Show Preview: Brackett & Co., Real Estate
J. Tillman at the Mohawk - Giveaway
*This post comes from new contributor Julie*
*Photo courtesy of HTP and Brett Brookshire*
We have been trying to compose our review of Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll at Hyde Park Theatre in our heads ever since we took in the show last Saturday. We keep thinking "Wow. Wow, wow, wow." We don't know how to tell you that you must not miss this show without saying you must not miss this show.
It's funny. It's so damn funny. It never lets up. Your sides will hurt when the evening is over. The show is a non-stop barrage of fascinating, quirky characters, brought to life by Hyde Park's artistic director, Ken Webster. Webster doesn't take the stage very often these days, and we can't understand why. Okay, so apparently he likes directing. Goody for him, and really he's great at it but still, the man belongs on the stage. He's riveting. He brings so much to this role. Under the observant, careful direction of Andrea Skola, he embodies each character with a captivating physicality, delineating them using his voice, movement, and presence with a finesse that we rarely see. The man is a pro, and a real treat to watch. Did we mention that you should not miss this show?
Speaking of delineation, we must take a break from our Websterfest to mention one particular technical aspect of the show. Don Day's lighting was spot-on. (Heh.) There's only so much to be done with a stage as small as HPT's, and there's only so much to be done with a one-act like Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll. Day's lighting torqued everything up a notch with the kind of subtlety that we really appreciate in great lighting design. The other technical elements of the show were also very good, but the lighting deserves special note.
But back to the show, and to Ken. Again with a wow. Our show included the added bonus of a talk-back, and we learned a few interesting tidbits. Webster last performed the piece 12 years ago, and he admits that he is able to bring something more to it as a 40-something than he did as a 30-something. We've always had a thing for older men (ask our husband), and while we're sad to have missed the previous incarnation of this show, we felt quite certain that the current run probably tops it.
If we haven't made it clear enough, the show is just...so...consumable. Like a delectable Chocolate Mink. Don't get us wrong -- this is Bogosian, so there are aspects of the piece that are meant to challenge. It doesn't let up, and you don't want it to. Which brings us to our only complaint. We wanted more! A longer show -- a second act. We guess we should complain to Eric Bogosian about that. Still, we didn't want to leave the theatre at the end of the evening. We even hung around outside and talked to some of our friends awhile, until Webster himself came out & we felt a little embarrassed so we scurried along like little schoolgirls.
The show runs for only two more weeks, Th/Fr/Sa at 8pm. Fr/Sa tickets are $15-$17, but if you're on a tight budget then go on a Thursday which is Pay What You Can Night.
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