Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – A trio of Off-Broadway shows that play with form: Jacob Perkins’ THE GOLD ROOM, SITI Company’s WAR OF THE WORLDS, and Dead Centre’s CHEKHOV’S FIRST PLAY

• By drediman
• November 7, 2022
• No Comments

Blink and you might miss them. Amidst a very busy fall theater season, I was able to catch a trio of Off-Broadway shows that played with theatrical form to fascinating effect. Here are my thoughts on these recently-shuttered productions.

CHEKHOV’S FIRST PLAY
Dead Centre at Irish Arts Center
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Over at the Irish Arts Center in Hell’s Kitchen, I recently had a chance to take in the innocuously-titled Chekhov’s First Play (RECOMMENDED), Dead Centre’s thorough deconstruction of the influential Russian playwright’s notoriously lengthy and convoluted (and title-less) first play. As the evening unfolds, the production — which is presented sonically through the use of headsets, in conjunction with more “traditional” theater methods — takes on an increasingly experimental bent (no spoilers here), gradually taking apart the play and questioning its relevance to contemporary audiences. In effect, the piece takes a wrecking ball to the play, both literally and figuratively (about halfway into the piece, an actual wrecking ball comes swinging in to demolish a good chunk of the otherwise traditionally designed set). Throughout, the performances were simultaneously playful and investigative, as befits such an endeavor.

THE GOLD ROOM
i am a slow tide at HERE
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Then over at HERE, I attended Jacob Perkins’ elusive and seductive new two-hander The Gold Room (RECOMMENDED). In summary, I took the play to be a study in intimacy — or the lack thereof — in the lives of contemporary gay men, particularly those approaching middle age. From their love lives, to their professional careers, to their family relationships, the work turns an exposing and chilly spotlight on the emotionally stilted situations gays find themselves in. Stylistically, the piece stealthily melds a number of interactions between different men (or are they?) into a single flowing scene. Although this may be disorienting initially, it’s an elegant way to avoid depicting potentially under-written characters. Director Gus Heagerty’s staging for i am a slow tide brings Perkins’ play to deliberate, clear-eyed life, especially as performed by the excellent acting duo of Scott Parkinson and Robert Stanton, both of whom bring specificity and startling frankness to their performances.

WAR OF THE WORLDS: THE RADIO PLAY
SITI Company at The Laurie Beechman Theatre
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Last but not least, I was able to catch one of SITI Company’s final New York performances. For its bittersweet farewell performances, the influential experimental theater company chose to revive its beloved production of War of the Worlds: The Radio Play at the intimate Laurie Beechman Theatre (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) (in the preceding weeks, the company also brought back its production of Radio Macbeth at NYU Skirball). Originally adapted for the airwaves in 1938 by none other than Orson Welles, the hourlong work brilliantly mashes journalism and science fiction, much to the terrified confusion of its initial audiences. As staged by founding artistic director Anne Bogart, the production features the company’s trademark precision, cross-pollination of ideas (in this case, between live theater and radio play), and organic ensemble work. Suffice to say, it was an absolute joy to bask in SITI Company’s still distinctive aesthetic in person one last time.