Category Archives: Off Off Broadway

Road Kills

Drama, Off Off Broadway August 19, 2025 Leave a comment

In art as in life, there is captivating drama to be mined when mismatched strangers are thrown together by circumstance.  So it is in Sophie McIntosh’s Road Kills currently in an Off-Off-Broadway run after a well-received series of readings.  Owen (D.B. Milliken) runs a small company responsible for collecting the carcasses of animals who have been hit by drivers too distracted to notice or care about the deer crossing sign.  He picks up extra money by taking on assistants who are working off their community service hours.  The current pair of hands belongs to Jaki (Mia Sinclair Jenness) who was arrested for drunk driving.  There is a spilling of guts along with the gut spills.  Together each Saturday on relatively deserted stretches of highway in Wisconsin there is little to do but pry open each other’s long-closed emotional doors. 

Mia Sinclair Jenness and D.B. Milliken in Road Kills; Photo by Nina Goodheart

Though some of the details are telegraphed, for the most part McIntosh’s biting script keeps us unbalanced.  With a title like Road Kills, it is unsurprising that the content has a high “ick” factor.  Warnings can be found on the production website in two flavors: “broad strokes” and “gory details”.  In the current space, everything is up close and deeply personal, but there is some sweetness mixed in with the ewwww.  

Since I prefer my readers to have the experience of allowing a play to unfold, I will only say that Owen’s and Jaki’s peculiar relationships to animals goes beyond their handling of mangled body parts.  Though their experiences as social outliers are dramatically different, the result is a similar inability to connect with humans in a traditionally healthy way.  Their expression of sexuality would likely be found in the DSM-5.  Protective reflexes are particularly askew in Jaki’s dealings with Neil and Miles, both portrayed by Michael Lepore.  (That the two characters look similar is a serendipitous plot enhancement.)

As staged by director Nina Goodheart in the three-row venue, the meticulous attention to detail heightens the intimacy of the performance.  We are seated at set designer Junran “Charlotte” Shi’s double yellow line where a dead fawn lies surrounded by dark red spots that are revealed to be frozen blood.  Passed-its-peak shrubbery lines the upstage side of the road.  Unlike most crews, stage manager Damayanti Wallace and team work silently in total darkness to set each scene.  From the black, the prerecorded voice-over cast of 11 depict the events that lead up to an accident, with each incident being an escalation of the previous one.  Lighting designer Paige Seber and sound designer Max Van add realistic sensory input.  Sean Frank’s props range from tragic to amusing.  While some audience members laughed though the disconcertion, it was the craftsmanship and care that I found comforting.  

Produced by McIntosh and Goodheart’s Good Apples Collective alongside ryan duncan-ayala, the twisted ride of Road Kills continues through September 6.  Runtime is approximately 85 minutes with no intermission.  Performances take place on the second floor of the Paradise Factory, 64 East 4th Street in New York.  Masks are strongly recommended and provided at the check-in desk.  The A/C is an overachiever and a sweater will come in handy.  Tickets begin at $18 and are available at https://www.goodapplescollective.com/road-kills.  

5th Annual Little Shakespeare Festival

Festival, Off Off Broadway, Shakespeare, streaming August 5, 2025 Leave a comment

Looking for an escape from the heat? the smoke? the world?  I can recommend a bite-sized treat: the 5th Annual Little Shakespeare Festival.  Each year playwrights take stories and themes from The Bard and spin them in a humorous/soul searching/topical direction.  This year’s selection of ten productions was curated by Conor Mullen based on the prompt “Not Your English Teacher’s Shakespeare.”  They include three Hamlet-inspired pieces.  A farcical Hamlet: La Telenovela is adapted by Federico Mallet, translated by Jose Ruano, and presented by Something From Abroad.  Events retold from the prospective of the theatre troupe unfold in The Mousetrap, or Prince Hamlet wrote a dumb play and now we have to do it written by Margaret Rose Caterisano and presented by Broomstick.  And comedian Rachel Resnik begs you not to laugh at her solo performance Hamlet’s Dad: Otherwise Known As The Daddy Issue’s Cycle presented by Serious Play.

The venue at UNDER St. Marks is not fully accessible, so the good folks at FRIGID New York have live streams available for purchase. This is how I was able to giggle from my couch at As You Wish It or The Bride Princess or What You Will.  The feed is supplied by two cameras, one in the back row and one audience right and closer to the stage. The audio is good quality and you can even hear the etherial music that plays as the audience loads in. The hilarious introduction by the house manager is not to be missed. It’s such a small theater that it’s a similar experience to arriving just before curtain and grabbing whatever seat you find.

As You Wish It etc. is billed as a parody, but it struck me as more of a love letter.  Presented by Fork the Odds Productions, the beloved William Goldman book/movie has been transposed into Shakespearean English by Michael Hagins.  Dialogue from Hamlet, MacBeth, Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, and Richard III is comfortably intertwined with all the favorite lines and plot points from Rob Reiner’s classic.  It was wonderful to see that over 30 years later the over-the-top tale of true love still has such loyal fans.  With every long introduction by the revenge-seeking Count and “inconceivable” the audience roared with appreciation.  If it’s been a while since you saw the original, a quick review of the dense character-filled storyline will aid your full enjoyment. 

Rather than covering up the obvious shortcomings of enacting an action film on a tiny stage, the company leans into the insanity of even trying.  A roll down the hill becomes a balletic twilling through curtains, a knock out punch is prefaced by grabbing a small wrestling mat, and a chase on horseback is mimicked with Python style coconut shells.  The sword fights are brilliantly choreographed in slow motion.  The actors physical humor is enhanced by inexpensive, well designed props.  Synchronized sound effects heighten the laughs. Tickets are still available for the August 8 and 9 performances.

As You Wish It is among the offerings at the 2025 Little Shakespeare Festival; Photo by Michele Santomoreno

There is a timelessness to Shakespeare’s themes and relationships that opens his works to seemingly endless variation.  The Little Shakespeare Festival puts a spotlight on particularly clever revisions all presented by independent companies.  The fun continues through August 17.  All live performances take place at UNDER St. Marks (94 St Marks Place) and tickets are $25.  Streaming tickets are $20 for a live feed (so no late seating even at home.) To view the full schedule and to purchase advanced tickets visit www.frigid.nyc.

Camera Ready

Musical, Off Off Broadway July 7, 2025 Comments: 3

Throughout the 1980s, videographer Nelson Sullivan used his developing camera skills and sincere love of the downtown New York art scene to capture and preserve many of the distinctive talents of that special time and place.  In partnership with his childhood friend James “Dick” Richards, host of a long-running access channel LGBT variety show, he put RuPaul on a path to stardom.  As he experimented with newer equipment and continued to evolve his technique, he sometimes included himself in the frame.  When he died at 41 of an apparent heart attack, he left behind a body of work credited with forming the template for the type of short form personal videos that proliferate YouTube.  

Now a behind the scenes look at Sullivan’s life and work has been fashioned into Camera Ready, a new play with music written and directed by his friend, artist/playwright/filmmaker Gary LeGault.  The sprawling cast of twenty much resembles the streets outside with its array of ages, races, and body types.  The ensemble brings unadulterated enthusiasm to each scene such as “Friday Evening in New York,” a celebration of Nelson’s first night out on the town with his camera.  There is a genuine sweetness to Jack Warren Lewis’s uplifting interpretation of the documentarian.  Other standouts include Bryce Payne’s dazzling RuPaul, JC Augustin gravely voiced Jackie Curtis, and a versatile Alexa Echevarria as Sullivan’s mother, musician Rhonda Granger, and a truly horrible Mona Robson in rehearsal at La Mama.  Her performance in the upbeat “All the Money” is a hoot.

Jack Warren Lewis as Nelson Sullivan with the cast of Camera Ready

Though working on an obviously tight budget, creative thought has gone into the design. The majority of the songbook (arrangements by Chris Glik and Michael O’Dell) has a breezy, clubby style that comes through on the solo piano. The backdrop, drawn by LeGault, is reminiscent of Edward Hopper had the artist worked in crayon.  Lola Saenz, under the direction of set designer Lytza Colon, installed bricks which adorn the central staircase. Night scene costumes and wigs by Diana Chaiken have the perfect dramatic flair.  

Oddly, it is LeGault’s obvious affection for Sullivan that flattens the story.  He has recorded history with heart, which makes for a valid but blurry lens. There is too much emphasis on tiny interactions and it is doubtful anyone under the age of 60 would recognize the celebrities about whom Sullivan exclaims.  A key relationship with housemate Choux (Dave Onofre) is underdeveloped and the parade of houseguests doesn’t achieve substantial impact. The current script also skirts the remarkable implications of Sullivan’s legacy. Ultimately the piece gets bogged down in less significant details and crosses the finish line at a hefty 2 ½ hours. 

With the show having completed its off-off-Broadway run on July 6 at Theater for the New City, LeGault has an opportunity to expand his private portrait into a deeper, more meaningful tribute to Nelson’s work.  This would also further highlight the gifts of Drag Queens and trans performers featured in Sullivan’s videos.  A rethinking would likely require LeGault to collaborate with an editor who could provide enough distance to make the appropriate refinements.  However, a more examined celebration would elevate not just Nelson’s legacy but the contributors to the American art scene he so valued.  

FRIGID’s Little Shakespeare Festival

Festival, Live Stream, Off Off Broadway August 18, 2024 Leave a comment

Saturday marked the closing night of FRIGID New York’s 4th annual Little Shakespeare Festival.  Known for their emphasis on creativity, collaboration, and affordability, this year’s line-up included seven original pieces.  Each one act script was built around the theme of Camaraderie and Community using the vast oeuvre of the Bard as a jumping off point.  

Festival curator, Conor D. Mullen, points out that Shakespeare himself was an independent artist whose casts were often composed of close friends who were given too little rehearsal time. Having a stripped down set and costumes “designed” by Goodwill is a fitting way to present productions inspired by his work.  Highlights included Mindy Mawhirter’s and Alyssa Cokinis’s The Lark and the Nightingale, which gave Juliet and Desdemona a second chance at love and happiness, and the bravely improvised As You Will created by Conor D Mullen, David Brummer, and George Hider.

Unfortunately FRIGID’s current home at UNDER St. Marks (94 St Marks Place) is literally “under,” in a basement and not fully accessible.  Aiming to remain truly inclusive, the producers added live-stream performances throughout the run.  This was how I was able to watch Hamlet Isn’t Dead’s utterly delightful When My Cue Comes with my elderly mother.  While I hope it won’t be too long before they find a space that more fully meets their needs, I encourage them to keep this option for those with mobility and caregiving issues and to reach out to audiences beyond New York. 

When My Cue Comes depicts a time when Hamlet’s Reynaldo, As You Like It’s Jaques de Boys, The Tempest’s Boatswain, and a very overworked Messenger find themselves deserted in a Waiting Room.  They had believed themselves to be essential workers.  Instead, they’ve been clipped from many a modern production and slowly bond while awaiting their next cue from The Playwright.  Quick witted and cleverly timed by writer/director B. Carty, the comical work also manages to be touching and relevant to today’s disconnected times.  

Jaques de Boys (Aaron Moore) tries to find himself with support from Reynaldo (Reid Watson), Messenger (Natalie Deboer), and Boatswain (Gabriel Ethridge) in When My Cue Comes.

This off-off-Broadway offering may be low budget, but it’s definitely not low talent.  Much of joy in this production radiates from the exuberant cast.  With perky energy possibility derived from a morning bowl of cookie crunch, Natalie Deboer’s Messenger punches through the fourth wall.  Reid Watson brings warm devotion to the abandoned Reynaldo.  As played by Aaron Moore, Jaques de Boys is profoundly rattled by his exile.  Mining every line for comic gems, Gabriel Ethridge’s Boatswain has never been more at sea.  Grounding them as long as she can is Madeline Parks, whose Playwright isn’t in as much control as she’d like.  The ease of the entire ensemble was palpable even at a distance.

Having (mostly) recovered from lockdown, FRIGID New York recently resumed their resident artists program.  Last week they announced the programming for their very full 27th season. This includes their annual Days of the Dead Festival, a celebration of nothing less than life and death, taking place October 17 to November 2. This will be followed November 3 through 17 by the 12th Gotham Storytelling Festival.  A complete schedule and ticketing information can be found at https://www.frigid.nyc/. 

Coach Coach

Comedy, Off Off Broadway, Play June 11, 2024 Leave a comment

Dr. Meredith Martin is not just any old coach.  She is an esteemed coach coach running a very exclusive program for coaches who are struggling.  Her current retreat — held in an aging and overstuff rental home centered between an airport for convenience and the woods for aesthetics — is so exclusive there are only four attendees.  Each of the participants hopes Dr. Martin will elevate her practice and perhaps even give her a place on the insider team.  

This is the set-up of Bailey Williams’ new comedy Coach Coach, the second entry of  Clubbed Thumb’s 2024 Summerworks.  Commissioned by the daring incubator, the script is not as wholly satisfying as some of their past offerings.  Williams has fun playing with the language of psycho babble and marketing spin and earns many chuckles, but the work could be far more expansive in its views of what is admittedly a poorly regulated speciality and more probing in its observations about the sway of some players within it.  While each soliloquy highlights an aspect of a character’s struggle, collectively they give a choppiness to the unfolding of events without significantly varying the tone or the emotional undercurrent.  

Despite its shortcomings it is, in the words of one CT insider, very “on brand”: thoughtful, explorative, and marching to the beat of its own rhythm section.  Also in keeping with Clubbed Thumb’s deserved reputation, all the artistic elements are of high quality.  The cast  — Purva Bedi, Cindy Cheung, Becca Lish, Kelly McAndrew, Susannah Millonzi and Zuzanna Szadkowski — is terrific both as individuals and as a well orchestrated ensemble. Even when the characters are not fully listening to one another, the actresses clearly are.  Director Sarah Blush has mined the recursive dialogue for maximum impact, for example having death coach Velma (Millonzi) slither over the furniture with reptilian delight and often leaving the deflated Patti (Cheung) perched at the end of her chair as if she isn’t sure she deserves to even sit.  Dan Wang’s costumes are color coded for each specialty: green for business, hot pink for romance, black for death and so on.  His initial wardrobe choice for assistant coach Margo (Szadkowski) received its own round of applause.  Scenic designer Colleen Murray’s selection of furnishing styles lends the right oppressive air. And lighting design by Masha Tsimring and sound design by Johnny Gasper lean heavily into the eeriness of the ill-fated gathering.  

Margo (Zuzanna Szadkowdki) contemplates her options in Clubbed Thumb’s Coach Coach; photo by Maria Baranova

Coach Coach runs through June 13 at the Wild Project on 3rd Street between Avenues A and B.  Running time is 75 minutes with no intermission.  Evening performances are almost completely sold out, but there are newly posted 3:00pm matinees on June 12 and 13.  Tickets are $25 for students, $30 for general admission, and $40 for a reserved seat (highly recommended.)  You can also “pay it forward” for $60.  And if you find yourself too late to secure a spot for this very limited run, consider being ahead of the curve for Crystal Finn’s Find Me Here opening on June 19.  With its starry cast and notable design team, this final entry of the season is sure to be a Clubbed Thumb treat.  Visit https://www.clubbedthumb.org/productions/2024/ for more tickets and information.

Shimmer and Herringbone

Off Off Broadway, Play, Theater Event May 8, 2024 Leave a comment

At the opening of its full and fleeting 85 minutes, Shimmer and Herringbone introduces us to a range of people each trying on a pile of clothing and judging themselves in a mirror.  It’s a familiar dance with capes and belts as unhelpful partners.  Their search is not just for the right look, but the right feeling; one they might just find at the titular vintage clothing store.  

With witty and insightful rapid-fire exchanges written by Ellen Maddow (who appears within the play as Rhonda, the over-sharing dressing room lady) and Paul Zimet (who directs with deep understanding), the play is located in a city sophisticated enough to be home to a semi-famous soap actor (Jack Wetherall), a townhouse-owning retired teacher (James Tigger! Ferguson), and the aforementioned boutique.  But it is also small enough to enable the chance encounters and meaningful interactions that only happen in a true neighborhood.  Maddow also wrote the music played by a live string trio (Rachel Feldhaus, Marija Kovacevic, and Agustin Uriburu who good-naturedly appear on stage and fully participate) which the characters acknowledge as the soundtrack to their actions.  In their lightest moments, they are moved to dance in celebration, guided by choreographer Sean Donovan.

From details in the dialogue, the story is unfolding shortly after the toughest winter of the pandemic.  Residents are no longer wearing masks of the N95 variety, but they are still veiled.  Their outfits shape how they feel about themselves and also how they wish to be perceived by others.  Each is slightly oddball, but utterly endearing.  We meet Louise Smith’s Grace, a real estate agent who is forever staging her surroundings, and her former best friend Lizzie Olesker’s Lilly, an ornithologist who seems to relate quite strongly to the pigeons she studies.  There is also Lilly’s struggling entrepreneur daughter Bree (Ebony Davis) and Bree’s possible business partner, a former actress named Melanie played by Talking Band co-founder Tina Shepard.  The actors seem to be having a blast and the audience is tickled just to be in their company.

James Tigger! Ferguson, Louise Smith and Lizzie Olesker; photo by Maria Baranova

The true star of the show is arguably Serbian costume designer Olivera Gajic.  She has stocked the central store and surrounding closets with a delightful and nearly indescribable wardrobe.  Our attention is further captured by the deceptively simple set and revealing videos of Anna Kiraly.  Additional color is brought forth by Mary Ellen Stebbins’s lighting.

Like a small scale and less mysterious Tales of the City, Shimmer and Herringbone is above all about self-acceptance and living comfortably in ones own skin.  It also provides a humorous and uplifting visit with literally colorful characters who form a most-welcome community.  A creation of the 50 year old interdisciplinary company, Talking Band, this play with music continues through May 19 at Mabou Mines’ Second Floor Theater at 122CC, at 150 First Avenue near Saint Marks Square in Manhattan. Performances take place Wednesday – Saturday at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm.  Tickets are $30-$35 and can be purchased at https://talkingband.org/works/shimmer-and-herringbone/.

Puffs (On Demand)

Off Off Broadway, Off-Broadway, On Demand, Uncategorized August 14, 2023 Leave a comment

Imagine being one of the likely terrified lesser-known students at Hogwarts during the time of Harry Potter’s attendance.  That is the delightful conceit of Matt Cox’s Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, which ended its very successful New York run in August of 2019.  Wonderfully captured on film by its stage director Kristin McCarthy Parker with support from VirtualArtsTV, the show is coming to BroadwayHD beginning August 15.  Though performed with farcical pace and style, like the Boy Who Lived, Puffs never loses its soul.  The sendups are executed with obvious love for the original world and characters, which makes them far more potent and enjoyable for the true fans that make up the target audience.  

We are guided through the 7-year journey by a narrator (a quick and snappy A.J. Ditty) whose identity will eventually be revealed.  Around the time of Mr. Potter’s birth, another boy, Wayne Hopkins (a warm and sweet Zac Moon) was born and orphaned in England and then whisked away to his Uncle Dave in New Mexico.  One day, a passing owl drops a letter into their living room inviting the nerdy child to a school in his home country.  He finds himself sitting under a famed hat which determines he is a Puff, a House of seeming misfits. They are led by a very polite Cedric (an amusingly servile James Fouhey) and live in the school’s basement somewhere near the kitchen.  Wayne and his new friends Oliver Rivers (adorkable Langston Belton) and Megan Jones (Julie Ann Earls on the right side of edgy) hope to distinguish themselves and contribute to Cedric’s goal of “third place or nothing”.

(Front row) Jessie Cannizzaro, Zac Moon, James Fouhey, Stephen Stout, (Back row) Madeleine Bundy, Langston Belton, Andy Miller, Eleanor Philips (L-R); photo by HUNTER CANNING

Their story plays out Rosencrantz and Guildenstern-like, with that of Harry (a pointedly irritating Madeleine Bundy), Hermione (a wig) and Ron (a mop) unspooling in the background.  Cast members take on over three dozen characters with admirable range and assurance.  A knowledge of the Harry Potter film series is essential for truly appreciating the hilarious and multilayered impressions from Stephen Stout’s spot-on Alan Rickman as a Certain Potions Teacher to Eleanor Philips as a squeamish Death Eater.  Familiarity with a certain 2008 rom-com will add laughs to Nick Carrillo’s wild about-last-night improv.  The ensemble is rounded out by Jessie Cannizzaro and Andy Miller playing opposite ends of the outcast spectrum among other roles.

Cox’s inventive script is a total triumph. The visual wizardry emanates from director Parker’s stagecraft along with the talents of her remarkable artistic team. Magical elements  — including a Dementor so smartly designed it should get its own standing-o — are made possible by sets, props and costumes all impressively conceived by Madeleine Bundy.  These clever and colorful elements are supported by lighting effects by Herrick Goldman and original music by Brian Hoes that recalls just enough of John William’s themes.

Shown in theaters for only two nights, Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic will be available On Demand at BroadwayHD.  The production is recommended for those 13+ and runs just short of 2 hours.  The mid-credit outtakes add an extra sprinkle of joy to the fun-filled viewing.

College Fun

Comedy, Fund-raiser, Off Off Broadway May 22, 2023 Leave a comment

When I heard there was a theater troupe called the Frog & Peach, I simply had to see what they were up to.  Though they were founded in large part to make Shakespeare more accessible to a broad audience, their most recent production, College Fun, is a 35 minute long sharp-edged satire written by founding company member Ted Zurkowski.  With its setting at an elite university in Southern California and its relentless puncturing of a certain brand of authority figure, it reflects many of the qualities of Beyond the Fringe, the innovators of the routine about the world’s most revolting restaurant.

A lifetime member of The Actors Studio, Mr. Zurkowski has recently been focused on the musical portion of his career.  It would appear that for the creation of College Fun, he drew on his past experience as a teacher of theater history. The objects of his ire are those in the education community who employ the language of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion without embracing or even understanding the movement.  Buzz words like “unpack,” “curate,” and “thought leader” are tossed around as if their mere use can take the place of their intended, beneficial goals.  

The cast features DazMann Still as the Everyman Teacher appropriately named Professor Jones, a black member of the theater department who who has somehow triggered one of his rich white students.  Alyssa Diamond’s wildly inappropriate Dr. Ram is the first to confront him, though she won’t even tell him the nature of the offense or who filed the complaint.  Filling in some of the blanks is Jonathan Reed Wexler as the over-the-top flamboyant Dr. Queeg.  It falls to the questionable power figure Dr. Pane, portrayed by Anuj Parikh, to complete the increasingly ridiculous picture. 

DazMann Still, Anuj Parikh, Alyssa Diamond and Jonathan Reed Wexler in College Fun

The one-night performance of College Fun was made possible in part by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. It was staged at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre, a 145 seat house in the West Side YMCA near Lincoln Center.  As explained on the Frog & Peach Theatre’s website, the charming co-founder Lynnea Benson was chosen as the director because she’s the “least hammy and most wily” among them.  She made use of the physicality of her actors and a well-chosen wardrobe to give color to the simple set of a few wooden chairs, two tables, and a sad potted plant as background.  Diamond, Wexler, and Parikh previously worked together in the company’s production of As You Like It, giving them a familiarity that is useful to Still as his character navigates a progressively surreal landscape.  At key points, Professor Jones speaks directly to the audience as if to acknowledge that any discussion with his idiotic interrogators is pointless.

Zurkowski and Benson are now developing a new work, Verbatim, with Estelle Parsons and Austin Pendleton, so stay tuned.

Chicken & Biscuits

Comedy, Off Off Broadway, Play, streaming May 8, 2023 Leave a comment

Theatre Squared continues to make their season available to a nationwide audience with a lively recording of their opening night of Douglas Lyons’ family dramedy Chicken & Biscuits.   It’s another cohesive and enjoyable ensemble production from the Fayetteville, AK based non-profit and winner of a special 2022 Obie Award. 

I saw a Zoom reading of the work in March of 2021.  As was typical of that time and medium, it was messy, but I enjoyed the interrelationships and the realistic tension between characters.  In its final form, the story unfolds almost entirely in one-on-one conversations, so it doesn’t flow so much as interconnect.  Many of the rough edges have been sanded down so that the understandable conflicts are aired and settled at an almost unnatural pace.   But the comedic exchanges and not-so-gentle ribbing remain in place.  Whether you will find this satisfying or frustrating depends on how much you value resolution over the journey to get there.

Baneatta and Beverly are two dramatically different sisters brought together by the death of their much-loved father.  It is clear from Baneatta’s opening prayer that the siblings are poles apart in style, attitude, and social position.  Quite simply, they drive each other crazy.  They even compete over who can feel more grief over the loss of a parent.  A gap between expectation and reality divide the other family members as well: mothers and children, sister and brother, partners and parents.  But the snipes stem more often from wanting the target to have the best life possible rather than deliberate viciousness.  As one character observes, “miscommunication ruins a lot of love.” 

Director Denise Chapman digs as deeply as she can to find the heart and humanity of each personality.  The vivacious cast brings a warm energy to the entire proceeding.  Robert Denzel Edwards is a stand out as Kenny, in part because his character is given the most vivid speech about his inner life.  With his sincere ability to listen, Edwards helps Justin Mackey as his white Jewish boyfriend Logan and Candace Jandel Thomas as Ken’s wounded sister Simone shine in their scenes togethers.  In another sequence, Maura Gale as Brianna covers 40 years of emotional history, providing a strong core to the plot and perhaps the toughest role.  She plays well against Kathy Tyree and Tameka Bob, respectively keeping Baneatta and Beverly in their defined lanes.  Michael A Jones lends solemnity as Baneatta’s husband Reggie, while Jordan Taylor sits on the other end of the spirit seesaw as Beverly’s Tik Tokking daughter La’Trice.

Photography at Theatre2 of Kathy Tyree and Tameka Bob in Chicken & Biscuits, Fayetteville, Arkansas on April 4, 2023.

As usual for T2, the artistic team supports the overall vision while keeping budget in mind.  Working almost entirely in black, costumer designer Devario D. Simmons gives us terrific textural queues about each character’s dominant qualities.  Marie Laster’s airy church set dominated by a rose window, illuminated cross and arched doorways creates a flexible space that is defined and refined by Athziri Morales’s soft lighting.  

According to American Theatre Magazine, Chicken & Biscuits was the 2nd most performed play across the USA in the 2022-23 season (right behind Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage).  The banter and relatability make for a pleasant viewing experience and sometimes that’s just what’s needed in these psychically exhausting times.  It runs though May 14 at TheatreSquared (477 W. Spring St., Fayetteville).  Live performances are at 7:30pm Tuesday through Saturday with 2pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday.  Digital streamers are available for 24 hours beginning at noon Central Time on the selected date.  Customer service is first rate.  Tickets run from $20-$54 and can be purchased by calling (479) 777-7477 or by visiting theatre2.org.

Manifesting Mrs. Marx

Festival, Off Off Broadway, Play May 16, 2022 Leave a comment

Though you have no doubt heard of economist/revolutionary Karl Marx, his gifted and loyal wife has been all but erased from history.  Encyclopedic entries of her life are usually reduced to her lineage, marriage, and the early death of her children.  You will learn something more of Johanna “Jenny” Von Westphalen Marx by watching Manifesting Mrs. Marx, but that is not its ultimate goal.  Still evolving three years after it was performed at the famous Edinburgh Fringe, the piece is the brainchild of actress/musician/producer Clara Francesca who employs a wide range of techniques to shape the story.  In less than an hour, she puddle jumps from Von Westphalen’s biography to the constrictions of the patriarchy to the struggles of creative process itself. 

Jenny had her own distinct views of social revolution and the suppression of the working class.  But she was also a writer of criticism which makes it particularly fitting to have her character critique parts of her own performance.  The work is unconventional in that Ms. Francesca plays not only herself, Mrs. Marx, and characters in Marx’s world, but also against herself as the unseen writer who is heard over the theater’s speakers creating the script in real time.  This allows the actress to simultaneously narrate and comment on the story.  She is both the center of the work and being controlled by it, an apt metaphor for the constrictions faced by early feminists like Jenny Von Westphalen that continue into present day. 

Laurence Olivier Award winning director Guy Masterson wisely keeps the focus on his talent, placing her in drab shapeless clothing against a dark backdrop.  Ms. Francesca is given only a chair, a microphone and a “bag of tricks,” which suits an actress this playful, expressive, and bright.  Her physical comedy is likely to make you think of another Marx — Harpo — especially in a segment where she brattishly defies her writer who is giving her too many instructions.   She also uses her well-tuned voice to manipulate her audience, poking fun at “the pace of perfection” in measured dulcet tones and then rapidly firing off some of Jenny’s pent up frustrations.

Manifesting Mrs. Marx is a broad rather than deep experience.  But while it’s hard to retain much of the detail, the impact of the performer’s energy and passion lingers.  It is making its New York City debut as part of the The New York Theater Festival at the Teatro Latea at 107 Suffolk Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Three performances have been scheduled: Wednesday, May 18, at 4PM; Friday, May 20, at 6:30 PM; and Sunday, May 22, at 1PM.  It will be paired with a second short play to create an 85 minute event.  Tickets are $25 for advanced purchase general admission, $30 at the door, and $45 for VIP seating (https://innovationtickets.com/product/manifesting-mrs-marx/).