Musings of an Entrepreneur

                                                 

by Stacie Rabinowitz

Last Monday night Fabrice and I had the pleasure of going to see the longest-running play in New York, “A Perfect Crime.” Although neither of us had heard much about it, as theater and mystery buffs we decided we should form our own opinions. Luckily, we were not disappointed! The plot is a murder mystery that keeps you on your toes till the very end. Although normally I hate excessive plot twists, and usually find them either predictable or gratuitous (sorry David Mamet), in this case each surprise was unique in its execution and built upon clues earlier in the play that were subtle enough to keep us in suspense while still integrated enough that each new development made sense and followed from the data we had been given. In fact, the various twists and turns were so devious that Fabrice and I came up with completely different theories as to what was happening, only to both be proven right at the end!

In addition to an intriguing storyline, the play was just plain fun. The dialogue was witty and well-delivered by an enthusiastic cast. The actors’ timing was superb, and I appreciated their ability to work well with difficult theatrical techniques such as phone conversations, tape and video recordings, and speaking to characters offstage. Clearly the long run of the play allowed these elements to develop into the cohesive piece that we saw before us, and all of the set pieces, lighting, and sound cues flowed into a well-rounded piece of theater. The play is not amazingly intellectual and has no important political statement, nor does it feature famous movie stars to draw a crowd. Sadly, Fabrice counted the people in the theater and hypothesized that it had to be losing money that night. But it is entertaining and amusing, which I’m sure is what has sustained its 23-year run. Go see it soon!

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I saw William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale last Thursday at the BAM in Brooklyn and loved it. The play is one of BAM’s “Bridge Projects” bringing together talent from London and New York.

The play is masterfully produced under the direction of Sam Mendez of American Beauty fame. I loved the effects and acting. My real criticism comes from the abrupt and unexpected tone change between the first and second parts. The first part is incredibly dark with its testament to the follies of jealousy and hasty judgment. The second part on the force of love as a means of redemption is incredibly light with farcical elements. The two parts tie the story well together and are compelling independently, but I expected a more gradual tone shift (admittedly that would have been hard to accomplish given the 16 year time difference between the two parts but something just “felt off” in the way it was done). I would have also cut out the dancing inflatable breast/penis scene which did not feel like it fit with the rest of the play.

As a side note, I was very impressed by Ethan Hawke’s acting. He often gets a bad rep, but I found him to be one of the very best actors in the play.

If you are in New York, check the play out!

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On Tuesday, I had the privilege to attend an interview with Tom Stoppard at BAM by David Remnick, an editor at the New Yorker. The event epitomized what I love about New York – an erudite audience, an amazing setting, and brilliant presentation.

Stoppard was quintessentially Stoppard – extremely eloquent despite the overuse of the phrase “as it were”, constantly taking us in unexpected directions through the joys of free association. David Remnick, a Russian specialist who won the Pulitzer in 1994 for his book Lenin’s Tomb, asked amazingly well researched and interesting questions.

The conversation ranged from whether the world needs another translation of Chekhov to the potential advantages of being a thinker in a censored society.

As Remnick put it: “Even truck drivers read Dostoyevsky in Soviet Russia”

Stoppard: “Yes, but if porn was available what do you think they would be reading?”

Stoppard’s version of the Cherry Orchard is being written with a specific focus on how it will be acted and played rather than read. He has made himself available to the producer and actors to tweak it as needed. It will be interesting to see how it comes out when it open at the BAM in January.

If you go see it, take the opportunity to eat pizza at Lucali, supposedly the best pizza in New York, a short cab ride away from the BAM in Brooklyn. Make sure NOT to go on Tuesday as it is closed that night!

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Having enjoyed Fat Pig and The Shape of Things so much, I had high expectations for Reasons to be Pretty. Unfortunately, the play did not live up to my expectations. The characters and setting did not resonate with me. The dialogue is simplistic and crass, reflecting the blue collar setting. I missed the wit from his other plays. I also did not buy the relationships. Greg, the main character, seems too smart to be dating a lunatic like Steph or to be friends with a bully like Kent. I also hated the moralizing monologue at the end of the play. Ah well, I hope I like Neil Labute’s next play more!

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I went to a reading of The Shape of Things by Neil Labute last night. The Shape of Things is Neil’s first play in his trilogy on beauty. I already loved Fat Pig and had high expectations. I was not disappointed. It was fantastic – amoral, irreverent and tons of fun! In fact, I liked it even more than Fat Pig. I am surprised the movie version got mediocre reviews and will be checking out shortly.

I can’t wait to see Reasons to be Pretty this Thursday!

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I was considering going to see the play Reasons to Be Pretty by Neil LaBute, which is running until July 5. It has been getting rave reviews for its trenchant commentary on the high value society places on beauty.

Before going to see it, I decided to check out two of Neil LaBute’s prior plays, which with Reasons to Be Pretty, form a sort of trilogy on beauty. I began with a reading last night of Fat Pig, which was fantastic. It tells the story of a good-looking man who starts dating an extremely nice and funny but overweight girl, and his struggle to balance his love for her with the negative reactions of his friends and society as a whole. The play is tragic-comic. It begins on a light, extremely funny note, but keeps getting darker as it progresses and the superficiality of our society begins to manifest itself.

The dialog is extremely true-to-life, and I was both entertained and moved. The play also led to an interesting conversation afterwards. I will definitely go to the reading of his other play on the topic, The Shape of Things (unfortunately sold out), before seeing Reasons to be Pretty.

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I had the privilege of seeing Patrick Stewart’s Macbeth last night at the Lyceum Theater before it closes on May 24. I loved the re-interpretation of the setting with Macbeth playing a Stalin-like figure with a backdrop and effects worthy of George Orwell’s 1984! Patrick Stewart is magnificent in the role and clearly shows how is undoing is really of his own making.

My only quibble was that the first half was a bit slow, but it really picked up after the intermission and ended with a great flourish!

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I have always been a huge fan of Tom Stoppard’s plays and movies especially Arcadia, Shakespeare in Love and Empire of the Sun. I just saw Rock ‘n’ Roll, a play about communism, the 1968 uprising in Czechoslovakia and rock and roll as a symbol of freedom. It’s not as good as Arcadia, but I truly loved the dialogue, the characters and their evolution.

You literally see the intellectual level of the discussion go down as we progress through time from 1968 to 1990 and the characters age, lose their British accent and society seemingly dumbs down (“What? They give hints in A levels now?”). In contrast, some of the early discussions on communism, materialism, objectivism and the poetry of Sappho were mind boggling and I was enthralled listening to them!

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