VIEWPOINTS – Two fully-staged Off-Broadway shows nudge theatergoing closer to normalcy: BILL’S 44TH & WORLDS FAIR INN

This past week, as I watched two fully-staged Off-Broadway productions in-person, I couldn’t shake the feeling that theatergoing was slowly inching towards normalcy. Here are my thoughts.

Andy Manjuck and Dorothy James’s “Bill’s 44th” at Dixon Place.

BILL’S 44TH
Dixon Place
Closed

Of the fascinating collection of puppet theater pieces at Dixon Place this spring (presented both in-person and via live-stream), Andy Manjuck and Dorothy James’s Bill’s 44th (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) in particular captured my imagination. The piece begins in generic sit-com fashion by amiably depicting a birthday party gone wrong. However, as wordless play unfolds, it poignantly morphs into a soulful portrait of aging and lonely self-reflection. In the very capable hands of Mr. Manjuck and Ms. James, the show is executed with winning confidence and uncanny self-awareness. Although the work becomes increasingly detached from reality – including a short horror segment that’s pure genius – Bill’s 44th never loses its audience in artful contrivances and maintains its joy and whimsy. Shrewdly designed and delightfully staged (featuring an enchanting pastiche elevator music score), this special little puppet show deserves an extended life beyond its all-too-brief downtown run at Dixon Place.

The company of Randy Sharp’s “Worlds Fair Inn” at Axis Theatre Company.

WORLDS FAIR INN
Axis Theatre Company
Through June 19

Axis Theatre Company has the distinction of being the last theater I had the pleasure of watching a play in before the pandemic shut down all live performances (the date was Saturday, March 14, and the show was a focused stage adaptation of Washington Square). Last week, I returned to the Greenwich Village venue to catch Worlds Fair Inn (RECOMMENDED), a new play written and directed by Randy Sharp. The work is an absurdist mash-up that takes its inspiration from the genius of three flawed men – J. Robert Oppenheimer, serial killer H. H. Holmes, and fictional scientist Victor Frankenstein – as well as the works of Samuel Beckett. It’s a fever dream of a play, which sustains a dreamlike state through its stylish staging and design elements (lighting, sound/music, costumes, and sets are all thoughtfully considered and expertly realized). The excellent cast, which includes singular downtown actor Edgar Oliver, delivers the play’s recurring and inter-weaving motifs with hypnotic precision.

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

Leave a Reply