"The Mystery of Irma Vep" Mini-Review

Review of ATC’s Production of The Mystery of Irma Vep

by Marc Hansen

ATC’s production of The Mystery of Irma Vep is funny, random, and a total crowd pleaser. It’s not very high brow - a lot of the jokes are sexual, crude and/or over the top, yet it’s still more sophisticated than the raunchy, potty jokes of our modern Hangover type comedies. Yet surprisingly, the typically older, more mature theatre crowd responded really well to the humor. That’s probably due to the dedication of the actors, Bob Sorenson and Oliver Wadsworth, who were hilarious and became so enveloped into their many characters that they made the ridiculousness somehow work.

Grade: B

And that's all for this season, folks! See you next year!

Two More Poems

The Future America (Couplet)

All these young people, filled with hope

Will turn into burnouts, addicts of dope

Never Let You Go (Ballad)

The smile you wear lightens my mood

Your luscious lips I taste

A day with you's a dream come true

Let's not leave it to waste

A Not So Offensive Poem I Also Wrote

Okay here is the last poem I wrote on Friday, but I had to put it in its own post, because this one's not offensive at all :P It is a haiku though, a haiku about Tucson.

Haiku for Tucson

The trees have no leaves

Cacti populate the land

Sand is nature too

Some Mildly Offensive Poems I Wrote

So in Creative Writing, we're in our poetry unit at the moment. I've never been a big fan of poetry and I'm a terrible poet, but we wrote these poems in class the other day and I'm actually pretty proud of them (well not that proud, but I think they're enjoyable, or at least enjoyable enough to put on this blog). They're also all comedic, mildly offensive poems. I was actually trying to write genuine poems at first, but then these came out. I wonder what that says about me. Anyways here they are (and I really don't have anything against Haiti or Japan; I just thought they were funny).

Adolescence (this one is a Limerick)

You life starts out as a baby

You were born in the country of Haiti

An earthquake struck

You're shit out of luck

Now reaching age five is a maybe

Japan (this is a List Poem)

Japan

Toyko

Lights

Swords

Dragons

Emperors

Kurosawa

Samurais

Ancient Legends

Asian People

Tourists

Sushi

Atomic Bombs

Nature

Trees

Lakes

Haikus

Tsunamis

This is what I love about Japan

Okay, this is my favorite one. It's a diamonte poem, and it's actually well written, not just offensive.

Men and Women

Men

Emotional, Complicated

Doing, Making, Achieving

Courteous, Elegant, Success, Beauty

Burping, Farting, Eating

Apathetic, Simple

Women

Thanks for reading! :D

"Lost in Yonkers" Review

Review of ATC’s Production of Lost in Yonkers

by Marc Hansen

ATC’s marvelous production of the classic play Lost in Yonkers is possibly the best play they’ve produced in the last two years. Written by playwright genius Neil Simon (The Odd Couple), for which he won the Pulitzer Prize, Lost in Yonkers is Simon’s magnum opus, containing his wittiest, most hysterical dialogue combined with the surprising emotional impact the play unleashes on you. It may be the least flashy ATC play this year in terms of lighting or set design, but it excels in theatre’s two most important aspects: acting and writing.

Lost in Yonkers starts out in Grandma Kurnitz’s living room, where two young brothers, Arty (Maxx Carlisle-King) and Jay (Ryan DeLuca), recount horror stories they’ve heard about their strict, paternal grandmother (Judy Kaye) that they hardly know. This is the living room that the rest of the play will be set in and that we’ll come to know so well. And though the play begins with an almost sitcom-y premise where the two mischevious youngsters are forced to live with their overbearing grandma for nearly a year, while their father (Spencer Rowe) travels around the country, the play takes a rather unexpected turn. Being a comedy, and a Neil Simon comedy, I naturally expected the children to eventually come to terms with their demanding immigrant grandmother and realize how much they love and appreciate her in the end, in a very predictable fashion. And though this ultimately does happen in a way (albeit much slower and more realistic than typical ‘90s comedies), the play slowly becomes more about the dysfunctional relationships Grandma’s Kurnitz and her own children have. As the mentally challenged aunt (Kate Goehring) and smooth criminal uncle (Preston Maybank) of the boys start to play a larger role, we realize that Lost in Yonkers isn’t about the boys. The boys, in fact, represent the audience, watching all the drama unfold upon them.

Obviously, the biggest reason Lost in Yonkers is so successful is because of Neil Simon’s book. It’s not only full of his very clever, very funny writing, that I was well aware of after reading The Odd Couple, but includes a really profound, emotional center at the heart of the story that wasn’t as present in the cheeky Odd Couple. Yonkers is really phenomenal writing on all fronts, with extremely deep, well rounded characters pushing the engaging story forward. At first, I thought Grandma Kurnitz was just your typical stereotypical strict authority figure, but as the play went on, I realized what an incredibly complex character she was and Bella, the retarded aunt, is the best written handicapped character I’ve ever seen. She may have disabilities, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have intense, conflicting feelings and desires that emerge pass the surface of her illness.

The characters obviously wouldn’t work without the proper cast though, which is why it’s so amazing that Lost in Yonkers literally perfectly casted every character. Goehring as Bella is obviously the stand out, in the best portrayal of a mentally handicapped character I’ve ever seen. But to say that Bella is just a ‘mentally handicapped’ character isn’t doing the character justice, as she is so much more than that, which is what I love about the performance. Goehring lets that come through very naturally, but she plays Bella as a deeply confused, hurt, and sheltered little child in a grown woman’s body, with a grown woman’s desires, yet the naivety to think that that life is possible for her. It’s very hard to pick a favorite among such a great cast though. Maybank as Louie is so cool and suave and badass that you completely see why the young boys would admire and look up to him, yet he’s also intimidating and scary enough that you’re simultaneously scared of his next move or the trouble he might bring. In his small role as the father, Rowe completely convinces you in the play’s first pitch, understanding how conflicted this caring father is about leaving his children behind, that the set up doesn’t seem at all like a gimmick. Kerry McCue, in another small role as Aunt Gert, is incredibly funny with her vocal timing and even DeLuca and Carlisle-King as the boys had great comedic chops. But I can’t forget Kaye as Grandma Kurnitz who feels like your lovable, grouchy, old grandma and propels her into more than just than an one-note character. Such great acting and execution can only happen at the tips of great direction though, which is why the stupendous work of ATC’s very own Samantha Wyer can’t be forgotten.

Yes, perhaps the production isn’t perfect. Some extensive dialogue scenes start to feel a little long and maybe a score would’ve helped, but I prefer not to nitpick when everything else is so wonderful. Lost in Yonkers isn’t a theatre, or art, experience that you get to experience often, so why not appreciate it while you can?

Grade: A

"Ten Chimneys" Review

Sorry this is so late.

Review of ATC’s Production of Ten Chimneys

by Marc Hansen

The world premiere of Ten Chimneys, the newest production playing at the ATC, is a delightful, amusing little comedy about actors’ drama behind the stage.

The play follows the renowned husband and wife team of real Broadway stars Alfred Lunt (Steve Hendrickson) and Lynn Fontanne (Suzanne Bouchard) in 1938, as they decide to perform Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece, The Seagull, for their next production. They retreat to their legendary and gigantic Wisconsin mansion to rehearse, bringing their fellow actors and extended family. Quirky family hijinks ensue, as well as a blossoming love triangle between Lunt, Fontanne, and their young, new lead actress Uta Hagen. On top of all this, the behind-the-scenes drama in Ten Chimneys directly correlates with the drama in the play they’re rehearsing (which is also about actors). Gee, how coincidental.

A lot of praise should be heaped upon writer Jeffrey Hatcher for not only writing an intelligent and complicated script, but for making it play out so simply (as well as props to director David Ira Goldstein for providing that seamless flow). Ten Chimneys has a rather complex written premise (with all the play-within-a-play nonsense), which though an attraction to me, may drive a lot of people away. However, though playfully clever (sometimes even coming across as too impressed with its own cleverness), the play never seems overly complicated. It’s smart, but still incredibly entertaining and interesting. In fact, the play-within-the-play plot point isn’t even necessary, though it does reinforce that age old theatre theme that life is a stage.

The cast is all fantastic. Hendrickson stands out as nailing the flamboyant character of Alfred Lunt, but then I think about how perfectly Bouchard played Fontanne’s materialistic Broadway diva star or the unexpected emotion Michael Winters brought to the character of Sydney Greenstreet, and it becomes much harder to pick a favorite. Sure, the characters are stereotypes of traditional family and actor roles (Lunt’s extravagance, Fontanne’s prima donna, or Linda Stephens as the lovably bitchy mother), but it all works in the play’s favor. Instead of feeling cliché, it simply feels familiar. Immediately you know these characters and it starts to feel like your own family.

The production values are all excellent and greatly enhance the play. The rotating set is captivating and the lush, green “trees” really made me feel like I was in Wisconsin. In fact, the prop and scenery pieces were replicated from photos of actual items found at Ten Chimneys and the cast actually got to rehearse for a week in the legendary estate. It’s this attention to detail, though not obvious, that adds such an authentic feel to the production.

However, the play does have its flaws. For one, the play is a little too play-centric for its own good. Of course, it’s no surprise that a plot like this would elicit a favorable response among the thespians that put on this show, but sometimes it felt like there were a few too many “inside jokes.” I had no idea until I researched the production afterwards that Lunt and Fontanne were real Broadway stars, and though that only made the play cooler, there were times within the play that I felt a little lost when they were extensively dealing with The Seagull production. Some would argue that that’s fine and that a prerequisite knowledge of The Seagull is simply necessary, but I think there are more people who know nothing of The Seagull than people who do, even among the theatre buffs that frequently attend the ATC’s productions.

It’s also a little lightweight. It’s fun and entertaining, but after the show’s over it doesn’t feel all that memorable, unlike the productions Lunt and Fontanne put on themselves. It’s about what actors are like behind the scenes, but this doesn’t feel like a very meaningful theme. However that doesn’t seem to be what Ten Chimneys is concerned with. No, Ten Chimneys is just a play about people who love theatre and its main purpose is putting on a great show.

Grade: B+

New Year's Resolutions

While I think the idea of New Year Resolutions is stupid in that most people just do it because it's a cultural tradition, and not because they actually want to or plan on changing, and those resolutions almost never last the full year, I can see the appeal in wanting to improve yourself and be a better person. And what better time to do that then at the beginning of the year, a "new start," after you've just reflected on the entire past year. Although I stand by my stance that doing New Year Resolutions just to do them is stupid, I do have some things that I would like to change, for the reasons I stated earlier.

One of those things is to start working out regularly, which is a typical one, but is one I've already started with Abdul. We're now members of LA Fitness and it's going great and I feel much healthier and stronger and like a better person.

Another one of them is to start reading more. It sounds weird because I love books so much, but during this first semester of my sophomore year I really stopped reading as much as I used to. And in general, I've read way less in high school than middle school, when I had much more time, but reading was really one of my favorite things to do and unlike any other pleasure. It's beneficial and I feel I need it. I have two huge stacks of books on my desk of books I need to read and it's only gotten larger, but I'd like to clear that desk by the time I leave for college. Now I'd say that I stopped reading as much because of AP Euro reading and I'm spending more time with my friends (and often working on movies), but yet I still find time to go on the computer. :P Over winter break, now that I have had more time (and yet still so many things to do!) I've been able to read a lot more (finished two books in two weeks and started another!) and still go on the computer (and hang out every night.... when I really need to finish that wedding video, my NYU application and my AP Euro reading), but once school starts again that won't be possible, because I won't have that much time. So why sacrifice books? Which leads me to my third resolution.....

Spend less time on the computer. I really like going on the computer and it's addictive, but it's pretty much a waste of my time, when I could be doing so many other things. Yet I always find enough time to check slashfilm.com or something. But now that I'll be working out at the gym 3 times a week, have an extra class this semester (and really 2, because we never had any homework in weights) I'll have tons more homework, as well as trying to write everyday (see below) and read more. So I really don't need to read every article that captures my attention on slashfilm. I can live without it and wait on hearing every detail involved with every movie currently in production until the movies come out. I'll admit it'll be tough, but it's for the better. Facebook doesn't worry me as much, because that's pretty much just for socializing and contacting people. I really don't feel I waste much time looking at any of the stuff on there. So my goal is only 30 min. a day, though 45 min. a day seems more likely at first.

And finally, my last resolution is to start a journal, in which what you are currently reading is the first entry. I've never had a journal just for myself, though I've heard many times that I should, that many people like me have and I always liked the idea of having one (and really enjoyed journalling in my English classes), but it always seemed like too much time and trouble to do on my own. But now I feel like A) I want/need/feel I have to be writing at least every day, just to get it out of my system and because I have so much I want to say and whenever I do write, I say a lot. But B) as I look back on my life and there are so many different experiences I've had over the years, I find I hardly remember anything. Only a certain event, if something special happened that day, and sometimes just general memories of doing things, although sometimes it'll be things I never think of, but when someone mentions it I remember them. But even just ordinary things like what I used to do on a typical day in 7th grade. I have no idea! Obviously it's not very important, on a purely interesting level, but I think it's important that I remember what it was like to be me and who I was, if I was the same person or if I've changed. I've always wished that there was some way to record my thoughts, and it seems like writing's the closest thing I'll get to doing that. So, B) as a record of my life, that I can look back on, and always remember (almost) everything I did, thought, felt at this time in my life.