Pre Show
Al and I got in earlier than Jill and Jarod so we walked around to the corner to wait for them. Well, a homeless guy comes over, asking to raise money for a beer. I didn't have any cash on me but he proceeds to regaile us with the story of his expulsion from the same place we're seeing the play in a bit. He goes on to tell us how he was put out by "the art cult" and then apologizes to Allison. Why am I not assumed to be a part of this cult and she is? He then drifts to new topics when I tell him a I have no cash and am not willing to use my card. I am told I am lucky to have a red-head. This I know. He says that he has a black woman and "I know, I'm fucked up". Finally, he says he has a place to stay, it's a warm spot near a bridge. Can we help him find it. We point behind him a the giant bridge on Delancy and he says he feels like an idiot. Then Jill and Jarod show up. What crappy timing! They missed it.
Next, dinner! We headed off in search of easy eats. It's NYC so the pizza places tend to be good. We see one down a side street and head towards it. On the way, without warning, we come across a crowded little front with people milling about. It looked odd and exclusive so we walked in. What we beheld astounded us. It appeared to be a sort of gallery opening. It's called the MF Gallery, on Rivington street. The event in question was an underground artist toy show. Here are some pictures.
Show
Then, the play. 12th Night of the Living Dead was great. It got a pretty bad review in the times, but it was hilarious. Ok, maybe as an actual Shakespearean interpretation it was lacking. Like, the main character (Viola) didn't actually have a single line other than grunting. But what it lacked in coherent plot it made up for in bloody gore. It wasn't advertised as such, but the first row (and part of the second where we had been sitting) was a splatter zone. Fingers, intestines, arms, heaving bosoms and, yes of course, brains were all on the menu.
The reason I can say it's good and the Times can't is that I can see how the infection of blood-lust wasn't the only conversion. As people changed, their target genre did as well. The cast all starts out in a Shakespearean performance (and they are great while they're human). As they devolve into zombies they switch over completely into a zombie movie mode. Lurching, eating, disemboweling. This is what their method becomes. As for the cast that remains human? They keep in Shakespeare mode. So there is a bit of an aesthetic clash. But it's all in good fun. I works because they zombies are good zombies and the actors are good actors. Sure, they don't really meet on the same ground anymore, but they function on their own and it's that split in the middle where all the humor lays.
Though it doesn't function on every level as a production it was still well worth seeing. I'm still a little weirded out that it was the second zombie stage play I saw this year (the other was Evil Dead: The Musical, which is actually a near perfect show).
Post Show
On the way home, on the PATH, a girl threw up on my friend Jarod. She only got his jacket a bit, but it was all over her hair and hands. She kept her head down because she was embarrassed, but she looked awful young to be so trashed. As soon as she vomited and started moaning I turned to Allison and whispered "She's one of the infected."
So as we're talking about how it's ridiculous how bad people get we come across some more girls trashed out of their mind. The next few shots are of a girl being carried by two guys she doesn't know (don't worry, her good gal friend is supervising). They are literally carrying her. Her feet were dragging. No motor control. Sexy, right? They got to the turnstile and had to rotate through it sideways. It was so funny. Then they got to the bottom of the stairs.
After a moment of thinking really hard they just grabbed her under the arms and by the ankles and carried her up. She made it.
You can see, on the right, her chariot awaits.
Fin.
Then, the play. 12th Night of the Living Dead was great. It got a pretty bad review in the times, but it was hilarious. Ok, maybe as an actual Shakespearean interpretation it was lacking. Like, the main character (Viola) didn't actually have a single line other than grunting. But what it lacked in coherent plot it made up for in bloody gore. It wasn't advertised as such, but the first row (and part of the second where we had been sitting) was a splatter zone. Fingers, intestines, arms, heaving bosoms and, yes of course, brains were all on the menu.
The reason I can say it's good and the Times can't is that I can see how the infection of blood-lust wasn't the only conversion. As people changed, their target genre did as well. The cast all starts out in a Shakespearean performance (and they are great while they're human). As they devolve into zombies they switch over completely into a zombie movie mode. Lurching, eating, disemboweling. This is what their method becomes. As for the cast that remains human? They keep in Shakespeare mode. So there is a bit of an aesthetic clash. But it's all in good fun. I works because they zombies are good zombies and the actors are good actors. Sure, they don't really meet on the same ground anymore, but they function on their own and it's that split in the middle where all the humor lays.
Though it doesn't function on every level as a production it was still well worth seeing. I'm still a little weirded out that it was the second zombie stage play I saw this year (the other was Evil Dead: The Musical, which is actually a near perfect show).
Post Show
On the way home, on the PATH, a girl threw up on my friend Jarod. She only got his jacket a bit, but it was all over her hair and hands. She kept her head down because she was embarrassed, but she looked awful young to be so trashed. As soon as she vomited and started moaning I turned to Allison and whispered "She's one of the infected."
So as we're talking about how it's ridiculous how bad people get we come across some more girls trashed out of their mind. The next few shots are of a girl being carried by two guys she doesn't know (don't worry, her good gal friend is supervising). They are literally carrying her. Her feet were dragging. No motor control. Sexy, right? They got to the turnstile and had to rotate through it sideways. It was so funny. Then they got to the bottom of the stairs.
After a moment of thinking really hard they just grabbed her under the arms and by the ankles and carried her up. She made it.
You can see, on the right, her chariot awaits.
Fin.
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