Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – From her perspective: Covering Off-Broadway’s QUEEN by Madhuri Shekar and DON’T LOOK BACK by Adam Kraar

• By drediman
• June 30, 2022
• No Comments

This week, I continued my summer Off-Broadway theatergoing spree, catching a pair of thought-provoking one act plays that eloquently take the woman’s perspective in realms typically dominated by men (e.g., math/science, the Bible). Read on for my thoughts.

QUEEN
National Asian American Theatre Company at A.R.T./New York Theatres
Through July 1

Over at A.R.T./New York Theatres in Hell’s Kitchen, you’ll find Madhuri Shekar’s new play Queen (RECOMMENDED) courtesy of the National Asian American Theatre Company (affectionally known simply as “NAATCO”). The production – which refreshingly features a predominantly Asian American creative team – is the inaugural offering of the NAATCO National Partnership Project (NNPP) and comes to New York after having been seen at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven. The work chronicles the story of Sanam and Ariel, two PhD. candidates whose work revolves around the world’s vanishing bee population. Ms. Shekar’s play is smart and for the most part convincing, making compelling drama out of dialogue largely composed of technical jargon. Although the play ends on a somewhat flimsy upbeat note, it nevertheless provokes as it investigates the limits/uses of science and mathematics, as well as explores, stealthily, what it’s like being a woman in these fields. The solidly acted production (particularly effective is Avanthika Srinivasan’s uncanny performance as Sanam) is staged efficiently by Aneesha Kudtarkaron on Junghhyun Georgia Lee’s simple but sleek set.

DON’T LOOK BACK
Voyage Theater Company at HERE
Through June 30

Also wrapping up performances is Voyage Theater Company’s world premiere production of Adam Kraar’s Don’t Look Back (RECOMMENDED) at HERE in Soho. The play is the latest offering of SubletSeries, HERE’s highly successful rental program which has allowed such nomadic theater companies as Voyage to fully achieve their theatrical visions. Mr. Kraar’s play is a loose retelling of the Old Testament tale of “Lot’s Wife”, which depicts a family fleeing from the wrath inflicted by God on their hometown, the notoriously sinful city of Sodom. Although heeded by the increasingly zealotous Lot (the patriarch of the family) not to “look back”, his wife Edith does so anyway and is turned into a pillar of salt as a result. Although Mr. Kraar brings a decidedly contemporary bent to the famous tale, his play stays admirably rooted in the spirit of the underlying biblical story. The playwright brings specificity and welcome context to the reason why Lot’s wife ultimately turns back to gaze upon the devastated city. Indeed, the work imbues Edith with an earthy sensuality and passionate individualism that turns her tragic end into a revolutionary act of self determination. Like the aforementioned Queen, Don’t Look Back has been simply yet elegantly staged (the direction is by Wayne Maugans) and enacted with urgency by a quartet of actors who play members of the family on the run.