The Holes @ the Wild Project

-


The Play: The Holes; a shaggy satire about gentrification, masculinity and the need to believe in something set in a rundown upstate bar with a mysterious backroom

Written by: Max Wolf Friedlich        Directed by: Michael Herwitz

One good thing: The four-member cast is firing on all cylinders with Tina Benko giving a wonderfully gonzo performance as a busy-body barfly, Grantham Coleman hamming it up to just the right degree as a know-it-all tech bro up from the city, Jack Mulhern quietly stealing every scene he’s in as a clueless townie and Bubba Weiler, providing nuanced ballast for all the surrounding wackines as the reluctant barkeep

One not-so-great thing: So many balls are thrown up in the air that too many storylines get dropped, too many situations are left unresolved and nearly all the themes are under-explored

 

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reunions @ New York City Center Stage II

-
Image
The Play: Reunions; a slight musical adaptation of two separate one act-plays set in the 19th century and centered around former lovers encountering one another years after their failed romances Book & lyrics by: Jeffrey Scharf          Directed by: Jimmy Calire One good thing: Chip Zien and Joanna Glushak are entertaining as two crotchety old people who pretend not to remember one another when they’re forced to share a park bench One not-so-great thing: While there’s nothing really wrong with this show, there’s nothing that makes it special either    
Read more

Tartuffe @ New York Theatre Workshop

-
Image
The Play: Tartuffe; the second version this fall—this one a post-modern adaptation—of the 17th century satirical farce about a hypocritical holy man who tries to dupe a wealthy family out of its fortune   Written by: Moliere    Adapted by: Lucas Hnath        Directed by: Sarah Benson One good thing: Tapping into the contact list of great comic actors she assembled during her nearly two decades heading up Soho Rep, Benson has put together a cast of downtown faves—Lisa Kron, Emily Davis, Francis Jue,  Ryan J. Haddad,  Amber Gray —who all look to be having great fun swishing around in Enver Chakartash’s over-the-top costumes and performing Raja Feather Kelly’s intentionally fey choreography. Even Matthew Broderick—simply dressed in Pilgrim drag and giving his usual deadpan performance—seems to be having a good time as the titular scoundrel One not-so-great thing:   The revised script: too many of its rhyming couplets are predictab...
Read more

An Ark @ The Shed

-
Image
The Play: An Ark; ; a mixed-reality piece in which viewers strap on high-tech goggles to watch the holograms of four actors—including Ian McKellen and Golda Rosheuvel, the imperious Queen Charlotte in Netflix’s “Bridgerton” series—appear in a 47-minute performance in which they recount an everyman’s life from birth to afterlife   Written by: Simon Stephens        Directed by: Sarah Frankcom       Produced by: Todd Eckert One good thing: It’s cool to watch the holograms and almost impossible not to smile as they seem to make eye contact and reach right out to you One not-so-great thing: It’s scary to watch the holograms and think that this simulacrum of live performances is where theater might be heading    
Read more