hall Queen of Pittsburgh championship, where "America" votes remotely, but please don't assume that this will be an edited, pasteurized TV show starring female simulacra in whom one can find nothing to sympathize. Oh no no no. In Amina Henry's new play Ducklings, directed by Christopher Burris, the genuinely interesting drama as well as the twerking, wining, etc. are all live.
Spider (Cole Taylor) is the hustling host of the Dance Hall pageant. He begins by telling us that his chief inspirations are Darwin, Scarface and Wall Street (circa 1987, dir. Oliver Stone). Throughout, he will remind us that "greed is good" and the contestants will wrestle with this assertion throughout. Spider does private video interviews with each of the four finalists. The returning champion, hoping for her third straight victory, is the meretricious Rihanna T. (Victoria Wallace) from Utah. She cultivates her sex appeal among her internet fan base, refers to most other women as "bitches" and "haters", and plans to launch her new lip gloss line using her forthcoming prize money. For a long time, she and Spider (who calls her Ri-Ri) have been dating in secret. Spider assures her she will win again this year and asks her to say she loves him. She sees such a request as a tool of male control, and does not oblige. Rihanna P. (Khalia Davis) is an earnest young woman from Michigan. She wants to change the world, and is clearly in love with her boyfriend, Lester, an entrepreneur whose work is best not discussed. Rihanna P. uses the adjective "bou-geosie" to refer to salad. Bunny (Katchana Agama) is a young, single mother. Her son has cancer. She has sewn leopard shorts for her performance and is energized to change her life. Donna (Cristina Pitter) is a Jamaican-American librarian. She returns to the contest after Ri-Ri disrupted her routine last year. She vows to win on merit as well as for being beholden to no one. Her parents kicked her out, and she is conscious of being full-figured, all of which she declares makes her independent and gives her the will to fight for a down-payment on her dream house.

photo by Ed Forti

Upon arrival in Pittsburgh, Spider and his special guest judge, Tom (Quilan Arnold) partake of all the I.H.O.P. has to offer while the ladies socialize (except for Donna, who finds Ri-Ri repulsive). Rihanna P. brags about Lester and advocates a general type of revolution. She and Ri-Ri finally recognize Bunny from her appearance on the Maury Povich show. Even after Maury proved paternity, the father of her child still left her. Apart from Donna, who will not answer questions about men, the ladies seem trapped by their relationships. Ri-Ri is testing Spider to see if he'll stay away from the other contestants this time. Bunny, who is using Spider to try to win, keeps silent and acts the part of the gal pal with Ri-Ri. The night before the big event, Donna discovers that someone has burned her costume in her hotel bathtub. Thankfully, she determines to perform in her thong and fishnets. I am grateful for the dances that everyone, even the ultra-silent, sunglasses-wearing Tom, deliver. Hats off to Joya Powell for the choreography to suit each personality, and to Andy Evan Cohen for the dancehall sound design.
I won’t give away the result of the dance battle. It’s much more than a contest. It’s about how hard it is to get to a position of wealth and control over your life. It’s about women whose opinions are strong and not at all diminished by the power of sexual expression which they possess. For these hard-working characters there are the joys of eating slim jims and doing what regular people do, which Christopher Burris’s direction brings into sharp focus. For me, there was the happiness of a linear, unedited story, something which reality shows have tried to take away. In the scenes when the camera is off, we get to hear what the characters would say next. I love the many ironies, such as Spider’s great appreciation for “Wall Street”, the film based on the lives of crooked businessmen famous for their “convictions”. Donna’s statements on the anti-colonial, pro-Black roots of Jamaican dancehall and the extra struggles of those with a “thick” body type are very apt. There are times when I was tempted to side with each of the contestants. I wasn’t expecting to agree with Ri-Ri on anything, but that is the beauty of this play. Of particular note are the scenes where she tests her man (using words whose precise meaning can’t be found in any dictionary) and it all makes dramatic sense. Sabrina Bianca Guillaume’s costumes speak volumes about female power. The hair and shoe styles also go a long way to express the strivings of these ladies. Jason Fok’s lighting works well within the silver-foiled performance space (JACK, in Clinton-Hill, Brooklyn) to make the dance scenes larger than life.

Name: Mary E. Hodges

Hometown: Middlesex County, VA

Education: BFA in Acting (Virginia Commonwealth Univ.), MFA in Acting (Univ. of Connecticut)

Select Credits: Law & Order: SVU #17-#18; Othello (Harlem Shakespeare Festival, All-Female Cast); The Best of Enemies (Florida Rep)

Why theater?: Because of process (rehearsal) is unique whether it’s 3 weeks or 4, you are stuck in a room with folks to achieve one goal and that is to tell a story in an engaging and theatrical way. And it is instant and alive each time you tell the story.

Who do you play in Great Again?: Ada in The Test by Crystal Skillman

Tell us about The Test: Now an English school teacher (failed as a writer), who is trying to reach her students and a select few in her class, ironically through writing. She realizes she’s been using her students and the classroom to hide from her mother’s struggles with Alzheimer and her true calling to be a writer

What is it like being a part of The Test?: It’s exhilarating and a lot of responsibility at the same time

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Stories that challenge the actor and the audience equally. My 7 year old son

Any roles you’re dying to play?: There are many, some not even written yet

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Too many to name but Lynn Nottage

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?:“Meet Mary: An American Story”

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Our show Great Again duh

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Eating a bag of twizzlers

What’s up next?: I’m a part of the short play director’s lab for New Perspectives- 6 original short plays will have a rep run in August…I will be directing one of the shorts

Name: Eric Wiegand

Hometown: Carmel, Indiana

Education: BFA in Musical Theatre/Acting at Carnegie Mellon University, Class of 2018.

Select Credits: Outsiders (WGN America); Boom (Carnegie Mellon University)

Why theater?: Theatre is where we get to self-investigate, as an audience member or artist, we get to reflect and connect with each other and understand ourselves a little better.

Who do you play in Great Again?: I play Milo in The Test by Crystal Skillman.

Tell us about The Test:The Test explores the rippling effects of a hate symbol being carved into a public school desk. Crystal does an amazing job of using this event as a way to investigate how we point fingers, shoulder responsibility, and exercise compassion in the wake of a hateful incident, particularly in a national environment such as we have now.

What is it like being a part of Great Again?: It’s my first production in New York, and I’ve been unbelievably lucky to work with this particular group of people. We’ve maintained a terrifically supportive room throughout the process, each of us very passionate about communicating these arguments and ideas.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Intelligent theatre that allows its characters to exist in authenticity and complexity. A play like the The Flick that is smart and trusts the audience to be just as smart, that’s a sort of theater that I can get excited about.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: I’d love play Ken in Red by John Logan.

What’s your favorite showtune?:“I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Annie Baker

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: The role of Eric would be played by my brother Ryan, I would play Eric’s bookie. Title: “Night Shift”

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: I would for sure see Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin in Sunday in the Park with George.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: ASSSSCAT 3000 at UCB Chelsea!

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: ASSSSCAT 3000 at UCB Chelsea!

What’s up next?: I’m here for the summer, working on various projects and readings until I head back to school in September. I’ll be studying classical acting at LAMDA in London for the fall, then back to Pittsburgh for my last semester at Carnegie Mellon.

By Michael Block

Charles Ludlam, the master of the absolutely ridiculous, is a theatrical game changer, but rarely do his masterpieces get the full production treatment. But fret not, Theater Breaking Through Barriers is taking on The Artificial Jungle. Directed by Everett Quinton, this revival is a welcome reminder of the brilliance of Charles Ludlam. But the production doesn't come without some imperfections.
Originally premiering in 1986, The Artificial Jungle was Ludlam's exploration of comedic horror noir. His story follows Chester Nurdiger, his wife, Roxanne Nurdiger, and their pet shop. When Zachary Salde, a mysterious drifter, instantaneously responds to a help wanted sign in the window, Roxanne's lust for an escape from the mundane is piqued. Roxanne and Zachary concoct a plan to off Chester and earn his life insurance, the pet shop, and be free to explore their newfound love. The subversive styling of The Artificial Jungle holds up all these years later. It's wonderfully ridiculous. Everett Quinton, a key player in Ludlam’s life and career, directed this play loudly and yet the laughs came mellifluously. The comedy needed to be much sharper. The text was there. The staging was faltered. With the aggressive, over-the-top acting to match Ludlam’s script, the visual gags where lost due to the sight lines and layout of the world. The set, designed by Bert Scott, had its flaws. For example, the parrot puppet was on a low shelf that was not visible to all. The cuckoo clock was often on the opposite side of the stage from the joke, forcing you to look away at the visual punch line. The script dictates there needed to be distinct spaces but Scott’s defied walls. It just was never justified in Quinton’s staging. Even with a piece of this nature, there needs to be an ounce of believability. And it’s hard to believe just because the lights are down in one space that a person can’t overhear the conversation, especially when moments before a character broke the imaginary wall. Aesthetically, Scott’s green-tinted pet shop, filled with cages and terrariums, was wonderfully campy and flamboyant. The cheerful nature of the shop, juxtaposed to the evil deeds within the story was quite a happy marriage. It truly was a terrifyingly cheerful set. Also taking on the lighting design, Bert Scott played into the comedy of the piece. Calling attention to the conspiracy between Roxanne and Zachary was an exceptionally smart touch. But this lust light needed to snap back in and out much faster to match the comedy of the moment. The reality snaps were dictating properly by sound designer Julian Evans. The use of subliminal underscoring kept the campy horror mood alive. Costume designer Courtney E. Butt used a bright, period pallet, with the looks of the night appearing on Roxanne. The true star, well stars, of the show were the piranhas, created by puppet designer Vandy Wood. With a vivacious personality, the piranhas, animated by puppeteer Satoshi Haga, earned some of the boisterous laughs of the night.

photo by Carol Rosegg

Over-the-top was the name of the game on stage at The Clurman Theatre. The five-piece ensemble went big and bold with a tinge of reality, and played into the hands of the audience. As the desperate housewife with a lust for an escape from the mundane, Alyssa H. Chase was comedy noir gold. Chase adopted a high, squeaky voice to make Roxanne have a tinge of vapidity despite her strength. Taking on the man of mystery Zachary, Anthony Michael Lopez, kept a continuous face of fear and uncertainty as the plan was in motion. Lopez and Chase were strongest in their moments of insatiable comedic thirst for one another. David Harrell as the oblivious pet shop man Chester dove deep into physical comedy, and it paid off. Though, at times, Harrell’s extremes were a bit harsher than the rest of his castmates’. Anita Hollander and Rob Minutoli were both wonderful supporting players. Hollander came to life when Mother Nurdiger, well, stopped.
The Artificial Jungle was a loving homage to Charles Ludlam. It may not be perfection but it certainly is cheeky. And sometimes, that’s all you need in a night out at the theater.

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