PxP wants to know...
What is the best play you saw in 2009?
Why was it so great?
Tell us in the comments!
What is the best play you saw in 2009?
Why was it so great?
Tell us in the comments!
12.29.2009
12.21.2009
Groovaloo
by Marlyn Palomino & Mitzi Sanchez
Marlyn: GROOVALOO is a group of young people expressing themselves through freestyle dance. Although each story is different, the characters are connected by the desire to be heard and to be who they want to be. Each character has his or her own identity and passion, which they are able to discover by accepting themselves. They use their talents to learn from their mistakes and turn them into something positive.
Mitzi: It is an amazing performance. The dancers dance for laughter, tears, madness, fears and hope. They create their dreams through movement. It is incredible how someone can express every little part of life by dancing. GROOVALOO uses dance as communication between body and soul, to express what is too complicated for words.
Marlyn: The characters show us that in life, nothing can come easily. There will always be challenges and tough choices. Many of the people around us might not agree with the things we believe in and that is always going to affect us and create obstacles, but we can never give up on our goals because they are our spirit. We were born with this spirit and it makes us unique. We should fight against the barriers and negative voices that are trying to bring us down.
Mitzi: The message of the show is dare to dream. No matter what, you should never give up on your dreams.
Marlyn: The energy is so contagious that you want to dance with them onstage.
Mitzi: The flips, the coordination, every detail of GROOVALOO is spectacular. I learned that dance is like someone’s pulse, heartbeat and breathing. It is the rhythm of life. It is the expression of happiness, joy, sadness, and even envy.
Marlyn: I highly recommend GROOVALOO to teenagers because it shows us how to express our feelings and envision the talents and strengths that we have. We all have our own story, and admitting it without shame is a way to heal many of the things that have been hurting us. It is important for teenagers to learn how to step up and seek the things we want.
HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $25 tickets • Union Square Theatre, 100 E. 17th Street
12.18.2009
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
by Nunny Reyes
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs truly unlike anything I have seen before. In theatre, it is natural to expect dialogue, a rising climax, and perhaps a twisted plot. While watching this dance performance, I realized that I needed to forget my expectations for a play when I watch dance. Dance is all about letting go and just being able to experience what is occurring onstage at that moment.
The show was broken up into three acts highlighting the advancements of African Americans and the Harlem Renaissance. The costumes were vibrant and the stage was constantly changing in order to depict a different street or a new jazz club. Each performer looked physically different, but they were united when they danced. This was apparent in the dance of three Harlem Renaissance divas. The three divas each wore a different dress of black, gold or red. Although each diva had a different singing style and costume, the moment that the music began, they each expressed the same passion for dancing. Without missing a beat, these three powerful women made the stage theirs and invited those in the audience to clap and be a part of the performance as well.
HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: thru Jan 3rd • $10 student rush • W. 55th between 6th & 7th Ave.
Alvin Ailey Dramaturgy
by Jahnesha Huertas
The mission of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is to establish a cultural community that emphasizes the humanity and beauty of African American heritage and diverse cultures to unite people of all races, ages, and backgrounds. Founder Alvin Ailey began creating pieces that drew from his Texan background that emphasized the blues, gospels and spirituals. He called these inspirations ‘blood memories.” Throughout his lifetime, Ailey created 79 ballets and emphasized that the mission of his company was not only to showcase his original works, but to recreate works of the past that were important for modern audiences. In all, over 200 works by more than 70 choreographers have been performed by The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
12.11.2009
The Understudy
By Monikha Reyes
What if...you were always second best?
When I received a call from a distressed editor who needed a replacement to see a show at the last minute, I was hesitant; it was my day off and all I wanted to do was rest. However, by 1:42 PM I was at the theatre, and as Harry (played by Justin Kirk) began to speak, my other thoughts disappeared. That’s when I knew that this play was going to be good.
The Understudy follows Harry, the struggling actor; Jake, the movie star; and Roxanne, the stage manager. When Harry arrives for his first rehearsal as Jake’s understudy, no one is more shocked than Roxanne and with good reason—she and Harry were once engaged, until he left without a word two weeks before the wedding! Add a stoned techie (whom we never see) and a bit of Kafka, and you’ve got a recipe for a delicious disaster.
The Understudy follows Harry, the struggling actor; Jake, the movie star; and Roxanne, the stage manager. When Harry arrives for his first rehearsal as Jake’s understudy, no one is more shocked than Roxanne and with good reason—she and Harry were once engaged, until he left without a word two weeks before the wedding! Add a stoned techie (whom we never see) and a bit of Kafka, and you’ve got a recipe for a delicious disaster.
The relationships between the three very different characters unfold right before your eyes. The “mistakes” of the lights (including a blackout) and sound only add to the mix—the more mess-ups there are, the more you laugh.
The Understudy is a joy to watch and leaves you satisfied. Even though I began as an “understudy critic,” I felt an ache in my chest as I left the theatre because I wanted to watch the whole thing again!
HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: thru Jan. 17 • 1/2 price student rush • Roundabout Theatre, Laura Pels Theatre, 111 W. 46th St.
The Understudy Dramaturgy
by Sabrina Khan
Theresa Rebeck’s The Understudy, a satirical comedy about the least coveted role in a play, portrays theatre’s social pyramid through the imaginary pages of a nonexistent Franz Kafka play. 20th century Prague fiction writer, Kafka, is known for his magical realistic manner of writing that exhibit a senseless direction. His major works are The Metamorphosis (1912), The Trial (1925), and The Castle (1926), all of which are alluded to in The Understudy. To express this magical realism, their protagonists undergo strange experiences in a dream world that they cannot escape from. Kafka manages to make these stories sound completely credible.
Born in 1883 into a large and dysfunctional middle-class Jewish family, Kafka developed a brooding and pessimistic outlook apparent in his novels. He held a few “bread jobs,” as described by his overbearing father, for doing things just to pay the bills. He also studied law and earned a degree in the subject. He worked as a law clerk for civil and criminal courts and learned a great deal about the government and justice system, which he heavily incorporated in his novels. Later in his life, he suffered from tuberculosis and left his works to close friend, Max Brod, whom he’d met in law school. He’d asked Brod to burn them, but luckily, Brod did just the opposite, and we owe him for the incredible contributions Kafka has made to literature.
To better understand the underlying concepts of The Understudy, one must understand the essence of Kafka’s texts. Kafka’s works convey a distortion of family, a lack of trust in the law, and a pessimistic view of bureaucracy (which he saw as a tangled web deceiving citizens). For instance, Josef K, the protagonist in The Trial, is caught in this web when he is convicted of certain charges and never learns the nature of his crime. The character known only as K in The Castle, is a man who struggles with authorities for a job in a castle and eventually dies before competing the task. Tragic hero, Gregor Samsa, is a man who becomes an insect overnight in The Metamorphosis, and faces a family that he realizes barely cares for him although he has sacrificed all his wishes just to satisfy their needs.
Jake and Harry’s fictional role in The Understudy envelops all three of these characters. Both share a part that shows a despairing and alienated man undergoing an investigation before ultimately losing his mind.
Theresa Rebeck’s The Understudy, a satirical comedy about the least coveted role in a play, portrays theatre’s social pyramid through the imaginary pages of a nonexistent Franz Kafka play. 20th century Prague fiction writer, Kafka, is known for his magical realistic manner of writing that exhibit a senseless direction. His major works are The Metamorphosis (1912), The Trial (1925), and The Castle (1926), all of which are alluded to in The Understudy. To express this magical realism, their protagonists undergo strange experiences in a dream world that they cannot escape from. Kafka manages to make these stories sound completely credible.
Born in 1883 into a large and dysfunctional middle-class Jewish family, Kafka developed a brooding and pessimistic outlook apparent in his novels. He held a few “bread jobs,” as described by his overbearing father, for doing things just to pay the bills. He also studied law and earned a degree in the subject. He worked as a law clerk for civil and criminal courts and learned a great deal about the government and justice system, which he heavily incorporated in his novels. Later in his life, he suffered from tuberculosis and left his works to close friend, Max Brod, whom he’d met in law school. He’d asked Brod to burn them, but luckily, Brod did just the opposite, and we owe him for the incredible contributions Kafka has made to literature.
To better understand the underlying concepts of The Understudy, one must understand the essence of Kafka’s texts. Kafka’s works convey a distortion of family, a lack of trust in the law, and a pessimistic view of bureaucracy (which he saw as a tangled web deceiving citizens). For instance, Josef K, the protagonist in The Trial, is caught in this web when he is convicted of certain charges and never learns the nature of his crime. The character known only as K in The Castle, is a man who struggles with authorities for a job in a castle and eventually dies before competing the task. Tragic hero, Gregor Samsa, is a man who becomes an insect overnight in The Metamorphosis, and faces a family that he realizes barely cares for him although he has sacrificed all his wishes just to satisfy their needs.
Jake and Harry’s fictional role in The Understudy envelops all three of these characters. Both share a part that shows a despairing and alienated man undergoing an investigation before ultimately losing his mind.
12.10.2009
Finian's Rainbow
By Desmond Sam
What if...you had to walk in someone else’s shoes?
Finian’s Rainbow is a musical full of breathtaking moments that capture a time of racism and segregation. The show follows Finian McLonergan and his daughter, Sharon, as they leave Ireland and travel to Rainbow Valley, Missitucky to bury gold. Og, the comical leprechaun that Finian “borrowed” the gold from, follows them to Rainbow Valley. The land is owned by Woody and his sister Susan, who is mute and only communicates through dance. Woody and Sharon are drawn to each other, which causes some problems. A racist senator tries to steal the land from Woody and the sharecroppers working the land, but Og transforms the senator into a black person so he can fully realize the outcomes of his actions. Finian’s Rainbow contains a cultural diffusion of musical genres like Irish folklore, jazz, blues, gospel, country and a little Frank Sinatra. The choreography is very jazzy, except for Susan, who uses classical ballet. So to every genre of music, Susan brings grace and beauty. Each dancer moves with elegance and power; each lift is done effortlessly. The sharecroppers bring life, passion and joy to the show.
Finian’s Rainbow is fulfilling with its breathtaking choreography and brilliant score. It is a union of what could be with what dreams are made of.
HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $27 student rush • St. James Theatre, 246 W. 44th St.
Finian's Rainbow Dramaturgy
By Jahnesha Huertas
Finian’s Rainbow was originally produced in 1947. One part of the story is that a leprechaun turns a racist senator into a black person to understand the hurt he has caused. In the original production, the white actor playing the senator wore black-face to show his magical transformation from a white man to a black man. This caused bad press for the show because people thought it was encouraging racism. Not just audiences agreed, but the NAACP was also angered by what they perceived was a negative portrayal of blacks. In the current revival, two different actors have been cast to solve this problem - a white actor portrays the senator before his transformation and a black actor portrays him after the magical occurrence.
Finian’s Rainbow was originally produced in 1947. One part of the story is that a leprechaun turns a racist senator into a black person to understand the hurt he has caused. In the original production, the white actor playing the senator wore black-face to show his magical transformation from a white man to a black man. This caused bad press for the show because people thought it was encouraging racism. Not just audiences agreed, but the NAACP was also angered by what they perceived was a negative portrayal of blacks. In the current revival, two different actors have been cast to solve this problem - a white actor portrays the senator before his transformation and a black actor portrays him after the magical occurrence.
12.09.2009
Avenue Q
By Sarah Schlesinger
What if...you couldn’t find your purpose?
Avenue Q is a funny, thought-provoking musical. The cast includes humans and puppets who live and work together. This seemingly childlike puppet world is filled with the problems and practicalities of adulthood. The puppets and their human friends all attempt to follow their dreams and to find their life purposes. Some characters have knowledge of their dreams, but are unable to attain them, while others seek to understand themselves and who they want to become. The characters are lovable and are very easy to connect to.
The musical is based on the style of Sesame Street, even using two televisions on the sides of the stage to play the show’s opening theme and to emphasize certain points with cartoons. Despite this, Avenue Q is not appropriate for children.
With songs that are funny, frank and extremely catchy, I highly recommend Avenue Q to teenagers.
HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $26.50 rush tickets • New World Stages, Stage 3, 340 W. 50th St.
12.08.2009
Memphis
By Dalia Wolfson
What if...you weren’t heard?
Do you remember a time when the radio ruled and TV hadn’t taken over? No? Me, neither, but Memphis will take you back through a whirlwind of rock ‘n roll music, when waves of sound were changing the nation. Set in the 1950’s, Memphis tells the story and the song of black music making its way into the mainstream, granting its performers greater acceptance through their melodies.The musical centers around a flabby-tongued white disc jockey who publicizes and falls in love with a black singer struggling to be heard. Throughout the streets, kitchens and radio stations of Memphis, the two lovers struggle with the identity of their relationship as it pivots between racism, career opportunities and the society at large.
Memphis proves music to be a unifying, transcendent medium. Black music—blues on fast-forward and gospels on high intensity—is absorbed by the white population, melting the core of racism as the purity of human sounds is heard on the radio.
HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $26.50 student rush • Shubert Theatre, 225 W. 44th St.
12.07.2009
Fela!
By Amy Leon
FELA! takes place during the 1970’s in The Shrine, the concert hall of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, one of the most popular musicians in Africa at the time. He talks to the audience as if we were seated in The Shrine itself. The theatre is full of vibrant decorations, making it feel like we are actually there.
Fela’s original Afrobeat music is heard not only in Africa, but around the world. He doesn’t plan on staying quiet about the problems he sees around him, which sometimes gets him into trouble. With the lyrics original no artificiality and corruption and tradition is the government’s teacher, he describes the corrupt behavior of the Nigerian dictatorships.
The songs are strong and captivating and the dancing shows the beauty of African culture. Though these sounds and movements narrate the story, the play is most powerful within its silences. It is when the music lingers that you can hear the silent screams of pain underlying the colorful production.
FELA! shows the impact that music can make in the world and reminds us that words and a good beat have more power than violence.
Fela’s original Afrobeat music is heard not only in Africa, but around the world. He doesn’t plan on staying quiet about the problems he sees around him, which sometimes gets him into trouble. With the lyrics original no artificiality and corruption and tradition is the government’s teacher, he describes the corrupt behavior of the Nigerian dictatorships.
The songs are strong and captivating and the dancing shows the beauty of African culture. Though these sounds and movements narrate the story, the play is most powerful within its silences. It is when the music lingers that you can hear the silent screams of pain underlying the colorful production.
HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $27 general rush • Eugene O’Neill Theatre, 230 W. 49th St.
Fela! Dramaturgy
by Christa Tandana
Fela Kuti was a singer, composer, political and human rights activist, and musician. He was considered a pioneer of funk and inventor of Afrobeat music, a mix of jazz, funk, and African influence.
Born in Nigeria in 1938, Fela was raised by his political activist parents. He changed his middle name to Anikulapo, which means "he who carries death in his pouch”. At the age of 20, he was sent to London to study medicine, but studied music instead. There, he formed a band called Koola Lobitos, which he later renamed “Nigeria ‘70” and “Africa ‘70”. Through this band, Fela gave birth to Afrobeat and took the world by storm. In 1969, Fela took the band on a 10-city tour in America.
Both Fela's music and his lifestyle were provocative and controversial. Whether people liked him or not, they knew who he was. He thrived off of controversy and activism and lived in rebellion to society and the government. He formed a commune in Nigeria called the Kalakuta Republic, which he declared was independent from the country. He believed in polygamy and, at one point had 27 wives.
Fela opened up "The Shrine," a nightclub, where he would perform for hours on end. His music was often politically charged. One song, Zombie, attacked the Nigerian military on their methods:
Zombie no go go, unless you tell am to go.
Zombie no go stop, unless you tell am to stop.
Zombie no go turn, unless you tell am to turn.
Zombie no go think, unless you tell am to think.
Tell ‘em to go straight.
Due to his loud political voice, the Nigerian government sanctioned an attack on Fela's compound in 1977. Soldiers violently beat Fela and his wives and threw his mother out a window. They burned down his commune, including his instruments and master tapes.
Fela died in 1997 of complications from AIDS, but his contributions to the society and the world of music put him down in history as one of the greatest African icons.
Fela Kuti was also not your average person and neither is the show based on his life.
Read a review of Fela here!
12.04.2009
Sound Off: First Play
PxP wants to know...
What is the first play that you saw?
How old were you?
What did you think of it?
Tell us in the comments!
12.01.2009
Burn the Floor
By Melissa Miranda
Burn the Floor was an energetic and suave performance unlike any other show on Broadway because it doesn’t have a storyline, only ballroom dancing.
Burn the Floor opened my eyes to many different styles of dancing. There was the Cha Cha, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot, Swing, Samba, Lindy, Jive, Rumba, Quickstep, and more. The dancers had perfect technique and made the dancing look effortless – I wanted to get up and dance, too! The performers made contact with the audience with their facial expressions and by dancing in the aisles. The dancers’ costumes glowed onstage and the lighting made the colors pop.
I would recommend Burn the Floor to anyone who is a dancer or who has an interest in dance. It is an important production for a young person to see because it is unique and shows how much time and effort goes into making a dance performance. It takes perseverance, strength, confidence, and a lot of practice.
This is one of the best Broadway shows I have ever seen because it’s all about dance – and I love to dance. Burn the Floor gets two thumbs up from me!
HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $26.50 student rush, 2 per valid ID • Longacre Theatre, 220 W 48th St.
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