Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – The New Victory Theater continues to be New York’s premiere performing arts presenter for young audiences

• By drediman
• May 14, 2019
• No Comments

Time and time again, The New Victory Theater on 42^ndStreet has proven itself to be New York’s premiere presenter of theater for children and young adults. I applaud the institution’s impeccable taste and eclectic programming, which has exposed budding — and experienced — theatergoers not just to theater per se, but also to a wide number of genres across the performing arts. Indeed, over the years, I’ve seen some strikingly accomplished performances at its beautifully restored venue in the heart of Times Square, ranging from music theater/opera (The Aging Magician, Puss in Boots, The Magic Flute), theater (Fiasco’s Measure for Measure, Complicité’s Lionboy), dance (Akram Khan’s Chotto Desh, Rennie Harris’s Funkedified), and circus (Bello Mania, Catch Me!). I’m happy to report that the New Victory continues to fill an integral niche in the city’s theatrical landscape, as exhibited by two recent shows, both of which refused to underestimate young theatergoers, stimulating their senses and challenging their minds.

The Brooklyn Youth Chorus performs “Silent Voices: Lovestate” at the New Victory Theater. Photo by Tim Trumble.

First up was a presentation by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, which a few weeks ago performed its latest program entitled Silent Voices: Lovestate (RECOMMENDED). I had last seen the choir at the New Victory providing stellar vocal support in The Aging Magician, Paola Prestini and Rinde Eckert’s beguiling music theater piece directed and designed by the great Julian Couch. With Silent Voices, the excellent group has a vehicle all their own (Lovestate is the third installment in the Silent Voices series). The program featured wonderfully expressive and stylistically distinct new music penned by some of the New York music scene’s hottest composers — including the likes Shaina Taub, Nico Muhly, and Toshi Reagon — specifically for the show. In essence, the work is a meditation on the state of being a young adult, particularly from a young woman’s perspective, giving voice to a group of people who are usually passed over and neglected in our society (affectingly conveyed during the spoken word segments sprinkled throughout). Under the music direction of Dianne Berkun Menaker, the choir’s sound was rich and steady from beginning to end. The production was simply but effectively staged by director Kevin Newbury (whose work in the past I’ve admired), who effectively used multi-media elements to unify the staged concert.

Laura Eason’s stage adaptation of “Around the World in 80 Days” at the New Victory Theater. Photo courtesy of the New Victory Theater.

Currently running at the New Victory is the stage version of Jules Verne’s popular book Around the World in 80 Days (RECOMMENDED), which is being presented by New Vic Theatre Staffordshire, Kenny Wax Family Entertainment, and Simon Friend (in association with Royal Exchange Theatre). Laura Eason’s exuberantly madcap adaptation – which I actually saw a decade ago in a different production by Chicago’s storied Lookingglass Theatre Company – is the ideal frame on which to hang Theresa Heskins’ breathless and endlessly inventive staging. I have fond memories of the Lookingglass production, and this one happily lives up to it. In Ms. Heskins’ high-spirited production, physical theater, circus arts (including a healthy dose of clowning), and devised theater techniques come together seamlessly for the purposes of vigorous theatrical storytelling. The result is a thrilling romp that enchanted the young audience, despite the show’s relatively lengthy running time. The success of the staging is in large part due to the tireless and committed cast. Indeed, their kinetic, expertly-calibrated work on the New Victory stage is as brilliantly well-oiled as one of the many fictitious mechanical vessels imaginatively portrayed onstage.

BROOKLYN YOUTH CHORUS – SILENT VOICES: LOVESTATE
Music/Concert
The New Victory Theater
1 hour, 15 minutes (without an intermission)
Closed

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
Off-Broadway, Theatre
The New Victory Theater
2 hour (with one intermission)
Through May 19