NEGarvey: June 2011 Archives

lifestyle June 23, 2011 9:29 AM
INSIDIOUS by Ibn Shabazz at Road Less Traveled Productions
INSIDIOUS, by Ibn Shabazz, is a powerful cautionary tale woven deeply into the fabric of the modern urban arena of substance abuse and the "Down Low", the secretive world of African American gay sex.  Road Less Traveled describes INSIDIOUS as the story of  " a man (who) struggles against his darkest demons... as personified by a charismatic street hustler who will not take "no" for an answer.  An unflinchingly potent tour through the inner hell of addiction."  And so it is.

Mr. Shabazz's story is not a pretty one, but it is a compelling one, a tragedy which shines a blazing light on the destruction which flows from this deliberately furtive lifestyle. No doubt INSIDIOUS, which contains adult themes, foul language and explicit sexual content will not appeal to all theatergoers, which is a shame, because this play also makes for very good theatre.

What might have been a flat public health service announcement wrapped in a rap song, is instead a multi-dimensional
lifestyle June 10, 2011 12:00 AM
MOTHERF**KER WITH A TONY NOMINATION
An Interview with Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis

With the 2011 edition of the TONY AWARDS almost upon us, I had a chance recently to sit down and discuss a wide ranging array of theatre issues with playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, whose smash hit "The Motherf**ker With The Hat" is nominated for Best Play.

Mr. Guirgis was in town to see The Road Less Traveled Production's (RLT) highly regarded presentation of his play "THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT "  and to attend a writers workshop and a benefit for the theatre.

RLT has succeeded in bringing some
lifestyle June 8, 2011 7:57 AM
A LAUGH RIOT: THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD by John Millington Synge
ICTC has chosen a winner to close out it's Emerald Anniversary 20th Season. John Millington Synge wrote The Playboy of the Western World early in the last century. What started out as a diamond in the rough has become a jewel in the crown of modern Irish literature.

The early Twentieth Century was a time of great upheaval. In Europe, social forces roiled and bubbled, foreshadowing revolution to come in Russia and in Ireland, the downfall of kings, the collapse of empires and a world at war. Music. art and literature reflected these changes, breaking sharply with the classical past.
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lifestyle June 5, 2011 12:29 PM
HOT WIRED: Eclectic Improv Company Celebrates 13 Years
It's been a while since I sat in on an evening of improvisational comedy.  Even though I knew, more or less, what to expect when I entered The Smith Theatre at the Shea's Performing Arts Center for a recent Saturday night performance of The Eclectic Improv Company, I had forgotten just how funny the unpredictable nature of  improve can be.

Improvisation is truly unique. It's really not at all like stand-up comedy,  nor even "skit comedy" like the Capitol Steps, or SNL, where memorized routines and written scripts control the performances.

Rather, improv is