Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Lost at sea: THE MS PHOENIX RISING & ROW sonically examine life in our rudderless times

• By drediman
• April 9, 2021
• No Comments

Although this past week saw a notable increase in in-person performances, theater-makers have by and large continued to work in other mediums. In particular, I recently had the chance to listen to a pair of audio plays, which are currently available on-demand courtesy of Playwrights Horizons and Williamstown Theatre Festival. Interestingly, both new works prominently feature the sea in their examination of life and human society during these rudderless times.

THE MS PHOENIX RISING
Playwrights Horizons
On-demand indefinitely

First up, via Playwrights Horizons’ excellent Soundstage series, is the six-episode The MS Phoenix Rising (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) by Trish Harnetiaux. In short, I don’t think I’ve been this delighted (or disoriented) by a theatrical podcast since, well, maybe John Cameron Mitchell’s sonic opus Anthem: Homunculus. Granted, the series may not be for everyone – the work’s absurd central plot device revolves around a mounting of Eugene Ionesco’s The Chairs on a cruise ship (a delectable scenario for theater geeks like myself, however) – but its astutely comic depiction of the foibles of human judgment and professional/societal group think is something that I think most of us can identify with. In this latter regard, Ms. Harnetiaux’s deliriously satirical, often hysterical work calls to mind The Mad Ones’ Miles for Mary and Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie. Indeed, it all makes you wonder how long we have before human civilization as we know it topples over, especially after the year we’ve been through. The work features an enticing array of acting talent, and they seem to savor the writing’s delicious flourishes as much as I did. Thankfully, it’s all orchestrated with inspired aplomb by director Katie Brook, who allows the piece to unfold in vivid bursts of color in the mind’s eye. In fact, The MS Phoenix Rising is one audio-based work that I’d love to see fully staged at some point. It’s totally ripe for visual gags, and the concluding Producer-esque finale is something that seems tailor-made for physical staging and in-person consumption.

ROW
Williamstown Theatre Festival / Audible
On-demand indefinitely

Next up is Williamstown Theatre Festival and Audible’s presentation of Row (RECOMMENDED), which features a book by Daniel Goldstein and a score by Dawn Landes. Similar to music theater works like Adam Guettel’s Floyd Collins, the new musical takes on an unorthodox subject matter, chronicling the existential exploits of Tori (played by Grace McLean), a rower with a troubled past who attempts to be the first woman to traverse the Atlantic Ocean. Ms. Landes’ pop-art score captures the driving, repetitive rhythms of the act of rowing and occasionally unleashes into lush melody as the emotional stakes of the show escalate. The expressively-voiced Ms. McLean is no stranger to daring musical theater, having been featured in Dave Malloy’s singular The Great Comet and having created and starred in In the Green. Her sensitively-rendered “everywoman” performance effectively serves as an accessible gateway into this unconventional musical. Although I wish the piece took less obvious routes in its storytelling – by the way, its ultimate message is to embrace life as an adventure – Mr. Goldstein’s book takes advantage of the format’s capacity for less linear narrative by ping ponging between the present and Tori’s trauma-filled past (all this is tightly realized by director Tyne Rafaeli). A live outdoor production of Row has been slated for WTF’s 2021 season; it’ll be fascinating to see how this one translates visually and theatrically.