Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – James & Jerome’s THE CONVERSATIONALISTS is the storytelling duo’s most theatrical and elaborate creation to date

• By drediman
• January 23, 2020
• No Comments

James & Jerome in “The Conversationalists” at the Bushwick Starr. Photo by Marcus Middleton.

James Harrison Monaco and Jerome Ellis – together, simply known as James & Jerome – have emerged in recent years as one of the most idiosyncratic and compelling storytellers in town. Instead of focusing on “factual” accounts (e.g., Mike Daisey, Anna Deavere Smith), their brand of speechifying boasts involved fictitious flights of fancy, as well as integrated use of music (Mr. Ellis is a trained jazz musicians) and endearing tics. Last night at the Bushwick Starr, I jumped down the latest James & Jerome-dug rabbit hole, a twisty, intertwining narrative concerning three primary characters – a Latina pop star beyond her prime, her precocious son, and an introspective middle-aged Palestinian man.

Having been beguiled by their quirky, immersive works at numerous points over the past few years (at venues like Joe’s Pub and, of all places, the Metropolitan Museum of Art), I knew I was in for something that would be out of the box. Well, The Conversationalists is just that and might be James & Jerome’s most theatrical work to date, a hybrid performance piece that’s influenced in equal measure by the monologue tradition, music concert (the work features superb instrumental and vocal contributions from an onstage band), and international cinema. The narrative involves layers upon layers of fiction, a dizzying array of perspectives, and sophisticated cinematic cross-cutting designed for the mind’s eye. In a way, these guys embody the modern-day Scheherazade, spectacularly spinning tales that demand an audience’s engagement and invariably seduce.

The production has been sinuously yet generously directed by Annie Tippe, whose staging embraces the work’s elaborate construction. The one glaring collective misstep, which occurs well into the show, is the segment in which Mr. Ellis steps out of the narrative to wax philosophical and preach to the choir. Suffice to say, it stops the spellbinding flow of the piece dead in its tracks and pushes the running time of The Conversationalists to well over two hours, sans intermission. Nevertheless, our two guides are such passionate, exuberant storytellers that one is likely to forgive them in final assessment for their over-indulgence (at least I did).

RECOMMENDED

THE CONVERSATIONALISTS
Off-Broadway, Play
The Bushwick Starr
2 hours, 10 minutes (without an intermission)
Through February 1