Emma Tennant, 79

Emma Tennant, Who Wrote Beyond the Fringe of Realism, Dies at 79
by William Grimes, The New York Times, January 29, 2017

Dada Masilo's swans of a feather flock to the Joyce

Songezo Mcilizeli as Prince Siegfried
with Dada Masilo as Odette
(photo: John Hogg)

some Masilo swans swanning about
(photo: John Hogg)

That blaring Tchaikovsky processional set the tone right away. Those barefoot dancers, flouncy and twitching in their gender-nonspecific tutus on The Joyce Theater stage, simulated the flight of a flock of swans while encoding every point along the movement spectrum from ballet to African. But not seamlessly, never the sort of contemporary ballet where every last element is blended out, airbrushed and...Kumbaya! We've got exotic perfection for ya!  Instead, you can see the separate techniques of dancing smacking up against each other, visibly diced, sliced and spliced by the exacting mind and sharp hand of Dada Masilo. Without question, this extraordinary work is Dada Masilo's Swan Lake.

I only became aware of Masilo when she choreographed and performed in William Kentridge's Refuse the Hour at last fall's BAM Next Wave. But, for several years, this talented Black South African woman has been turning heads all over Europe, making works called I Just Want To Be a Princess for One Day and The World My Butt and Other Big Round Things, and training her wry eye on classical icons like Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake.

Well, why not use the classical ballets she dearly loves to tell contemporary stories of top importance to her?

Her take on Swan Lake puts me in mind of Camille A. Brown. Fans of that American dance artist will find Masilo's narrative work and her own piquant, bravura performance style similar in nature and appeal. In addition, both artists draw from aspects of Black culture and artistry, have well-honed, character-driven comedic skills and an interest in showing the full range of human experience and feeling. They both step up to address challenging issues, mixing entertaining performance with social relevance. For Masilo, the story of Swan Lake sets the stage for a look at the consequences of homophobia and the devastation of losing generations of South Africans to AIDS.

This turbo-charged, enormously charming Swan Lake pairs, against his will, a closeted Prince Siegfried (Songezo Mcilizeli) with Masilo's eager bride-to-be Odette. Siegfried's parents--especially Mom--freak out when they learn that their son is in love with a man named Odile--yes, I know, usually, the sinister doppelganger of the dancer playing Odette--here danced by tall, graceful Thamsanqa Tshabalala, the only cast member rocking pointe shoes, and beautifully, thank you.

The piece--lit with true magic by Suzette le Sueur--flies by in just an hour. In that hour, nearly everything moves at a speedy, insistent pace. Group scenes are tightly-organized delirium, usually some hooplah over the expected nuptials. Which brings me back to the loud, nearly martial selections from Tchaikovsky. With this music, Masilo seems to underscore how the private life, and will, of the individual can get pounded down by the heedless force of society. This comes in sharp contrast to the tranquility of Siegfried's time alone with Odile. Without the crowd mashing him, Siegfried can get to know himself and his desires.

Because humor has such prominence in the dance, its conclusion can seem either jarring or poignant. Masilo lost her aunt to AIDS, and this work was made in memory of her. Performers in long, black skirts dance against a dark, starry backdrop. Some slump to the floor. Eventually, just two remain, each delicately rubbing fingers together as if sprinkling a handful of dirt on the coffins of loved ones until there's no one left to perform this final rite.

Swan Lake continues tonight through Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm. For information and tickets, click here.

The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Avenue (at 19th Street), Manhattan
(directions)

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Ettore Scola, 84

Ettore Scola, Italian Film Director of Satire and Farce, Dies at 84
by Sam Roberts, The New York Times, January 20, 2015

She walks her dark road: "Antigona"

Acclaimed flamenco artist Soledad Barrio
with members of Noche Flamenca in Antigona
(photo: Zarmik Moqtaderi)

Nothing prepares you for Antigona, classical Greek tragedy viewed and renewed through the Spanish art of flamenco.

Perhaps you've read the primary source (Sophocles) or a recent review of Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca's production, now in its second New York run (West Park Presbyterian Church). Perhaps you've long followed the careers of Barrio and her husband Martín Santangelo, Noche Flamenca's artistic director. In the end, none of that matters. This Antigona, this phenomenon, will make your eyes fly open in surprise.

Ninety-minutes in length, with no intermission, it is dense but swift-moving, integrative theater by artists originally noted for the intimate simplicity and transparency of their approach to flamenco. Although Noche Flamenca has previously experimented with characters and storytelling, the company has never risked as much nor won as much as it has with Antigona. And no one can say "At least, see this show for Barrio's dancing," since every aspect of the production is carefully, generously wrought and woven into the whole, each working towards overall excellence.

Like the Sophocles play, Antigona is a highly moral and political work of theater, dramatizing the conflict between conventional law and a private sense of family honor and justice. In short, Antigone/a--daughter of Oedipus, former King of Thebes--loves her rebel brother Polynieces as much as the brother, Eteocles, who remained loyal to the state. Both are now dead by each other's hand, and the new king, their uncle Creonte, orders a fine burial for Eteocles while denying burial to Polynieces. This is anathema to the gods, and Antigona's anguished intervention draws her and those around her towards a dark fate.

The static church setting at West Park presents visual limitations--including, for the audience, level rows of pew seating--but dynamic stagecraft and variable temperatures of light stir the drama to life. Even without the warrior brothers' pivotal, badass dance battle, accompanied by rocking percussion and electric guitar, that pits the flamencero Polyneices (Carlos Menchaca) against the hip hop of Eteocles (Robert Wilson), this production would work for the typical attention spans of today. Fifteen scenes quickly tumble after and into one another. Instrumental and vocal music ring out strong. Dashes of lyric poetry, enough to give the gist of a singer's lengthier expression, are projected above the action. And the placement and movement of players continuously mutate, neatly exploiting every level, angle and corner of the stage. All of it comes at you without cease and with equal respect and weight afforded each discipline--dance, music, singing, acting, visual design.

Barrio dances at the corpse of Polyneices in Antigona.
(photo: Zarmik Moqtaderi)

Just turning focus to dance alone, you have Barrio sweeping through like a storm cloud. Never before has she danced better, attacking with the directive force and fullness of mature authority and, late in the play, with searing abandon. You're convinced the great performer has taken up sorcery with no qualms about slipping between the here-and-now and the world of the dead. But Barrio, lioness though she is, must share essential duties with Menchaca, Wilson, frequent partner Juan Ogalla (as Haemon, Antigone's bethrothed) who dances up an earthquake, and all of the tightly-orchestrated cast.

Juan Ogalla (Haemon) with Barrio
(photo: Zarmik Moqtaderi)

Singer Emilio Florido also stands out as an adroit, sassy Master of Ceremonies, and Marina Elana displays concentration and finesse in her dancing as well as unexpected comedy in her role as Ismene, a chatty Valley Girl narrator blithely filing her nails as her sister Antigona leads blinded Oedipus across the stage. In another wry scene, Creonte (the wonderful singer Manuel Gago) gets crowned with a matador's montera hat and drives hot pink bandilleras towards Ismene as she charges him, bar stool flipped up to her head like threatening horns.

Yes, comedy in the midst of tragedy. Antigona frequently toys with irreverent humor and does so in successful balance with other modes and moods. The power of political satire is key to understanding why Santangelo and Barrio felt moved to revive this ancient story: Antigone/a can illuminate any moment of social repression. Their publicity has referenced, among other things, its relevance to the Victorian era, South African apartheid and Franco's Spain.

Antigone, then, continues to walk her dismal road in all places and throughout eternity. And here's a thought to make you shudder: If inclined, one could also draw a parallel between this heroine's resistance--her adherence to personal belief against the rule of law--and the stance of, say, county clerk Kim Davis or some Oregon militia seizing a wildlife refuge.

Antigona continues through January 23. Click here for schedule information and tickets.

West Park Presbyterian Church
165 West 86th Street (between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues), Manhattan
(map/directions)

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Your next must-see: Khadijah Queen's "Non-Sequitur"

Congratulations to Khadijah Queen, winner of the 2014-15 Leslie Scalapino Award for Innovative Women Performance Writers! Her play, Non- Sequitur, is a delight, and I can see why it won the judges' unanimous approval.

Presented by THE RELATIONSHIP at TheaterLab, now through December 20, and directed by Fiona Templeton, Non-Sequitur unfolds in the compressed, narrow confines of a tiny runway of sorts flanked by audience seating. Over just one hour, the play introduces a cavalcade of characters, each with "voices on multiple registers: the voices in our heads, under our breaths, on our voicemail, hard to have to listen to, hilarious voices, blurted voices, bodily voices." Oh, yes, depictions of such anthropological acuity--each one perfectly captured as if within a flash of lightning--such absurdity and such glee, scarcely leaving us time to breathe, that the nonstop shocks can keep a silly grin plastered on you face from start to finish.

For my dance folks out there, just go see this thing. The well-chosen cast includes a few dancers you know and love who prove to be wonderful actors. Of course! But they would be an asset to Queen's play anyway. The heightened physicality of the characters is as eloquent, stunning and giggle-producing a factor in this work's effectiveness as are the words.

With performances by Lenora Champagne, Stacey Karen Robinson, Helga Davis, Dawn Akemi Saito, Yon Tande, Zselyke Tarnai and David Thomson.

Non-Sequitur continues through December 20. For complete schedule and ticketing information, click here.

Click here to learn more about the late Leslie Scalapino and here to read more about the biennial award named in her honor.  Non-Sequitur, the book, is available here.

Theaterlab
357 West 36th Street, 3rd Floor (between 8th and 9th Avenues), Manhattan
(map/directions)

Terry Pratchett, 66

Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld series, dies aged 66
by Caroline Davies, The Guardian, March 12, 2015

Robert Stone, 77

Robert Stone, Novelist Inspired by War, Dies at 77
by Ashley Southall, The New York Times, January 10, 2015

Mike Nichols, 83

Mike Nichols, Celebrated Director, Dies at 83
by Bruce Weber, The New York Times, November 20, 2014

Al Feldstein, 88

Soul of Mad Magazine, Al Feldstein Dies at 88
by Bruce Weber, The New York Times, May 1, 2014

Go see "Ubu Sings Ubu" at Abrons Arts Center

Take one part Ubu Roi--translated from the satirist Alfred Jarry's French by good ol' reliable Google--and one part Pere Ubu song list. Mash that up with some dance moves and puppetry for extra flava and feed it to the hungry souls of Tony Torn (Pa Ubu) and Julie Atlas Muz (Ma Ubu) with the hallucinogenic notions of Kaz Phillips Safer (video) and Jay Ryan (lighting), and you'll get the psychotropic elixir that is Ubu Sings Ubu, now at Abrons Arts Center.

Co-directed by Torn (who adapted the work) and Witness Relocation's Dan Safer (who choreographed), the boisterous, electrifying Ubu Sings Ubu can't stay in its place. It continuously sloshes and spills past the performance area the way a storm-driven ocean barrels into a low-lying village. I like the radiant actor Torn very, very, very much--but at a distance where his mercurial performance dazzles. Pa Ubu up in the face? Not so much. A stupid man, mad for power and free of conscience, Ubu's an explosion waiting to happen, a walking id and nightmare from the heart of darkness. (In other words, stay away!) For her part, Muz's bawdy and scheming Ma Ubu might climb onto you and lock her legs and naked nether parts around your neck.

The Underground Theater at Abrons doesn't allow much wiggle room, either. It's tiny, and you'll probably find yourself packed in with a mess of folks trying to catch the final shows. Ubu sings (and plays) LOUD. Stay well away from the speakers.

You did say you relish immersive theater, right? Just checking.

Sets and costumes by Deb O; a truly amazing animal cape by Ben Rosenberg; and sound design and musical direction by Vera Beren; musicians Beren, Emmitt Joe George, Matt Butterfield and Patrick "Paddymyke" Conlon

Ubu Sings Ubu runs through April 26. Wednesday-Saturday, 8pm with late shows on April 25 and April 26 at 11pm. For information and tickets, click here.

Abrons Arts Center
466 Grand Street (at Pitt Street), Manhattan
(map/directions)

Frederik Pohl, 93

Frederik Pohl, Worldly-Wise Master of Science Fiction, Dies at 93
by Gerald Jonas, The New York Times, September 3, 2013

Dance comes to the inauguration...oh, wait!

Congress Debates Adding Elaborate Dance To Obama's Inauguration Ceremony

Just say "Yes" to the NY Times!

The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia

Yes, men...but where's the arts coverage? :-D

Prop 8--The Musical!

Prop 8--The Musical