“I am a girl and I am weak,” seven-year-old Zelma (voiced by Dagmara Dominczyk) is taught in Signe Baumane’s wonderful animated feature, My Love Affair with Marriage.
In her 2014 debut, Rocks in My Pockets: A Crazy Quest for Sanity, the Latvian-born, Brooklyn-based filmmaker explored her family history of mental illness. In My Love Affair with Marriage, she follows the life of Zelma, from conception through childhood and the adult quest to find an identity.
Writer, director, animator, and designer Baumane combines hand-drawn animation, papier-mâché constructions, photographed backgrounds, and stop-motion animation to create a beguiling world that mixes reality with fantasy as Zelma goes through “Inception,” “Formation,” “Implementation,” and “Reconsideration.” Poignant scenes from her life — defending herself at school, moving to new countries, losing a friend, falling in love — are supplemented by songs performed by a Greek chorus of three winged Mythology Sirens (Trio Limonāde, consisting of Iluta Alsberga, Ieva Katkovska, and Kristine Pastare) who serenade her with old-fashioned notions about soul mates, virginity, sex appeal, shaming, weakness, and other concepts of life and romance. The heavenly music and songs are by Kristian Sensini, with lyrics by Baumane.
“It’s not a war / Not a tear / Not a wound / It’s the start of your monthly cycle,” the chorus tells Zelma. “You are on your way to becoming a woman / The worst is ahead of you / The world is full of traps set just for us women / Beware of everything / especially men / There are three simple rules for a woman to succeed in life / One: Be a virgin until you marry / Two: Choose and marry well / Three: Hold the marriage together whatever it takes.” Zelma responds, “But how about love?”
Zelma (Dagmara Dominczyk) is ogled by an older man on a train (Keith Randolph Smith) in My Love Affair with Marriage
As Zelma encounters new situations that she doesn’t understand, Baumane cuts to wildly inventive biology lessons animated by Yajun Shi in which an adorable smiling neuron (Michele Pawk) discusses fallopian tubes, the limbic system, major histocompatibility complex, the effects of oxytocin and dopamine, hormones, various parts of the brain, human microbiomes, and a bevy of scientific facts that impact how and why Zelma reacts to specific stimuli.
She is told early on that “ignorance is a girl’s bliss,” but she spends the film battling her biology and gender expectations to search out happiness and fulfillment, discovering that traditional ideas of subservience and marriage are not making her feel complete. Her relationships with such men as Bo (Matthew Modine), Sergei (Cameron Monaghan), and Jonas (Stephen Lang) bring her ever closer to who she is, but it is not going to be easy, especially as she still fights off the repression that was forced into her by growing up in the Soviet Union.
My Love Affair with Marriage is an engaging film that effectively turns stereotypical tropes inside out and upside down while avoiding becoming academic, moralistic, or didactic. Baumane uses different forms of animation for the personal, biological, political, and imaginary aspects of Zelma’s life, which helps maintain the fast pace of the 108-minute film. The entrancing visuals include works by Lasse Persson, Douglas Fitch, and Sandra Osip and art historical references, from Munch to Escher.
Dominczyk (Succession,The Lost Daughter) brings a childlike wonder to Zelma, while Tony winner Pawk (Crazy for You,Cabaret) is mesmerizing as Biology; if they ever make any kind of Biology collectible, count me in. Also in the voice cast are Erica Schroeder as Elita, Emma Kenney as Sarma, Clyde Baldo as Eduards the bully, Florencia Lozano as Zelma’s mother, Ruby Modine as Nina, Carolyn Baeumler as Darya, Christina Pumariega as Darya’s mother, Tracy Thorne and Laila Robins as emcees, Dale Soules as a Soviet official, and Michael Laurence as the Big Man.
But the focus is what’s happening in Zelma’s mind and body — which represents what’s going on in the viewer’s mind and body as well, regardless of gender. It might be an all-too-familiar story, but Baumane infuses it with a bold and intriguing freshness. Her depictions of kisses, coffins, clouds, and interior spaces are captivating, showing that life as a woman is no automatic fairy tale.
“To be a woman is dangerous and can be deadly,” Zelma, who turns into an animal when threatened, says. “I was so afraid to be a woman.” But that was once upon a time.
My Love Affair with Marriage opens October 6 at the Quad, with Baumane on hand for Q&As at the 2;30, 5:00, and 7:30 screenings every day through October 11.
[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]
Who: Shirine Babb, Grantham Coleman, Keith David, Manoel Felciano, Denis O’Hare, Matthew Rauch, Laila Robins, Liv Rooth, Stephen Spinella, Emily Swallow, Raphael Nash Thompson, Tamara Tunie, James Udom, Nathan Winkelstein What: Livestreamed benefit reading of Ben Jonson’s Sejanus, His Fall Where:Red Bull Theater website and Facebook Live When: Monday, May 17, free with RSVP (suggested donation $25), 7:30 (available on demand through May 21 at 7:00); live discussion May 20 at 7:30 Why: “To the no less Noble by VIRTUE than BLOOD, Esme Lord Aubigny. My Lord — If ever any Ruine were so great as to survive, I think this be one I send you, The Fall of SEJANUS. It is a Poem, that (if I well remember) in your Lordships sight suffered no less Violence from our People here, than the Subject of it did from the Rage of the People of Rome; but with a different Fate, as (I hope) Merit: For this hath out-liv’d their Malice, and begot it self a greater Favour than he lost, the Love of Good Men. Amongst whom, if I make Your Lordship the first it thanks, it is not without a just Confession of the Bond Your Benefits have, and ever shall hold upon me. Your Lordships most faithful Honourer, Ben Jonson.” So wrote English Renaissance playwright Ben Jonson in the dedication for his 1603 tragedy, Sejanus, His Fall, about Lucius Aelius Seianus, a confidant of Tiberius Caesar Augustus. On May 17 at 7:00, Red Bull Theater will present a live reading of the play, newly adapted and directed by associate artistic director Nathan Winkelstein and featuring Shirine Babb, Grantham Coleman, Keith David, Manoel Felciano, Denis O’Hare, Matthew Rauch, Laila Robins, Liv Rooth, Stephen Spinella, Emily Swallow, Raphael Nash Thompson, Tamara Tunie, and James Udom.
“Ben Jonson’s Sejanus is perhaps best known for being Jonson’s least known play,” Winkelstein said in a statement. “It was a colossal failure in its time and has received, to my knowledge, only two professional productions in the last one hundred years in England, and no such full productions in America — ever. At its core, Jonson’s play is a takedown of corrupt governance in sublime language surpassed only by Shakespeare – who, incidentally, is believed to have appeared in the original production. That resonance remains today. Why then is it so rarely taken up by theatermakers? Well, in my opinion, it’s intensely overwritten. My challenge has been to bring this resonance to the fore while eliminating the, apologies to Jonson, fluff. And over the course of the past four years, I’ve worked to craft a playing script that has constant forward momentum. I look forward to working with the crackerjack team to bring this adaptation to life.”
Admission is free with a suggested donation of $25; the stream will be available through May 21 at 7:00. In addition, Red Bull is hosting a live Bull Session on May 20 at 7:30 with Winkelstein, scholar Henry S. Turner, and members of the company. “The plays of Ben Jonson are naturally central to all our work at Red Bull, and — as we had to delay our in-person production of The Alchemist — this spring we’re excited to be presenting two plays by Ben Jonson live online — one of his greatest comedies and one of his most infamous tragedies — Volpone and Sejanus,” Red Bull founder and artistic director Jesse Berger said. “Both plays have wonderful characters, terrific language, and exciting plots with surprising twists and turns — in short, the best of the best of Jacobean theater — all in Jonson’s inimitable, sharp-witted style.” Volpone, or the Fox will be premiere June 14, starring André De Shields, Jordan Boatman, Sofia Cheyenne, Franchelle Stewart Dorn, Clifton Duncan, Amy Jo Jackson, Peter Francis James, Hamish Linklater, Roberta Maxwell, Sam Morales, Kristin Nielsen, and Mary Testa.
Who:Gingold Theatrical Group What: Virtual open mic Shakespeare birthday celebration Where:Gingold Zoom and Facebook When: Friday, April 23, free with RSVP, 6:00 Why: This month marks William Shakespeare’s 457th birthday as well as the 405th anniversary of his death, and New York City’s Gingold Theatrical Group, which specializes in works by George Bernard Shaw, will be paying tribute to the Bard with a free, virtual Shakespeare Sonnet Slam open mic on April 23 at 6:00. Among those who will be reading from Shakespeare’s writings are Stephen Brown-Fried, Robert Cuccioli, Tyne Daly, George Dvorsky, Melissa Errico, Alison Fraser, Tom Hewitt, Daniel Jenkins, John-Andrew Morrison, Patrick Page, Maryann Plunkett, Tonya Pinkins, Laila Robins, Jay O. Sanders, Renee Taylor, and Jon Patrick Walker — and the general public, who is invited to offer their own favorite pieces either by or inspired by Will, kept to less than three minutes. “We’re eager to celebrate as much as we can with whatever we can these days,” GTG artistic director David Staller said in a statement. “And since nobody has contributed more to the world of the theater than William Shakespeare, we’re going to celebrate like mad. He wrote more than 150 magnificent sonnets and I doubt we’ll get through them all but we’ll give it our best shot.” In order to be part of the interactive festivities, you must register by April 22 at 4:00.
The inaugural Antonyo Awards celebrated the best of Black theater on and off Broadway (screenshot by twi-ny/mdr)
I’ve been writing about New York City arts and culture since May 2001, focusing on events that require people to leave their homes and venture out to museums, theaters, movie houses, restaurants, botanical gardens, clubs, and other venues to experience art, film, dance, plays, music, nature, and other forms of entertainment.
But as of March 12, all of that was shut down. I had anticipated that twi-ny would effectively be shut down as well, but to my surprise and delight many arts institutions, once they realized they would be closed for a long period of time, embraced the situation and began making works they presented over Zoom, Instagram Live, Facebook Live, YouTube, and their own sites. I was initially worried that I would not know what to do with the sudden free time I had — I’m used to going out five or six nights a week, covering whatever is happening in the city — but soon enough I was ridiculously busy watching and writing about the endless stream of productions being made for the internet and, often, about the pandemic itself, exploring ideas of loneliness and confinement and, once the George Floyd protests began, equality, racism, and freedom. It’s been exciting navigating through so much creativity and following how so many individuals and companies are experimenting with online technology in ways that are not only thrilling to watch but beckon toward the future, with the ability to reach a global audience all at the same moment, at the touch of a button.
And so, as we celebrate America’s 244th birthday — one in which we have come to understand that we have a lot of work to do to face a shameful past that continues into the present — and most of us will be partying from wherever we are sheltering in place, it’s also time to celebrate the ingenuity of actors, directors, artists, writers, musicians, composers, dancers, choreographers, journalists, comedians, thinkers, and others who are making this crisis so much more bearable than it could have been.
Below are the first of hopefully only two This Week in New York Pandemic Awards, honoring the best in live programming that took place between March 13 and June 30. The only rule is that there has to be a live facet to it — either occurring at that minute and/or with an interactive element such as a live Q&A or live chatting. Depending on how the reopening goes and with many arts venues unlikely to start having in-person audiences until 2021, we will be back in December for what we fervently hope will be the second and last Pandemic Awards.
Happy Fourth!
BEST NEW PLAY
Arlekin Players Theatre, State vs. Natasha Benin, based on Natasha’s Dream by Yaroslava Pulinovich, translated by John Freedman, directed by Igor Golyak, performed by Darya Denisova. Filming live from their bedroom, married couple Igor Golyak and Darya Denisova collaborate with an inventive team to come up with an ingenious participatory experience that has been extended through July 12 (free).
The Public Theater, What Do We Need to Talk About? Conversations on Zoom, written by Richard Nelson, with Jay O. Sanders, Maryann Plunkett, Sally Murphy, Laila Robins, and Stephen Kunken. Richard Nelson adds an unexpected chapter to his Apple Family Plays as Richard, Barbara, Marian, Tim, and Jane gather together on Zoom to take stock of their lives once again in this poignant, moving work that closed June 28. But you can catch up on the clan again in Nelson’s follow-up, And So We Come Forth — The Apple Family: A Dinner on Zoom, which continues on YouTube through August 26.
BEST SHORT PLAY SERIES The Homebound Project. Benefiting No Kid Hungry, each iteration of the Homebound Project consists of ten short pandemic-related solo tales by an all-star team of writers (Michael R. Jackson, Sarah Ruhl, C. A. Johnson, Sarah DeLappe, Qui Nguyen, Anne Washburn, Samuel D. Hunter, Bess Wohl, John Guare, Clare Barron), directors (Steven Pasquale, Leigh Silverman, Jerry Zaks, Trip Cullman, Danya Taymor), and performers (Amanda Seyfried, Daveed Diggs, Diane Lane, Blair Underwood, Phillipa Soo, Zachary Quinto, Mary-Louise Parker, William Jackson Harper, Jessica Hecht, Marin Ireland), streamed for a limited time; the fourth edition is scheduled for July 15-19 (minimum donation $10).
The 24 Hour Plays. These Viral Monologues are divided into thematic groupings called rounds that comprise intimate solo plays between four and fifteen minutes in length, with Tony Shalhoub, Marin Ireland, Daveed Diggs, Ashley Park, Santino Fontana, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Jake Gyllenhaal, Cynthia Nixon, David Hyde-Pierce, Maddie Corman, Michael Cerveris, Elizabeth Marvel, Brandon J. Dirden, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Ethan Hawke, and others in works by Lynn Nottage, Kristoffer Diaz, Donald Margulies, Lydia Diamond, David Lindsay-Abaire, Preston Max Allen, Jonathan Marc Sherman, and more, each iteration benefiting a different charity based on that round’s topic (free).
Diane Lane was luminescent in Michael R. Jackson’s Let’s Save the World for the Homebound Project (screenshot by twi-ny/mdr)
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SHORT PLAY
Diane Lane, Let’s Save the World, written by Michael R. Jackson, The Homebound Project. Academy Award nominee Diane Lane is luminescent in Pulitzer Prize winner Michael R. Jackson’s bright, shiny tale about angels and hope.
André De Shields, “A Father’s Sorrow,” written by Shaka Senghor, The 24 Hour Plays. Tony winner De Shields is a force in Shaka Senghor’s “A Father’s Sorrow,” playing Elder Qualls, a priest whose son has been incarcerated.
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUSBAND-AND-WIFE TEAM
Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody, Twitter, directed by Gideon Grody-Patinkin. Nearly every day, Gideon Grody-Patinkin takes out his smartphone and records his parents, actors Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody, as they have breakfast, experience computer problems, discuss TikTok, and just live life during a pandemic; this is about as real as it gets, and it’s funny as hell.
Tony Shalhoub and Brooke Adams, Happy Days, written by Samuel Beckett, Plays in the House, part of Stars in the House, hosted by indefatigable pandemic MVPs Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley. After beating their coronavirus infections, Tony Shalhoub and Brooke Adams, who have been married since 1992, revisited Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, which they toured with in 2015, performing it live from their bedroom for Stars in the House, with proceeds benefiting the Actors Fund.
BEST PERSONAL STORY TOLD BY A PLAYWRIGHT
Lynn Nottage, “Pilgrims,” TrickleUP NYC Artists Network. Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage shared a remarkable true story about a tree in her backyard for TrickleUP, a grassroots subscription video platform (minimum donation $10/month) with short performances by a wide range of talent including Suzan-Lori Parks, Taylor Mac, Kathleen Chalfant, Lucas Hnath, Jane Houdyshell, Tonya Pinkins, Jefferson Mays, Rachel Chavkin, Miguel Gutierrez, Paula Vogel, Faye Driscoll, Thomas Jay Ryan, Dominique Morisseau, Basil Twist, Latanya Richardson Jackson, Alan Cumming, and many more, benefiting artists affected by the Covid-19 cancellations.
BEST REUNION READING
LAByrinth Theater Company, Our Lady of 121st Street, A LAByrinth Virtual Reading and Benefit, written by Stephen Adly Guirgis, with Elizabeth Canavan, Liza Colón-Zayas, Scott Hudson, Russell G. Jones, Portia, Al Roffe, Felix Solis, David Zayas, Bobby Cannavale, John Doman, Laurence Fishburne, Dierdre Friel, David Deblinger, and Elizabeth Rodriguez. The LAByrinth Theater Company gave a blistering Zoom reading of Stephen Adly Guirgis’s 2002 play about a group of people gathering for the funeral of a murdered nun whose corpse has gone missing; the acting, led by David Zayas and Bobby Cannavale, was the best I’ve seen online during this crisis.
BEST ZOOM SHAKESPEARE NOT IN THE PARK
Theater of War, The Oedipus Project, with Frances McDormand, John Turturro, Oscar Isaac, Jeffrey Wright, Frankie Faison, David Strathairn, Glenn Davis, Marjolaine Goldsmith, and Jumaane Williams, translated and directed by Bryan Doerries. Theater of War, which specializes in presenting ancient Greek and modern plays and examining them through a razor-sharp sociocultural lens, put on a stunning Zoom reading of several scenes from Sophocles’s Oedipus the King, followed by a community discussion about elder care, relating the play to what is happening in nursing homes during the pandemic; Oscar Isaac as the doomed ruler tore the house down with an unforgettable finale.
BEST ZOOM NOT-SHAKESPEARE NOT IN THE PARK
Molière in the Park, Tartuffe, directed by Lucie Tiberghien, with Raúl E. Esparza, Samira Wiley, Kaliswa Brewster, Toccarra Cash, Chris Henry Coffey, Naomi Lorrain, Jared McNeill, Jennifer Mudge, Rosemary Prinz, and Carter Redwood. Molière in the Park founding artistic director Lucie Tiberghien and cofounding producer Garth Belcon usually stage works by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, aka Molière, in Prospect Park, but this summer season they have gone virtual, staging an exciting adaptation of Tartuffe on Zoom; the fab production design by Kris Stone makes it look as if the performance is taking place on the gorgeous estate of Orgon, one of the main characters. The cast features Raúl E. Esparza as the villainous scoundrel Tartuffe and Samira Wiley as Orgon (free; extended through July 12 on YouTube).
BONUS: BEST ZOOM BUM
Raúl E. Esparza, Tartuffe, Molière in the Park. Four-time Tony nominee Raúl E. Esparza shocked and excited the audience when he dropped trou during the first performance, setting the chat board on fire with squeals of delight from fans all over the world at the sight of his bare bottom.
BEST INTRODUCTION TO A PLAY
Simon McBurney, The Encounter. From May 15 to 22, St. Ann’s Warehouse streamed a recording of The Encounter, a primarily one-man play about human contact that uses sound in extraordinary ways, from his London-based Complicité company. McBurney stretches the bounds of what we think we see and hear in his spectacularly inventive lockdown-related introduction, toying with technology like a master magician with a fantastic, childlike sense of humor and wonder.
BEST THEATER INTERVIEW SERIES
Red Bull Theater Company, RemarkaBULL Podversations. Red Bull has been busy during the coronavirus crisis, presenting reunion readings of such previous productions as Coriolanus and The Government Inspector as well as talks with actors about specific speeches from the theatrical canon, what they call “RemarkaBULL Podversations,” including Elizabeth Marvel discussing and delivering the “Cry Havoc” speech from Julius Caesar, Michael Urie exploring the “Queen Mab” monologue from Romeo & Juliet, and Chukwudi Iwuji digging deep into the “Homely Swain” soliloquy from Henry VI.
BEST AWARDS SHOW
Broadway Black, The Antonyo Awards, directed by Zhailon Levingston. The inaugural Antonyo Awards was an eye-opening experience as the best in Black theater was celebrated in ways that the Tonys and others would never be able to; it was all the more powerful given that it took place on Juneteenth as the country was reaching critical mass over the George Floyd protests and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dropkick Murphys jam with Bruce Springsteen at empty Fenway Park (screenshot by twi-ny/mdr)
BEST LIVE OUTDOOR CONCERT Dropkick Murphys: Streaming Outta Fenway, with special appearance by Bruce Springsteen. Boston’s Dropkick Murphys took over an empty Fenway Park with a ferocious two-hour live set that had me dancing like a madman in my home office. It reached a nearly impossible crescendo when Bruce Springsteen joined in from his New Jersey farm. The benefit for Feeding America, Habitat for Humanity Greater Boston, and the Boston Resiliency Fund can still be seen here; be sure to crank it up to eleven.
Hello from FitzGerald’s: @StayAtHomeConcert caravan with Jon Langford. British troubadour Jon Langford, of the Mekons, the Waco Brothers, the Pine Valley Cosmonauts, the Skull Orchard, and Wee Hairy Beasties, traveled through the streets of suburban Chicago regaling the neighborhood with jaunty songs delivered on the back of music club FitzGerald’s white truck, his saucy humor and lovely acoustic songs as intoxicating as ever.
BEST SOLO A CAPELLA PERFORMANCE
Brian Stokes Mitchell, “The Impossible Dream.” One of the most inspiring moments of the pandemic occurred nightly after the 7:00 clap as Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell, trying to regain his voice following a difficult battle with Covid-19, stuck his head out his West Side apartment window and crooned “The Impossible Dream,” changing a few words to honor the essential health-care workers who helped him and who continue to lead the fight against the virus despite the inherent risks. Mitchell had to stop doing it when the crowds reached unsustainable levels, making social distancing itself impossible.
BEST FACEBOOK LIVE CONCERT SERIES Richard Thompson, couch concerts with Zara Phillips. Every few weeks, British musician Richard Thompson, one of the world’s great guitarists and songwriters, takes a seat in his Montclair, New Jersey, living room and performs tunes from throughout his fifty-plus-year career, joined by his partner, singer-songwriter and adoption activist Zara Phillips. Being able to see Thompson’s guitar playing thisclose is worth the price of admission — it’s free, but donations are accepted for the Community FoodBank of NJ — and his wry quips, delivered with a devilish smile, are a joy in these hard times. Thompson will be performing his brand-new pandemic EP, Bloody Noses, in its entirety on July 5 at 4:00; he is also thrilled to finally have a live gig, backing Phillips at a free July 15 outdoor show in Woodbridge.
Chick Corea, Piano Improvisation. Legendary jazz pianist Chick Corea, who turned seventy-nine last month, has been performing gorgeous piano improvisations on Facebook Live, a necessary respite on that platform from arguing politics with high school classmates you haven’t seen in years.
BEST INSTAGRAM MUSIC BATTLES
Swizz Beatz, Verzuz. Hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz is on a mission to support and celebrate living artists during this pandemic, and he is doing so by hosting a series of online battles between Alicia Keys and John Legend, Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond, Bounty Killer and Beanie Man, Nelly and Ludacris, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, and Babyface and Teddy Riley.
BEST INSTAGRAM DANCE SHOW
D-Nice, Club Quarantine. Harlem-born D-Nice was the first deejay to get the internet cooking once everything shut down, getting people up and grooving to his live Club Quarantine parties on Instagram.
BEST ZOOM MUSIC VIDEO OF AN OLD SONG
“Raise You Up,” Kinky Boots International Pride Cast Reunion, with Billy Porter, Stark Sands, Annaleigh Ashford, Wayne Brady, Harvey Fierstein, Cyndi Lauper, and more. Reunion videos are hot, but none captured the heat like this Pride anthem from Kinky Boots, performed by an all-star cast.
Modern English, “I Melt with You.” British band Modern English resuscitated its 1982 smash hit with a quarantine edition that is melting the internet, with leader Robbie Grey impressing not only with his vocals but his lockdown look.
BEST SOLO DANCE PERFORMANCE
Jamar Roberts, Cooped, WPA Virtual Commission, choreographed by Jamar Roberts. Longtime Ailey dancer Jamar Roberts’s Cooped is the most explosive five minutes to come out of the arts world during the pandemic; with fierce determination, Roberts investigates solitude, confinement, and the black body, set to a searing score by David Watson on bagpipes and Tony Buck on drums.
Sara Mearns, Storm, WPA Virtual Commission, choreographed by Joshua Bergasse. NYCB principal dancer Sara Mearns glides across her New York City apartment, stopping by the window to assess the world outside, in this sensitive, reaffirming work choreographed by her husband, Joshua Bergasse, and set to Margo Seibert’s rendition of pianist Zoe Sarnak’s “The Storm Will Pass Soon Now.”
Jaqlin Medlock, #GIMMESHELTER, Stephen Petronio Company. Native New Yorker Jaqlin Medlock dazzled in Stephen Petronio’s work choreographed over Zoom for the company’s gala fundraiser, performing breathtaking movement in her apartment.
BEST ZOOM DANCE
Martha Graham Dance Company, Immediate Tragedy, Martha Matinees, choreographed by Janet Eilber. Martha Graham Dance Company has been presenting classic archival footage in its Martha Matinees series, but for Immediate Tragedy, artistic director Janet Eilber reimagined Graham’s lost 1937 solo for a company of dancers over Zoom, moving around the individual Zoom boxes like a thrilling game of Tetris; just magnificent.
STREB gala featured new Zoom dance focusing on the grammar of the human body (screenshot by twi-ny/mdr)
STREB, Body Grammar, choreographed by Elizabeth Streb. Elizabeth Streb’s Action Heroes, who combine acrobatics, athletics, and dance on unique apparatuses in jaw-dropping ways, focuses in on the performers’ heads, hands, feet, arms, legs, and torsos in an experimental work that would make Bruce Nauman proud.
BEST TELEPHONE OPERA
On Site Opera, To My Distant Beloved, Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, music by Ludwig van Beethoven, song text by Alois Isidor Jeitteles, additional English dialogue by Monet Hurst-Mendoza, directed by Eric Einhorn, with soprano Jennifer Zetlan and pianist David Shimoni or baritone Mario Diaz-Moresco and pianist Spencer Myer. On Site Opera was in a bind during the pandemic, as the New York City–based company specializes in site-specific productions in unique locations. But it has come up with a splendid alternative, a twenty-minute performance adapted from Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, delivered over the phone for one listener at a time. To enhance the romantic tale of longing, each listener receives emailed love letters prior to either a soprano or baritone calling you up and singing just for you, with interactive dialogue as well. You don’t have to know anything about opera to fall in love with this experience, one of the best — and most unusual — of the pandemic, and even better now that it’s been extended through August 9 ($40).
BEST INTERVIEW SERIES
92nd Street Y, 92Y Online. The 92nd Street Y has always featured a great lineup of guests from across the artistic, sociocultural, culinary, and geopolitical spectrum, and it’s been no different during the coronavirus crisis, with its doors on the Upper East Side closed for the near future. But that hasn’t stopped the Y from presenting live, online talks about just about any topic imaginable, with celebrities galore and hot-button issues. Many of the events are free, but you have to pay for some of the archived discussions. Our favorite is a free one with Pamela Adlon chatting with her friend Mario Cantone, a wild and woolly conversation that never lets up.
Ken Davenport, The Producer’s Perspective. Theater producer Ken Davenport has been one of the busiest guys during the lockdown, speaking with dozens of theater stalwarts about the state of the industry and what they’re doing during the crisis. Among his sixty guests have been Alan Cumming, Kate Rockwell, David Henry-Hwang, Jason Alexander, Marilu Henner, Kenny Leon, Jenn Colella, Santino Fontana, Ashley Park, Dominque Morisseau, and Kerry Butler, with Steven Pasquale, Danny Burstein, and Raúl E. Esparza coming up.
BEST FILM & TELEVISION REUNION SERIES
Josh Gad, “Reunited Apart.” Cuddly, lovable Josh Gad lets his fan-geek show by bringing back the casts of classic films from the 1980s and ’90s, and you might be shocked to see that just about everyone participates from wherever they are sheltering in place. So far he has brought together the cast and crew of Ghostbusters, The Goonies, The Lord of the Rings, Splash, Back to the Future, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, all of which can be watched for free on YouTube, with donations accepted for specific charities.
Xavier F. Salomon discusses classic works from the Frick while enjoying specialty cocktails in weekly talk
BEST ART TALKS
The Frick Collection, “Cocktails with a Curator,” with Xavier F. Salomon. Frick chief curator Xavier F. Salomon has become an internet sensation, hosting “Cocktails with a Curator” every Friday at 5:00, exploring in depth a work from the Frick Collection, relating it to the current crisis, and selecting a cocktail to accompany the fifteen-minute talk. His warm, genteel, engaging demeanor, vast historical knowledge, and love of highballs are just the recipe for an art-starved public. You can also catch him on Wednesdays going around the world in “Travels with a Curator.”
“Art at a Time Like This,” curated by Barbara Pollack and Anne Verhallen. Curators Barbara Pollack and Anne Verhallen have been asking the question, “How can we think of art at a time like this?” since March 17, when they began exploring existing and/or new work by one specific artist a day, Monday through Friday, putting it in context of the Covid-19 crisis and, later, the George Floyd protests. Among the impressive list of participants are Ai Weiwei, Chitra Ganesh, William Kentridge, Petah Coyne, Dread Scott, Laurie Simmons, Mel Chin, Alfredo Jaar, and Mary Lucier. Pollack and Verhallen have also hosted weekly live, interactive Zoom discussions with many of the artists, examining fascinating aspects of the intersection of art and politics. Of course, their basic question focuses on painting, sculpture, video, and installation art, but it also relates to dance, music, theater, literature, film, television, and more. How can we think of any of this at a time like this? All of the above awardees, and everyone else who is creating art during a time like this, should be justly celebrated, not only for entertaining and educating us, but for shining a light on what the world may be like on the other side of this.
Chris Henry’s Women on Fire: Stories from the Frontlines is based on true stories about women in today’s America (photo by Russ Rowland)
Royal Family Performing Arts Space
145 West 46th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves., third floor
Friday – Monday through March 16, $30-$250 www.royalfamilyproductions.org
Chris Henry’s Women on Fire: Stories from the Frontlines is meant to be an empowering call to action. Unfortunately, it too often resembles an intense Facebook thread in which the majority of the participants are firmly on the left, arguing with a couple of right-wing Trump supporters. But the eighty-minute work is terrifically acted by a diverse cast of fifteen actresses and features dynamic choreography performed by four powerful dancers who serve as a kind of Greek chorus of movement (and occasionally sound).
As you enter the Royal Family Performing Arts Space, yellow caution tape separates the audience from the set, a postapocalyptic scene with black plastic bags partially blocking exposed brick walls and lightbulbs precariously dangling from the ceiling. Women are sitting on chairs and benches in the dark. The caution tape is ripped apart as if declaring, “Here we come!” And one by one, the women walk front and center holding a piece of paper and delivering monologues about rape, misogyny, sexism, abortion, race, discrimination, sexual assault, and other hard-hitting issues. Each story is based on interviews Henry conducted. “I feel like I’m in The Handmaid’s Tale and I can’t get out,” Offred (Stephanie J. Block) says. “1, 2, buckle my shoe / 3, 4, close the door / 5, 6, pick up sticks / 7, 8, lay them straight / 9, 10, big fat hen. That’s how I got through sex,” Kara (Gina Naomi Baez) confesses. “Okay, here’s the deal. You don’t get to be a Roman Polanski fan anymore,” Lisa (Alysia Reiner) shouts. Julia rails against the philosophy behind Pretty Woman. Jo praises Hillary Clinton but lambasts Bill as a sexual predator. The most moving story comes from Maya (Gargi Mukherjee), who details a sexual assault at a threading parlor.
Maddie Corman is part of rotating cast of incendiary Women on Fire (photo by Russ Rowland)
On the other side, Courtney (Maddie Corman) explains, “I think people get so worked up about silly things; I mean, boys will be boys,” Taty accuses the Democrats of being dangerously wrong on Cuba, and Charle (Cynthia Mace) doesn’t understand why Black Lives Matter is more important than Blue Lives Matter. After speaking their peace, the women put their paper into a mini-cauldron. Each segment is preceded by a ferocious interpretive dance by Samantha Butts, Emily Anne Davis, Erica Misilo, Samantha Warner, and/or Mariah Reive, who occasionally interact with the other performers. The effective set design, lighting, and costumes are by Cheyenne Sykes, with original music by Lars Jacobsen; Henry codirects the play with choreographer Lorna Ventura. The impressive rotating cast also includes Kathy Brier, Andréa Burns, Rosa Curry, Paige Gilbert, Judy Gold, Julie Halston, Simone Harrison, Cady Huffman, Steffanie Leigh, Rebecca Nelson, Olivia Oguma, Portia, Connie Ray, Laila Robins, Debra Jo Rupp, Constance Shulman, Lianah Sta. Ana, Desi Waters, and Ashley Williams.
“This play is not meant to be perfect. . . . This is just a pebble in a giant ocean of stories,” Henry explains in a program note. She’s more right than she realizes. Too many of the tales, though true, are clichéd and obvious, preaching to the choir, starting with the first monologue, when Margaret reads a long list of Donald Trump’s shameful deeds while campaigning and then as president. We are familiar with every one of them, so there are no surprises; it feels like we’re watching MSNBC or reading a social media post from Mother Jones. The night I went, the ritual finale did not catch fire because of a faulty lighter. But that did not stop the play’s inner fury, best represented by Rachel, who delivers a profanity-laced tirade against the treatment of women in today’s America.
Sam (Michael Hayden) and Jo (Laila Robins) are facing tragedy in THE LADY FROM DUBUQUE (photo by Joan Marcus)
The Pershing Square Signature Center
The End Stage Theatre
480 West 42nd St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Extended through April 15, $75
212-244-7529 www.signaturetheatre.org
A Broadway bomb in 1980 when it ran for only twelve performances at the Morosco Theatre (with a cast that included Irene Worth, Earle Hyman, Tony Musante, and Frances Conroy), Edward Albee’s The Lady from Dubuque is back in a splendid revival as the inaugural production at the Signature’s End Stage Theatre, where it has been extended through April 15. Set in the present day, the play is built around the question of personal identity; both acts begin with games of “Who am I?” that set the stage for existential arguments that grow ever more surreal. As the show begins, Sam (Michael Hayden) and Jo (Laila Robins) are hosting a small gathering of friends in their swanky home, trying to take everyone’s mind off of Jo’s worsening terminal illness, but Jo will not let them forget as she makes endlessly snide and mean-spirited comments about everything and everyone. While the thrice-married professional redneck Fred (C. J. Wilson) and his younger floozy girlfriend, Carol (Tricia Paoluccio), can dish it out and take it, the more mild-mannered and naive Lucinda (Catherine Curtin) and her sensitive husband, Edgar (Thomas Jay Ryan), have a harder time dealing with the abuse. The tenor of the play changes at the end of the first act with the sudden arrival of the elegantly dressed title character (Jane Alexander) and her regal, erudite companion, Oscar (Peter Francis James), who introduce a whole different kind of party game.
Peter James Francis and Jane Alexander play a different kind of party game in Signature revival of Edward Albee play (photo by Joan Marcus)
No one explores relationships between couples like Albee, whose work has earned him three Pulitzer Prizes (A Delicate Balance, Seascape, and Three Tall Women) and two Tonys for Best Play (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?). The heart of The Lady from Dubuque is Sam’s deep love for Jo and his intense fear of losing her. Played with an intelligent complexity by Hayden, Sam desperately needs to protect her, whether she wants him to or not, and when that protection is threatened by Oscar and the lady from Dubuque, he reacts with anger that results in bizarre violence and increasing levels of absurdity. James and Alexander lend an austere presence to the proceedings, with Alexander initially taking the stage like the grand dame of the theater that she is. Directed by David Esbjornson, the play features the characters regularly turning to the audience, acknowledging the presence of the crowd almost as if they are guests at the party. The night we saw the show, an audience member actually answered a character’s rhetorical question out loud, inviting laughs from everyone in the Frank Gehry-designed theater. Bitingly sarcastic, wickedly funny, and surprisingly heartfelt, The Lady from Dubuque is a stirring party that is well worth attending.
