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These huge arts festivals can be overwhelming — how to figure out what's worth seeing? CP's sending someone to nearly every event PIFA's putting on over the next month to help you decide, so check back with Critical Mass all month long for comprehensive, ongoing reviews.
SHOW: From the Swamp to the Stars
GENRE: Theater
GROUP: No Face Performance Group
ATTENDED: March 30, 8 p.m., AUX Performance Space
CLOSES: April 14
TICKET PRICE: $20
BRIEF SELF-DESCRIPTION: “It’s code red in the situation room as President Reagan lies on a gurney, waiting for the mask to drop. Who’s responsible? ... A Washington manhunt turns into a cosmic fever dream while the fate of the free world hangs in the balance.”
WE THINK: Directed by Gedney Barclay with a choreographer’s eye for movement and synchronized image, From the Swamp to the Stars is not so much about the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan as about cultural transition, lost faith, new idealism (and cynicism), media saturation and American hysteria. It’s a mélange of late-Cold-War-era miscellanea, vintage Hollywood and GE footage of The Gipper, musical interludes, outbursts of pop culture ranging from David Byrne to Paul Schrader to Prince, and surreal hallucinations which remind one of what Robert Plant affectionately called “the deep and meaningless.” All of this is given levity by Justin Howe and Jaime Maseda, who ham it up gleefully as Reaganite suits, Russian underground nightclub impresarios, and, in Maseda’s case, Travis Bickle/John Hinckley Jr.
But the real stakes are embodied in Mark McCloughan’s Caroline and Anna Szapiro’s Red, one a washed-up chanteuse and the other a true believer so convincing she nearly turns Reagan’s farewell address into catharsis. But soon the play returns to where it began, four thanatoids framed inside Droste inducing rectangular prosceniums, sitting in thrall to the tube where they might very well be watching us watching them watching themselves…
PREVIOUSLY IN PIFA: A Houdini bio only scratches the surface.
These huge arts festivals can be overwhelming — how to figure out what's worth seeing? CP's sending someone to nearly every event PIFA's putting on over the next month to help you decide, so check back with Critical Mass all month long for comprehensive, ongoing reviews.
SHOW: The Life (and Death) of Harry Houdini
GENRE: Theater
GROUP: EgoPo Classic Theater
ATTENDED: Fri., March 29, 8 p.m., Plays & Players
CLOSES: April 7
TICKET PRICE: $32
BRIEF SELF-DESCRIPTION: "After a lifetime of death defying escapes, Houdini is ready for his final curtain call. You will be there to distinguish reality from fiction — if you can."
WE THINK: A surprisingly straightforward ensemble-created work from EgoPo and director Brenna Geffers gives us Harry Houdini's story, from humble beginnings as Jewish immigrant Eric Weiss to international stardom as an escape artist. Robert DaPonte (shown) fascinates as the tortured, driven title character, but the 75-minute collection of biographical highlights doesn't plumb Houdini's depths, particularly his obsession with debunking spiritualists like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Houdini's attachment to his mother, his resentment of his father, and his rocky relationship with his wife are all referenced, but ultimately fail to coalesce into the life-after-death insight promised. I wanted more Houdini: not just explanation of his damaged psyche, but insight into his often-discussed, never-seen escape skills. Most effective is Geffers' use of the century-old Plays & Players space: the audience sits on stage, with the theater's 380 red seats and decaying murals as backdrop, a ready-made tribute to vaudeville.
PREVIOUSLY IN PIFA: Azuka Theatre's slightly confusing (but moving) tribute to Billie Holiday and Frank O'Hara.
These huge arts festivals can be overwhelming — how to figure out what's worth seeing? CP's sending someone to nearly every event PIFA's putting on over the next month to help you decide, so check back with Critical Mass all month long for comprehensive, ongoing reviews.
SHOW: Everyone and I
GENRE: Theater
GROUP: Azuka Theatre/The American Poetry Review
ATTENDED: Friday, March 29, 7:30 p.m., Hamilton Garden at the Kimmel Center
CLOSES: April 7
BRIEF SELF-DESCRIPTION: "July 17, 1959: Billie Holiday dies and Frank O’Hara pens one of his most beloved poems — an intersection of elegy and love letter — “The Day Lady Died.”"
WE THINK: First, just go read the poem first. We even linked it for you, right there. ...OK? Ready?
On a stage split evenly between a grassy patch in East Hampton and a jazz club in the city, Frank O’Hara (Mike Dees) and Billie Holiday (Kimberly S. Fairbanks) take turns sharing anecdotes with the audience about loneliness, romance, and the creative process. Frank and Billie never interact in this script by American Poetry Review editor (and Philadelphian) Elizabeth Scanlon, but weave in and out of each other’s monologues at thematically similar points. Perhaps more compelling conceptually than in execution, this feature underlies the show’s biggest weakness: Its two narratives sometimes feel disjunct, or inadequately paralleled.
But towards the end of Everyone and I, O’Hara has a poignant line about reception to his poetry that works as a metaphor of sorts for the show as a whole. “It doesn’t matter if anyone understands. They’ll still be moved if you’re doing it right.” I didn’t always understand what Everyone and I — structurally, narratively — was trying to achieve. But I did feel moved when the house lights came down on Dees reciting the last, shuddering line of “The Day Lady Died.”
PREVIOUSLY IN PIFA: St. Matthew's Passion, Philadelphia Orchestra
SHOW: Dust to Dust: A Brief History of Religious Violence
GENRE: Theater/stage combat
GROUP: The 95 Runagates
ATTENDED: Thursday, March 28, 8 p.m., First Unitarian Church
CLOSES: Sunday, April 14
BRIEF SELF-DESCRIPTION: "A series of the best violence set in churches throughout history."
WE THINK: Jesus vs. the devil! Charles VII vs. Joan of Arc! A bunch of gossipy Irish Catholic schoolgirls vs. ... each other! While not all strictly religious, Dust to Dust is something of a mixtape of some of the most memorable stage fight scenes (with varying Christian overtones) in theater history. Half of these are from Shakespeare, but aside from the raucous scene from Romeo & Juliet (in which Romeo and Paris hurl each other into the church pews), J. Oliver Donahue’s fight choreography hit hardest from the less classic works. Producer James Kiesel and Donahue’s steel-clanking swordfight as Jesus and Satan from The Wakefield Mystery Plays fulfilled the badassery quota, while Jess Brownwell, Terri McIntyre and Annie R. Such tussled in the best and most hilariously indulgent teen-girl fight (above) I’ve seen since 10th grade.
These huge arts festivals can be overwhelming — how to figure out what's worth seeing? CP's sending someone to nearly every event PIFA's putting on over the next month to help you decide, so check back with Critical Mass all month long for comprehensive, ongoing reviews.
SHOW: J.S. Bach, St. Matthew Passion, opening night performance
GENRE: Classical music
GROUP: Philadelphia Orchestra with Westminster Symphonic Choir, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
ATTENDED: Thursday, March 28, Kimmel Center
CLOSES: Saturday, March 30
BRIEF SELF-DESCRIPTION: "Rare local performance of a baroque masterpiece."
WE THINK: Bach’s St. Matthew Passion is the Sistine Chapel of music; it is so overflowing with beauty and meaning, all three hours of it, that it can almost be overwhelming. This Philadelphia Orchestra performance, their first in thirty years, was presented in such a way as to organize the drama, while not mitigating the gorgeous sheen of the music. It was made to flow in a theatrically cogent way, mainly via the use of minor blocking by the solo vocalists. The singers were not asked to “act,” per se, but to move about the raised stage, which was placed in the center of the orchestra, following the course of the passion play.
The instrumental ensemble itself was divided into two chamber groups that sometimes played separately, and elsewhere as one, and was abetted by a therobo and a gamba in the continuo, as well as two chamber organs. Yannick Nézet-Séguin found a delicate yet fulsome texture in this unusual grouping, and chose beautifully measured tempos, allowing the music to breath naturally. The singing was superb, with special praise going to the wonderfully nuanced tenor of Andrew Staples, in the central role of the Evangelist.
View galleryIt’s a beautiful July 4, 1912 in the floating city of Columbia. Parade floats of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Ben Franklin glide across the sky while a barbershop quartet nails the harmonies in The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows.” Wait. What?
I’d like to take a minute to talk about Philly author Buzz Bissinger and his self-outing-essay in GQ, his sexual self-repression and his addictions to couture shopping and, more specifically leather. That he may be psychologically scarred and driven to dangerous compulsion (and cow hides) that he feels requires therapy and care: do it. Get help. Bravo. I applaud the self-awareness. That he wrote about an addiction to high end shopping — in a GLOSSY MEN’S MAGAZINE — yeah, that seems a spurious thing, even though the advertising possibilities (say with his love/need for Gucci) could have been endless. (Note to self, find a similar synergy with Tom Ford’s ad reps and start talking). The bigger problem is how media outlets act as if men don’t shop for fine high end clothes? REALLY? Isn’t the media’s obsession with everything from Mad Men to Neil Patrick Harris’ character on How I Met Your Mother based on the sartorial splendor of the peacock-ing male. Read TIME.com (if you must) and you’ll find why Time is so radically out of date. Call me, boys. I do nothing but shop for clothes. And Buzz, come shopping with me and my friends. We’ll get you in to some nice suits and away from leather. As a friend of mine said, “no 59-year-old man should wear leather unless he’s a Jim Morrison impersonator.”
A short documentary on the Philly punk/DIY scene, house shows in particular, made by Temple film students Evan Lescallete and Luke Proctor. (Earlier I attributed the film to Kristine Trever-Weatherston. She's their film professor. Sorry about that.)
In this week's cover story A.D. Amorosi writes about the Lipsius family and its klatch of labels that helped put Philly soul on the map. Although Guyden/Jamie/Arctic/Phil-L.A. no longer exist, Frank Lipsius is determined to keep his father's music alive. On Cooler Than Ice: The Arctic Records Story, a freshly minted and extensive box set, some of Philly's brightest stars perform their earliest tunes.
1) It's hard to believe, but Della Humphrey was only 12 years old when she recorded "Don't Make the Good Girls Go Bad."
2) Kenny Gamble dropped several singles on Arctic, including "Chains of Love."
3) A Temple University student at the time, Daryl Hall recorded his early singles with the Temptones, among which was "Something Good."
4) The Volcanos' catchy, Motown-inspired tune, "(It's Against) The Laws of Love" was released in 1965.
5) Better known for "Yes, I'm Ready," Arctic's first hit, Barbara Mason's "You Better Stop It" showcases a powerhouse voice.
6) A traditional gospel group, the Brockington Chorale Ensemble's "How I Got Over (Part 1)" was included on Arctic's second long-playing release.
Every few weeks, Critical Mass will feature one Philly love note in its collaboration with blogger Emma Fried-Cassorla of phillylovenotes.com.
I AM: Kevin McKenzie, creator of Amusing My Bouche and a sales consultant currently stranded in Maryland.
MY LOVE NOTE:
Someone was honking their horn.
I lay there, eyes still closed as the sunlight did its best to try and coax me from sleep. My head was throbbing mildly, a gift from the German beers I had imbibed the prior evening, and I was sure a few more moments of slumber could hold the impending headache from hell at bay. But...now this...
Someone was honking their horn.
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