CurtainUp
CurtainUp
The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings
HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE

SEARCH


REVIEWS

REVIEW ARCHIVES

ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings


LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Connecticut
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
A CurtainUp Review
Just Cause


Freedom comes to those who love it.— Various Characters
Just Cause, a new play written and directed by Zack Russell, is about a group of 20-somethings who live in Brooklyn. One works in Best Buy. One is an actor. One is a personal assistant. A few are unemployed. What makes them stand out is that they are all revolutionaries. They gather at Michael's apartment to plot acts of terror.

It soon becomes apparent that this fierce band is really much more like a bunch of high-tech Keystone Kops who have lots of sex, both consensual and not. Contrary to the wishes of the others, Michael (Wilton Yeung) takes in a drug addict named Coco (Allison Buck). And when two ex-soldiers, Frank (Raul Sigmund Julia)and Jack (Alex Herrald) who turn out to be her boyfriend and his buddy arrive, Michael manages to find a place for them too.

Another newcomer is Paul (Ian Quinlan), a tried and true terrorist who is sent over to stay with Helen (Kate Michaud). Not exactly a perfect guest, his first act is to rape her (tastefully done with fadeout, lights up, and pants hurriedly zipped).

A certain Mrs. Blackwater (Cynthia Whalen) presides over the whole mess, although for the life of me I can't figure out why or how. Her menacing assistant, the Officer (Sean McIntyre), ends up killing most of the terrorists, while Mrs. Blackwater is taken hostage by the gang. I'm not so sure how this is achieved and what the goals are here either.

Sometime before he murders everyone, the Officer has sex with Allison (Betsy Lippitt), after which she calls him a pig and tells him she hates herself. Again, it's not clear why; maybe she knew he had a violent streak.

Thanks to the generic nature of the set (a few foam rubber beds necessary for all that sex), it's not always clear where these characters are. Two plasma television sets tuned into various blurred images preside over the action and every once in a while seem related to it.

During the first half of the show I had a great deal of trouble even getting the basics of what was going in. This was not entirely a bad thing, as it kept me from noticing the poor quality of the acting and the directing.

Just Cause is an ensemble piece with over a dozen characters, many indistinguishable from each other. The girls giggle. The guys bluster. Just about everyone seems to have a yelling scene. Very little doesn't look like something that hasn't been seen onstage before when a bunch of young people get together to put on a play.



Just Cause features The Bats, The Flea's resident company of young theater talent. In truth, the show may be fine for a teenager or a very young adult. But one can't help wishing young actors and directors would learn their art with Ibsen and Shaw before venturing out on more dangerous waters.

Just Cause
Written and directed by Zack Russell
Cast: Crystal Arnette (Sister), Allison Buck (Coco), tommy Crawford (Tommy), Greg Engbrecht (August), Katherine Folk-Sullivan (Anna), Eric Folks (Narrator, Etc.), Alex Herrald (Jack), Raul Sigmund Julia (Frank), Betsy Lippitt (Allison), Sean McIntyre (Officer), Kate Michaud (Helen), Ian Quinlan (Paul), Cynthia Whalen (Blackwater), Wilton Yeung (Michael)
Set Design:.Kate Sinclair Foster
Lighting Design: Brian Tovar
Sound Design: Janie Bullard
Costume Design: Katie Hartsoe
E-Marketing Assistant: Crystal Arnette
Photography: Dan Applegate
Stage Manager: Daniella Caggiano
Running Time: 85 minutes
Flea, 41 White Street, between Church and Broadway, Tribecca
From 5/06/11; opening 5/19/11; closing 6/06/11
Schedule varies - visit www.theflea.org for a full performance schedule
Tickets: $20 and are available by calling 212-352-3101 or online at www.theflea.org
Reviewed by Paulanne Simmons May 22, 2011
REVIEW FEEDBACK
Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
    â
  • I agree with the review of Just Cause
  • I disagree with the review of Just Cause
  • The review made me eager to see Just Cause
Click on the address link E-mail: esommer@curtainup.com
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V):

Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email. . .also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review.

Visit Curtainup's Blog Annex
For a feed to reviews and features as they are posted add http://curtainupnewlinks.blogspot.com to your reader
Curtainup at Facebook . . . Curtainup at Twitter
Subscribe to our FREE email updates: E-mail: esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.com
put SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message. If you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to CurtainUp and from what part of the country.
Slings & Arrows  cover of  new Blu-Ray cover
Slings & Arrows-the complete set

You don't have to be a Shakespeare aficionado to love all 21 episodes of this hilarious and moving Canadian TV series about a fictional Shakespeare Company

Next to Normal
Our Review of the Show

Scottsboro Boys cast album
TheScottsboro Boyse


bloody bloody Andrew Jackson
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson


amazon




©Copyright 2011, Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com