A funny cabaret dealing with global themes
BY CHANNING GRAY | Providence Journal Arts Writer | July 25, 2006
You haven't seen local theater until you've seen David Rabinow in a chicken suit singing about the avian flu. Rabinow is part of the rag-tag Elemental Theatre, which has gone with a doomsday theme for its annual short play festival, now at Tiverton Four Corners.
The End of the World Cabaret is a series of original skits that takes on global warming, nuclear obliteration, pandemics, starvation and the general demise of all things as we know them. Thrown in for good measure are songs by Randy Newman and Loudon Wainwright sung by a folk quartet dressed as Vikings.
Think of the show as sort of like the Newspaper Guild Follies, but dealing with global themes rather than local politics. Some of the material is amusing, even clever.
"It's the Asian sensation," sings Robinow in Avian Flu, "that's sweeping the nation."
But a lot of stuff is forced and a little lame, like the opening skit about the Rapture, in which a Jew, an atheist and a Unitarian go to a place where they become fodder for a budding playwright, played by Sara Betnel.
"Is it heaven or hell?" asks one of the actors. "It's Tiverton," says another. "It could be worse," says a third. "It could be Pawtucket."
That was followed by Director's Notes, in which the show's director, Alexander Platt, explains how all federal money for artistic endeavors has been used for the war on terror and "overseas incursions." So the company was forced to turn to a Viking cultural organization for support. That's when Jared Hartley's Gord the Face Ripper appears, bludgeons Platt to death, and laments the fact that the Norse countries are now all neutral and that Viking culture has become the stuff of operas.
This is Hartley's way of explaining why the house band is wearing long wigs and helmets with horns sticking out of them. It's also one of the funnier routines, with Hartley making a perfectly ridiculous pillager.
Last Night finds Tray Gearing, Elizabeth Gotauco and Andrew Morissette waiting for the big one to fall and wipe out civilization. And what will they miss? Stevie Wonder singing "I Just Called to Say I Love You," which they all croon as the bombs begin to fall.
"We're society's tonsils," says Gotauco. "Our time is done."
Betnel and Paul Scharf, the banjo playing Viking, team up as two penguins whose lives are threatened by global warming. They have wandered off from the flock, shuffling an egg between their bare feet. Suddenly there is an ominous cracking. The ice is beginning to melt, the water is rising.
Scharf fears they will drown. Betnel assures him that penguins are survivors.
D'Arcy Dersham, who did a decent job singing Randy Newman's "Political Science", deals with the topic of airport security and unsavory looking passengers in Small World. Why don't these suspicious characters "stay put," she wonders. "I'll ride my plane, you ride yours."
The songs tended to be more successful than the one-acts, with Rabinow's and Scharf's tunes and lyrics often hitting the mark. "Enjoy Every Sandwich" paid tribute to the late songwriter Warren Zevon with the line "enjoy it now, because they won't wrap it up to go."
The End of the World Cabaret runs through July 30 at the Meeting House, Tiverton Four Corners. Shows take place Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., and Sun. at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12. Call 624-2600.
www.projo.com
The URL link to this article is no longer functional. We have reproduced the text of the article here. Any errors are the responsibility of Elemental Theatre.
You haven't seen local theater until you've seen David Rabinow in a chicken suit singing about the avian flu. Rabinow is part of the rag-tag Elemental Theatre, which has gone with a doomsday theme for its annual short play festival, now at Tiverton Four Corners.
The End of the World Cabaret is a series of original skits that takes on global warming, nuclear obliteration, pandemics, starvation and the general demise of all things as we know them. Thrown in for good measure are songs by Randy Newman and Loudon Wainwright sung by a folk quartet dressed as Vikings.
Think of the show as sort of like the Newspaper Guild Follies, but dealing with global themes rather than local politics. Some of the material is amusing, even clever.
"It's the Asian sensation," sings Robinow in Avian Flu, "that's sweeping the nation."
But a lot of stuff is forced and a little lame, like the opening skit about the Rapture, in which a Jew, an atheist and a Unitarian go to a place where they become fodder for a budding playwright, played by Sara Betnel.
"Is it heaven or hell?" asks one of the actors. "It's Tiverton," says another. "It could be worse," says a third. "It could be Pawtucket."
That was followed by Director's Notes, in which the show's director, Alexander Platt, explains how all federal money for artistic endeavors has been used for the war on terror and "overseas incursions." So the company was forced to turn to a Viking cultural organization for support. That's when Jared Hartley's Gord the Face Ripper appears, bludgeons Platt to death, and laments the fact that the Norse countries are now all neutral and that Viking culture has become the stuff of operas.
This is Hartley's way of explaining why the house band is wearing long wigs and helmets with horns sticking out of them. It's also one of the funnier routines, with Hartley making a perfectly ridiculous pillager.
Last Night finds Tray Gearing, Elizabeth Gotauco and Andrew Morissette waiting for the big one to fall and wipe out civilization. And what will they miss? Stevie Wonder singing "I Just Called to Say I Love You," which they all croon as the bombs begin to fall.
"We're society's tonsils," says Gotauco. "Our time is done."
Betnel and Paul Scharf, the banjo playing Viking, team up as two penguins whose lives are threatened by global warming. They have wandered off from the flock, shuffling an egg between their bare feet. Suddenly there is an ominous cracking. The ice is beginning to melt, the water is rising.
Scharf fears they will drown. Betnel assures him that penguins are survivors.
D'Arcy Dersham, who did a decent job singing Randy Newman's "Political Science", deals with the topic of airport security and unsavory looking passengers in Small World. Why don't these suspicious characters "stay put," she wonders. "I'll ride my plane, you ride yours."
The songs tended to be more successful than the one-acts, with Rabinow's and Scharf's tunes and lyrics often hitting the mark. "Enjoy Every Sandwich" paid tribute to the late songwriter Warren Zevon with the line "enjoy it now, because they won't wrap it up to go."
The End of the World Cabaret runs through July 30 at the Meeting House, Tiverton Four Corners. Shows take place Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., and Sun. at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12. Call 624-2600.
www.projo.com
The URL link to this article is no longer functional. We have reproduced the text of the article here. Any errors are the responsibility of Elemental Theatre.