Saturday in New York City
A Busy Day...
Saturday was a busy day—in New York City with our daughter, a college student there. NYU was doing a production of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, and Sarah's boyfriend was in it. Seemed a good time to go up to visit, take in the show (very reasonble at $15), meet Mike's mom and grandmother, do dinner, and so on. We were seeing a matinee of The Winter's Tale, so Sarah talked us into a an evening performance of the off-Broadway One-man Star Wars Trilogy, as well. My husband is a big sci-fi fan. I've seen them all, more than once, probably, but it's not my default activity. With student-discounted tix for $22, though, I thought, What the heck?
The Winter's Tale
Well, it's called The Winter's Tale for good reason. What a dark story of false accusation of adultery (a king against his queen), death by grief, attempted murder, and suicide—the works. The costumes were modern, but the actors used the actual Shakespearean script. You can read the Spark Notes synopsis yourself. With the rain pouring down outside the theater, I thought, How appropriate! Then came Act III. NYU directors are notorious for odd interpretations of the text, which sometimes leave the audience scratching their heads and saying, "Huh?" This was one of those times.
The last scene of Act II gives a hint of the carnival to come. Antigonus is leaving Hermione's baby in the woods to die after the king accuses her of adultery and imprisons her. Antigonus himself is about to be killed by a bear. The bear appears, and Antigonus gives chase. Suddenly, the music changes from a somber tune, to what sounds more like "Looney Tunes," and Antigonus turns toward the audience and says, brightly, "This is the chase!" He's killed, though, and we in the audience all just looked at each other. Was that appropriate? We were roused from our lethargy still further: Bright orange background lighting comes up. Villagers appear to join in a sheep-shearng festival, and they're all cheerfully clad in orange, teal, yellow, and red. All they needed were some rum punches and a steel drum band, and they could have been on any Caribbean island. An orgy ensues, complete with (costumed) satyrs sporting "members" of varying sizes (yes, those members) and carrying off the young girls. It was a real eye-opener, for sure. Well, the baby left to die is now 16, found and raised by shepherds and now at the party. She's being courted by the son of a neighboring king (the adulteress's alleged partner, of course). The two make their way back to her own kingdom. Everyone there is overjoyed and amazed to find that she's alive. The Queen comes back to life, and everyone lives happily ever after (to reggae music). Only in Shakespeare, at NYU.
One-Man Star Wars
After dinner, we caught the subway up to 44th Street, to the One-man Star Wars Trilogy. What a riot. I highly recommend this to anyone who is pretty familiar with the first three movies (which, of course, are actually episodes IV, V, and VI). You do need to have seen the movies, at least a few times, to "get it." Watch them again before you go, if you can. The actor (yes, there's only one, per the title) is Charles Ross. A Canadian, Ross grew up watching the movies over and over again (the first one, I think, 400 times before he was 10). I'm sure he drove his mother nuts. He majored in drama in college, eventually, and he had a dream. He would bring the Star Wars movies to the stage.
And, this he does, most amazingly so. With body actions, mouthed sound effects, lines from the movies, song, and added script, he gives the audience important highlights of each of the first three movies. He spends about a half-hour on each, so in all, it's a short performance of about an hour and a half. But, the guy was talented. He touches on all the high points and makes fun of the low points, adding his own commentary. A must-see for you geeks out there. It's very funny! It's at the Lamb Theater, 130 W. 144th Street, but he's traveling, as well. See Ross's itinerary and get on his email list.
So, we went from Shakespeare to Star Wars, all in one day. Only in New York City!
Saturday was a busy day—in New York City with our daughter, a college student there. NYU was doing a production of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, and Sarah's boyfriend was in it. Seemed a good time to go up to visit, take in the show (very reasonble at $15), meet Mike's mom and grandmother, do dinner, and so on. We were seeing a matinee of The Winter's Tale, so Sarah talked us into a an evening performance of the off-Broadway One-man Star Wars Trilogy, as well. My husband is a big sci-fi fan. I've seen them all, more than once, probably, but it's not my default activity. With student-discounted tix for $22, though, I thought, What the heck?
The Winter's Tale
Well, it's called The Winter's Tale for good reason. What a dark story of false accusation of adultery (a king against his queen), death by grief, attempted murder, and suicide—the works. The costumes were modern, but the actors used the actual Shakespearean script. You can read the Spark Notes synopsis yourself. With the rain pouring down outside the theater, I thought, How appropriate! Then came Act III. NYU directors are notorious for odd interpretations of the text, which sometimes leave the audience scratching their heads and saying, "Huh?" This was one of those times.
The last scene of Act II gives a hint of the carnival to come. Antigonus is leaving Hermione's baby in the woods to die after the king accuses her of adultery and imprisons her. Antigonus himself is about to be killed by a bear. The bear appears, and Antigonus gives chase. Suddenly, the music changes from a somber tune, to what sounds more like "Looney Tunes," and Antigonus turns toward the audience and says, brightly, "This is the chase!" He's killed, though, and we in the audience all just looked at each other. Was that appropriate? We were roused from our lethargy still further: Bright orange background lighting comes up. Villagers appear to join in a sheep-shearng festival, and they're all cheerfully clad in orange, teal, yellow, and red. All they needed were some rum punches and a steel drum band, and they could have been on any Caribbean island. An orgy ensues, complete with (costumed) satyrs sporting "members" of varying sizes (yes, those members) and carrying off the young girls. It was a real eye-opener, for sure. Well, the baby left to die is now 16, found and raised by shepherds and now at the party. She's being courted by the son of a neighboring king (the adulteress's alleged partner, of course). The two make their way back to her own kingdom. Everyone there is overjoyed and amazed to find that she's alive. The Queen comes back to life, and everyone lives happily ever after (to reggae music). Only in Shakespeare, at NYU.
One-Man Star Wars
After dinner, we caught the subway up to 44th Street, to the One-man Star Wars Trilogy. What a riot. I highly recommend this to anyone who is pretty familiar with the first three movies (which, of course, are actually episodes IV, V, and VI). You do need to have seen the movies, at least a few times, to "get it." Watch them again before you go, if you can. The actor (yes, there's only one, per the title) is Charles Ross. A Canadian, Ross grew up watching the movies over and over again (the first one, I think, 400 times before he was 10). I'm sure he drove his mother nuts. He majored in drama in college, eventually, and he had a dream. He would bring the Star Wars movies to the stage.
And, this he does, most amazingly so. With body actions, mouthed sound effects, lines from the movies, song, and added script, he gives the audience important highlights of each of the first three movies. He spends about a half-hour on each, so in all, it's a short performance of about an hour and a half. But, the guy was talented. He touches on all the high points and makes fun of the low points, adding his own commentary. A must-see for you geeks out there. It's very funny! It's at the Lamb Theater, 130 W. 144th Street, but he's traveling, as well. See Ross's itinerary and get on his email list.
So, we went from Shakespeare to Star Wars, all in one day. Only in New York City!
posted by Carpe Diem at 6:02 PM
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