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RAT Big Cheap Gossip
I flew back east from Seattle Wednesday night after a too short visit with
some Annex friends. Heading into its third week the Annex's production of
Jeff Jones' Dirty Little Secrets is really rocking the house now. The play
is a scenery chewer for actors and the cast is having great time with it.
Although the Back Stage reviewer did find the various levels on which the
script is meant to perform, all the reviewers from the local papers so far
have been clueless on how to approach this play and production.
http://www.backstage.com/ShowGuide/la/sla2000081662748.asp
The feigned objectivity and pithiness of newspaper reviews of theatre
productions has turned the entire genre into a kind of peanut gallery
gossip. Most often these low rent tabloid monologues on theater are
annoyingly worthless except for the PR clips they generate. Of course the
whole PR machine itself is antithetical to core of most theaters' mission.
Same as community in most ways stands in opposition to fan-dom. I believe
that maturity in theatre work means to care less and less about reviewer
claptrap even as you learn the intricacies of the machine that produces it.
But at least half of each of us is a fan. We all enjoy watching our
superstars perform. Part of the good life is sitting on our fat asses
drinking Bud Light with friends and talking all that stupid talk. And
hasn't the Survivor Game Show has always been playing somewhere in the
background of our lives?
The gods disappeared when mortals quit praying to them. Likewise
celebrities disappear when fan-dom quits gossiping about them.
Theater exists somewhere between the gossip and the prayer. Best when it
belongs more to infamy than to fame. Remember when Old Nick dissected the
anagram ELVIS LIVES in his performance of Naked Elvis. He was given the
richer anagram of SANTA SATAN.
In summary, today's Big Cheap Gossip is that Jeff Jones' play Dirty Little
Secrets is a must-see in Seattle. It's playing thru Sept. 9. Also word
on the street in New York is that the legendary Carlos is truly Bad Ass in
his performance at HERE. 2 days only! See press release below.
--nick
******************************
...The HERE Arts Center's American Living Room 2000 festival has
gathered approximately 1,000 artists together for a medley of directing
projects, solo shows, puppetry and other works. The result is a
performance series unlike any other. The Undermain Theatre is pleased to
join HERE's extraordinary festival with a piece by longtime collaborator
Erik Ehn.
GOLD INTO MUD by Erik Ehn A boy journeys to find his fortune and
the Giant of fairy tale legend. The Giant, however, painstakingly reverses
the alchemical process until nothing is what it seems. An iron rooster, a
greedy fox and a shadow lover are some of the characters that populate the
allegorical landscape in this play by renowned playwright Erik Ehn. Gold
into Mud is performed with music, spectacle and the epic grandeur of an
Undermain Theatre production.
Director: Bruce DuBose The Cast: Includes Nick Brisco, Cameron Cobb,
Newton Pittman and Suzanne Thomas Dates: August 26th and 27th, 2000
Curtain: 8:00 pm nightly Box Office: (212) 647-0202 Tickets: $12.00
($8 for HERE members) Make Reservations Online at www.here.org Venue:
HERE Arts Center 145 6th Avenue New York, NY 10013 For more
information, call the HERE Arts Center at (212) 647-0202; fax: (212)
647-0257 or online at either here@here.org or www.here.org.