Review: “Unmaking Toulouse-Lautrec”

A site-specific biography of Toulouse-Lautrec combines cabaret and immersive theatre to create an atmosphere of Moulin Rouge in the late 19th century.   

I am submerged in the dim red light from the moment I enter Madame X, a downtown bar lounge—what a perfect site for Bated Breath Theatre Company’s Unmaking Toulouse-Lautrec, a show that celebrates the French artist and his famous hangout spot, the Moulin Rouge. A large elongated upstairs lounge offers red velvet couches and leopard puffs for guests to sit on. And while there's a bar that guests are encouraged to frequent during the performance, nobody wants to walk across “the stage” and disturb the action, so most don't take advantage.

Sean Hinckle and Nicole Orabona in Unmaking Toulouse-Lautrec. Photo by Mia Aguirre.

This is where Unmaking Toulouse-Lautrec misses the mark a little—it doesn’t quite succeed in being fully immersive (except for the very last scene). Despite the somewhat unconventional seating, the division between the audience and the action is in place. Yet even so, the show still might be of interest to audiences seeking a more intimate theatrical experience, especially for those who like fine art.

 

The show, devised by members of the company, consists of a couple dozen vignettes based on Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s biography. It's essentially a memory play with a collage structure, where some parts are more successful than others in clearly conveying both the factual biography and emotional state of the artist. One of my favorite scenes was the dance of the artist’s parents Adele (Nicole Orabona) and Henri (Sean Hinckle), one that combines choreography and spoken word to create a palpable sense of passion and pain. Being first cousins, they blamed themselves for Henri’s genetic disorder, one that stopped the growth of his legs when he was a teenager. But Bated Breath relies too much on background knowledge of the protagonist's life; those without such deep knowledge might miss some things. At least there are prints of Toulouse-Lautrec's works all over the room to refresh memory.

The fine-tuned choreography (consultant Tara O’Con) blends dance with everyday ritual, making for some of the most memorable moments, like the recurring scene of Henri drinking tea with his mother. There is also can-can dancing and dirty songs galore. Much like Toulouse-Lautrec's art, Unmaking Toulouse-Lautrec combines both high and low, creating a stimulating cocktail of genres where you might well have no idea what’s going to happen in the next scene. The inventive use of props underscores how effective even the simplest theatre magic can be, whether it's an umbrella imitating a bird's flapping wings, a marionette emerging from under Adele’s crinoline, or boxes lit from within.

If only the production made use of the resource that is the audience. Unmaking Toulouse-Lautrec is framed as a funeral wake for the artist, where folks reminisce and remember, hence the collage structure. The audience members are meant to be attendees, but this only becomes evident at the end. After the turmoil of flying skirts, we return to the wake, and short glasses of white wine are passed around for everyone to drink to the departed artist (although perhaps the artist's own Earthquake cocktail—half absinthe, half cognac—would have been even more suitable). Unfortunately, it is not until this moment when the audience is finally engaged directly, and invited to the story.    

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Unmaking Toulouse-Lautrec plays at Madame X, 94 West Houston Street, through August 7, 2019. The running time is 1 hour with no intermission. Performances are Wednesdays at 7 and 9. Tickets are $35 general admission, $25 bar/standing, and are available at unmakinglautrecplay.com.

Unmaking Toulouse-Lautrec is Devised by Bated Breath Theatre Company members: Mia Aguirre, Derya Celikkol, Marisa Gold, Sean Hinckle, Allison Houser, Matt Mastromatteo, Nicole Orabona, David Raposo, and Lauren Winigrad. Directed by Mara Lieberman. Choreography Consultant is Tara O’Con. Production Design by Derya Celikkol. Sound Design by Nathan Leigh. Costume Design by Gail Fresia. Stage Manager is Sophia Leewah.

The cast is Sean Hinckle, Allison Houser, Nicole Orabona, David Raposo, Derya Celikkol, and Lauren Winigrad.  

(This review was published on theasy.com on July 25th)

Review: "Convention"

Events of the 1944 Democratic National Convention are brought to life by a cast of forty in this immersive play.

In response to the 2016 election, playwright Danny Rocco dug out a “true-and-overlooked” episode in history—the 1944 Democratic National Convention—and turned it into an epic theatrical reenactment with forty actors, opening just in time for the Democratic presidential debates. Rocco’s goal of educating the audience about political history is truly noble; whether it has been achieved is another question. I entered the theatre knowing nearly nothing about this historical precedent, but left feeling confused and alienated. On the other hand, my companion, who knew all the main political players, enjoyed the show more, although he was disappointed that many liberties were taken with rendering some of the characters. 

Claire Anderson in Convention. Photo by Ahron R. Foster.

To sum up the main intrigue, during the 1944 convention there were two candidates for vice president, Harry Truman and current Vice President Henry Wallace. Coalitions formed, each gathering separately in the locked theatre to pledge their allegiance and develop strategies for manipulating the party-mates. Even though Franklin D. Roosevelt had already expressed his support for the moderate Truman, the hope was still strong for the allies of Wallace, a popular progressive candidate often accused of being a communist sympathizer. And this was an important vote: Roosevelt’s health was in rapid decline, so choosing the vice president likely also meant choosing the next president. 

The audience for Convention is thrown right into the middle of the action, both narratively and sonically. The show starts with Wallace (Claire Anderson) trying to speak over the roaring tributes, an absolutely mad scene that lasts for a few minutes and conveys the full sense of attending the real convention. Dialogue takes place on stage, in the orchestra, and in the second-floor gallery, often simultaneously. At times it is impossible to hear a single word, which can be frustrating, but if clearly done deliberately. Collecting the information from bits and pieces of dialogue, some of which happen at an arm’s stretch, feels very true to life, where as much as you try, you are unable to grasp the entire picture. 

That said, many key scenes are staged with the intention of sounding loud and clear. Director Shannon Fillon does an amazing job of conducting the “orchestra” of forty characters: the timing of this massive “machine” is impeccable. But as much as the actors try to convey a wide variety of three-dimensional characters, I wished we were given more historical background on some of them, at least the featured ones. While including this in the play's text itself wouldn't have worked, this information could have been included in the marketing materials. The headshots of actors are hung next to the historical figures they portray along the staircase leading to the theatre; placing these in the electronic program or on a website alongside bios of these real people would improve the audience's experience.

But my lack of historical knowledge didn’t spoil the evening. The array of colorful characters, cast gender-and-race-blindly, is never dull to watch. Rocco masterfully mines absurdity out of comedic bits (the enterprising hot dog salesman who permanently parks his cart on the stage) and also reveals the darker side of the joke (a sandbag hitting one of the delegates). And although the production isn’t fully immersive, it is certainly quite atmospheric. Convention is a perfect match for the Irondale: the carefully preserved shabbiness of the former Sunday school, with fragments of religious text on the walls, is a perfect backdrop for the scene of Jackson’s sudden realization of God’s calling. Even the absence of air conditioning helps us better imagine a hot day in Chicago in July of 1944.

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Convention plays at Irondale, 85 South Oxford Street, Brooklyn, through June 29, 2019. The running time is 2 hours with an intermission. Performances are Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 8; Saturdays at 3 and 8. Tickets are $18 and are available at irondale.org. For more information visit brontosaurushaircut.com.

Convention is by Danny Rocco. Directed by Shannon Fillon. Set Design by Taylor Friel. Lighting Design by Erin Feil. Sound Design by Megumi Katayama. Costume Design by Jen Raskopf. Stage Manager is Elizabeth Hathaway Emond. Produced by Brontosaurus Haircut Productions.

The cast is Brandt Adams, Ashley Alvarez, Claire Anderson, Christina Bottley, Paul Blaise Corning, Charles Everett, Alaina Fragoso, Kyle Fitzpatrick, Ginnie House, Greg Hudson, Matt Hurley, Nina Kova, Michael Leon, Kathleen Littlefield, Sue Kim, Ally Musmeci, Michael Pantozzi, McLean Peterson, Catherine Pulley, Jessica Rogers, Becca Schneider, Danny Serpati, Lizzie Stewart, Sarah Sutliff, and Adrienne Witt.

(This review was published on theasy.com on June 25th) 

Tribeca Immersive 2019: "The Key"

After The Key won the Storyscapes award at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival it was nearly impossible to make it onto the list of timed entry. But even before the announcement, it was not easy since this experience is designed for only one person. There were two identical sets built at the Virtual Arcade to accommodate two visitors simultaneously. So what made The Key so popular amongst both audiences and jury? Some might say it’s the pressing political topic. Some might like it for the successful combination of interactive VR and live performance. To me, it was an unexpected and somewhat controversial blend of fiction and documentary narratives. It took me by surprise and deeply affected me, I was in tears after the 15-minute session. I realize that I owe much of the affect to the fact that I managed to stay away from any knowledge of what this experience is actually about. Honoring the future viewer’s right to keep the suspense I advise you to not read any further if you want to keep the mystery. Otherwise, here is my account of the experience. 

The Key at Tribeca Immersive. Photo by Asya Gorovits

There are two types of “booths” at Virtual Arcade, open and enclosed. In the first type, the participants are visible to the passers-by, they are brightly decorated to advertise the experience and sometimes are the work of art by themselves, like a giant jellyfish of Drop in the Water. But there is a number of fully enclosed booths firing everybody’s imagination. They often involve actors, sets and plot twists that the creators don’t want to reveal to the passersby. But, to the side of that, the physical walls provide a safe space for the viewer, allowing for the honest, unmasked emotion and interaction. Stepping inside the tightly hugging walls might lead to a cathartic experience. The Key is one of those experiences.

When I approach the facade of the booth where The Key takes place, I can’t help but stop for a minute to study dozens of skeleton keys of whimsical design decorating the wall. The attention put into the tiniest details of the design of the physical space is impeccable. When I enter the small room I face an actor wearing a simple white dress, her hair braided, her gaze calmly focusing upon me. She doesn’t speak but I hear her voice through the speaker resting on my clavicle bones like a necklace. Her name is Anna and she shares that she has trouble remembering her past but she hopes to reconnect with it through her vivid dreams. The screenshots of them are on several screens along the walls, each is no bigger than a desktop monitor. Anna asks me if I can help to unlock her memories, and once I agree, puts the VR set on me. 

I am inside Anna’s animated dreams now. I am in her house playing with her three companions, colorful and perky living “spheres” with which I am prompted to interact using a controller.  The play time is interrupted abruptly and I am thrown into a series of gloomy, nightmarish scenes. In the flat and mostly monochrome reality, I face alien-looking creatures like myself and various monsters. There is not much that I can do in order to defeat them or protect other creatures, the feeling is devastating. But the nightmare ends eventually and I get a short moment of a blissful ending only to fall deeper into the despair the next minute. I learn that my little VR journey was all but a cover-up fantasy of post-traumatic stress of a refugee girl. When I emerge from the VR dream, I meet eyes with the actress again. I burst into tears as those eyes represent the eyes of all people who were forced away from their destroyed houses and counties shaken by war and violence. I sob while I swipe pictures on the screens. The images from the dreams are now replaced by the documentary black and white photos and short paragraphs of statistics. This is not the first time that I encounter this sort of information. But the way it is framed is certainly new and very impactful. As I “unlocked the mystery of the key” I am handed my own skeleton key with the word “love” instead of the bit’s usual grooves. Giving away a physical token after the experience is a great way to anchor the experience and Celine Tricart, the creator of the piece learned this lesson of immersive theatre well. It is a presentation of the piece that can use some reframing.                     

From the very design of the facade and a one-line description on the festival’s website, The Key starts out as a beautiful fairytale but then crushes you with real-life trauma. I found the discrepancy between the way the experience presents itself and its content somewhat ambivalent. I admit that this had a cathartic effect on me largely because the reveal of the secret was a surprise. But is it fair to assume that anybody is up to this kind of surprise? 

The Key

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The Key (World Premiere) – USA, Iraq

Project creator: Celine Tricart

Key collaborator: Gloria Bradbury

Duration: 15 minutes

(This review was published in Meniscus Magazine on 6.16)

Tribeca Immersive 2019: "Into the Light"

At Tribeca Virtual Arcade the majority of experiences use VR. That’s why I was surprised when upon approaching Into the Light I wasn’t offered a Virtual Reality headset. Instead, I am handed noise-canceling headphones and an iPhone with Traverse app on it. Although this site-specific experience by Jessica Brillhart and Igal Nassima has a visual component, it is mostly an auditory journey through Bach’s “Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 2 in D Minor,” performed by the legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and through multiple levels of Spring Studios, the festival hub.

Into The Light at Tribeca Immersive. Photo by Asya Gorovits

Within the small group of five participants and accompanied by the guide we embark on an exploration of the soundscape, which starts from the dimmed space of the Virtual Arcade itself, winds through the monumental iron-cast staircases and ends with a breathtaking view of Tribeca from the rooftop. At each location we are supposed to scan a marker, either held by our guide or mounted on the wall, to start a new musical chapter. 

By holding the phone vertically we can enjoy the dynamic AR art by Sougwen Chung, weaved into the actual physical space. By holding the phone horizontally we can see the dot representing Yo-Yo Ma in each location. Moving towards or away from the musician allows us to experience sound as phenomena, occupying certain space, a concept so simple and yet so fresh. As I move closer to the epicenter, the music gets louder. Until finally something quite phenomenal happens. Once I line up with the cello, I can clearly hear the sound as if I am inside the instrument, enveloped by its wooden walls. But if I make a half step sideways I suddenly hear somebody else's heartbeat and it becomes evident that I am inside of Yo-Yo Ma’s head!                  

Into the Light offers a radically new way to experience music. It allows the listener to interact with it by regulating the special relationship with its source. And although the famous cellist isn’t physically there, the spatial recording provides a strong sense of his presence. Combined with abstract AR artwork, the experience opens new and exciting ways to experience the familiar. Even the movements of the members of our group became performative. Cued by the flow of the music and visuals, as well as graceful motions of our guide, we glide through space as if we are dancers, regardless of everybody’s choreographic background. What a beautiful way of collective listening! My only regret is the short length of each part and the necessary pauses between them to scan the next marker. This somewhat removes the listener from the immersion and will hopefully be addressed as Brillhart’s spatial audio design technology develops.

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Into the Light (World Premiere) – USA

Project creators: Jessica Brillhart, Igal Nassima

Key collaborator: Yo-Yo Ma

Duration: 25 minutes

(This review was published in Meniscus Magazine on June 5th)

Tribeca Immersive 2019: "Traitor"

Some of the most interesting experiences that I had the chance to encounter in Virtual Arcade, Immersive branch of the Tribeca Film Festival, use VR technology only as one of the narrative devices. One such experience is Traitor, the brainchild of Pilot Theatre and Lucy Hammond. This espionage thriller for two audience members and two performers combines live action, interaction, puzzle-solving, and Virtual Reality and is incredibly successful in meshing them.   

Traitor at Tribeca Immersive. Photo by Asya Gorovits

As soon as my partner and I enter the room we are immediately put to work. Without skipping a beat, Commander Harris announces that we are the new recruits of the Digital Espionage Division on a mission to find a teenager spy Emma McCoy, who disappeared eight hours ago and might be in great danger. We must find her quickly and have to act in complete secrecy. In a rapid and tense voice, the commander points out the evidence attached to the case. The content of Emma’s backpack is arranged on the shelf in zip-lock bags. The maps of the locations across Great Britain connected to the case are displayed on one of the stands. The most promising clue is a thumb drive with a game that was found among Emma’s belongings and we are offered to begin with it. 

My partner puts on the VR set. But the simple-looking game of rolling the ball into a target is not so easy for him because the controllers that allow to move objects in the game are under my fingers. By pushing buttons and joysticks on a massive black console I can clearly do something but I can’t see what exactly. So my partner and I have to communicate to each other what he sees and what I do in order to be efficient in solving the riddles. At some point, we switch and now I am doing my best to be descriptive of what I am seeing in VR while my partner assists on the console.   

The puzzles are not too difficult to figure out and there is a second actor in the room with us who gently directs our attention in the direction of the answers if we falter. But the time is ticking and Commander Harris pops in occasionally to check on our progress in her uncompromisingly demanding manner. As we progress in solving the case of a disappeared teenager, we find new layers to it and soon are faced with a dilemma: do we finish the job that we were hired to do or do we follow our own instinct? The decision was made unanimously. 

Traitor is swift and intense. The half-hour flies by incredibly fast and it feels packed; not only because of the number of puzzles that you need to solve, but also due to the sense of urgency conveyed through live performances and the ticking timer. Only by working together can the participants solve the puzzles and thus move the story along. There are moments where each needs to lead and the other one needs to follow. Each position, be it in the “parallel dimension” of VR or by the console, provides a set of clues, and only by piecing them together can the whole picture be assembled.

It was especially interesting to go through Traitor with a complete stranger. I noticed that I got impatient when my partner wasn’t describing what he sees in VR clearly enough. But by design of Traitor, I couldn’t do anything on my own so I had to put my ego aside and do my best at spotting my partner and “back leading” in this dance. Besides being an entertaining and thrilling political drama, Traitor also reminds its participants about the importance of tolerance in an attempt to work on something together.

Traitor

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Traitor (World Premiere) – UK

Project creators: Pilot Theatre, Lucy Hammond

Key collaborators: Matt Stuttard Parker, Richard Hurford, Rebecca Saw, Lydia Denno, Jonathan Eato.

Duration: 30 minutes

(This review was published in Meniscus Magazine on May 27th)

Tribeca Immersive 2019: "Gymnasia"

Gymnasia crept onto me even before I put on VR set on and “stepped” into the abandoned school inhabited by ghosts and mechanical puppets. A puppet with a giant head on top of the projection table floats along the Virtual Arcade and sways her hands gracefully as if she is conducting an unseen choir to hypnotize passersby. I curiously follow the lady. I step into the booth and there is a small waiting area inside where a puppet boy with green skin keeps me company. The crumpled note sheets are rustling underneath my feet. Projections of shadowy silhouettes of children racing occasionally flash across the walls of the room. An assistant dressed in a lab coat helps me into the VR set. 

Gymanasia at Tribeca Immersive. Photo by Asya Gorovits

                  

I find myself in the middle of the abandoned gym with basketballs scattered around the floor. For some time I just marvel at the detailed textures of decay in this animated world created by Clyde Henry Productions in collaboration with Felix & Paul Studios. But soon the space around me starts to come alive with inhabitants both unseen and visible. The familiar doll on top of the projecting table peaks into the room. The green skinned boy emerges next to me as I am suddenly in the middle of the stage now looking down at the same auditorium. The puppet on top of the projector uses it to projects sheets of music and sways her hands. The boy next to me starts singing. I can see the world in 360 degrees but I can’t move. Am I also some kind of puppet serving in this school even long after the humans have disappeared?  

Gymnasia has the liquid quality of a surreal dream. The sound design consisting of invisible children playing and the green boy singing creates an eerie atmosphere of a horror film. Myriads of questions are buzzing inside my head: What is this place? Why is it haunted? Did something horrible happen to the children? How and why do the puppets maintain their autonomy? Hardly any questions get answered during this six-minute experience. I get out of the VR confused and intrigued like after an odd dream. For now, Gymnasia seams like a teaser to a bigger story. I hope this is what it is and I will be first in line to see how Clyde Henry Production will further develop the fascinating world that they have created.    

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Gymnasia (World Premiere) – Canada

Project Creator: Clyde Henry Productions

Key Collaborators: The National Film Board of Canada and Felix & Paul Studios

Duration: 6 minutes

(This review was published in Meniscus Magazine on May 19th)

Review: “Little Women”

Kate Hamill champions the right of queer teenagers to be what they want in her new adaptation of Little Women.

After triumphant adaptations of literary behemoths like Pride and Prejudice and Vanity Fair, actor-playwright Kate Hamill takes a stab at the American children’s classic, Little Women. The beloved story of four teenage sisters growing up during the Civil War is treated with love and care, yet is modernized to appeal to a 21st-century audience. I am sorry to disappoint those who expect "Louisa May Alcott on steroids": You won’t find the sky-high levels of irony and absurdity that have become Hamill's signature. However, the force of the compressed and restructured source material is still present, this time fueled with gentleness and kindness rather than social criticism.    

Kate Hamill, Carmen Zilles, Ellen Harvey, Paola Sanchez Abreu, and Kristolyn Lloyd
in Little Women. Photo by James Leynse.

It seems like Hamill has packed nearly all the wild energy carried over from her previous productions in the character of Meg, whom she plays herself. Unexpectedly, the oldest sister becomes a neurotically tense and angry source of comic relief to the play. Every other scene turns into gag comedy (attending a high society dance) or sad clownery (complaining to Jo about the burden of marriage and motherhood). The oddness of this performance becomes especially evident when contrasted with other characters, most of whom are rendered seriously. But the presence of some over-the-top minor characters (Mrs. Mingott, Aunt March, Parrot) keeps Meg from completely mismatching with the otherwise coherent portrait of the March family.  

Amy, the “spoiled brat,” is portrayed by Carmen Zilles with gusto similar to Hamill’s, but with more likability. Gentle Beth (Paola Sanchez Abreu) is written, as in the novel, as practically a saint. And then of course there is Jo, the second sister, the tomboy, the character inspired by Alcott herself. Kristolyn Lloyd does an incredible job bringing this beloved character to life. Quick-witted, humorous and feisty, Jo parades about the stage in men’s attire for the majority of the play (costumes are by Valérie Thérèse Bart). She occasionally throws on a mustache even when not rehearsing for the sisters' at-home theatricals, and drives her entire family insane with her sharp tongue and snappy temper.  

The play is framed by Jo writing about her life, dedicating her novel to Beth. The memory play structure justifies the broad choices made by the actors, as directed by Sarna Lapine: the caricature of a heterosexual relationship in the romance of Meg and Brooks (Michael Crane), Amy’s obnoxious obsession with next-door-neighbor Laurie (Nate Mann), and Beth’s "canonization." The two-level set by Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams puts Jo’s writing desk and Beth’s bed on opposite sides of the upper level, leaving the first floor more flexible for transitions.

Jo’s search for her own path as a sister, friend, woman and writer becomes the central theme of Hamill’s Little Women. A queer teenager's coming of age story, it manages to be relevant without taking too many liberties with the 19th-century novel—until it drops Alcott’s plot midway through (spoiler alert). It was Hamill's goal to make sure that young people coming to terms with their sexuality and gender identity see themselves reflected in classical literature; hence, in this Little Women Jo neither marries a man nor abandons her writing, offering the audience an alternative, modern ending for this iconic character.

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Little Women plays at the Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street, through June 29, 2019. The running time is 2 hours 15 minutes with an intermission. Performances are Tuesdays through Fridays at 8; Saturdays at 2 and 8; and Sundays at 3. Tickets are $82 - $102 and are available at primarystages.org or by calling 212-352-3101. For more information visit cherrylanetheatre.org.

Little Women is by Kate Hamill, based on a book by Louisa May Alcott. Directed by Sarna Lapine. Produced by Primary Stages in association with Jamie deRoy. Set Design by Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams. Costume Design by Valérie Thérèse Bart. Lighting Design by Paul Whitaker. Sound Design by Leon Rothenberg. Music by Deborah Abramson.

The cast is Paola Sanchez Abreu, Michael Crane, Kate Hamill, Ellen Harvey, John Lenartz, Kristolyn Lloyd, Nate Mann, Maria Elena Ramirez, and Carmen Zilles.

(This review was published on theasy.com on 6.17.19)