#59e59

[mrs-ssa-hotch]

Can’t wait to go back and see this next weekend! 😍🔥

[sapphires-and-gold-fics]

Daniel Portman recently finished up a run of Square Go at 59E59 in NYC and I got to see the final performance of this surprisingly moving interactive bop of a show. It was so great getting to see more of Portman’s range, hear his real accent, and participate in such a wild piece. Such a damn treat.

[k-l]

The Mad Ones as performed by Krystina Alabado and Emma Hunton at Philadelphia Theatre Company

[ronweastwin]

Mad about “The Mad Ones”

First of all, i would definitely run away with Jay Armstrong Johnson. I believe it was this iconic pleading ballad that first led me to Kerrigan and Lowdermilk a few years ago. Their sole recording consists of some amazing named stars singing these amazing, varied, and inspiring songs. And while I was aware a few had stories or came from song cycles, they mainly existed in the short world of that singular song. However, “The Mad Ones” takes some of my favorites, a few songs to me, and weaves them into a piece that is at both times heartbreaking as motivational.

          Shtick is always hit or miss and the whole “we are in Sam’s head and everything is a mixture of memory slash thought slash wish/dream/desire” could have easily been hokey or confusing but instead it adds to the intimacy of the entire piece. This show doesn’t try to be about anyone except for Sam and therefore it helps that we are fully immersed in her Sam-ness. Krystina Alabado portrays the neurotically lost ingenue with amazing heart and talent. Portraying someone who is so unsure of who she is herself creates an interesting opportunity to take risks and really morph from scene to scene. This is an important skill because the other three characters are each uniquely entertaining but similarly grounded and sure of their specific roles. Because of this Krystina’s Sam is often a chameleon or mirror; changing to match or reflecting back upon her current scene partner. 

       I loved Kystina and truly rooted for her but I would be lying if I didnt say that Emma Hunton didn’t command attention whenever she entered the stage. She was brassy, bold, and beautifully comical which is so important because this character is all about balance in this show. She is Sam’s heart, both tied down and begging to be free.

     Playing “the mom” or “the parent” in a very millenial show can easily shift towards overplayed trope land but Leah Hocking’s Beverly and her quirky love of statistics (no matter how depressing) was a lot of fun to see. The parallels between Beverly and Kelly in the way they control and speak for Sam create an amazing dynamic. This trio is filled with love, although miguided at times. 

     Jay Armstrong Johnson stepped in at the last minute to take on the male romantic lead of Adam with no preparation time due to a medical need from Ben Fankhauser and performed his gorgeous heart out. This show has a lot of female empowerment, platonic female love, and sisterhood themes but Adam is either too stupid or too in love to worry about sticking out like a sore male thumb. Jay could get a laugh just by entering and gave a lot of humanity to a character that easily shift towards one dimensional The balance between Adam and Sam is something that would usually take center stage but in many ways this subplot is just an additional spice in an already moving show. 

“Moving” is an important word when discussing The Mad Ones. Between the constant driving/On the road/Kerouac/freedom/car references and the score that carries the audience continuously forward the idea of movement is vitally important. So get a move on it and get a ticket for this limited run show 

[k-l]

Run Away With Me as performed by Emma Hunton at Philadelphia Theatre Company

[k-l]

NOV 7, 2017 - DEC 17, 2017 Prospect Theater Company presents THE MAD ONES by Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk Directed by Stephen Brackett Mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved...Samantha Brown balances on the edge of her future, car keys in hand. As she sits in the driver's seat, she faces a choice: will she follow in her mother's footsteps, or take the dare of her impetuous best friend and chart a new path? This contemporary and compelling score from one of NYC's most exciting new songwriting teams immerses audiences in the complex inner life of a young woman on the brink of change. When every choice feels like life and death, how do you turn the key?

[openingnightposts]

Fight Night at 59E59

It is Monday night, and Dan Jr. has five more days to go before he stages his big comeback. Well, not his comeback so much as his actual fight. Circumstances beyond his control kept him from his battle five years ago. The fight that would have made father and family proud. This is the opening to the gripping Fight Night, now playing at 59E59 Theaters.A Legacy of ChampionsDan Jr.'s family members are known boxing men—champions! Olympiads! So, with Fight Night only five nights away, Dan is preparing, which means jumping rope, boxing the air, doing calisthenics that would exhaust a 6-year-old, and sharing his story with us. Dan Jr. is the unfortunate child, sibling, and only male known member of his family in his small town community who has never won nor fought a proper boxing match, but that will all change in five days.Here's a quick preview: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fishamble (@fishamble)Wrestling with IdentityWe follow Dan as he moves through his workouts, doubts, and fears! What does it mean to be a man? What does it mean to be a father? The male ego and its inept imbalance. It's the belief that it must prove itself by physical and mental force. Dan Jr. is questioning that.The Embodiment of StruggleDan Jr. is embodied by the actor Aonghus Og McAnally, and I say "embodied" because it feels like it's not an actor on a stage telling us this story, but a man telling his story. Aonghus Óg McAnally in a scene from Fight Night at the 59E59 Theater. Courtesy @fishamble on InstagramThe Psychology of CompetitionHow do men compete with themselves, with family, and with others? Dan asks these questions and continues with, "Why is this competition necessary for our familial survival?"The Pressure to Provide and PerformDan pushes himself physically day after day, all the while looking for work to financially support his family. He is trying to impress. His Da. His wife. His son. Himself. Family dynamics can create this competitive atmosphere of trying to impress the other. Creating an atmosphere of high expectations that can also destroy.The Burden of LegacyMcAnally's Dan had me thinking and considering the role of the parent. What is it about the ego as the parental being that wants our child to be "somebody?" What does it do to the family dynamic when we push to make our children what we believe they should be? And what is the emotional toil on us when we feel we live in the shadows of our family's legacy? Especially when you are now, yourself, a Da, with a toddler. A young lad. What do you want to teach him about being male? Competition or composition? What does it feel like to go against your own Da? The one you worshiped and feared.A Powerful Theatrical ExperienceFight Night is a powerful, heartwarming, energetic, moving one-man, full-house menu of emotions, thoughts, and considerations on what it means to be a member of a family and all the complexities that go with that. It is now playing at 59E59 through April 20th. It is an hour of the not easily forgotten beauties and complexities of family.Creative Team and Performance DetailsFight Night Written by Gavin Kostick, Directed by Bryan Burroughs With: Aonghus Óg McAnally Creative Team: Gabrielle Guagenti, Stage Manager; Colm Maher, Lighting Design; Eoin Kilkenny, Production Manager; Laura MacNaughton, Producer; Archer Bradshaw, Relighter; Madison Lane, Stage Manager; Yetti Steinman, Stage Manager Fight Night is part of Fishamble's Brits Off Broadway productions at 59E59 Theaters 59E59 Theaters NYC 10022 Tickets HERE Fight Night. 1 hr, no intermission Read the full article

[openingnightposts]

The Sweet Spot

The Sweet Spot, now at the postage stamp-sized Theatre C at 59E59, is an earnest play. Alice Jankel takes us into that moment when life changes for a well-married couple. The thing they have been considering for “Some Day” is now upon them. Move into a retirement community while they still have a spring in their step or wait until it is too late to do anything else. Jerry (Joel Leffert) and Vita (Nancy Nichols) live in the same apartment where they moved after they were first married. They raised their children there and welcomed grandchildren. Now, one of their grandchildren is having a baby, and the two of them are becoming great-grandparents. We meet them on the morning they are expecting THE CALL which will come in on their landline for some reason – they both have mobile phones – on which they do not have call waiting (is that even possible?). While waiting for THE CALL Vita gets another from the manager of a retirement community – The Dolce Vita – who has called with the news that a two-bedroom unit has just opened up, and they are at the top of the list.Vita is against it and Jerry FOR. Vita does not want to be old. Jerry says they already are. Jankell raises critical points that people of a certain age start to feel, whether they admit it or not. People out there making decisions are all younger – I call them “the smooth people.” Politicians, writers, artists. Everyone is younger – and what the hell do you do about that? In this play, however, there is little or no action. As in we never see the tipping point for Vita. We never see them packing up the things – deciding what has to go and what will travel with. I still remember cataloging my mother’s house with my sister so that all the siblings could have a look at the list and ask for what they wanted. My mother was home that day, and with every other item we listed on our spreadsheet Mumma had a story. Who gave her that piece and when and then a memory to go with it. Not much of that going on here, with the exception of a tiny ceramic pot. I think, however, that the packing up could have been the central event to which we all would have liked to be privy. We do get a few glimpses of their younger selves in the form of Nancy Nichols and Gabriel Tysdahl, who play Vita and Jerry. These forays have their charm but don’t do much to move the plot along. As Vita says, “It’s about leaving the prime of our lives. Leaving our ‘time’, leaving our ‘turn’. It’s saying, ‘Our turn here is done. It’s somebody else’s turn to lead, to innovate, to trend-set.” Minutes later, she changed her mind. We don’t see the change happening to her, and we never see the resolution of that. How do they plan to start over as a team? How will they make it work?We never see them entering that next chapter – and there are a lot of us out here who would like a bit of guidance on that subject. Here, however, the characters never quite connect. Perhaps it was the preview jitters, but I never believed these two were married. Page Clements' direction does little to glue the pieces together. As it is, the story ends much as it began: two old lovers nattering at one another. Not much to see there. The Cast of The Sweet Spot (photo courtesy 59e59.org)THE SWEET SPOT, presented by American Bard Theater Company. Written by Alice Jankell and directed by Page Clements, WITH Joel Leffert, Tasha Milkman, Nancy Nichols and Gabriel Rysdahl. Scenic design by Robert L. Dutiel, costume design by Debbi Hobson, sound design by Jeanne Travis, props design by Seth Mazlin, and fight & intimacy direction by Marcus Watson. At 59E59 through January 27. Readers may also enjoy reviews of The Days of Wine and Roses, A Star Without a Name, Godzilla’s Prince at Pangea, and Aging is Not a Fairy Tale.https://youtu.be/XpqqjU7u5Yc?si=Togn36bzFxbEGBww