HOME PAGE SEARCH CurtainUp REVIEWS FEATURES NEWS Etcetera and Short Term Listings LISTINGS Broadway Off-Broadway BOOKS and CDs OTHER PLACES Berkshires London LA/San Diego DC Philadelphia Elsewhere QUOTES On TKTS LETTERS TO EDITOR FILM LINKS MISCELANEOUS Free Updates Masthead NYC Weather |
A CurtainUp Review
I Love Paris By Jenny Sandman It's hard to think about much other than the Republican Convention right now. But I Love Paris, now playing at the Blue Heron Arts Center, is worth braving the hordes of wandering delegates. Broadway veteran Kevin Shinick, NOT in drag, plays socialite Paris Hilton, of blue movie and Fox sitcom fame. Paris, never afraid to babble endlessly, is waiting to be interviewed for the fifth co-host seat of ABC's daytime talk show, The View. While waiting, she delivers a long, meandering stream-of-consciousness monologue running the gamut from Cher's plastic surgery to her therapist to her acting class ("I'm not an actress, I'm a media whore.") to her love life ("I love sex…This time, I'm keeping the tape at my house"). Paris, never afraid to show off her tact and intelligence, says of host Barbara Walters, "Pick me, you skanky bitch! Give the show some class." Rob Lowe raises the question "Weren't you in the Rat Pack?" Kevin Shinick is a marvel. His characterization of Paris is bare bones at its best. He's not in drag, but neither does he camp it upr. In white briefs and black socks, and with no Paris-ian gestures or physicalizations, he makes her come alive solely through Doug Field's script. Paris has a lot to do, between getting dressed, fixing her hair, looking at magazines and nibbling on almonds; yet director Timothy Haskell keeps the pace swift. The show combines-a versatile and engaging actor, a very funny script, topicality. Add the short running time (fifty minutes) and in n the immortal words of Paris, "Now, that's hot."
|
Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co. Click image to buy. Our Review Mendes at the Donmar Our Review At This Theater Leonard Maltin's 2003 Movie and Video Guide Ridiculous!The Theatrical Life & Times of Charles Ludlam 6, 500 Comparative Phrases including 800 Shakespearean Metaphors by CurtainUp's editor. Click image to buy. Go here for details and larger image. |