"The Bad Arm: Confessions of a Dodgy Irish Dancer;" "Bobby and Matt: Passing Notes Through Life;" "Wilhelmstrasse"
9/13 – ”The Bad Arm: Confessions of a Dodgy Irish Dancer” (FringeNYC Show) Written and Performed by Maire Clerkin 9/13 – “Bobby and Matt: Passing Notes Through Life” (FringeNYC LGBT Show) Written by Kevin Cochran 9/13 – “Wilhelmstrasse (FringeNYC Show) Written and Directed by Stuart Caldwell
Reviewed by David Roberts and Joseph Verlezza (“Joseph’s Jolts”)
Monday’s Round-Up of reviews finds one of the above plays far-and-away the most successful; one almost successful and one in need of revision. Here goes.
From David –
Maire Clerkin’s “The Bad Arm” is a must-see for FringeNYC viewers this season. Although the piece has been around since 2008, garnering recognition and awards at a variety of Fringes and Festivals, it remains a fresh work with much to recommend it. Successfully employing a variety of extended metaphors, Ms. Clerkin challenges her audience members (as she initially challenged herself) to proceed through life toward their various goals without allowing external or internal “impediments” to stand in the way. The dance extended metaphor draws on Clerkin’s experiences as an Irish Dancer (closeted and out) and challenges labels that might prevent one from being successful in life. She teaches us to dance from where we have been (often stuck somewhere on our stages) to where we know we need to be. And although our past never quite leaves the quality of our turnout or our statuesque height, the future toward which we twirl never quite significantly alters the heart of our routine. Now we need to visit that “bad arm.” What a wonderful metaphor for all those stumbling blocks that have tripped us upon the way from there to here! For Maire and for us there has more than enough neglect, indifference, self-doubt, repression, even abuse. Maire “Pat” Clerkin serves as our teacher and adjudicator leading us forward and forward and forward again, turning, turning, til it turns out right.
Now Joseph’s Jolt –
Visit Maire and her family and friends. Learn, understand, and connect as her life touches your heart. Most of all, be entertained by her explosive energy, presence, dancing, and the realization that we all have “bad arms.” Just hope you still have time to get a ticket. A Must-See.
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From David –
Also about a personal life journey intended to counterpoint with our own journeys, Kevin Cochran’s “Bobby and Matt: Passing Notes Through Life” does not fare as well as it should. Two skilled actors sit motionless at two music stands with the script of the play before them. They read all of the “correspondence” between Bobby and Matt from grade school days to their eventual marriage in 2004. The content of the script is important and covers the many roadblocks society has continued to place in the lives of GLBT individuals. However, there is (sadly) nothing new either in the script or in the stories shared by Bobby and Matt. As one whose personal journey counterpoints that of these two wonderful characters in profound ways, I left wanting so much more than I experienced.
Joseph’s Jolt –
When theatre revisits old material, situations, and subject matter, one can only hope the effort will take on a new spin and different outlook to address the invented problem. The question here is not who wins the argument but why there is an argument in the first place. Nothing new here except a slow-paced, re-hashed, sometimes contradictory production.
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Joseph’s Jolt serves as the review for “Wilhelmstrasse.”
The concept of Stuart Caldwell’s “Wilhelmstrasse:” done before. The actors Giordona Aviv and Nick Masson: believable and talented at their craft. The script: a history lesson from the 1960’s to the present in ninety minutes. The result: flat, old information. Theatre-goers want and expect more. Sorry, no jolt here.
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Tickets are $15.00 and can be purchased online at www.fringenyc.orgby phone at 866-468-7619 up to 24 hours before the performance, in person at FringeCENTRAL (1 East 8thStreet at Fifth Avenue). Tickets are $18.00 at the door and can be purchased 15 minutes before each performance (cash only) at Venues 8, 13, and 16.
Permalink | Posted by David Roberts on Sunday, August 14, 2011
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