4Play

By Ben Wolfson

11th Grade, Hunter College High School

Okay, so you’ve had a long day and you have too much homework. Or maybe you’re sick and tired of having nightmares about college applications. Or perhaps you’re just looking for something to do…

If this even vaguely describes you, then 4Play, performed by The Flying Karamazov Brothers, is just what the doctor ordered. It’s got everything needed to cheer you up and distract you from your troubles.

The show centers on juggling, but not the boring meh-he’s-a-street-performer-of-reasonable-skill type juggling. Rather, it’s juggling that’ll have you sitting on the edge of your seat, fearing for the lives of the Brothers as they perform difficult routines — including juggling with their eyes closed.

Maybe you’re not a juggling fan and you’re contemplating putting down this article. Please don’t! Amidst their juggling extravaganzas, the Brothers work in funny skits and jokes. Furthermore, hecklers are welcome to scream out their remarks.

If there happens to be some free time on your schedule, don’t dally and procrastinate. Instead, let more qualified professionals do it for you, in a doubtlessly more entertaining way.

TICKETS: $20 • Minetta Lane, 18 Minetta Lane, www.4playtheshow.com

Fuerza Bruta

by Ben Wolfson

You would think a show with the title “Brute Force” would be about street thugs and cocaine smugglers. Wrong. Fuerza Bruta is about the collective experience of participating in an audience. There is no plot, no main character, not even a spoken word. And there are no seats.

The lights come on. A man in a white suit runs on a treadmill. A shot rings out. The man kneels over, examines his red stained suit, sheds it, and keeps running. Soon he is hit by a wall made  of confetti-filled cardboard  boxes. The confetti and box  pieces fly over the audience.

You move to another  part of the stage, where a wild  dance party begins. The guy next to you starts head  banging, even the man in  the fancy suit starts tapping his foot. The actors jump into  the audience and dance with you.

A pool of mermaids descends from above and you crane your neck to see with a sense of wonder. The pool is shallow and it starts to rain. The girls start diving and whirling, the shallow water allows for infinite grace. There is art in the way the water follows them, splashing in hypnotizing formations. The pool descends over your head; you can reach up and touch it. You are invited to dance as you get doused from above with water.

As you walk out of Fuerza Bruta, you feel you know everybody in the cast and the audience. The only thought in your head: “Let’s do that again.”

Tickets: $25 general rush • Daryl Roth Theatre, 101 E. 15 St.

Our Town

by Ben Wolfson

“ ”. That’s the most poignant moment of Our Town. You didn’t catch that? Here, I’ll say it again, “ ”. You probably think there is a spelling mistake or that the wrong article was published. Let me explain.

In order not to spoil the whole play for you (not to mention the third act, which is so vivid, due to its profound moments of induced introspection and self-evaluation), I’ll summarize it in a sentence: Boy in suburban town meets girl, they get married and then the third act.

The few props onstage are used creatively. For instance, one of the chairs is put on the table to symbolize the second story of the house. The actors are so in tune with their characters that they seem to have grown up in Grover’s Corners.

The “ ” is silence. Funny how a show can be so loud when nothing is said. The silences in Our Town puncture the fabric of the fourth wall* and, just like the Stage Manager who narrates the play, the silences tell us of the deeper woes, thoughts and feelings of the characters.

If you’re a teenager looking for a show with humor and heart that will give you a new found respect for life, see Our Town. You won’t regret it.

*Fourth Wall: The invisible line that divides the actors from the audience.

HOW TO SEE THE SHOW: $20 student rush • Barrow Street Theatre, 27 Barrow St.