Alec Duffy, director of Hoi Polloi’s production of “Baal”

Posted on August 4, 2012 by robby

Those of you who know me, the producer of Go See a Show!, know that I love me some Bertolt Brecht. So when I saw there was a chance to see his first play, Baal, presented by Hoi Polloi as part of the Underground Zero Festival, it was the first show I secured tickets for.

I was not disappointed. And you won’t be either — sadly, as I’m posting this there are just two more chances to catch this one, but catch it you should.

Listen in as I chat with the show’s director Alec Duffy about the fire of Baal, making immersive theatre in a former DJ bar-lounge dance-club, erasing the border between the street & the stage, and what’s next for his new Brooklyn performance space, JACK.

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Hoi Polloi presents

Baal
by Bertolt Brecht
directed by Alec Duffy

part of the Underground Zero Festival

JACK
505 1/2 Waverly Ave, b/w Fulton & Atlantic
Brooklyn

July 12 – August 5 @ 8PM

Trav S.D., the M.C. of “Travesties of 2012” at the New York Musical Theatre Festival

Posted on July 27, 2012 by robby

click to read the text!

If you’re like the rest of the Family Guy-watching generation, when you hear the word “Vaudeville” you probably think of the characters Vern & Johnny, who pop up every now and again on the sitcom to lament the fact that Vaudeville is dead.

But, like punk rock, Mark Twain in 1897, and that old guy from Monty Python & the Holy Grail, Vaudeville isn’t dead. For proof, look no further than Travesties of 2012, part of this year’s New York Musical Theatre Festival, curated & hosted by performer/writer/director/journalist/all-around-renaissance-man Trav S.D.

Listen in as Trav & I talk finding a niche, finding Vaudeville performers in 2012, and loving Woody Guthrie.

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American Vaudeville Theatre presents

Travesties of 2012

Curated/Hosted by Trav S.D.
Directed by John Hurley
Musical Director/ accompanist: Sarah Malinda Engelke
Stage Manager: Audrey Marshall
Lighting Design: Olivia Harris
Costumes: Meryl Pressman and Holly Rihn

Dates:
~~Thursday: 7/19: 9:30pm~~
~~Friday 7/20: 7pm & 930pm~~
~~Saturday: 7/21: 6pm~~
~~Thursday: 7/26: 9:30pm~~
Friday 7/27: 7pm & 9:30pm
Saturday 7/28: 6pm

Tickets available via the NYMF website

Rachel Murdy & Lucille Duncan of “Little West Twelfth Night”

Posted on July 23, 2012 by robby

Walking the streets of New York City, it seems there’s a performance at every corner — planned or not. But what if you could actually follow a “staged” performance around the streets of NYC?

Wonder not, and go see Little West Twelfth Night, presented by the folks behind Conni’s Avant-Garde Restaurant in the Underground Zero Festival.

Rachel Murdy (“Frankie”) & Lucille Duncan (“Maria”), and later Dave Bennett (“Orsino”), meet me at The Brass Monkey (which figures into the show, along with the Highline, the Standard Hotel, the Gansevoort Market, a creepy van, and more) to give some insight into the first non-“avant-garde restaurant” performance from the company — a historical walking-tour of the Meatpacking District, with a healthy dash of Shakespeare.

Listen in as Rachel, Lucille, Dave & I talk impossible love affairs, chance lighting design in an outdoor walking-tour show, getting towed & questioned by the police for the sake of your show, random allusions to Law & Order: SVU are made, and Lucille & Rachel give you mixing instructions for a brass monkey, “the poor man’s mimosa.”

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Conni’s Avant-Garde Restaurant & the Underground Zero Festival present
Little West Twelfth Night

based on William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
conceived by Rachel Murdy
written by Peter Lettre
directed by Cynthia Croot

remaining performances:
July 23 & July 29 at 8PM
July 30 at 7AM (yep — AM! sunrise special!)

tickets available via OvationTix

Cheryl Faraone, director of PTP/NYC’s “Serious Money”

Posted on July 20, 2012 by robby

As mentioned in previous episodes, while I love theatre in its many forms, I (the producer of GSAS!) am predominately interested in where theatre’s at now—how our art form can speak to our current reality. Knowing this, one might be surprised to hear that one of the most intriguing works I’ve seen of late is a revival of a play written & set in the mid-80s.

But it’s the truth. PTP/NYC has brought their production of Caryl Churchill’s classic Serious Money to Atlantic Stage 2, and in addition to featuring a script that has aged wonderfully (and resonates eerily well with the current global financial situation), the production, under the direction of Cheryl Faraone, feels as fresh & current & of-the-moment as any show I’ve covered on the podcast. You should check this one out.

But before you do: take a listen to this episode as Cheryl discusses working from a common language, creating socially-observant work while avoiding didacticism, and running monsters of different stripes in rep.

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PTP/NYC (Potomac Theatre Project) presents
Serious Money

by Caryl Churchill
directed by Cheryl Faraone

running in rep with

Monster, by Neal Bell

July 3–29
Atlantic Stage 2
330 West 16th Street
New York, NY

Tickets & showtimes available via TicketCentral

Amy Overman, Justin Plowman, Gyda Arber, and Amy Beth Sherman of “Of Dice & Men”

Posted on July 18, 2012 by robby

More repeat offenders on GSAS! for this episode — last time it was stoned, drunken zombies, but this time the fine people at Dysfunctional Theatre are bringing a story of epic campaigns, saving throws, and decisive D20 rolls to the stage with Of Dice & Men, by Cameron McNary, part of the Game Play Festival at The Brick.

On the mic are Amy Overman, the show’s director, Justin Plowman, who plays a hardcore gamer in the show, Gyda Arber, another gaming enthusiast in the show as well as the producer of the Game Play Festival, and Amy Beth Sherman, who portrays another roleplayer in the show’s D&D adventuring party. Listen in to this episode for more on Game Play, passion, Justin’s super “woop-woop” dance, hating & loving Uni, and the connections between jocks, geeks, and theatre goons.

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Dysfunctional Theatre Company & The Brick Theater, Inc. present
Of Dice & Men

Written by Cameron McNary
Directed by Amy Overman

Starring: Gyda Arber, Rob Brown*, Cedric Jones, Justin Plowman, Adam Swiderski, and Amy Beth Sherman*
*appears courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association

The Brick
575 Metropolitan Avenue (between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street)
Brooklyn, NY

Saturday July 7, 8pm
Tuesday July 10, 8pm
~~Thursday July 12, 8pm~~
~~Sunday, July 15, 2pm~~
Wednesday, July 18, 8pm
Saturday, July 21, 2pm
Tuesday, July 24, 8pm
Friday, July 27, 7pm

Tickets: $15, available online at bricktheater.com, or by calling OvationTix at 866-811-4111

photos by Flaviu Nasarimba

Emma Schimminger, Neal Moeller, and Leanne Mercadante of Perchance to Dream’s “The Tempest”

Posted on July 12, 2012 by robby

The good folks at Perchance to Dream Theatre return to Go See a Show! to give us the low-down on their production of The Tempest, running now (for one week only!) at Theatre 54.

Director/Producer/Lighting Designer Emma Schimminger, and actors Neal Moeller (Prospero) and Leanne Mercadante (Ariel) took a break from tech to talk about Emma’s many hats, oozy gooey non-neutral masks, Leanne chasing around stage with a big dog head, and the future of Perchance to Dream after this, their first full-length production.

There’s only one weekend to catch this production, so don’t delay!

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…oh, and learn a bit more about Perchance to Dream by listening to this earlier GSAS! episode (the third ever!) with company members Megan Lee & Kevin Paul Smith, which incidentally was recorded during a hurricane.

Full circle, back to The Tempest.

Perchance to Dream Theatre presents
The Tempest
by William Shakespeare
directed by Emma Schimminger

July 12–15, 2012
Thursday–Saturday @ 8PM
Saturday, July 14 @ 3PM
Sunday, July 15 @ 2PM

Theatre 54 at Shetler Studios
244 W. 54th Street, New York, NY
Tickets: $15, available via Brown Paper Tickets

Andrew Goffman, playwright & performer, and director Charles Messina of “The Accidental Pervert”

Posted on July 9, 2012 by robby

It might seem surprising to hear that an off-off-Broadway show has been running for three years, to consistently packed houses. Then again, when that show is a frank, honest, laugh-filled discussion of a young man’s coming-of-age story via his Dad’s porn collection and his own subsequent addiction to said porn…well, you know there’s going to be a little something in there for everyone.

In this episode of Go See a Show!, we’ve got an interview with playwright & actor Andrew Goffman, the self-described title character of The Accidental Pervert. His autobiographical one-man show is part theatre, part stand-up, (almost) entirely true, and all heart.

Listen in as Andrew and director Charles Messina discuss the broad appeal of a show about a kid’s connection to his father through porn, the porn-addicts in trenchcoats who are disappointed by the show, becoming an electrician by necessity, and how to keep a show that’s been running for over three years fresh.

Oh, and stick through to the end to hear Andrew’s “sexy voice.”

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“…if you ever forget your lines, just start moving. Start cleaning up the stage. And a lot of these off-Broadway theaters need cleaning anyway…”

The Accidental Pervert
Fridays & Saturdays @ 7pm
The 13th Street Repertory Company
50 West 13th Street – between 5th & 6th Aves

All Seats $30
Tickets available via OvationTix, or call 212-352-3101
or, visit the 13th Street Repertory Box Office

Frank Cwiklik, director of DMTheatrics’ “FINAL CURTAIN: The Last of Ed Wood”

Posted on June 26, 2012 by robby

I’m sure we’ve all noticed the trend in theatre to take material from the film world and put it upon the stage — look at the Broadway listings, and you’re sure to see what I mean. Director Frank Cwiklik of DMTheatrics is also in the business of bringing the big screen to the live stage, but right now he’s not working with “successful” films — he’s working with material from Ed Wood, the much-maligned/cultishly-adored1950s sci-fi/noir/horror/strange film writer/director/producer/actor. And for FINAL CURTAIN: The Last of Ed Wood, he’s got 5 (five!) Wood pieces running in rep at The Red Room.

After opening night of Bride of the Monster paired with The Sinister Urge!, Frank took a break from the madness to discuss the origins of his putting Ed Wood onstage, technical difficulties as aesthetic choices, playwrighting by necessity, and giving the man some have called “the worst director in history” a little respect.

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DMTheatrics presents

FINAL CURTAIN: The Last of Ed Wood

directed by Frank Cwiklik

Remaining performances:
TUE JUNE 26 8 PM The Ed Wood Memorial Burlesque Blowout
WED JUNE 27 8 PM The Violent Years!, 9:30 PM Hot Ice
THURS JUNE 28 8 PM Night of the Ghouls, 9:30 PM The Violent Years!
FRI JUNE 29 7:30 PM The Sinister Urge PLUS a retrospective of past DMT B-movie shows
SAT JUNE 30 8 PM Hot Ice, 9:30 PM Bride of the Monster
SUN JULY 1 1 PM Matinee Double Feature: Night of the Ghouls/The Violent Years!
8 PM Hot Ice, 9:30 PM The Sinister Urge!

The Cast & Director of Playhouse Creatures’ “Love Song”

Posted on June 19, 2012 by robby

If you’ve never been to the Access Theater, it might seem a little out of place; it’s four flights up in a nondescript building just south of Canal Street, and if not for the sandwich board out in front, you could easily miss it.

But you shouldn’t miss what’s going on in one of the theaters that lives up those four flights: a lovely revival of John Kolvenbach’s Love Song, presented by Playhouse Creatures.

Listen in to this episode of Go See a Show! as the cast — Eric Doss, Sarah Koestner, Patricia Duran, and Joseph W. Rodriguez — and director, Kenny Wade Marshall, discuss finding your character in yourself, sentimentality vs. being present, and the benefits of working together as an ensemble for years.

Take the stairs.

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Playhouse Creatures presents

Love Song
by John Kolvenbach

June 9-24th
Wednesday – Saturday @ 8PM
Sundays @ 3PM
*Special added Performance Tuesday June 19th @ 8PM!

Tickets: $18, available via SmartTix

Access Theatre
380 Broadway @ White Street

photos by Justin Dodd

Eliza Clark, playwright, & Adrienne Campbell-Holt, director of “Recall”

Posted on June 15, 2012 by robby

Go See a Show! once more took a trip deep into the wilds of the East Village for a show at The Wild Project, presented by Colt Coeur.

Recall is a world premiere from playwright Eliza Clark, and director Adrienne Campbell-Holt, whom I had the pleasure of speaking to after their final dress rehearsal earlier this week.

Take a listen as Adrienne talks about getting impossible stage directions from Eliza, Eliza talks about writing teenage boys, and I somehow work in references to just about every other podcast I listen to (save Stuff You Should Know, Savage Lovecast and Washed Up Emo, so y’all get links).

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Colt Coeur presents the world premiere of

RECALL
by Eliza Clark
Directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt

showtimes: Thursdays—Tuesdays, 8PM
now thru July 7

tickets: $25, available at Ovationtix or call 212.352.3101