Laughing Around Town with Larry Litt
The Art of Love
By Robert Kornfeld
Directed by Tom Thornton
Theater for the New City
155 First Ave., NYC
Jan 12 to Feb 5, 2006
Angry Young Women In Low-Rise Jeans With High-Class
Issues
The Duo Theatre
62 East 4th Street, NYC
Jan 19 to Feb 25
The Accidental Pervert
Triad Theater
156 West 72nd St., NYC
Feb 2 to Feb 24
Three shows I saw in the last week pointed to a direction that Americans should be very nervous about. The assorted and very diverse themes were ancient Roman history in The Art of Love, contemporary women's susceptability to advertising and fashion dictates in Angry Young Women in Low Rise Jeans with High-Class Issues, and self reflection in The Accidental Pervert.
Each show presented its case for comedy in easy to understand language, but harder to explain motives.
The Art of Love
By Robert Kornfeld
Directed by Tom Thornton
Theater for the New City
155 First Ave., NYC
Jan 12-Feb 5 2006
The Art of Love tells the story of Ovid, the Roman poet and playwright's last days in Rome and during his exile tot eh furthest corner of the Roman Empire. His crime was refusing to refute his own works that dealt with sexual promiscuity and social manipulation. James Nugent as Ovid gave us a convincing portrait of a lawyer turned artist who couldn't submit to the pressures of politics. He was therefore disgraced, his works forbidden to be owned and read. He was permanently separated from his family in exile. Sounds a bit like the fatwa on Salomon Rushdie declared by the Muslim imams for his similar crimes against the politics of Islam. Stephen Francis as Tiberius the Emperor who used logic and threats when confronting Ovid gives us a portrait of unbridaled power. I think he could have ordered Ovid's execution without any guilt, all for the order of the State of Rome.
I studied Ovid, the first century Roman erotic poet and playwright, in CUNY grad school. His subjects were sex, love, romance, advice on deflowering virgins and cheating on spouses in an ancient Rome rife with comedy and impudence.
In that ancient, ribald city of indulgent extremes why, Robert Kornfeld asks, would the incredibly popular and widely-read Ovid be exiled to the furthest, unsophisticated ends of Imperial Rome?
If he lived today he'd more than likely be exiled to that smarmy, un-Christian, disorderly publishing genre where Hustler and other men's magazines are islands of dissent and sexuality without any political influence. It's there that ads for sexual performance aids meet phone sex ads for the lonely and bored. Not a shred of the romantic encounter that Ovid cherished as the ultimate human occupation.
How to make order out of chaos in ancient Rome is analagous to making order out of corruption, degeneration of mores and fear in 21st century America. Politicians will sacrifice edgy artists who transgress the desired codes of conduct.
Angry Young Women In Low-Rise Jeans With High-Class
Issues
The Duo Theatre
62 East 4th Street, NYC
Jan 19th to February 25th
Complaints come in all sizes and shapes, but in this five one act showcase of Matt Morrilo's theater writing they come in the bodies of beautiful women.
Jessica Durdock (Part I: My Last Thong) is a very capable actress who's monologue character Soliel is obsessed with the current New York fashion world's demands. She espouses the obvious contradictions, both to college learned feminist politics and her own rather conservative world view. My problem is Soliel's lack of generosity, a conservative trait captured only too well by Morillo. In Soliel's world there's not enough room for experimenting teens and age defying mothers. She's caught in a beauty trap and instead of welcoming new ideas and visions rejects them and by association her link to progress. Morillo knows how easy it is to slip into the reactionary mode. Soliel is heading there, hopefully to see how rejectionism is equally as narrow as acceptance of social and personal change.
Playtime in the Park, Part II of the quintet, is a study in women's hypocritical friendships. Are women obsessed with romance just to prove their ever young and attractive? Can recently romanced young women face the competition from experienced and more aggressive older women? Should they be competing in the first place? These are some of the questions asked and answered by Morillo's characters in this high energy encounter on a park bench. Rebecca, played by Angelique Letizia, is making out with Ronnie, Nicholas J. Coleman, who is merely another conquest in Rebecca's string of romances. She's still attractive and he's willing to accept affection. So what could be wrong? Along comes Sarah, played brilliantly by Devon Pipars, a whining, insecure manipulative twenty something who needs to talk to Rebecca about an unstated something. The women are adversaries for many reasons not the least of which is their ability to attract and control men. Glamour is a risky business when your ego is being attacked, but Rebecca fends off Sarah for the moment. On the other hand Sarah's youth and rebellion is in her favor. Or is it? Growing up is hard to do when you need love.
Jessica Durdock returns in Part III titled Unprotected Sex as a young wife going on the pill for the first time. She wants to please her sports loving husband Brian, played by Major Dodge with comedic anguish and brutal honesty. However, her hormones get in the way. In an extreme way, according to comedic formula. This sketch is the least truthful bit because it's premise is that birth control pills drive women mad. Once again Morillo's conservative view takes precedence over facts. We're given a premise that is supposed to be funny because the young husband is suffering just consequences from his own unnatural desires. Joe, Brian's best friend coyly played by Thomas J. Pilutik, is a mere foil in this drawing room comedy of pharmaceutical errors.
Doting divorced fathers and naïve, trusting dating daughters are the topic of the Miseducation of Elissa, the fourth piece and a monologue for actress Rachel Nau. Morillo is clearly sympathetic to women in this study of one woman's disappointment with men. She claims she was treated too well by her father after he left home. I want to know where her mother was. Was she dere?, as the old joke goes. Nice to have a more well-rounded view of the Elissa's complaint.
The clIncher of the quintet is The Nude Scene. Morillo examines
low budget film making clichés in his funniest and most complex piece.
Jennifer (Devon Pipars) is an actress doing her first nude scene. She is
needy, very needy. She needs a drink. She needs a friend. She needs not
to get naked. She needs to get naked to make this film. She confused and
ready for anything. In Morillo's hands the director, one Spencer played
by Thomas J. Pilutik, is a caricature of independent filmmaking. He's
confused, he's needy, he's cheap and he makes personal, stylized
films for elite audiences only. He, his cameraman Kristoff (Jason Drumwright)
and the overly testosteroned male star, Barry played by Major Dodge) are
again foils for a smart, wise cracking critical woman. In prances Katy,
friend of Jennifer and clearly a slut from the get go. But a manipulative
slut without an ounce of shame in her criticism of Spencer films and filmmaking.
The scene gets hilarious as they antagonize each other into revealing their
innermost desires. This sketch could be expanded into a very timely comedy
triumph.
The Accidental Pervert
Triad Theater
156 West 72nd St., NYC
Feb 2 to Feb 24
Some people grow up with no self reflection skills. Some grow up with too much self reflection which makes them self indulgent. And others grow up to see themselves as subjects of one person shows where they reveal the most intimate aspects of their lives thinking it's theater. Such is the presentation by Andrew Goffman in his monologue, The Accidental Pervert.
A child of divorce who discovers his father's secrets and goes on to have a pretty good life, including tons of sex and love. But, it's his teenage angst and guilt got the best of Andrew. He's actually a putz in wolf's clothing. Or more honestly a putz in hand.
This is a show for those who think a stage is a therapeutic transfer station leading to fulfillment. Yes, there are a few laughs at Andrew's expense. Bit all in all Andrew is just another comedian who thinks his life is funny, or rather funnier than another comedian who thinks the same. This is dorm talk for boys who can never express themselves too much.
A wonderful, but rarely practiced on stage, part of self reflection is self editing. Perhaps its time to learn the skill.
| museums | NYTW mail | recordings | coupons | publications | classified |