Spring Awakening

Cute boys, fun music, and discontent. That's a quick summary of Spring Awakening. Aussie Rob and I got tickets at tkts today for the matinee. I liked the songs, but didn't always follow how they fit into the story, other than the general frustration they conveyed. This show breaks boundaries, featuring on-stage sex, abortion, and suicide. I'm not sure that the sexual display is necessary for making the point. I often find such episodes a cheap way to reach an audience (i.e. Murakami's Norwegian Wood).

On the subway ride home, Rob and I discussed how the play, which is set in 1890s Germany, relates to life in the US today. The show intertwines the two places and times, perhaps reminding us of the importance of education and access to safe and legal medical treatment.

Check out a video of Bitch of Living.

Twelfth Night

I made my third trek to Brooklyn in 24 hours on Sunday to see Twelfth Night performed at BAM by the Propeller Shakespeare Company. It was an all-male, British company and perhaps the best Shakespeare I've ever seen. It was a little different - lots of instruments and modern suits, but really good. The all male thing was done very well. There are only three women in the play and one cross-dresses as male for the whole play. The guy who played a woman playing a guy was very convincing. If I hadn't seen the last performance, I would be sure to catch them doing Taming of the Shrew as well.

The BAM Harvey theater was really cool. Purposefully rough around the edges, it is definitely not a Broadway theater.

The NYC

It's worth mentioning here that Friday was Lance's last episode of his weekly improvised teen drama, The NYC. I was a regular supporter last year when it was on Wednesday nights at the Gene Frankel Underground. Since then I've gone less frequently, but I always enjoy the latest midtown adventure of Taylor, Me, Dex, Hillary, and the rest of the gang. I'll miss going, but they performed weekly for more than 2 years and so it's time for new things.

Bakunin, Belinsky, Herzen

A week and a half ago, Andrew and I went to the final part of the Coast of Utopia - Salvage. It's a Stoppard trilogy that was originally performed in London as a 9-hour marathon. We spread the three parts over a few months, but regardless, I left Salvage with a great sense of accomplishment. It's a very deep non-drama following a number of Russian philosophers, focusing on Bakunin, Belinksy, and Herzen, through their philosophical lives. The biggest action was a shipwreck (for which the second play is named) killing Herzen's son Kolya. The plays were filled with monologues and diatribes of gargantuan proportion. Hard to follow, but interesting when I did. I understood the last one best because I read the synopsis beforehand (which covered more material than the play itself).