THE HANGOVER REPORT – The 1491s’ inter-generational Native American saga BETWEEN TWO KNEES wears down its audience into submission

The company of Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Yale Repertory Theatre’s co-production of “Between Two Knees” (in association with McCarter Theater and Seattle Rep) by The 1491s at the Perelman Performing Arts Center (photo by Jeremy Daniel).

Last night, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Yale Repertory Theatre’s co-production of Between Two Knees (in association with McCarter Theater and Seattle Rep) opened Off-Broadway at the Perelman Performing Arts Center. Written and performed by the Midwestern comedy sketch group The 1941s, the work is a sprawling inter-generational saga that depicts the trials and tribulations of one Native American family – which functions as a sort of microcosm for the entire demographic – over decades spanning the late 19th century and much of the 20th century.

To be sure, Between Two Knees crams in at least five plays’ worth of plot in less than three hours of running time – but that’s not the reason for the tedium that ultimately sets in. Firstly, the play spends too much time causing playful havoc at the expense of pacing and dramatic tension. There’s also a certain awkwardness that comes with poking fun at the systemic oppression faced by Native Americans, as well as shaming White Americans for their retroactive role in creating their misfortunes. Be forewarned, the satiric bashing – only intermittently funny – is relentless, wearing down its audience into submission. Additionally, the work utilizes a loose sketch comedy / video game aesthetic that prevents it from excavating any meaningful humanity from the lengthy, knotted narrative. The piece is at its most successful during the last stretch, during which it defiantly and proactively envisions a prominent place for Native Americans in an extravagantly wrought future world order.

The production has been directed by Eric Ting, whose cartoonish staging dwells in spots when it should be consistently speeding along. These unfortunate lulls occasionally kill the momentum of Between Two Knees, despite the game efforts of the ensemble cast, who work tirelessly to inject the whole affair with levity and humor (especially the terrific Justin “Jud” Gauthier, who plays the evening’s wry emcee). Indeed, there’s no questioning that the folks up onstage are having a good old time, but it comes at the expense of the audience’s overarching theatrical experience.

SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDEWD

BETWEEN TWO KNEES
Off-Broadway, Play
Perelman Performing Arts Center
2 hours, 40 minutes (with one intermission)
Through February 24

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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