CurtainUp
The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features,
Annotated Listings
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CurtainUp The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features,
Annotated Listings |
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A CurtainUp Review
Stupid F**king Bird
At Philadelphia's Arden Theatre this show is very special. Aaron Posner co-founded this theater with Terrence Nolen back in '88. And while all the other productions of SFB (also with the sanitized F**king in the title), were directed by others, Posner, an accomplished director, has finally directed a production himself. Writing the play was an act of discovery that tied his own truth and concerns to Chekhov's POV about the state of the theatre, the nature of art, and matters of life, love and the lack thereof. SFB, personal and funny, has an honesty that breaks through. Posner goes his own way, often making explicit things that Chekhov left implicit. His characters, like Chekhov's, comment on theatre and long for change. But Pirandello-like, the actors extend their search for truth beyond stage "reality" into a supposed "real" life, and take it out into the audience. (Although, speaking strictly for me, connecting with an audience via responses is overrated.) As he channels the theatre giant's work, frustrated hope wrapped in bleak nihilism settles into a more existential affirmation. His take on Con's (Chekhov's Treplev) unappreciated little play asserts: "You are here. You are here. . ." The treatment of desperately painful mismatched love recalls Erica Jong's line, "the howling chaos of the heart," as characters lament their lives. Seven well-cast and sublimely grounded actors inhabit two simultaneous realities and take the challenges of this complex work in their stride. Modern, rakish set design features the show's title scrawled in white across a huge backdrop, with a cut-out photo of Chekhov's head as a sort of punctuation. James Sugg's music, with Posner's cool and crazy lyrics, is played along with music by sound designer Daniel Perelstein. A few obviously recently added lines like, "I can show you my tax returns," elicit huge laughs. For more specific detail and discussion of SFB's plot see the CurtainUp review of Pearl Theater's production here Before I saw the show I asked Aaron about the experience of directing this play at his old stomping ground. He said it's special, and it was a thrill for him to direct Grace Gonglewski in the role of Emma (Chekhov's Arkadina), because he had written the part for her. I asked if he'd seen any of the (zillion) productions across the country. He has seen about a dozen, and he's gratified that his play has been done well and has been well received. He was particularly happy to learn that that it clearly appeals to college students, because this kind of work shows that they can find connections between old classic stuff and new approaches. When asked if he had issues with any of the productions of his play that he's seen, he said he loved much about them, even when, sometimes, things were done that he didn't totally agree with. He is pleased that the core of his project, what he was up to, has come through. I asked him about his take on NYC's Pearl Theater's recent production directed by Davis McCallum, because it was reviewed by CurtainUp's editor, Elyse Sommer. He said it had wonderful things in it and many virtues, and he'd told Davis that he'd unquestionably steal a few things from his direction of the play. Aaron Posner already is off on a Chekhov-based binge with new plays either out or in the pipeline. I'll definitely want to see them |
Search CurtainUp in the box below PRODUCTION NOTES Stupid F**king Bird by Aaron Posner Directed by Aaron Posner Cast: Cindy De La Cruz (Nina), Grace Gonglewski (Emma), Dan Hodge (Dev), Alex Keiper (Mash), Aubie Merrylees (Con), Karl Miller (Trigorin), Greg Wood (Dr. Sorn) Scenic Design: Timothy Mackabee Lighting Design: Thom Weaver Costume Design: Katherine Fritz Sound Design: Daniel Perelstein Choreographer: Amy Smith Sept 15 to Oct 16, 2016 2 hours and 30 minutes including one 10 minute intermission Reviewed by Kathryn Osenlund based on 09/28/2016 performance. Arden Theatre, 2nd Street, Philadelphia REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
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