6/12/07

The Pirate Queen

Lucky for me, I was able to see this show for a very insanely cheap price. And thankfully I didn’t pass up other plans to see this show. The reviews from this show elsewhere consisted of “this slow is near impossible to save”. Now why does Broadway insist on taking these shows over and over. As if Bob Dylan/Twyla Tharp’s show wasnt record enough to show that these shows really cannot be saved.

For those interested in seeing the show, it does close this Sunday. There are some great points to the show (but not worth $110). The stage is phenomenal. Incredible props and set design. Kudos to the crew. So the look of the musical is clearly where all of the money went to. But that alone could not save this production.

The musical is a loose following of the Pirate Queen of Ireland who was helping to keep the Brits out of Ireland. She was fighting amongst the men, to not lose control of Ireland. Meanwhile, on the other side is the Ice Queen, Virgin Queen (Elizabeth I) who naturally wants all control over Ireland. Now aside from that, there is not much else we will learn, except that one day after 7 years has passed, somehow these two queens get together, and in 5 mins all the problems are resolved. Yay! Women solve everything is what I heard one woman uttering as she came out of the theater. It was hard not to laugh, and ask her if she really thought this was a powerful show for women. Clearly she did.

The problem with the show is that there is no story. Its a stretch at over 2 hours and is not in any need of an intermission. The story itself is weak and there are too many questions left unanswered. I suggest everyone to go back and reread some of the history of Ireland and the UK. And last I recall, Eire history is quite fascinating. You’d never guess this from the production.

Regardless, the show itself is not worth seeing. There are some great dance numbers, reminiscent of the River Dance, and some of the songs are ok. But the whole production is all music with no talking. If you miss any of the lyrics, you’re doomed.

Ah well. For the cheap price I saw it for, I was very fortunate.

Toxic Audio

So this weekend ended up being pretty chill for me. I didn’t get out to do much, but it was nice indeed. It has been SOOOOOOOOOO cold in New York. And no, I’m not just saying that. I reckon 28 degrees to lower, with ice and some snow would mean cold.

 So last night, my friend Annetta and I headed over to the New World Stages, home of the aforementioned Bubbles Show, to see Toxic Audio. Now I hadnt heard of them before, but it sounded entertaining. And like I say, its only $4. I mean the worst thing is, I walk out of there thinking what a waste of 4$. But, Netta had seen the show before and assured me I’d love it. So I took her word and went out on a cold Sunday night. Luckily for me its just a block and half (long blocks) to walk up there. So if I move to the East Village, well it will suck that I wont be walking to all of my shows.

So here’s what you should know. I would give this show easily 5 stars. There are 5 performers in Toxic Audio, 2 women and 3 men. They perform all their music in a capella, and for those that aren’t entirely familiar, its literally all vocals that are used to make all of the sounds that are heard. There are NO instruments. And it is amazing what these people can do with their voice. It started out with Til Tuesdays “Voices Carry” and what a great way to show off the talent of each of the performers. Rene, the bass, tackles the low notes so pitch perfect. Paul, who is extremely talented, is the human beat box and does a kick-ass Michael Jackson performance :). The whole cast is incredibly talented.

Some of the highlights of the nights include – singing to an audience member on stage in the Love Songs part. 3 chairs and a record player. Naturally the record player skips, sounds like the chipmunk, gets louder/softer and Paul performs each part like you were really listening to a record player. Unbelieveable. 

Without divulging the entire show, I strongly suggest people get out there and see this. Its very entertaining and will leave you blown away. For more go to  Toxic Audio