Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – The show must go on!: Molière in the Park and Alice Ripley brilliantly rally through adverse conditions

• By drediman
• June 2, 2021
• No Comments

For me, one of the exciting things about live performance is its famous insistence that the show must go on. Over the last week or so, I attended a pair of in-person performances that admirably exemplified this spirit of resilience and hardiness by brilliantly rallying through some adverse conditions and, in the process, produced moments of unexpected, delectable delight. You can’t do that on television!

ALICE RIPLEY: RIPLEY’S GREATEST HITS
The Green Room 42

The first of these occurrences was Alice Ripley’s cabaret show at the Green Room 42, during which the venue’s air conditioning system gave out shortly before the performance (I had written about the concert previously in a more detailed review, but it seemed apropos to revisit the memory again here). Because the temperature outside was a scorching 90+ degrees, the conditions in the club were positively sauna-like, and not in a pleasant way. But instead of keeling over, the feisty Tony-winner used the sweaty circumstances to fuel some remarkably in-the-moment banter, as well as inspire some hilariously on-point choices in her song interpretations. The end result was one of the most memorable shows I’ve seen the freewheeling Broadway diva give.

TARTUFFE
Molière in the Park / The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) / Prospect Park Alliance

Then a few day later at the LeFrak Center in Prospect Park, I attended an outdoor staged reading of Tartuffe, courtesy of Molière in the Park (in association with FIAF and the Prospect Park Alliance). Even before the performance commenced, it was clear that strong thunderstorms were imminent. Indeed, after a couple of valiant false starts, it was clear that the show needed to transfer under a roof or be cancelled altogether. Luckily, the show was able to pick up and move next door to the covered skating rink at the LeFrak Center, which was fortunately free at the time. Sans amplification and freed from the restrictions of having to deliver lines from podiums, the accomplished cast (many of whom have substantial Broadway and TV credits) embraced the challenge and delivered deftly comic performances, complete with inspired moments of unscripted physical improvisation.