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12/16/2015Theater: Nellie McKay Rocks Out; "Ludic Proxy" Confounds Pleasantly | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=d00221fa-82c3-4d96-862a-d94381d880cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&1/4Theater: Nellie McKay Rocks Out; "Ludic Proxy"Confounds PleasantlyTheater: Nellie McKay Rocks Out; "Ludic Proxy" ConfoundsPleasantlyNELLIE MCKAY AT 54 BELOW *** out of **** LUDIC PROXY ** 1/2 out of ****NELLIE MCKAY AT 54 BELOW *** out of **** 54 BELOWNellie McKay celebrated her birthday by kicking off a stand at the New York City cabaret venue du jour 54Below. She rocked the house -- surely it's the first time 54 Below shook to the sounds of Frank Zappa --delivering a clutch of 1960s covers ranging from the classic to the obscure. It was protest music delivered with asly smile and a sincere heart, exactly what McKay has been doing since she burst onto the scene in 2004 withher debut album Get Away From Me. If the evening never quite soared, it's because some of the songs shechose to perform were so challenging to sing but uninteresting melodically, an unfortunate combination. Theywere delivered with verve, but a vocal showcase it wasn't.Ten of the tunes came from McKay's new album My Weekly Reader, which delights in reminding us of theOccupy vibe that dominated that era, though in the 1960s people still believed they could change the world.("We can!" Nellie might chime in.) Co-produced with sonic sophistication by Geoff Emerick, one could just aseasily focus on her whimsical covers of "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" by Herman's Hermits or theleft-field rendition of the Paul Simon-penned curio "Red Rubber Ball." Still, the socially committed McKay clearlyfeels a deep affinity for protest via song, an almost lost art these days and that's where the heart of the albumlies. I haven't lived with it long enough yet, but repeated listens have made this collection hang together moreand more.Unquestionably it has some tunes that may work well in the album context, but are a little flat musically forsingers: "Murder In My Heart For The Judge" (by Moby Grape), "Hungry Freaks, Daddy" (the Zappa tune) andthe bleak Richard and Mimi Farina tune "Bold Marauder" were all delivered capably in concert by McKay butproved better opportunities for her fine band to stretch out than for the performer herself to shine as aninterpreter.Happily, many other songs gave McKay a chance to deliver. The buoyant "Itchycoo Park" by Small Faces madeclear the band-first vibe that would predominate could be fun. (The Doors gem "People Are Strange" had a first-night ramshackle nature to it, but did much the same towards the end of the night.) And McKay thoroughlyreawakened me to the Kinks tune "Sunny Afternoon" by helping me remember it contains the bitching of a onepercenter annoyed about paying taxes.I've never paid much attention to Joe Allen McDonald -- aka Country Joe of Country Joe and the Fish. (Maybeit's their name, which always sounded so silly to me.) But with three covers spaced throughout the evening,McKay made a case for me to do some catching up on this songwriter, thanks to "Janis," "Not So Sweet MarthaLorraine," and that protest classic "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag," a tune about gleefully going off to war thatis sadly all too timely and probably always will be.
12/16/2015Theater: Nellie McKay Rocks Out; "Ludic Proxy" Confounds Pleasantly | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=d00221fa-82c3-4d96-862a-d94381d880cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&2/4The band did offer strong backup, with bassist Alexi David shining on a delicate version of Steve Miller's"Quicksilver Girl," guitarist Cary Park freaking out appropriately on "Hungry Freaks, Daddy" and drummerKenneth Salters doing formidable work throughout. It's a little hard to rock out while you're sitting down, but theystirred up the crowd here and there.Still, given the cabaret setting, the high points were often the quiet numbers, like that gorgeous "QuicksilverGirl." The Sopwith Camels' "Hello Hello" ("Would you like some of my tangerine?") was an off kilter delight,Dylan's "Clothesline Saga" allowed her comic timing a workout and "If I Fell" worked charmingly, even withoutthe double-tracked vocals that make the album version such a treat. And McKay -- alone at the mike with hertrusty uke -- stopped time with a simply lovely delivery of the Gerry & The Pacemakers chestnut "Don't Let TheSun Catch You Crying."McKay is such a protean talent, you want to follow her anywhere her interests go, from covers of Doris Day tooriginals to covers of the 1960s to -- hopefully -- a full-fledged Broadway musical someday, a context I think willallow her songwriting gifts to find their focus and then flower more fully than ever. As McKay's stand at 54 Belowcontinues, the band is sure to gel further, allowing tunes where they take flight to become more and morefrequent. This particular show may not win her new fans, but the faithful will surely be glad to see her again.This was my overdue first visit to 54 Below, by the way, and it's easy to see why this has become a key venue inthe cabaret world of New York. The setting has a speakeasy vibe, thanks to stairs heading down and down tothe warm, intimate space. The staff took care to be as quiet as possible during songs, from the bartender mixingdrinks down to the handsome waiters and waitresses stepping in quickly and thoughtfully during everymomentary break. And while it's classy, it's not snobbish: you don't worry about not sporting a tux, the way somestuffy venues can make newcomers feel. One could get addicted to seeing great talent in such close proximity.LUDIC PROXY ** 1/2 out of **** PLAYCO AT WALKERSPACEPlayCo -- the company behind the critically acclaimed work Generations -- is back with another genre defyingpiece of theater. In fact, it's a world premiere and the first piece the ambitious PlayCo has commissioned.It certainly fits their international perspective. Written and directed by Aya Ogawa, this is a piece haunted bynuclear power gone awry. In Part One, a woman who fled her hometown after the Chernobyl meltdown isdisturbed and thrilled to see her nephew and a friend playing a video game set in that desolate landscape,giving them tips about where to head to find food and safety, while flashing back to the traumatic day her lifechanged forever.In Part Two, a pair of Japanese sisters struggle to reach an understanding as one tries to convince the other it'stime to leave a town near the Fukushima disaster, a place where devices to measure radiation are nowcommonplace. Oddly, the action of this section is guided by the audience, as they are repeatedly given optionsabout what could happen next and vote for one of two or three choices.In Part Three, two humans -- perhaps the last two real humans in the world? -- struggle to connect whilesurveying the many "ground zeros" they observe on the Earth's surface and looking for signs of life.This is heady, rich material and Ludic Proxy has an innate intelligence and commitment to the work that keepsyour interest, even if the dramatics are lacking. The first piece, especially scenes with young kids talking inRussian while an adult narrates her flashbacks, is easily the strongest. Young love, naive refusal to acceptwhat's happening and sibling rivalry all place us on firm ground.Still, the distancing effect of technology quickly steps in. Cleverly, we watch them play a video game by seeingthe actors manipulate tiny cameras and moving them through a doll-house style maze that represents ourheroine's childhood apartment. It's neat, but the stunt doesn't really pay off.
12/16/2015Theater: Nellie McKay Rocks Out; "Ludic Proxy" Confounds Pleasantly | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=d00221fa-82c3-4d96-862a-d94381d880cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&3/4That distance from the material is doubled in Part Two. A woman who chooses to live near Fukushima out ofloyalty is faced with a wrenching moral dilemma (I suppose; the choice seems obvious to me -- run! Though ofcourse that ignores the deep bond to family and ancestors in Japanese culture.). But the laborious stunt ofhaving the audience vote on what happens next keeps us at arm's length again. It doesn't resonate in any senseof fate controlling your destiny or the characters being like avatars in a video game or anything else. Indeed, itbarely seems to make sense in terms of what comes before or after except on the chilliest of intellectual levels.I've read a lot of sci-fi, so Part Three is comfortable territory for me, with its post-apocalyptic landscape andhumans who are hold-outs in a world where everyone has been "upgraded" to automatons of one sort oranother. But with a red herring or two and a murky storyline, it's hard to feel engaged. So after a successful startto Part One, we spend the rest of the show working hard to enjoy each piece on its own or connect them one tothe other.On the plus side, Ogawa has a fine cast that gives their all and the tech elements are strong, from the minimalbut effective sets of Jian Jung to the herculean effort of Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew on lights and video (with surely asmall budget) and especially the well-crafted and crucial sound of Michael Kiley, which sets the mood effectivelyeven before the show begins. All six actors have strong moments, from Megan Stern's sweet turn as Past Ninato Saori Tsukada's convincing Dad to Chris Henry's winning appeal in every era. It doesn't begin to add up, butthe teamwork on display makes it a pleasure to mull this over. Ludic Proxy is surely the very sort of downtowntheater that should be supported by bold companies and even bolder audiences who want to encourage newvoices.THEATER OF 2015Honeymoon In Vegas ** The Woodsman *** Constellations ** 1/2 Taylor Mac's A 24 Decade History Of Popular Music 1930s-1950s ** 1/2 Let The Right One In ** Da no rating A Month In The Country ** 1/2 Parade in Concert at Lincoln Center ** 1/2 Hamilton at the Public *** The World Of Extreme Happiness ** 1/2 Broadway By The Year 1915-1940 ** Verite * 1/2 Fabulous! * The Mystery Of Love & Sex ** An Octoroon at Polonsky Shakespeare Center *** 1/2 Fish In The Dark * The Audience *** Josephine And I *** Posterity * 1/2 The Hunchback Of Notre Dame ** Lonesome Traveler ** On The Twentieth Century *** Radio City Music Hall's New York Spring Spectacular ** 1/2 The Heidi Chronicles * The Tallest Tree In The Forest * 1/2 Broadway By The Year: 1941-1965 ***
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=d00221fa-82c3-4d96-862a-d94381d880cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&1/4Theater: Nellie McKay Rocks Out; "Ludic Proxy"Confounds PleasantlyTheater: Nellie McKay Rocks Out; "Ludic Proxy" ConfoundsPleasantlyNELLIE MCKAY AT 54 BELOW *** out of **** LUDIC PROXY ** 1/2 out of ****NELLIE MCKAY AT 54 BELOW *** out of **** 54 BELOWNellie McKay celebrated her birthday by kicking off a stand at the New York City cabaret venue du jour 54Below. She rocked the house -- surely it's the first time 54 Below shook to the sounds of Frank Zappa --delivering a clutch of 1960s covers ranging from the classic to the obscure. It was protest music delivered with asly smile and a sincere heart, exactly what McKay has been doing since she burst onto the scene in 2004 withher debut album Get Away From Me. If the evening never quite soared, it's because some of the songs shechose to perform were so challenging to sing but uninteresting melodically, an unfortunate combination. Theywere delivered with verve, but a vocal showcase it wasn't.Ten of the tunes came from McKay's new album My Weekly Reader, which delights in reminding us of theOccupy vibe that dominated that era, though in the 1960s people still believed they could change the world.("We can!" Nellie might chime in.) Co-produced with sonic sophistication by Geoff Emerick, one could just aseasily focus on her whimsical covers of "Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter" by Herman's Hermits or theleft-field rendition of the Paul Simon-penned curio "Red Rubber Ball." Still, the socially committed McKay clearlyfeels a deep affinity for protest via song, an almost lost art these days and that's where the heart of the albumlies. I haven't lived with it long enough yet, but repeated listens have made this collection hang together moreand more.Unquestionably it has some tunes that may work well in the album context, but are a little flat musically forsingers: "Murder In My Heart For The Judge" (by Moby Grape), "Hungry Freaks, Daddy" (the Zappa tune) andthe bleak Richard and Mimi Farina tune "Bold Marauder" were all delivered capably in concert by McKay butproved better opportunities for her fine band to stretch out than for the performer herself to shine as aninterpreter.Happily, many other songs gave McKay a chance to deliver. The buoyant "Itchycoo Park" by Small Faces madeclear the band-first vibe that would predominate could be fun. (The Doors gem "People Are Strange" had a first-night ramshackle nature to it, but did much the same towards the end of the night.) And McKay thoroughlyreawakened me to the Kinks tune "Sunny Afternoon" by helping me remember it contains the bitching of a onepercenter annoyed about paying taxes.I've never paid much attention to Joe Allen McDonald -- aka Country Joe of Country Joe and the Fish. (Maybeit's their name, which always sounded so silly to me.) But with three covers spaced throughout the evening,McKay made a case for me to do some catching up on this songwriter, thanks to "Janis," "Not So Sweet MarthaLorraine," and that protest classic "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag," a tune about gleefully going off to war thatis sadly all too timely and probably always will be.
12/16/2015Theater: Nellie McKay Rocks Out; "Ludic Proxy" Confounds Pleasantly | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=d00221fa-82c3-4d96-862a-d94381d880cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&2/4The band did offer strong backup, with bassist Alexi David shining on a delicate version of Steve Miller's"Quicksilver Girl," guitarist Cary Park freaking out appropriately on "Hungry Freaks, Daddy" and drummerKenneth Salters doing formidable work throughout. It's a little hard to rock out while you're sitting down, but theystirred up the crowd here and there.Still, given the cabaret setting, the high points were often the quiet numbers, like that gorgeous "QuicksilverGirl." The Sopwith Camels' "Hello Hello" ("Would you like some of my tangerine?") was an off kilter delight,Dylan's "Clothesline Saga" allowed her comic timing a workout and "If I Fell" worked charmingly, even withoutthe double-tracked vocals that make the album version such a treat. And McKay -- alone at the mike with hertrusty uke -- stopped time with a simply lovely delivery of the Gerry & The Pacemakers chestnut "Don't Let TheSun Catch You Crying."McKay is such a protean talent, you want to follow her anywhere her interests go, from covers of Doris Day tooriginals to covers of the 1960s to -- hopefully -- a full-fledged Broadway musical someday, a context I think willallow her songwriting gifts to find their focus and then flower more fully than ever. As McKay's stand at 54 Belowcontinues, the band is sure to gel further, allowing tunes where they take flight to become more and morefrequent. This particular show may not win her new fans, but the faithful will surely be glad to see her again.This was my overdue first visit to 54 Below, by the way, and it's easy to see why this has become a key venue inthe cabaret world of New York. The setting has a speakeasy vibe, thanks to stairs heading down and down tothe warm, intimate space. The staff took care to be as quiet as possible during songs, from the bartender mixingdrinks down to the handsome waiters and waitresses stepping in quickly and thoughtfully during everymomentary break. And while it's classy, it's not snobbish: you don't worry about not sporting a tux, the way somestuffy venues can make newcomers feel. One could get addicted to seeing great talent in such close proximity.LUDIC PROXY ** 1/2 out of **** PLAYCO AT WALKERSPACEPlayCo -- the company behind the critically acclaimed work Generations -- is back with another genre defyingpiece of theater. In fact, it's a world premiere and the first piece the ambitious PlayCo has commissioned.It certainly fits their international perspective. Written and directed by Aya Ogawa, this is a piece haunted bynuclear power gone awry. In Part One, a woman who fled her hometown after the Chernobyl meltdown isdisturbed and thrilled to see her nephew and a friend playing a video game set in that desolate landscape,giving them tips about where to head to find food and safety, while flashing back to the traumatic day her lifechanged forever.In Part Two, a pair of Japanese sisters struggle to reach an understanding as one tries to convince the other it'stime to leave a town near the Fukushima disaster, a place where devices to measure radiation are nowcommonplace. Oddly, the action of this section is guided by the audience, as they are repeatedly given optionsabout what could happen next and vote for one of two or three choices.In Part Three, two humans -- perhaps the last two real humans in the world? -- struggle to connect whilesurveying the many "ground zeros" they observe on the Earth's surface and looking for signs of life.This is heady, rich material and Ludic Proxy has an innate intelligence and commitment to the work that keepsyour interest, even if the dramatics are lacking. The first piece, especially scenes with young kids talking inRussian while an adult narrates her flashbacks, is easily the strongest. Young love, naive refusal to acceptwhat's happening and sibling rivalry all place us on firm ground.Still, the distancing effect of technology quickly steps in. Cleverly, we watch them play a video game by seeingthe actors manipulate tiny cameras and moving them through a doll-house style maze that represents ourheroine's childhood apartment. It's neat, but the stunt doesn't really pay off.
12/16/2015Theater: Nellie McKay Rocks Out; "Ludic Proxy" Confounds Pleasantly | Evernote Web
https://www.evernote.com/Home.action#n=d00221fa-82c3-4d96-862a-d94381d880cf&ses=4&sh=2&sds=5&3/4That distance from the material is doubled in Part Two. A woman who chooses to live near Fukushima out ofloyalty is faced with a wrenching moral dilemma (I suppose; the choice seems obvious to me -- run! Though ofcourse that ignores the deep bond to family and ancestors in Japanese culture.). But the laborious stunt ofhaving the audience vote on what happens next keeps us at arm's length again. It doesn't resonate in any senseof fate controlling your destiny or the characters being like avatars in a video game or anything else. Indeed, itbarely seems to make sense in terms of what comes before or after except on the chilliest of intellectual levels.I've read a lot of sci-fi, so Part Three is comfortable territory for me, with its post-apocalyptic landscape andhumans who are hold-outs in a world where everyone has been "upgraded" to automatons of one sort oranother. But with a red herring or two and a murky storyline, it's hard to feel engaged. So after a successful startto Part One, we spend the rest of the show working hard to enjoy each piece on its own or connect them one tothe other.On the plus side, Ogawa has a fine cast that gives their all and the tech elements are strong, from the minimalbut effective sets of Jian Jung to the herculean effort of Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew on lights and video (with surely asmall budget) and especially the well-crafted and crucial sound of Michael Kiley, which sets the mood effectivelyeven before the show begins. All six actors have strong moments, from Megan Stern's sweet turn as Past Ninato Saori Tsukada's convincing Dad to Chris Henry's winning appeal in every era. It doesn't begin to add up, butthe teamwork on display makes it a pleasure to mull this over. Ludic Proxy is surely the very sort of downtowntheater that should be supported by bold companies and even bolder audiences who want to encourage newvoices.THEATER OF 2015Honeymoon In Vegas ** The Woodsman *** Constellations ** 1/2 Taylor Mac's A 24 Decade History Of Popular Music 1930s-1950s ** 1/2 Let The Right One In ** Da no rating A Month In The Country ** 1/2 Parade in Concert at Lincoln Center ** 1/2 Hamilton at the Public *** The World Of Extreme Happiness ** 1/2 Broadway By The Year 1915-1940 ** Verite * 1/2 Fabulous! * The Mystery Of Love & Sex ** An Octoroon at Polonsky Shakespeare Center *** 1/2 Fish In The Dark * The Audience *** Josephine And I *** Posterity * 1/2 The Hunchback Of Notre Dame ** Lonesome Traveler ** On The Twentieth Century *** Radio City Music Hall's New York Spring Spectacular ** 1/2 The Heidi Chronicles * The Tallest Tree In The Forest * 1/2 Broadway By The Year: 1941-1965 ***