The Stomach Flip

Enjoyed seeing “Murder Ballad” this evening at the Union Square Theatre.  The production is more environmental than immersive as the main area of the stage is set up as a bar and there’s a section of the audience sitting at tables watching the action.  The remainder of the audience surrounds the stage on three sides.  Except for some props preset at the tables, the audience doesn’t really “get involved” and except for a couple of times the performers don’t meet the audience’s gaze.  The cast (the video is the MTC production which is missing Caissie Levy as Sara) is terrific especially Rebecca Naomi Jones (who I LOVED in “American Idiot”).  While the plot may start out in a fairly typical way, it develops a great edge by the end and has some surprises that I will not spoil.  It’s been awhile since I’ve liked a musical enough to buy the CD but there is some terrific music and I look forward to purchasing it when it’s released on May 28th.

The show has been extended through September 29th.  Check it out!  It’s a fast-paced sexy, smart, and sung-thru 80-minute show (no intermission).

…because when people have seen you at your worst, you don’t have to put on the mask as much.

—Anne Lamott (via creatingaquietmind)

(Source: the-healing-nest, via ink-in-my-veins)

fantasticcats:

What I love is how he talks about knowing where each piece came from & he remembers it specifically.

You can always tell the difference when you walk into someone’s house if they just went out and bought some random shit because they thought it might look cool (I call it Hot Topic Curating) or they actually treasure the items in their space.

Mr. Bargarran lives in Brooklyn.  Amazing stuff!

when-strange-becomes-normal:

Illustrator Hilary Knight continues his tour of Broadway with sketches of a tall tale behind Tamara and two provocative scenes from Sleep No More.

While I’m sure these drawings were posted by someone, somewhere, at some time, though I have no recollection of ever having seen them.

What a great find!

thebloodybusiness:

noochnoochnooch:

A comedy about the three inevitable things in life- death, love, and sandwiches.

Hey dudes. My friends and I are gonna make a movie this summer. If you have any money that you don’t want for any reason you should consider giving it to us okay?

Done.

-C

I love sandwiches!

In “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812” the characters pursue their fates, happy and otherwise, in the grand houses of 19th-century Moscow.

The main link is Charles Isherwood’s NY Times Review.

Also included,

Elisabeth Vicentelli’s NY Post Review

Joe Dziemianowicz’s NY Daily News Review

All seem to agree the show itself is well-worth seeing.  The immersive qualities (namely, the food) is less successful.

fantasticcats:

Rebecca, the Musical, based on the renowned du Maurier novel, was veteran producer Ben Sprecher’s shot at the big time. Believing he had found the next Phantom of the Opera, he fully expected to have a Broadway hit on his hands. In a saga that veers from tragedy to surrealism, David Kamp details the blows to Sprecher’s dream: the “death” of a key investor, the discovery of a con, and the furtive maneuverings of a seeming ally.

I’d really wanted to see this when it was coming out in May. Maybe someday. Great article on the bizarre Rebecca debacle in VF.

I never get tired of reading about this debacle.