Although I've lived in New York since 1971, I've never gone to the LaMama Experimental Theater Club on the Lower East Side. Playwright Harvey Fierstein got his start there. But an intriguing review of Hell With Jesus/Top 40 convinced me it was time.
I can't say that I wasn't warned about audience participation. At one point, I turned to Thom and asked "WHAT was I thinking?" But the morning after some acute uneasiness, home alone in the safety of 47 Pianos, my attitude has softened considerably. Ivo Dimchev, a way-out-there gay Bulgarian performance artist who offered to sing privately in people's homes during the pandemic as a way to reduce isolation, fostered a sense of community with his absurd and often sexual requests to the audience. Of course, inviting everyone on stage for a selfie while he croons, persuasively (video above), elicited the most participation but through all my discomfort I giggled repeatedly, admired his voice and those of his last-minute supporting cast, and applauded the men and women who bravely took the stage with him. In short, however briefly (just shy of two hours) I felt like part of a very small community worlds away from the daily horrors relentlessly amplified by the media.
Bravo to Ivo and his provocative, sure-to-go viral questions--both political and not--that he poses to his talented actors (Cassondra James's voice really is like butter) and the audience: "Would you rather be in hell with Jesus or heaven with Trump?" "Do you prefer dirty dishes to a dirty cock?" (Xavier Smith pragmatically chose the latter, because it requires less work) "Would you rather be happy, rich or a genius? Conversation starters you can use in any environment, except perhaps work.
As E.M. Forster (likely spinning in his grave) wrote so long ago in much different times: "only connect." Ivo certainly does even if I didn't have the balls to join him!
No comments:
Post a Comment