FringeNYC benefits: "No Static At All"

Alex Knox in No Static At All (photos: Karianne Flaathen)

No Static At All

Written and performed by Alex Knox

Directed by Becca Woolff

"Have you ever listened to a song and felt like the singer was telling your story?" asks the wiry, energetic Alex Knox near the opening of his one-hour monologue at FringeNYC, No Static At All. Maybe he should ask Roberta Flack, now that I think of it. Her answer, of course, would be, Why, yes--as would most of ours.

It's a banal question that tells you much of what you need to know about Knox's musing on a couple of supposedly parallel and troubled bromances--the first, between the two Steely Dan stars, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker whose song, FM, is the source of this play's title; the second, between Knox and his old school buddy, Josh. This show, like many bite-sized Fringe numbers, doesn't really have room to stretch out, and that puts pressure on Knox to rush his stuffed narrative and try to deliver something engaging and convincing. Despite a few truly funny moments--his argument that a certain rock in northern Israel renders sacred the name of his favorite band comes to mind--Knox doesn't quite make it.

With the exception of a nearly Talmudic exegesis of "Any World (That I'm Welcome To)," we don't learn anything much about the Steely Dan songs that have come to mean a lot to Knox and exactly what they say about the twists in the lives he and Josh have lived together and apart. We have to take all that as a matter of faith--and, in this work, faith turns out to be a very big matter, indeed.

Knox at first seems an ordinary sort, a bit intimidated by the sharper Josh whom he describes as self-assured to the point of arrogance. But he's just as capable of falling heart-first into an all-consuming religious pursuit--in this case, the Church of the Dan where momentary flashes of arrogance alternate with humiliation. 

Remaining shows:

Friday, August 15, 2:30pm

Sunday, August 17, 12pm

Wednesday, August 20, 9:15pm

Sunday, August 24, 4:15PM

Buy tickets for this and other FringeNYC shows.

The Steve & Marie Sgouros Theatre

115 MacDougal Street, 3rd floor, (between West 3rd Street and Bleecker), Manhattan

(map/directions)

For all things FringeNYC, click below.

New York International Fringe Festival

On the run with Parsons Dance

Parsons Dance rehearsing Run to you

(photo: Paula Lobo)

What better match for the exuberant, jazz-infused dance of David Parsons than the gutsy, jazz-saturated rock tunes of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker?

And so, as it launches its Joyce Theater season next week, Parsons Dance will rock out to the music of Steely Dan. Run to you opens with a romantic stroll for two that expands into a buoyant romp ("Aja"), a contentious, despairing walk on the wild side ("The Royal Scam"), a dynamic batch of saucy boy-girl duets ("The Fez") and a big, sweeping finish ("Reelin' In The Years"). Watching the company run through the piece, I found "Royal Scam" too controlled and pictorial to be convincing, but the more upbeat sections have an easygoing musicality, polish and charm. The Joyce crowd is bound to come hungry and leave happy. 

Parsons is blessed with a radiant crew that includes Eric Bourne, Sarah Braverman, Elena D'Amario, Abby Silva Gavezzoli, Christina Ilisije, Jason MacDonald, Miguel Quinones, Ian Spring, Melissa Ullom and Steven Vaughn.

The season (January 26-February 6) will feature three programs of Parsons repertory and includes two other world premieres--Portinari, inspired by the Brazilian artist/activist Candido Portinari, and Love, oh Love, a commission by acclaimed choreographer Monica Bill Barnes, set to music by Kenny Rogers, Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross.

For complete programming, scheduling and ticketing details, click here.

The Joyce Theater

175 8th Avenue (between 18th and 19th Streets), Manhattan

(directions)