Planet Banana - It's Not Changing the World

There's something to be said about the Ars Nova Theater and there's something to be said about its latest show, Planet Banana.

 

 

Planet Banana is a sort of "potpourri" show of singing, dancing, juggling and trapeze performance combined with a "Beatle-esque Ob La Di-Ob La Da" love story.

 

 

The Ars Nova is one of the best-kept secrets of Off-Broadway's west side. I have never been to a performance at this theater where the pre-show excitement wasn't top notch. The Ars Nova oozes with cutting edge trend and retro style. It is a small theater turned into a bar like setting with cocktail tables, bar back chairs and a never miss DJ spinning the best mix of songs to get the audience ready for the show. I have yet to be disappointed with the Ars Nova before the curtain rises. However, I cannot say the same about what I saw after the curtain went up.

 

 

Planet Banana is hard to explain. Just by the title alone, you can tell the show is just trying to have fun, not change the world. And fun is exactly what Planet Banana puts on stage – it's just not very consistent. 

 

 

When the audience first meets Silvia, (Silvia Machete), this sultry and voluptuous lounge singer is immediately engaging. Her singing is comparable to a louder Suzanne Vega. Her voice showcases very smooth and soft lyrics that seem to literally roll right off her tongue and demands your attention. During the first several scenes with Silvia, a truly likeable character is given to the audience. She has undoubted sex appeal but somehow retains her "sweet little girl" innocence as she longingly looks into the audience with her big brown eyes as she searches for love. She puts forth a magnetic character and draws you in whether you like it or not. 

 

 

The plot follows along a traditional line through the first scenes, i.e., boy meets girl, boy likes girl, girl likes boy. Up until this point, the play is cute and funny with some well-directed humor. However, after this point, Planet Banana takes a sudden and unexpected nosedive. 

 

 

Before I explain where the play took this turn for the worse, let me say that I am not partial to only "squeaky-clean" shows. Plays such as RENT and Cabaret in my opinion are/were some of Broadway's brightest moments despite the risqué scenes they bring to the table. However, these scenes which may cause some eyebrows to be raised, are consistent with the characters' personas and therefore work. This is not the case in Planet Banana. Some scenes use a banana as a very obvious phallic joke. In a particular scene, fellatio is simulated on the banana and after a short while, a "liquid" squirts out from it. This is humorous to some and just plain stupid to others. I'm all up for a lewd joke every now and then, but there is something to be said for subtly, which this play completely missed. At the end of the show when true love is acknowledged and found, the lead characters turn the play into a raucous romp. They gyrate their hips and twist into unfathomable sexual positions. As various limbs are spread in very opportunistic ways, I began to wonder just how far this "love fest" would go, only to then be greeted with the bare bottoms of each actor at the play's conclusion. I came here to see a show, not the fantasy of a hormone filled fifteen-year-old boy. Planet Banana went from showcasing a very talented actress who perfectly balanced sexuality and innocence in her character and then, mind the pun, blew it. Where did the initial story line go?

 

 

There were other aspects of the play which made this a "less than thrilling" experience. Lounge scenes where Silvia was singing with her band were set off to the side of the stage. From where I was sitting during these scenes, I was starring directly into a light. Some scenes also featured actors who would walk up the center aisle and act as if they were one of the audience members. Although these scenes fit very well with the story line, depending on some of the staging, my view was blocked by the actor in the audience. I remember an old adage my high school drama teacher always practiced. She would sit in all of the seats in the theater during full dress rehearsals to make sure that every seat in the house was a good one. If staging or lighting needed to be changed, that was how she became aware of it. This is something that Planet Banana might have benefited from using.

 

 

Although Planet Banana wasn't one of Off-Broadway's best, the audience did seem to love the performance the night I attended. Everyone was laughing and having a good time, or so it seemed. Planet Banana is full of overtly obvious humor which either works for you or doesn't. Even though this is a show I can say I saw with a laugh and eyeball role, I can't say enough about actress Silvia Machete. Her role of Silvia showcased her physical talents and acting abilities in a very brilliant light. Not only can she act, she can perform. I cannot explain how every audience member sat stunned, mouth agape, in their seat as Machete executed the most seductive and captivating trapeze performance they had ever seen. That scene stole the show, but at the same time was scene that completely changed the timbre of Planet Banana. That aside, given a better role, Machete would be phenomenal and a force to be reckoned with on Broadway's stage. She has the potential to make a name for herself, but with the credit of being Planet Banana's co-creator, there is still room for improvement. 

 

 

Planet Banana performs Thursdays and Fridays at 8 PM and Saturdays at 8 PM and 10 PM through May 28, 2005 at the Ars Nova Theater at 511 West 54^th Street. Please call 212-868-4444 for tickets.

 

 

 

 

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