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A CurtainUp Review
Bad Jazz
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We're living in this world as if nothing we do has any real consequence on anything. . .The world's fucked, it's really fucked.—Hannah
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Marin Ireland in Bad Jazz
(Photo: Carol Rosegg) |
The play involves some intricate layering of reality. Natasha and Danny are rehearsing a play in which she plays a whore and he a junkie. Along the way, they become similarly involved in real life. He becomes a junkie, and she. . .well, you can imagine. They have several scenes together that leave us usure as to whether they're rehearsing their roles or if it's "real." Gavin, their director, spurs them to ever-greater heights of emotional reality so it doesn't take long for their personal lives to keep intruding in very real and unwanted ways.
All this probably sounds like a cautionary tale, but it's not. . There's no moralizing despite some very outré elements (oral sex, anal sex, vomiting, a strap-on dildo, bloody intestines a dead dog, and more). Obviously this can be a hard play to watch. In fact, it proved too much for at least one audience member when I attended. However, most of the audience seemed to enjoy it, usually laughing at the really exaggerated parts (which, I think, is the point).
Marin Ireland (Natasha) comes to this play fresh from a great performance in The Beebo Brinker Chronicles. She's a talent to watch. Her Natasha is emotionally pitch-perfect. Ryan O'Nan as the bumbling Danny is quite comical in his complete ineffectualness, and Rob Campbell is a delight as the frenetic director He embodies all the stereotypes of angry directors, without coming across as a stereotype.
Director Trip Cullman has used the strangely shaped Ohio Theatre to great advantage. Rather than boxing off a playing area, he simply lets the actors and sets roam so that we see all the real-life bits of the venue (racks of lights, costumes, random lamps, etc.) being utilized as part of the play's rehearsal and performance space. Cullman keeps the actors from being either too frenetic or too shrill, emphasizing the search for human connection that is at the heart of the play.
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Bad Jazz Written by Robert Farquhar Directed by Trip Cullman With Marin Ireland (Natasha), Darren Goldstein (Ben), Ryan O'Nan (Danny), Rob Campbell (Gavin), Susie Pourfar (Hannah/Danielle), and Colby Chambers (Ewan) Set & Costume Design: Dane Laffrey Lighting Design: Ben Stanton Sound and original music: Bart Fasbender Running Time: Ninety minutes, with no intermission Ohio Theatre, 66 Wooster Street; 212-868-4444 Tuesday through Sunday at 8 pm, Saturday at 4 pm; no evening performances November 22 or 25; additional 4 pm Sunday matinees on November 18 and 25 Tickets $25 Through November 25th Reviewed by Jenny Sandman based on November 10th performance |
Try onlineseats.com for great seats to
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Wicked
Jersey Boys
The Little Mermaid
Lion King
Shrek The Musical
The Playbill Broadway YearBook
Leonard Maltin's 2007 Movie Guide