Last night Art Garfunkel had what he calls “a rehearsal” in
an intimate (300 sold-out seats) performance space in West Hartford,
Connecticut. The first few moments
after he walked onstage and sat down next to his guitarist/accompaniment were
tense. The hush betrayed our expectation of the worst, considering his
terrifying loss of voice and recent struggle to regain it. He launched into an almost whispered
delivery of “April Come She Will” and suddenly the entire room was in his hands
and remained there throughout the evening, as he delivered some classic Simon
and Garfunkel songs, read us some of his soon to be published poetry, talked
about the good fortune of his musical life, the joys of his married life and
parenthood, and graciously took questions from the audience.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Friday, August 16, 2013
Monday, August 12, 2013
QNY Recommends Seth Tucker's "Our Kiki, A Gay Farce"
Last night, we went downtown to see Seth Tucker’s “Our Kiki,
A Gay Farce.” This is Tucker’s first full-length play and his first go at
directing a full production. I am happy to report that he has delivered a
delightful mid-summer romp, perfectly illustrating the value of the New York
International Fringe Festival (Aug 9-25, 2013, www.fringenyc.org) as a foot in the door
for promising writers who, with continued luck, will deliver more and better.
“Our Kiki, A Gay Farce” (https://www.facebook.com/Ourkikitheplay) is full of laughs and fine
performances. I didn’t at all mind that the premise—a gay couple’s need to
involve a female friend in a sham wedding in order to secure a green card— is outdated given the recent fall of DOMA. Funny is funny, and I hope Mr.
Tucker understands the value of this compliment when I say that he may, with
repeated ups at bat, learn to knock his laughs out of the park just like the
venerable Charles Busch in whose lineage he may find himself.
We are sometimes tempted to be dismissive of farce, thinking
that it’s what writers deliver when they drink rather than think, but
structuring a farce correctly ain’t easy. Tucker has the comic instincts needed
to dole out the situations and the complications with smooth control. He hooks us happily into the craziness that results when a snow storm prolongs an
immigration official’s visit to the apartment shared by the gay couple hoping
to remain intact (via the green card) and their friends, a complicit straight
couple. Tucker’s farce follows the
classic formula so well that I fully expected the final moments to be delivered
in rhyming couplets.
