VIEWPOINTS – A recent crop of divergent solo performances fearlessly peer into the soul the artist

Solo performances, particularly autobiographical ones, can be sacred experiences for all concerned. The act of opening oneself up so that others can observe one’s deepest fears and sensitive vulnerabilities takes tremendous courage. For the audience, the experience is akin to being in an intimate confessional – but on the other side of the meshed window. The performer confesses (not necessarily their sins, of course), and we listen and absolve via empathy. It goes without saying that these experiences can be a powerful ones, especially in the right hands. Luckily, this past week, I was able to catch a quartet of solo performances that far outlived their relatively short running times. And despite being alone onstage, these four performers put on shows that couldn’t be more divergent from one another.

 

CHRIS GETHARD: CAREER SUICIDE – Making us laugh, so we don’t cry

Chris Gethard in "Career Suicide" at the Lynn Redgrave Theater

Chris Gethard in “Career Suicide” at the Lynn Redgrave Theater

The comedian Chris Gethard is currently making his audiences laugh and feel in equal measure in his new show at the Lynn Redgrave Theater entitled Career Suicide (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). In the show, Mr. Gethard delves into detail about his lifelong struggles with depression and recurring anxiety attacks. He talks truthfully about the importance of medication and more importantly, the significance of having the right support system in place. With Career Suicide, Mr. Gethard follows in the recent footsteps of Mike Birbiglia (Thank God for Jokes) and Neal Brennan (3 Mics), proving that standup comedy can also be piercing, pointed theater.

 

ATTORNEY STREET – Edgar Oliver’s poetry haunts his haunted memoir

Edgar Oliver in "Attorney Street" at Axis Theatre Company

Edgar Oliver in “Attorney Street” at Axis Theatre Company

There simply isn’t anyone else like singular monologist Edgar Oliver, who is currently completing the New York run of his haunted and haunting Attorney Street (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). The show is the third and final installment of a trilogy chronicling Mr. Oliver’s life thus far, and it’s totally exquisite. Although the show is broadly about his recent residential relocation to Attorney Street and his lifelong desire for a father figure, the show is ultimately a meditation on the ephemeral nature of life – real or imagined, recent events or long-receded memories. The combination of Mr. Oliver’s pungent poetry and his idiosyncratic, deadpan delivery make for unforgettable vistas in our mind’s eye.

 

CHOTTO DESH – Akram Khan’s uses dance and movement to go to personal (and fantastical) places

Akram Khan in "Chotto Desh" at the New Victory Theater

Akram Khan in “Chotto Desh” at the New Victory Theater

Akram Khan is one of today’s leading figures in contemporary dance. It was with some surprise, and delight, therefore, that I discovered that his company’s production of Chotto Desh (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) was to be included in the New Victory Theater’s programming this season. You see, New Victory specializes in presenting works for children and their families, and Chotto Desh is a recasting of Mr. Khan’s personal Desh for such audiences. Despite this adaptation for a wider audience (courtesy of Sue Buckmaster, who did a brilliant job), Chotto Desh remains a deeply moving and entertaining excavation of some of Mr. Khan’s earliest memories of his family, both in Britain and Bangladesh. Although Mr. Khan didn’t perform at the New Victory (I saw the sensational Nicolas Ricchini), the piece remains a potent and gorgeous dance theater.

 

MY NAME IS GIDEON: I’M PROBABLY GOING TO DIE EVENTUALLY – Gideon Irving sings his life away

Gideon Irving in "My Name Is Gideon: I'm Probably Going to Die" at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

Gideon Irving in “My Name Is Gideon: I’m Probably Going to Die” at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

Last night at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, I caught My Name Is Gideon: I’m Probably Going to Die Eventually (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), troubadour Gideon Irving’s quirky song cycle that gives you a glimpse of the wonderland that lies between his hears and behind his eyes. Mr. Irving has made a name for himself by playing sets in people’s living rooms the world over. For this run in New York, he invites us into his “living room”, which has been reconstructed in the intimate Rattlestick, and it’s a fun house full of constant, endearing surprises (no spoilers here!). I would have been completely fine had he played a straight-up set – his vocal prowess and musicality are as impressive as they are adventurous and far-reaching – but the added magic afforded by the show’s out-of-the-box theatricality makes this can’t miss theater.

 

CHRIS GETHARD: CAREER SUICIDE
Off-Broadway, Play
Lynn Redgrave Theater at Culture Project
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through January 8

ATTORNEY STREET
Off-Broadway, Play
1 hour (without an intermission)
Axis Theatre Company
Through November 19

CHOTTO DESH
Off-Broadway, Dance
Akram Khan Dance Company at the New Victory Theater
1 hour (without an intermission)
Closed

MY NAME IS GIDEON: I’M PROBABLY GOING TO DIE EVENTUALLY
Off-Broadway, Musical
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
1 hour, 15 minutes (without an intermission)
Through December 11

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