Trish Vignola - Page 2

It would be absolutely ridiculous if you missed this run. Performances are Thursdays - Sundays at 7:30pm, along with Saturdays matinees at 2:30pm and an additional performance on Monday, February 20 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students/seniors and can be purchased online at http://LaMaMa.org, in person at the box office or by calling 212-475-7710. The running time is 80 minutes. For more information visit http://www.TwoHeadedCalf.org.

TADA! YOUTH THEATER's original production, The History Mystery, is running now at the TADA! Youth Theater (15 West 28th Str. 2nd Floor). With book by Janine Nina Trevens, music by Eric Rockwell and lyrics by Margaret Rose, The History Mystery is directed by Ms. Trevens. Starring members of TADA!'s Resident Youth Ensemble, this limited engagement runs now through February 19th.

Overall, Kissing Sid James was a good production. Farquhar delivered an ending that was counterintuitive to what I was expecting and therefore thoroughly satisfying. The audience was so invested in the story that when the first reference to Sid James was mentioned in Act I, everyone in the audience had their smart phones out and were talking to each other about Sid James and his relevance to the show by intermission. Although the argument could be made that Sid James was a little random of a reference for an American audience, Farquhar had the audience talking. The performance lived up to the work as well, helping to unify the audience further.

59E59 Theatres welcomed the return of the New Perspective Theatre Company to their "Brits Off Broadway" festival with the American premiere of Michael Morpurgo's Farm Boy. Adapted as well as Directed by Daniel Buckroyd, Farm Boy opened December 13, and runs for limited time. A sequel to Morpurgo's acclaimed novel War Horse, Farm Boy accounts the changing face of the English countryside as technology clashes with rural heritage.

I'm not going to lie. It's hard, coming from Sketch/Improv background like myself, to not know about The Reduced Shakespeare Company. Their fast, physical wit is what every Sketch Comedian and Improviser aspires to work toward.

Kudos to Creator and Co-Director, Timothy Haskell, for what is a truly brilliant idea. Why not explore the more macabre side of humanity through the Brother's Grimm? Wow. Did our parents really read this stuff to us as kids?

Last night I caught The Tramaine Experience - An Urban Dramedy at the American Theatre of Actors. Presented through the Araca Project, The Tramaine Experience is one man's journey to escape and then finally embrace his background and in turn himself. It runs now through October 2nd.

The First Ladies Project is a well-crafted satire written in the Second City style. It is interesting to note that three of the ensemble graduated the Second City Teen program. This sharpness is evident in moments such as Laura Bush's Stand-up routine and Lucretia Garfield's diphtheria-inspired rap. The ensemble were excellent bringing to light unknown First Ladies as well as fleshing out the lives of the more iconic ladies seated beside our Commander and Chiefs. For all of the hard-hitting satire evident throughout the show, there were some wonderful moments of humanity as well. Edith Wilson comforting her enfeebled husband and Hillary Clinton facing her husband's repeated infidelities were just some of those moments.

The Midtown International Theatre Festival and Small Pond Enterprises LLC presented the New York Premiere of Dad Doesn't Dance, a new solo noir piece written and performed by Nora Brown. It opened July 12th and is closing today. Directed by Karen Case Cook, Dad Doesn't Dance tells the story of Brown's search for her biological father and in turn her identity.

Neal Bell's Spatter Pattern: or How I Got Away with It is running now through July 31st at the Atlantic Stage 2 (330 16th Street). Directed by Potomac Theatre Project's Co-Artistic Director Jim Petosa, Spatter Pattern is a part of the PTP/NYC's 25th Anniversary season in rep with Territories and Victory: Choices in Reaction. Spatter Pattern is a story of colliding worlds and consequences. By the happenstance of an available apartment, failing screenwriter Dunn (played by Jeffries Thaiss) meets and bonds with Tate (Adam Ludwig), a successful professor accused of murder. The play follows the two opposites as their connection deepens and their two worlds become one.

After the overwhelming success of last summer's presentation, the Gotham Arts Exchange returned to The Joyce Theater with the Gotham Dance Festival. Running through June 12, the Gotham Dance Festival presented six programs featuring ten choreographers - a who's who of North American modern dance, per say. The festival included the works of Brian Brooks, Monica Bill Barnes and Patrick Corbin to name a few. I had the honor of checking out the "Summer Sampler Matinee" on June 11. This particular program focused specifically on emerging choreographers. On the 11th, I saw the works of Ashleigh Leite, Julian Barnett and Sydney Skybetter.

Be Careful! The Sharks Will Eat You! continues its run at the Stage Left Studio. Written and performed by Jay Alvarez and directed by Theresa Gambacorta, Be Careful! recounts Alvarez' family and their harrowing escape from early 1960s Cuba. Alvarez takes the audience on a trip from revolution to the Coast Guard meeting him at the US Border. Be Careful! The Sharks Will Eat You! is thoughtful, deeply comedic and at moments intensely gripping.

According to the program, a conscious choice was made to cast African-Americans solely as Jews to emphasize 'racial otherness' and to make the 'emotional isolation that Moise Ferapontov experiences more palpable.' Although the each member of the cast turned in a superb job, this decision did not make the emotional isolation more palpable. It layered in a bunch of 20th and 21st century American issues and completely obscured the Russian-Jewish experience. Isn't highlighting the Jewish experience the entire point of Yiddish Theatre? I completely support and promote color-blind casting, but in the case of this particular show, it should have been across the board.

Gotham Burlesque however breaks through the malaise of this neo-burlesque to give the audience a thoroughly fun ninety minutes. These talented performers did a great job not only performing the art of the striptease but also finding the humor in the art. Gypsy Rose Lee would be proud.

My favorite actress of the cast would have to be Aurielle Kaminski. She played Vita's nemesis - Helen McGuire. Miss Kaminski has comedic timing far beyond her years. While most kids her age play big on the stage, she found a way to play her role with mature subtlety. Not only did she hit every joke, she found the jokes between the jokes. I completely see Miss Kaminski giving SNL's Kristen Wiig a run for her money, once she's old enough to drive of course.

Svoboda's questionable blocking of the set and actors was frenetic, halting the momentum of the story as well as dissipating energy. There was so much movement that it was extremely hard to focus on the actors. I just wished they were allowed to explore and play within this extremely interesting world. Although Svoboda's directing may not be as strong as his writing, Odysseus DOA is an incredibly beautiful play on its own. Like Odysseus himself, I look forward to seeing the next step in this play's journey but perhaps with a new captain at the helm.

I have to say that I was pretty excited to see this piece, especially as the Vatican currently reviews its long-held stances on several issues (including the use of condoms to stop the spread of AIDS). I also wasn't surprised to see religious figures taking on the social and emotional issues of the secular world. If you ever had a Jesuit education, this would be called a "Tuesday." Seriously though, I deeply appreciated seeing religious figures portrayed as thoughtful philosophers examining the world around them for once, as opposed to the crazed zealot stereotype we've become far too familiar with in television and movies today.

Summation Dance Company closed a brief run of Keep Your Feather Dry at the Baryshnikov Arts Center on Saturday, February 5th. This World Premiere was choreographed by Sumi Clements and produced by Taryn Vander Hoop, the company's founders. Keep Your Feathers Dry chronicles Ms. Clements very personal story of her boyfriend's reactivation into the Marine Corps and his subsequent deployment to Afghanistan. The piece consisted of three smaller thematic works, "Fortitudine", "Whac-a-Mole" and "No Man's Landing".

With the popularity of shows like Spiderman - Turn off the Dark and performance groups like Cirque du Soleil, let's face it. America is climbing the walls… literally. The popularity of Aerial work is growing...fast. Capitalizing on this momentum, the Manhattan Movement & Arts Center presented the first (of what they hope is many) Aerial Showcases yesterday. Featuring artists of different age and career levels, MMAC showcased the local 'Who's Who' of the Aerial arts.

While you were watching Live to Dance, So You Think You Can Dance or any of the innocuous Dance shows on television today, you missed the real thing in your own backyard. Gotham Arts Exchange presented their Emerging Artists Showcase at the Dance Theater Workshop January 5th through the 6th. The evening consisted of a shared showcase of developing choreographers presenting their new compositions. Featuring the works of New York's own Adam Barruch as well as John Mark Owen and Jessica Gaynor, the Emerging Artists Showcase ranged from modern dance accompanied by synth beats to classic ballet performed to sacred motets.