The Success of Failure (or, The Failure of Success) is an aesthetically pleasing production, and as always, Hopkins’s music is intriguing and singular. Her creations are strange beasts, integrating her off-kilter musical compositions within a movement-oriented multimedia theater extravaganza. This time around, though, the story line feels outwardly hokey and slap-dashed together: it’s one long setup for the more personal second half, at which point she takes us on a journey through her emotional, muddy past, sharing how it seeps into her creative present.
Review by Amanda Cooper
I am a Cynthia Hopkins fan. Her creations are strange beasts, integrating her off-kilter music compositions with a movement-oriented multimedia theater extravaganza. I have seen – and loved – both previous installments of her Accidental Trilogy, of which this production, The Success of Failure (or, The Failure of Success) is the third and final part. Hopkins’s latest is the weirdest, most autobiographical, and most emotional of the three. But it is also the most overindulgent and inconsistent.
Set in a science fiction future, the first half of the piece is narrated by two planets, which tell the story of the demise of the humans and human-like Druoc. The performance is handled via projections and the onstage antics of Hopkins (with the help of Jim Findlay and Jeff Sugg, along with talented director DJ Mendel). After this first part (which makes sense sometimes) wraps up, Hopkins takes us on a journey through her emotional, muddy past, sharing how it seeps into her creative present.
The Success of Failure… is aesthetically pleasing, and as always, Hopkins’s music is intriguing and singular. But whereas the lopsided plots of her past two productions also only made semi-sense, they were kept afloat by their forward momentum, originality, and deadpan humor, not to mention the successful fusion of multimedia elements with song and dialogue. This time, the story feels outwardly hokey and slap-dashed together: one long setup for Hopkins’s personal second half. As for this part, it’s purposefully painful, both for audience and performer, as Hopkins recounts to us, in beautiful prose, her dangerous, alcoholic, and even suicidal tendencies, perhaps provoked by her mother’s premature death.
In her first two shows, Accidental Nostalgia, and Must Don’t Whip ‘Um, Hopkins mixed harsh personal history with character fiction. What was autobiographical and what wasn’t, was satisfyingly unclear—we could feel for Cynthia Hopkins, and the clear pain she has felt over her life, but we could remain removed from the direct events and fallout. The Success of Failure… removes this mystery, which turns our empathy to pity, and, at times, resentment: is this a therapy session for Hopkins?
My hope for Cynthia Hopkins: Artist (if I am allowed to have one), is that she has now shed enough of her demons to move on, to show her fans what is beneath that pain, and the further insight and strange beauty she is capable of creating.
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The Success of Failure (or The Failure of Success) 1 hour, forty minutes, no intermission
St Ann's Warehouse (38 Water Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn)
Tickets $22.50 and up
through June 7, 2009
Showing posts with label Amanda Cooper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amanda Cooper. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Five Days in March
In early February, Manhattan was host to the Chelfitsch Theater Company, a young Japanese troupe making a name for itself by specifically capturing the affect of Generation Y-ers in Japan. Though Chelfitsch’s stay in NYC was brief, based on their strong production of Five Days in March, the city will see more of them in the coming seasons.
Review by Amanda Cooper
From plot summary alone, Five Days in March comes across as pornographic: a young man and woman meet at a concert, exchange a few words, and then shack up in a hotel room for five days (in March). These five day also happen to be the first five days of the Iraq War. The play does not show us events. Instead, it is narrated—most scenes are conversations recounted to the audience; only rarely do the actors speak to one another. In addition to the hotel-bound main characters, we meet a number of their friends who are in town, and other individuals who are a degree or two of separation away from the pair.
The production is minimal—from the lack of a set to the subdued staging—but it is well thought out. A screen at the back of the stage shows supertitles (the performers stick with the play’s original language; the supertitles have been translated by Japanese-American playwright Aya Ogawa), and lighting effects. For the most part, the seven performers stay close to the screen, sometimes even leaning, or sitting against it. The actors look age-appropriate—part of the twentysomething Generation Y Chelfitsch intends to capture—and they carry themselves with an affectation familiar to anyone who has spent time with this age group (from any country). They present a detached, fast speech pattern, and low-key outward emotion—though feelings and philosophical emphatics seep through at times.
On the macro level, Five Days in March is a simplistic play. But what makes this show, and writer/director Toshiki Okada, worth watching, is what’s on the micro level: odd character ticks; small, sweet interactions; quick flashes of emotions; and yes, even optimism. All that honesty makes one eager to see more from Chelfitsch. Let’s cross our fingers that a theater like St. Ann’s or P.S. 122 brings them across the Pacific again soon.
Review by Amanda Cooper
From plot summary alone, Five Days in March comes across as pornographic: a young man and woman meet at a concert, exchange a few words, and then shack up in a hotel room for five days (in March). These five day also happen to be the first five days of the Iraq War. The play does not show us events. Instead, it is narrated—most scenes are conversations recounted to the audience; only rarely do the actors speak to one another. In addition to the hotel-bound main characters, we meet a number of their friends who are in town, and other individuals who are a degree or two of separation away from the pair.
The production is minimal—from the lack of a set to the subdued staging—but it is well thought out. A screen at the back of the stage shows supertitles (the performers stick with the play’s original language; the supertitles have been translated by Japanese-American playwright Aya Ogawa), and lighting effects. For the most part, the seven performers stay close to the screen, sometimes even leaning, or sitting against it. The actors look age-appropriate—part of the twentysomething Generation Y Chelfitsch intends to capture—and they carry themselves with an affectation familiar to anyone who has spent time with this age group (from any country). They present a detached, fast speech pattern, and low-key outward emotion—though feelings and philosophical emphatics seep through at times.
On the macro level, Five Days in March is a simplistic play. But what makes this show, and writer/director Toshiki Okada, worth watching, is what’s on the micro level: odd character ticks; small, sweet interactions; quick flashes of emotions; and yes, even optimism. All that honesty makes one eager to see more from Chelfitsch. Let’s cross our fingers that a theater like St. Ann’s or P.S. 122 brings them across the Pacific again soon.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
New House Under Construction
A play, no matter how spiffy the set, or how cutesy the interlude music, is only as good as its script. And a script, no matter how many sharp lines or sexual recounts, quickly unravels if its characters aren’t compelling. Unfortunately, New House Under Construction suffers from a bit more than unconvincing personas.
Reviewed by Amanda Cooper
Sarah and Tony (Shannon Hoob and Kevin Isola), a successful New York couple, are building a vacation house in the town where they grew up. Conveniently, their architect, Trevor (Anthony Crane), was Sarah's teenage romance and Trevor’s wife, Judy (Nancy Lemenager), used to date Tony. Moreover, the couples will soon be neighbors, and the awkward/funny circumstances don’t stop there, to say nothing of the town shrink (Sam Coppola).
This setup is made for a sarcastic little rom-com, but playwright/director Alan Hruska’s aspires for more. As past secrets come up, the play attempts to take on heavy-duty drama and ends up bogged down in a seriousness punctuated by consistent comic relief. What suffers the most is character development: these four are only defined by their problems. Tony, who's an asshole, ends up the most likeable character, mainly because he's the only character real enough to comprehends his self-absorption.
The entire play takes place on a set--the skeleton of a house under construction--that rotates for each scene as an instrumental interlude plays. Though Kenneth Foy’s set is pleasing, the cast isn’t comfortable with its movement, and the tiny platform makes for crowded scenes. The performers all make a valiant effort, but with little to prop up their actions and reactions, it’s hard to take Hruska’s play as the serious meditation on life and choice that it aims to be.
------------------------------------------- New House Under Construction 59 East 59th Street Theaters All tickets $35 Through January 4th www.59e59.org or 212 279 4200
Reviewed by Amanda Cooper
Sarah and Tony (Shannon Hoob and Kevin Isola), a successful New York couple, are building a vacation house in the town where they grew up. Conveniently, their architect, Trevor (Anthony Crane), was Sarah's teenage romance and Trevor’s wife, Judy (Nancy Lemenager), used to date Tony. Moreover, the couples will soon be neighbors, and the awkward/funny circumstances don’t stop there, to say nothing of the town shrink (Sam Coppola).
This setup is made for a sarcastic little rom-com, but playwright/director Alan Hruska’s aspires for more. As past secrets come up, the play attempts to take on heavy-duty drama and ends up bogged down in a seriousness punctuated by consistent comic relief. What suffers the most is character development: these four are only defined by their problems. Tony, who's an asshole, ends up the most likeable character, mainly because he's the only character real enough to comprehends his self-absorption.
The entire play takes place on a set--the skeleton of a house under construction--that rotates for each scene as an instrumental interlude plays. Though Kenneth Foy’s set is pleasing, the cast isn’t comfortable with its movement, and the tiny platform makes for crowded scenes. The performers all make a valiant effort, but with little to prop up their actions and reactions, it’s hard to take Hruska’s play as the serious meditation on life and choice that it aims to be.
------------------------------------------- New House Under Construction 59 East 59th Street Theaters All tickets $35 Through January 4th www.59e59.org or 212 279 4200
Friday, September 19, 2008
The Chalk Boy
In a small town in Washington, the popular, not-so-smart Jeff Chalk has gone missing. Playwright Joshua Conkel keeps the action to a minimum, and focuses on the emotional journeys experienced. Despite the dramatic possibilities within some of the storylines, nothing comes to a head –- or feels all that dramatic.
Reviewed by Amanda Cooper
In the age of Gossip Girl, we are surrounded by microcosms of society being represented by high school. American teenage years can be a type of hyper-reality, with life’s dramas made into soap operas. Writing a play based around the lives of teens, then, is natural, and The Chalk Boy is just that.
In a small town in Washington, the popular, not-so-smart Jeff Chalk has gone missing. To narrate the days following his disappearance are Trisha and Lauren (Marguerite French and MaryCatherine Donnelly, respectively), two popular, perky girls from his school. Balancing out the cast are two not-so-popular girls who are best friends – Penny (Jennifer Harder), who had been semi-dating Jeff, and Breanna (Kate Huisentruit), who is infatuated with Penny.
At times the four briefly take on other personas, from parental figures to Jeff himself. The atmosphere is that of an earnest, mild mystery. Everyone's filled with a sugary energy, especially the popular girls, and even the two outcasts want to please – underneath their brooding, they care what we think.
Playwright Joshua Conkel keeps the action to a minimum, and focuses on the emotional journeys experienced while Jeff Chalk remains missing. However, despite the dramatic possibilities within some of the storylines, nothing comes to a head – or feels that dramatic. Though there are only four characters onstage, this two-act play doesn't actually explore the concepts and personas it puts forth. While Lauren and Trisha resort to religion, Breanna and Penny test their Wiccan potential. There's gossip and rumors, too - but all is dealt with flippantly.
The quartet of women don’t have much to work with, and so their performances lack consistency. This is underlined by the unsolved ending which, instead of feeling open-ended and true-to-reality, as Conkel clearly has attempted, feels unfinished and indecisive as it floats to its final scene.
Perhaps it's time to go back to 90210.
-------------------------------------------
The Chalk Boy
At Under St. Marks
All tickets $18
www.horsetrade.info or 212 868 4444
Through Sept 20th
Reviewed by Amanda Cooper
In the age of Gossip Girl, we are surrounded by microcosms of society being represented by high school. American teenage years can be a type of hyper-reality, with life’s dramas made into soap operas. Writing a play based around the lives of teens, then, is natural, and The Chalk Boy is just that.
In a small town in Washington, the popular, not-so-smart Jeff Chalk has gone missing. To narrate the days following his disappearance are Trisha and Lauren (Marguerite French and MaryCatherine Donnelly, respectively), two popular, perky girls from his school. Balancing out the cast are two not-so-popular girls who are best friends – Penny (Jennifer Harder), who had been semi-dating Jeff, and Breanna (Kate Huisentruit), who is infatuated with Penny.
At times the four briefly take on other personas, from parental figures to Jeff himself. The atmosphere is that of an earnest, mild mystery. Everyone's filled with a sugary energy, especially the popular girls, and even the two outcasts want to please – underneath their brooding, they care what we think.
Playwright Joshua Conkel keeps the action to a minimum, and focuses on the emotional journeys experienced while Jeff Chalk remains missing. However, despite the dramatic possibilities within some of the storylines, nothing comes to a head – or feels that dramatic. Though there are only four characters onstage, this two-act play doesn't actually explore the concepts and personas it puts forth. While Lauren and Trisha resort to religion, Breanna and Penny test their Wiccan potential. There's gossip and rumors, too - but all is dealt with flippantly.
The quartet of women don’t have much to work with, and so their performances lack consistency. This is underlined by the unsolved ending which, instead of feeling open-ended and true-to-reality, as Conkel clearly has attempted, feels unfinished and indecisive as it floats to its final scene.
Perhaps it's time to go back to 90210.
-------------------------------------------
The Chalk Boy
At Under St. Marks
All tickets $18
www.horsetrade.info or 212 868 4444
Through Sept 20th
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Strangerer
The Strangerer is a strange mash-up of the first 2004 Bush/Kerry debate, and elements from Albert Camus' similarly-named novel, The Stranger. The result is creepy and ominous, and funny, too. But it is also overindulgent, and a bit too deliberately paced.
By Amanda Cooper
In 2006, The Stranger ended up on George W. Bush's summer reading list. In 2008, playwright Mickle Maher, inspired by the image of Bush reading about a man's odd ambivalence toward his senseless act of murdering a stranger, responded with a play. The Strangerer is a strange mash-up of the first 2004 Bush/Kerry debate and elements from Camus' novel. The result is creepy and ominous, and funny, too. But it is also overindulgent, and a bit too deliberately paced.
In an effort not to give anything away, suffice it to say Bush adopts and vocalizes many of the intellectual troubles and actions of Camus' main character. Though the debate structure is kept throughout the play, and even in the candidates' manner of speaking, hardly any discussion of moderator Lehrer's questions happen--instead the two respond to each other, and to their passing thoughts. Bush is portrayed here as especially self-indulgent, as he clearly attempts to work out recent personal crises on the stage.
Writer Maher has also designed the set: a straight-ahead, appropriately staid debate stage, with two back-set podiums and a moderator's desk at front. The 95-minute show simply contains these three historically accurate characters: George W. Bush (Guy Massey), moderator Jim Lehrer (Colm O'Reilly) and John Kerry (Maher, the wearer of many hats for this production). The three performers work hard throughout the evening, embracing their characters' known quirks and habits, while still making their interpretations of these three their own. There's Kerry, with his statuesque posturing, directly clashing with Bush's blinking discomfort.
Provocative messages are at work: the "theater" of our political system, the way our news media can be manipulated by politicians, the odd reasoning that may be a part of a criminal's mind… The Strangerer hits all this well. But a debate is inherently anti-climactic and singularly paced. And despite Maher's searing insights as playwright, the format is structurally rigid, holding the play at too consistent a speed, at times taking more time than necessary to make a point.
The Strangerer
At The Barrow Street Theater
All tickets $30
www.telecharge.com or 212 239 6200
By Amanda CooperIn 2006, The Stranger ended up on George W. Bush's summer reading list. In 2008, playwright Mickle Maher, inspired by the image of Bush reading about a man's odd ambivalence toward his senseless act of murdering a stranger, responded with a play. The Strangerer is a strange mash-up of the first 2004 Bush/Kerry debate and elements from Camus' novel. The result is creepy and ominous, and funny, too. But it is also overindulgent, and a bit too deliberately paced.
In an effort not to give anything away, suffice it to say Bush adopts and vocalizes many of the intellectual troubles and actions of Camus' main character. Though the debate structure is kept throughout the play, and even in the candidates' manner of speaking, hardly any discussion of moderator Lehrer's questions happen--instead the two respond to each other, and to their passing thoughts. Bush is portrayed here as especially self-indulgent, as he clearly attempts to work out recent personal crises on the stage.
Writer Maher has also designed the set: a straight-ahead, appropriately staid debate stage, with two back-set podiums and a moderator's desk at front. The 95-minute show simply contains these three historically accurate characters: George W. Bush (Guy Massey), moderator Jim Lehrer (Colm O'Reilly) and John Kerry (Maher, the wearer of many hats for this production). The three performers work hard throughout the evening, embracing their characters' known quirks and habits, while still making their interpretations of these three their own. There's Kerry, with his statuesque posturing, directly clashing with Bush's blinking discomfort.
Provocative messages are at work: the "theater" of our political system, the way our news media can be manipulated by politicians, the odd reasoning that may be a part of a criminal's mind… The Strangerer hits all this well. But a debate is inherently anti-climactic and singularly paced. And despite Maher's searing insights as playwright, the format is structurally rigid, holding the play at too consistent a speed, at times taking more time than necessary to make a point.
The Strangerer
At The Barrow Street Theater
All tickets $30
www.telecharge.com or 212 239 6200
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