Reverend spent time in New York City during Labor Day weekend, and do I have stories to tell! One man who has more stories to tell, though, is Garry Starr. Also known as Australian actor-comedian Damien Warren-Smith, Garry is currently STARRing in a riotous, mostly naked production at Off-Broadway's Studio Seaview through October 11th.
Warren-Smith is an award-winning writer, producer and performer of "brilliantly stupid physical comedy" (Fest Mag). His third show Classic Penguins swept the Australian festival circuit including the coveted Most Outstanding Show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. It then went on to play the 700-seat Garrick Theatre in London’s West End, and it has now reached NYC.
The concept is unique, to say the least. Garry Starr is apparently a penguin, even sporting flippers initially. He claims that he and his fellow penguins wrote the series of abbreviated paperbacks popular with young people such as myself back in the 1970's-80's. He goes through a collection of approximately 70 of the novels positioned on a nearby bookshelf during the 75-minute performance, but utilizes nakedly physical comedy and audience interaction to illustrate their plots. Some of his antics are borderline brilliant, while others are laughably silly. I don't want to spoil things with more graphic details for prospective attendees.
According to his website, "the basis for Damien’s performance work is to use playfulness to tell stories in a more engaging and impactful way. Inspired by master clown Phillipe Gaulier, the pleasure of entertaining through simple, beautiful idiocy forms the foundations of his work." This certainly seems accurate. Reverend also gives Damien serious props for his full-frontal bravery, dexterity and ability to engage his audience. I look forward to seeing more from him in the future, with or without clothing.
Penises (or more colloquial words to describe male genitalia) and politics have long seemed to go together, at least in the good old US of A. This seems especially true of our current, woebegone state of affairs. Leave it to some women, therefore, to try to make some sense of it.
The late Wendy Wassterstein's An American Daughter, which premiered in 1996, is currently receiving its first revival production at NYC's Pershing Square Signature Center through this Sunday, September 20th. It boasts a fantastic cast of recognizable, award-winning actors who are listed alphabetically in the image below.
Blending comedy with pointed socio-political insight, the play examines the unraveling of a prominent Jewish-American, Democrat-Republican political family as personal missteps, sexual politics, public scrutiny and relentless media attention collide. It is a multi-faceted tale of a family that cannibalizes its own legacy by undermining the potential of a daughter, Lyssa, who carries the family torch. The revival is timely, plot-wise, to say the least.
But it can be argued Wasserstein threw in a little too much, even for the late 90's. Extraneous characters like Lyssa's best friend since high school, who struggles with being Jewish and Black, plus her and her husband's unapologetically gay (to a detrimental degree) longtime friend, not to mention her husband's ambitious former student turned influencer...plus a little something more. Their various interactions expand the play's run time to nearly 3 overlong hours.
The play is involving so long as the focus stays on Lyssa and her moral dilemma--thanks to an arguably minor mistake in her past--as the newly nominated US Surgeon General. And this production looks and sounds great thanks to Mikiko Suzuki Macadams' set, Alan C. Edwards' lighting, and great use of period pop music.
Unfortunately, lead actress Jean Lichty's performance as central character Lyssa is a major deficit. She is frankly too old for the role and often delivers her lines haltingly. Of note, Lichty is the current Executive Director of La Femme Theatre Productions, presenter of this revival. This may have been a bit of nepo casting, and the show suffers as a result.
Reverend's Ratings
Garry Starr Classic Penguins: B+
An American Daughter: C+
The Most Reverend Chris Carpenter is editor of Movie Dearest and chief contributor. He has been reviewing movies and theatre since 1996 and also contributes to Rage Monthly magazine (ragemonthly.com). He is a founding member and former Vice President of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics (galeca.com) and currently serves as a nominating/voting member of its New York-based Theatre Wing. Reverend Carpenter has been an ordained minister since 1995.
