I Am So Popular: Billie Jean Is Also Not MY Lover!
![Snapshots: Patrick Wolf @ Antone's [Last Night]](http://austinist.com/assets_c/2009/07/3681926004_a0e4378bf2_m-thumb-110x110-364431.jpg)
Snapshots: Patrick Wolf @ Antone's [Last Night]
Faith/Void: Bill Callahan at the Parish, Being Great
Weekend Music Preview: Sky Sunlight Saxon Memorial + 4th of July events
Commentary- African American Book Festival
We've made no secret of the fact that we like Ken Webster. We can't help ourselves. The man is good at what he does. And while we're not going to take credit -- although we have mentioned, repeatedly, that we'd like to see him take the stage more often -- we're happy to see he's turning out yet another one-man show over at Hyde Park Theatre these days.
It's a deliciously odd one, too. From Conor McPherson, the Irish playwright who brought you The Weir, Webster has selected St. Nicholas, a solo piece about an erstwhile theatre reviewer who falls in with a small gang of vampires. Yeah, vampires. We love vampires. Zombies and vampires. So we went into the evening with high expectations. We weren't disappointed.
In many ways, it's a very straightforward work. The Man is a surly, disingenuous critic of the Dublin stage. Using language we tried hard not to take personally -- all the while getting in a good laugh at ourselves -- he describes his fat and not so happy life slapping together nasty grenades of reviews. The story wanders around a bit, takes some hilarious stabs at theatre and many of its superficialities, and, just before the intermission, delivers the goods. The vampires arrive. Finally.
Where the first act is full of wry criticism of, well, criticism, the second digs in for some top-rate storytelling. Every vampire tale requires its vampire rules, and these are laid out naturally in the flow of things. McPherson adds some welcome twists to the old standards. We won't go into them because they're part of the show's charm, which reveals itself at a constant rate as the evening progresses.
Webster, self-directed in this role, sticks to the center of the stage most of the time. Bathed in light that subtly varies from warm to cold -- as in this case, we so frequently find ourselves liking Don Day's understated work -- Webster holds the stage steadily and effortlessly. He changes things up enough to keep the audience from getting shifty, but he also has the presence and skill to sit and stand for lengthy periods without seeming edgy or unnatural. This is the most static we've ever seen Webster, and it came as something of a surprise to us, but it works well with the rhythms of the story. Indeed, vampires are not kinetic creatures, so Webster's decision to imbue the work with a slow, heartbeat of a pace is appropriate, and works very well.
By the end of the piece, the Man, softened and at his most genuinely vulnerable, reaches a breaking point. Things get a tad emotional, and we know there's high allegory to be found. However, we confess that we didn't want to think that hard. Our companion called the evening a "captivating escape," which summed up our feelings nicely. Quite simply, we were happy to sit and be sucked in to a well-crafted, well-performed vampire tale. But let it be known that McPherson's script contains more depth than that. We were just too hypnotized by the story to go digging around for deeper meaning. Perhaps we'd fallen under some sort of vampiric spell? Regardless, we recommend St. Nicholas highly, both for the clever story it tells and the way in which it's told.
St. Nicholas
Thru 9/29, Th/Fr/Sa at 8pm, Sunday matinee 9/24 at 2pm
No performance on Saturday, 9/30
Thursday: Pay What You Can Fr/Sa/Su: $17 ($15 students, seniors, ACOT)
Reservations: 479-PLAY (7529)
Hyde Park Theatre, 511 W. 43rd Street
Image (c) Troy Newell on Stock Xchng.
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Yeah, you know, sometimes I don't know quite what to make of what Webster chooses to produce on the HPT stage. And more educated folks than I have questioned a decision or two he's made during the direction of one play or another.
[No, actually, wait: it's time to come clean. I've held this dirty secret close to my heart for too long and my blood has been poisoned by it. The truth: it's all part of a vast media conspiracy. I'm an occasional critic for the CHRONICLE, and as such I (and my comrades at the STATESMAN and the DAILY TEXAN and other printbased outlets) have a strict Anti-Webster Agenda that I'm required to adhere to, based on instructions from the Shadow Austin Critics' Table.
Why this is so, I have no idea. The origins of the Webster/SATC blood vendetta are lost in the murky depths of history. All I know is, those critics who diverge from the appointed mission are said to be visited nightly by the ghost of John Bustin, who weilds a sort of ectoplasmic cattle prod and evidences much postmortem glee in that prod's violent, invasive use.]
But I've never known anyone to be less than delighted and impressed when Webster takes the stage himself and does that acting stuff that actors do: The man has always been one of the best around. And ST NICHOLAS is a fine vehicle for him, hurrah, which is why the smart crowd is heading to HPT these days. (Also probably because they think such encouragement will convince the man to bring Morris Panych's VIGIL ~ which Webster performs with the nonpareil Lana Dieterich ~ back for another run.)
Kudos for the excellent review, Jooley.
Yikes, that is a SCARY picture!
Ahhh, he evokes the memory of John Bustin! Wielding an ectoplasmic cattle prod, no less. Sounds like you're in for a visit from the late, great man yourself, Brenner, for outing the shadow men & their well-known (but never confirmed...'til NOW) misdeeds. I fear for you.
And shucks, thanks for the comments. And for making my afternoon. You do have a way with words, sir.
Vampires are scary creatures and are not to be trifled with, MML. Same can be said of theatre critics, come to think of it....