Google
high pressure valve
manual valvevalvesvalve company motorized valveball valvepressure valve buy valvebutterfly valve Check valvereturn valve
Web    
www.curtainup.com
Bone Portraits, a CurtainUp review CurtainUp
CurtainUp

The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings
www.curtainup.com


HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE

a list of all book reviews, see our,
VALVESGate valvePRESSURE VALVESGlobe valveCHECK VALVES
REVIEWS

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings


LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
DC
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

On TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us SEARCH
A CurtainUp Review
Bone Portraits
By Julia Furay


It's amazing. The more we find out about the world, the more we realize how much we have to learn. ---Myrna


Bone Portraits
Jessi Wortham, Miriam Silverman, Mike Crane & Adam Green (Photo: Diane Silverman)
Nowadays, X-rays have become mundane, a basic fact of medicine. That's certainly not the case in Bone Portraits, the new play by the members of Stillpoint Productions which focuses on the days when X-ray photos were brand new, and the technology was hypnotic, beautiful, and fascinating to the entire nation.

Bone Portraits was commissioned by the Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project. Set against the lively background of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, it uses many theatrical elements in its attempt to illustrate and recreate the level of obsession that X-rays brought to America. Director Lear deBessonet's staging heavily emphasizes physicality and sensuality, an imaginative but sparse set, and a cast of characters that include science notables as well as some running the gamut from the sleazy to the senile.

We are bombarded with disparate elements that include a showbizzy emcee (Thomas Edison himself) and songs and gags right out of 1890s theatre ("After the Ball" and "Goodbye, My Lady Love" feature heavily, as do period comic sketches).Because the elements don't really connect, it's a bit much. And that's a shame because the concept is promising and thoughtful, and everything reeks of creativity and imagination. What's more, the cast is dedicated and convincing even though there's not enough of the drive and clarity to make everything add up to a compelling evening of theater.

The main problem is the script, a collaboration by Deborah Stein with director deBessonet and the members of the cast.. The barely related scenes and sketches about the new X-ray technology are tied to a flimsy plot that focuses on Thomas Edison and his assistant, Clarence Dally, as well as a few of their contemporaries. Dally's obsession with the X-ray leads to radiation sickness and the first hint that new technology is more dangerous than previously suspected. But it's not enough of a story to cover up that this is basically an excuse to ruminate about technology and its fallout.

Parts of Bone Portraits are quite funny, and actually contain the thoughtfulness and depth the writers were clearly reaching for. An example of such high spots has Edison rattling off news stories as the cast jerks and twitches like an old newsreel come to life. Another standout scene shows the cast recreating the excitement of the original Ferris Wheel with the use of a few umbrella skeletons.

Unfortunately, too much of what we see just doesn't make much sense and feels unfinished, particularly when many of the characters change and morph into paranoid, buggy-eyed drones who ramble on about ghosts and visit mediums. These shortcomings make the 100-minute runtime feel longer. Still, this is a fascinating subject and period and there's enough potential and creativity evident on stage to raise high hopes for Stillpoint's next production.

Editor's Note: For other reviews of plays with science backgrounds and themes see our Science Plays Page

BONE PORTRAITS
Playwright: Deborah Stein
Directed by Lear deBessonet
Cast: Michael Crane (Edward, Roentgen, & Ensemble), Gian-Murray Gianino (Edison, & Ensemble), Adam Green (Clarence Dally, Medium, & Ensemble), Miriam Silverman (Myrna, Nana, & Ensemble), Jessica Wortham (Marie Curie, Josephine Dally, & Ensemble)
Set and Lighting Design: Justin Townsend
Costume Design: :Kirche Leigh Zelle
Sound Design: Mark "Muttt" Huang
Running time: 100 minutes with no intermission
Walkerspace, 46 Walker Street (between Broadway and Church)
From 5/05/06 to 5/20/06; Opens 5/09/06
Weds to Sun @ 8pm, Sat @ 3pm
Tickets: $15
Reviewed Julia Furay based on May 6th performance
Stage Plays
The Internet Theatre Bookshop "Virtually Every Play in the World" --even out of print plays


Playbill Broadway Year Book
The new annual to dress up every Broadway lover's coffee table



broadway musicals: the 101 greatest shows of all time
Easy-on-the budget super gift for yourself and your musical loving friends. Tons of gorgeous pictures.



Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide
Leonard Maltin's 2006 Movie Guide



tales from shakespeare
Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co.
Click image to buy.
Our Review





Leonard Maltin's 2005 Movie Guide



Ridiculous! The Theatrical Life and Times of Charles Ludlam
Ridiculous!The Theatrical Life & Times of Charles Ludlam



metaphors dictionary cover
6, 500 Comparative Phrases including 800 Shakespearean Metaphors by our editor.
Click image to buy.
Go here for details and larger image.



broadwaynewyork.com



The Broadway Theatre Archive



amazon



©Copyright 2006, Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com