Rough and magic describe collective’s latest production
Parking in the Haymarket being what it is, this critic walked
into “GO(!)” — currently on the boards at the Loft at the Mill — minutes into
the opening sketch, a crabby meditation on airline travel.
Ah, I think. Rough Magic Productions’ “GO(!)” is a travelogue, and we settle in for a little summer vacation.
As reported by Jeff Watching Himself (intriguing Brok Kerbrat), “The End Of …”, written by Lincolnite-in-New York Chris Cartmill, spools out as a sad man’s shot at fixing some things: a broken relationship with a brother, a disappointing career path, a fight with his wife.
Cartmill’s power and loss of control theme ends with a 9/11 miracle, a choice made to repair a marriage rather than board a doomed flight.
Vacation indeed.
GO(!), described as a collection of original work in theatre, dance and film, proceeds to stack up a series of nine sad and sassy, and sometimes plain old mean, skits, some having to do with travel, transport or transformation.
There’s a lot of talk about death.
And there are two odd dance interludes that feature performance-arty movement phrases by Noelle Bohaty as interpreted by Laura Kendall and Whitney Rhodes, in front of some delicious multimedia backdrops by Jen Lukas.
It’s a trippy evening, sort of like a collegiate parlor game with nice lights and good background music.
Stealing the show is Mike Goode, a rather wired friend, a maimed Marine and bad boyfriend in three of the scenes.
“Violent Dissonance,” written by Gregory Peters and performed by Goode and a lovely Lindsay Cook, is a hilarious point/counterpoint of coffee shop poetry readings describing the rise and slam-rhymed fall of a beat relationship.
Do you know the relationship is over when the chorus of the sonnet is “Your Love is the Bubonic Plague, Bitch”?
Like many of the GO(!) presentations, the audience laughed, caught themselves laughing and then caught their breath for laughing. It got a little confusing.
I am sure that was the point.
Also notable was “10 Until the End,” a bunker tale of international warfare as experienced by a silly White House Aide (Rebecca Reinke), a horny clown (Eric Ojeda) and a very hilarious Vice President (John Ryan in a show-stopping performance).
“Pick-A-Peril,” an audience interactive game, closed both halves of the two-hour plus program. (It’s probably two skits — or dance pieces — too long.)
It’s an interesting conceit: The audience is given a set of colored cards when they take their seats. During these two scenes, the action is stopped and the audience is encouraged to “vote” by holding up a colored card, choosing one of three possible scenarios for the action to continue.
It’s a little rough.
And I am sure that was the point.
Ah, I think. Rough Magic Productions’ “GO(!)” is a travelogue, and we settle in for a little summer vacation.
As reported by Jeff Watching Himself (intriguing Brok Kerbrat), “The End Of …”, written by Lincolnite-in-New York Chris Cartmill, spools out as a sad man’s shot at fixing some things: a broken relationship with a brother, a disappointing career path, a fight with his wife.
Cartmill’s power and loss of control theme ends with a 9/11 miracle, a choice made to repair a marriage rather than board a doomed flight.
Vacation indeed.
GO(!), described as a collection of original work in theatre, dance and film, proceeds to stack up a series of nine sad and sassy, and sometimes plain old mean, skits, some having to do with travel, transport or transformation.
There’s a lot of talk about death.
And there are two odd dance interludes that feature performance-arty movement phrases by Noelle Bohaty as interpreted by Laura Kendall and Whitney Rhodes, in front of some delicious multimedia backdrops by Jen Lukas.
It’s a trippy evening, sort of like a collegiate parlor game with nice lights and good background music.
Stealing the show is Mike Goode, a rather wired friend, a maimed Marine and bad boyfriend in three of the scenes.
“Violent Dissonance,” written by Gregory Peters and performed by Goode and a lovely Lindsay Cook, is a hilarious point/counterpoint of coffee shop poetry readings describing the rise and slam-rhymed fall of a beat relationship.
Do you know the relationship is over when the chorus of the sonnet is “Your Love is the Bubonic Plague, Bitch”?
Like many of the GO(!) presentations, the audience laughed, caught themselves laughing and then caught their breath for laughing. It got a little confusing.
I am sure that was the point.
Also notable was “10 Until the End,” a bunker tale of international warfare as experienced by a silly White House Aide (Rebecca Reinke), a horny clown (Eric Ojeda) and a very hilarious Vice President (John Ryan in a show-stopping performance).
“Pick-A-Peril,” an audience interactive game, closed both halves of the two-hour plus program. (It’s probably two skits — or dance pieces — too long.)
It’s an interesting conceit: The audience is given a set of colored cards when they take their seats. During these two scenes, the action is stopped and the audience is encouraged to “vote” by holding up a colored card, choosing one of three possible scenarios for the action to continue.
It’s a little rough.
And I am sure that was the point.
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