[duncanalisstmp]

I noticed that there is a new Playbill feature called "Their Favorite Things" in which members of the theatre community are asked to share the shows that most affected them as part of the audience.

I thought that was an interesting question. So - What are your favorites?

Mine...

Betty's Summer Vacation by Christopher Durang
In which a young woman's summer share on the Jersey Shore goes ridiculously wrong. More disturbing than the murders, rapes, dismemberments, jellyfish stings and disastrous games of charades is the fact that their house has its own laugh-track that takes an increasingly sadistic joy in the guests' pain. A hilarious, energetic show that was sadly prescient about the oncoming reality of "reality".

Les Freres Corbusier Present Boozy - The Life, Death, And Subsequent Vilification Of Le Corbusier And, More Importantly, Robert Moses by Juliet Chia, David Evans Morris, and Alex Timbers
In which the life of city planner and power broker Robert Moses is told through a pastiche of talk shows, bible stories, movie clips, live bunny rabbits (dressed as Hitler and FDR), dance numbers, Talking Heads songs, remote control car races, game shows and film noir. Strange, smart and fun.

The Chairs by Eugene Ionesco
In which Richard Briers and Geraldine McEwan as an old, worn out couple in an old, worn out room, ready themselves to pass on their knowledge to a room full of old, worn out chairs before they go. The section in which they set up the dozens of chairs for their throngs of imaginary visitors went from humorous to uncomfortable to grotesque. I will never forget it. This production, masterfully performed and produced, was amazing. I left the theater feeling like I was kicked in the stomach by nihilism. (In a good way.)

Coram Boy by Helen Edmundson
In which 40 actors took on 2 and 3 roles each to perform a sprawling epic about 18th century British children, focusing mainly on the relationship between two boys of different classes. The show was good - the staging was amazing and inherently theatrical. With minimal sets they created a forest, a ship at sea, an underwater seascape - beautiful, affecting moments out of movement, sound and lights.

God's Ear by Jenny Schwartz
In which a couple mourns the loss of their son. Deadened by the loss, unable to connect or communicate in any meaningful way, they speak in strings of cliches, rhymes, platitudes, and aphorisms. Less about plot and more about the feeling, the rhythms and ebbs and flows of the empty chatter build to a beautiful and sad weight. Brilliantly staged, brilliantly acted and brilliantly written, though very funny throughout, it left me feeling like there was a hole in my heart.

Happy Days by Samuel Beckett
In which a woman, buried to her waist in a scorched, post-apocalyptic landscape, goes through the motions of her tedious, happy day. Fiona Shaw gave a heartbreaking, hilarious, nuanced performance. (This was the third version I saw and I'll probably never see another. This was the perfect, definitive production for me.)

The Ladies by Anne Washburn
In which a playwright and a director explore women and their relationship with power through the lives of four dictator's wives, Elena Ceausescu, Imelda Marcos, Eva Peron and Madame Mao. Less concerned about facts than capturing the essences of their personalities, the show was a pastiche of transcripts, songs, documents, and A Doll's House. Two actresses play the director and writer, acting out the development of the play; the Ladies helpfully act out scenes from each other's lives. (Six wonderful actresses who I will [and have] see in whatever they choose to do.)

Letter Purloined by David Isaacson
In which 26 scenes, each assigned a letter of the alphabet, are randomly drawn by audience members, determining the order in which the show is performed that evening. A mystery, in the vein of Othello, the Purloined Letter, and The Last King of Scotland, harps on the ideas of order, logic and meaning in a show that is in a different order every night. Depending on which order you see, some mysteries are solved in the first scene, and introduced in the last, but the whole picture only comes at the end. A brave, exciting experiment that (in my eyes) made for a thrilling, satisfying experience.

Never Swim Alone by Daniel MacIvor
In which two men, frenemies, are put through their paces by a girl in a swimsuit. In a dozen or so rounds they're obligated to compete with each other in "being men". Running, swimming, romancing a woman, schmoozing with the boss, penis size, just life in general, they have to get the audience, and the girl in the swimsuit to like them better. The reason why, as it becomes clearer throughout the show, adds a bit of soberness to what seems at first like a light, sketchy show. Effective use of repetitions and audience interaction, and a glib tone for a serious subject.

The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh
In which a writer living in a police state is questioned over the content of his stories - horrific tales in which children are murdered in terrible ways - because they begin to happen to children in the surrounding area. Part storytelling, part interrogation with a fanciful reinactments of the tales, it was one of the darkest shows I've seen with some of the most effective, thrilling jump-out-of-you-seat scares. While still somehow being funny. And the final story, of the Pillowman, was brilliantly conceived and executed.

Shockheaded Peter by Julian Bleach, Anthony Cairns, Graeme Gilmour, Tamzin Griffin, Adrian Huge, Martyn Jacques, Adrian Stout
In which the 1845 German children's book of dark cautionary tales Der Struwwelpeter, is brought to life by frightening singing Victorian clowns. As much a comedy as a horror show, it included tales about thumbsuckers having their thumbs snipped off a girl who liked to play with matches being consumed by fire, all set to the falsetto accordion songs of the Tiger Lilies. Eerie lighting, shabby costumes, off-scale sets and terrible ghostly make-up all made for a macabrely fun show.

Thom Pain (based on nothing) by Will Eno
In which a man tries. This solo-show, which almost seemed like a depressive's stand-up act, a man alternately and disjointedly weaves the tales of a boy growing into a man, a man finding love, and a man fucking up his life. It was witty, smart and had such delicious word play.


I reserve the right to change/add to these in the future. (And I sincerely hope that theater producers give me a reason to.)