catch it while you can

[rm]

Major thumbs up for Above Hell's Kitchen at the NYMF.

I felt it had some structural problems, although what those are vary depending on whether you know Don Giovanni or not, but engaging, funny, great music, great performances, great use of the space, and so fucking New York.

Every character on that stage I've known, been, or fucked and the whole piece was suffused with that sense of desire and dissatisfaction that New York is nearly contractually obligated to instigate in its residents, especially the creative ones.

Not a perfect show by any means, and I thought most of the songs were more adjectives than verbs (songs should mostly be verbs, that is, they should advance the plot), but I felt this one, burst into tears once and was generally really entertained. Of course, among other things, it asked critical questions about my favorite, matters of commerce and how that intersects with love and art.

Anyway, how do I know it was a good show, despite a few grievances? I walked two and a half miles afterwards, because I couldn't sit still to get home by any other mode of transportation at first; I finally caught a cab.

NYMF runs only through this weekend, and tickets are only $20, so I'd start Googling fast if you want to see it.

Comments

[marcmagus]

After some experiences in the last few years, particularly recently with Hair, I'll say that while I agree that songs should be verbs, if your songs areverbs than it becomes extremely critical that the acoustics of your space be decent, the people doing the technical aspects of sound be good, and your actors have quality training in singing so lyrics are readily intelligible. Otherwise you risk a big mess when people in the audience who don't already have all the music memorized can't make out the lyrics and lose major aspects of the show.

[rm.livejournal.com]

I don't think lyrics are inherently critical to songs being verbs. If there's an emotional development between two characters during the course of a song, that should be clear.

(This show, btw, was super crisp in terms of both diction and tech, and I often struggle with stuff like this myself).

[marcmagus]

You're correct; what I said only holds if key plot/character development elements occur only via the lyrics of the song.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Every character on that stage I've known, been, or fucked

That line begs to me metaquotesed.