Thursday, January 31, 2013

The Moose Murders Experience

Anna Kirkland, Ali Bernstein, Dennis DelBene and Cory Boughton (Photo by Samantha Mercado Tudda)
The Real Mystery is How This Play Ended up on Broadway in the First Place
By Lauren Yarger
Moose Murders played one official performance when it opened on Broadway in 1983. Critics were merciless.

Frank Rich called it “A show so preposterous that it made minor celebrities out of everyone who witnessed it”. John Simon said it seemed as if the play were staged by “a blind director repeatedly kicked in the groin”. Moose Murders is so notorious that the New York Times has called it “the standard of awfulness against which all Broadway flops are judged.”

So I jumped at the opportunity to see a revival of it, given a self-described "shameless" revision by playwright Arthur Bicknell, and presented by the Beautiful Soup Collective, which "re-visits lost works that never reached their pinnacles" (a.k.a. "flops”). I mean, there are only a handful of people who ever saw the production before it closed after its single performance (click here for an article about the show and the revision written by the Post's Michael Riedel for some background: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/moose_is_loose_XojRY8CQ5u40kCOysY5zZL).

I wasn't alone. Half of the house at last night's opening was press. The revival of Moose Murders had achieved "hot ticket" status.

So what did I think? The thought that most came to mind was, "How did this play ever get produced on Broadway in the first place?" The second thought that kept coming to mind was, "This is the revised script? How indescribably bad must the original have been?"

Before I expound on the horrors of the show, let me start with a couple of positive statements. First, I think Bicknell is a very brave man to have attempted to revisit the play, especially after the trouncing he received when it premiered. He's led a life out of the NY theater scene since then and really had no reason (or reasonable motivation) to relive the experience. I know I wouldn't have. So hats off to someone willing to overcome a major setback and try to make it better. I would have even more kudos to give him had he not canceled his travel plans to New York for last night's opening at the last minute (citing personal reasons). This forced the cancellation of a pre-show event with him discussing the play with the "flop wall" at Joe Allen's Restaurant in the background. Now that could have been a lot of fun.

I also want to take a hat off to the director and cast of the show (see who they are below). They give their all. They throw everything they have into presenting the play -- and the characters -- for what they are. They are very professional without belittling or mocking the sometimes really mindblowingly awful lines they have to say or the incomprehensible plot they have to enact. And I kind of like that Beautiful Soup exists, How else would I -- or anyone who truly would be interested to -- see the worst flop in Broadway's history on a New York stage again?


Orlando Iriarte (Photo by Samantha Mercado Tudda)
A personal shoutout also is in order for Press Agent John Capo who handles publicity for the show. Never have I had a production photo of an ax-wielding moose delivered to my inbox with such professionalism.

Now, to the show itself. I'll do my best to give you some idea of what takes place without giving away any spoilers. I'm not sure anyone knows what really is going on here, though.

Arriving at The Wild Moose lodge in the Adirondacks are the Holloway family: matriarch Hedda (Anna Kirkland), husband, Sidney (Dennis DelBene), son Stinky (Jordan Tierney), daughter Gay ( a delightful Caroline Rosenbum), daughter Lauraine (Ali Bernstein) and her husband, Nelson (Cory Boughton). Ostensibly, they are there for a final family time with Sidney, whom they expect to die soon. You see, he is a vegetable, wrapped in bandages following a fire and a three-story fall from a window. Really, however, a number of the family members have murder on their minds, and feel they are in a perfect setting: this is the lodge where a famous murder took place and where there is a legend of a "butcher moose" on the loose.

Perhaps some of us audience members also had murder on our minds, but I wouldn't have been adverse to any or all of the family members being knocked off once we got to know them a little. Hedda is a cold, uncaring, harsh woman who forgets her own son's name -- and to take care of wheelchair-bound Sidney. That duty is left to chainsmoking nurse Dagmar (Noelle Stewart), who parks him under a tent on the lawn in the rain.

Stinky appears to be brain damaged from years of drug use and has a really fervent, intensely disturbing Oedipus complex. He can't keep his hands off his mother. Gay tap dances all the time, trying to call attention to herself while impersonating Shirley Temple (she's dressed in an appropriate lollipop-looking getup by Costume Designer DelBene) and other child stars, complete with frequent dying scenes.

Lauraine inexplicably expounds on the greatness of her mother, clinging to her physically, while ignoring Nelson, who seems to be the least nutty fruit to fall from this family tree.

Interrupting plans for the quiet family time are entertainers Snooks and Howie Keene (Brittany Velotta and Steven Carl McCasland), who recently were fired from their gig at the lodge by former caretaker Joe Buffalo Dance (Orlando Iriarte). They refuse to leave. Not sure exactly why, but perhaps it's because a no-talent duo would find it difficult to get a job elsewhere. And Howie's being blind doesn't help. (Howie is the brunt of and source of so many bad blind jokes, I finally made myself deaf to shut them out).

There are numerous, ridiculous plot twists, and if ever a play should forfeit the second act, this is it. Let's just say that at one point, a rather large moose head suddenly disappears. This work is so flawed, however, that because none of the characters notices that a rather large moose head is missing, initially it's impossible to tell whether this is connected with the the plot, or perhaps has nothing to do with anything and is just the result of a prop taking an untimely tumble during one of the may frequent blackouts during which more dialogue is heard....

At another climactic moment, when most of those on stage are murdering or being murdered, Hedda, inexplicably, is wounded on the floor. Has she been strangled, stabbed, shot (all of which have been used in the plot so far)? When asked whether she's injured, she replies, " I’m sorry. Yes! It’s my back. I can hardly move. Could you help dislodge my son?"

OK, I did laugh out loud at that preposterous line. In fact, I also chuckled at most of the lines delivered by Stinky --because Tierney did a great job of mastering the brain-dead, clueless dialogue almost always ending with a hippie-sounding ". . . man." And also because I was sitting next to my son, who was horrified by the incestuous affection Stinky lavished on his mother.

Kirkland also delivered the night's only line to receive a guffaw from the audience because they related:

"It’s a wonder how he’s managed to stay unconscious through all of this . . . Should we envy him?"

The creative team:

Director.... Steven Carl McCasland (founding artistic director of Beautiful Soup Collective)
Assistant Director... Sienna Metzgar
Scenic and Costume Designer... Dennis DelBene
Lighting Design... Steven Carl McCasland
Fight Director.... Christopher Stokes

Information: Through Feb. 10 at the Connelly Theatre, 220 East 4th St., NYC. Tickets: $25 - $30 http://beautifulsoup.showclix.com. A portion of proceeds will benefit The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

Christians might also like to know:
-- Language
-- God's name taken in vain
-- Sexual dialogue and situations

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Gracewell Prodiuctions

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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2022 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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