ONE OLD CROW PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS
COWBOY MOUTH
BY SAM SHEPARD & PATTI SMITH
A SITE SPECIFIC PLAY WITH MUSIC
JUNE 7-22
THE SALON APARTMENT ABOVE LUCKY CHENG’S
IN THE HEART OF THE LOWER EAST SIDE
Diana Beshara
Photo by Leah Benavides
The structure of the play seems to be a series of small mini set pieces of passionate love/anger with overtones of absurdity and suicidal despair between Slim and Cavale, which escalate rather abruptly into powerful monologues with metaphorical overtones based on the need to be free.
The play is presented in a grungy apartment in a grungy neighborhood. The audience sits on chairs in the apartment, which gives the play something of the flavor of immersive, site-specific theater. However, the audience does not participate in the play (except for unscripted interruptions by errant theater-goers). This setting has been compared to Sleep No More, but an apt comparison between the two is: Watching a stick-ball game in the street compared to attending the first game of the World Series and possibly catching a home-run ball: Watching stick-ball can be fun, but the nature of the audience participation is really part of the game at the World Series -- and the scale of the event and the skill level of the participants are vastly (almost incomparably) different. (Note: In Sleep No More, the audience participation is an integral part of the experience, and the expertise and skill level of every aspect of the show is breathtaking.)
One important facet of a director's job is to make every moment of a play clear in its context. I had trouble with that at this production: The characters did not seem to me to be clear about what they were really fighting about, or how much they really cared about -- or hated -- each other. In a play with more subtext than text, clarity of intention is essential.
I also found myself distracted in many other ways -- the accents were inconsistent: sometimes the actors seemed to be trying to talk like cowboys, but mostly not; the characters kept changing clothes for no explicable reason; the bizarre costuming of the Lobster Man did not seem to fit with what was suggested about him; and the dead-crow pet never gained a life of its own. I also had a bit of a problem with watching lovers on a bed who are over-dressed for making love on a bed.
The drums were the best, but overall the music was not impressive.
Aside from the set, the strongest aspect of the production was the final set-pieces by each of the characters. Had they been well set up by a strong lead-in they would have rounded out a powerful play.
All in all, while this is not a definitive production of Cowboy Mouth, it had no major faults, just possibilities not fully realized. The production is still a revealing and interesting presentation of an early Sam Shepard play that is not too frequently performed. Plus... there is free cheap wine, and a chance to hang out in Cavale's grungy apartment and watch her and Slim love, fight, and deal with Lobster Man.
(Note: The play takes place in an apartment above Lucky Cheng's, (LC), but the entrance is separate, around the corner from the entrance to LC. The night I was there, the Lobster Man was on the corner with fortune cookies with directions to the apartment. -- LC, that night, by the way, was hosting an LGBT/Drag Karaoke.)
(Note: Come early to find a good comfortable seat with clear sight-lines. But a Cautionary Note: Front row seats might get splashed!)
Below is some information about the production from the producers and some links to more information:
"One Old Crow Productions presents a site-specific production of COWBOY MOUTH, the
play born out of the actual relationship between America’s most celebrated dramatist, Sam Shepard and the godmother of Punk, Patti Smith.
This play with original music composed in collaboration with the cast and director takes place in a grungy space above the bar, Lucky Cheng's, in the Lower East Side and will incorporate elements from the streets of New York.
One Old Crow invites the audience into Cavale's apt, where she has been holed up with Slim.
The production is directed by Leah Benavides (The 4th Graders Present an Unnamed
Love-Suicide at The Tank; Member of the 2011 Lincoln Center Director Lab) and will feature Diana Beshara (The Love Letter You’ve Been Meaning to Write New York at 3LD) as Cavale, Geoffrey Pomeroy (Two Days ‘til Dawn at the 2011 Planet Connections Festivity) as Slim,and Matthew Mark Stannah (2011 AADM graduate) as Lobster Man.
The cast, in collaboration with the director, created the set, artwork, and original music.
Slim, a musician, is in the apartment of the young Cavale, who dreams of making
him the next rock n’ roll savior. What follows is a hypnotic meditation on art, desire, music, the state of the world, the place of dreams, and “two big dreamers who came together but were destined to come to a sad end.” (Patti Smith, 1974).
The production, presented by One Old Crow Productions plays a three-week engagement in an apartment above Lucky Cheng’s (24 1st Avenue at 2nd Street)
June 7-22;
June 7 & 8, 11-14, & 20 & 21 at 8pm,
Friday, June 15 & 22 at 8pm and 10pm, and
Sunday, June 10 & 17 at 5pm.
TICKETS($15) may be purchased
or by calling 1-800-838-3006.
ONE OLD CROW PRODUCTIONS is a new company dedicated to producing works across
multiple mediums that highlight and celebrate an experimental nature and an explorative use of space and place. We are not interested so much in Naturalism as REALISM; in exploring the reality and truth in situations that exist outside of daily life yet illuminate our existence. "
LINKS:
Note: There is a band called COWBOY MOUTH which is not related to this production or this play.
ONE OLD CROW PRODUCTIONS -- THE OFFICIAL SITE FOR THIS PLAY www.oneoldcrowproductions.com
http://www.oneoldcrowproductions.com/up-next.html
COWBOY MOUTH - WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_Mouth_(play)
SAM SHEPARD - WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Shepard
PATTI SMITH - WIKIPEDIA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patti_Smith
SLEEP NO MORE - QPORIT
http://qporit.blogspot.com/2012/05/sleep-no-more-review-guide.html
LUCKY CHENG's
http://luckychengsnyc.com/
