Hi folks,

About a decade ago, I attempted to write a children’s production of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex.  Which, if you’re not familiar with Greek Myths (Oedipus kills his Daddy, marries Mommy, and blinds himself), is really horrible idea for a children’s musical.

The result, Oedipus for Kids!, has been published, sold out and extended its initial run, was called "A spoof of children’s theater with some truly funny songs and endearingly loopy performances from a cast of just three” by the New York Times, and has had productions around North America.  This is a TV reviewer for Good Morning Arizona referring to it as being “pee-in-your-pants-funny” and making the KTVK morning host uncomfortable.  I’ve been told they strongly dislike each other in real life.  I digress.

Oedipus for Kids is coming back to NYC for a one-night concert edition at the famous Feinsteins/54 Below on Saturday, November 18^th at 11:30pm.  It’s common to ask people to come support a thing because I wrote it, but this is the one show that people should stay up late for because I’m certain you’ll love it. 

Tickets are available at https://54below.com/events/oedipus-kids-concert/ 

But maybe don’t bring your kids.  Bad parenting is just bad parenting.

Shakespeare in the Square, a group of performers that originally began as an NYU student club, is exiting the university setting with a 2-hour (not counting intermission) production of the First Folio version of Romeo and Juliet, and the result is a swift production played by a cast of five that is one of the more captivating R&J’s I’ve seen in years.  

You may not be familiar with the first Folio—it’s the version without the opening “Two Households” scene, so don’t be alarmed if it feels that SITS has cut it.  In fact, they haven’t cut a single word of this edition—the two hours is performed at a speed that creates an energy matched by the excellent performances of this small troupe.  

Being a cast of five, each obviously doubles or triples or quadruples in roles; of particular note are Jack De Sanz, who is hilarious as Juliet’s nurse and equally wonderful as the Friar, and Constantine Malahias who has all the fun as Mercutio but changes himself completely to play Juliet’s father and others.  Each time either of these two actors are onstage they have reoriented their body stance, their every gesture to the point where you begin to lose count how many actors are actually in this troupe.  Unfortunately this only underscores the occasional beginning-of-scene confusions as to who is playing who for some of the other actors, unless you know the play well enough.  Director Dan Hasse has made much of the minimalist platforms in the Judson Gym and his staging is dynamic enough to make up for the sparseness, but he could have done well to have had costume designer Liz McGlone give Elise Kibler something visual to further distinguish her Benvolio from her heartbreaking, affecting Juliet.  

The overall feel of the production is exciting, particularly the way it evokes the feel of a small Shakespearean troupe making the most of so little.  Audience members sit directly on the stage, music is played leading up and during intermission, and you’re bound to catch a cast member beginning a scene standing right behind you if you don’t pay attention.  Of course, this sort of ad-hoc approach is needed when you staunchly refuse to cut a material that sorely needs cutting, even if Hasse insists that cutting is a “crutch”.  In order to squeeze in under the two-hour wire, many of the excess repetitions in speech are simply sped-through, which is a disservice to a very talented troupe.  There are two types of Shakespearean actors, those who convey the general meaning of the lines, and those who understand each word as if it were their first language, and SITS’s comprising of the latter is what makes this production worth seeing.  

ROMEO AND JULIET plays through February 8 2015 at The Gym at Judson.

Last week I had the pleasure of taking in "Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812" in its new uptown location. I sort of had no idea what I was going in to see; I knew it was based on a section of War and Peace, a book I will probably never pick up, but other than that I walked in unaware of much beyond the great word of mouth I'd generally heard. 

The story isn't really the important part compared to the immersive atmosphere, but it mostly centers around Natasha, a young Russian girl who finds herself smitten with another man while her fiancée is off fighting in a war. The story is told in a Russian café setting where you can order food and drinks before the show and during intermission, and the atmosphere, costumes, and music all skillfully employ that thing where one foot is grounded in 1812 and the other foot in modern day setting. 

This was one of those shows I truly enjoyed despite myself. The lyrics don't even attempt to rhyme or hit any recognizable meter, as if an untouched translation forced to fit uncomfortably in music, occasionally making much of the words hard to discern. But the music is wonderful and evocative of the time period without being cliche or pastiche!  The entire character of Pierre barely deserved to be in the title as he was almost a nonentity. But the atmosphere was fantastic and rich!  Pierre could have had more time for an arc to be developed if some minor characters were cut, as they were not as much fun as the prologue advertised they'd be. But look, your waiter brought you some pirogies!  You love pirogies!  I imagine that future "traditional" stage productions of the show may not fare quite as well as what elevates the show to worthwhile is the truly stunning production and atmosphere.  

The show might be worth seeing just for the rousing prologue alone. Aware that the Russian source material is teeming with characters who are difficult to keep track of, each one is hilariously introduced through an opening number that occasionally assures you that if you get lost, your program's relationship diagram will get you back on track. It's like an Ahrens and Flaherty opening if they had traded sentimentality for sarcasm, and it's brilliant. I wish that sort of focus had been afforded to some other parts of the show, but nonetheless it remains a wonderful evening and I recommend seeing it quickly before it closes, which I've heard rumors of....