A Pirate-Puppet-Rock-Ody-wha?!

I love my new job. One of the things I like most about it is that going to see up-and-coming work in theater and film is actually written into the job description: "The assistant to the producers will go see cool new shit going on in NYC every week and report back about what s/he sees. Also, just so you don't go completely broke and starve to death and become useless to us, we've got you covered for tickets up to $25."

My two things this week were both at the Ars Nova Theater (ANT). On Tuesday, I caught a performance by Gabriel Kahane, a singer/songwriter with some seriously kick-ass music, on ANT's Uncharted series, which gives burgeoning musicians a chance to play their original music in front of live audiences. ANT is an incredibly intimate space and feels like just the right size for something like this; you can definitely see the artists' expressions as they're playing and they feel like they can crack jokes and talk to the audience because they're literally sitting two feet away. Kahane's music felt very vibrant; imagine an eclectic guitarist/banjo player/pianist with a much more diverse set of instruments interwoven into his songs than your average John Mayer-type (e.g., sax, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, etc.), combined with strong lyrics and quirky tempos and unpredictable rhythm. He's releasing an album in September--the show on Tuesday consisted mainly of songs from this record--and I'm excited to be able to add him to my iPod.

Second and even more magical was the current feature run at ANT, Jollyship the Whiz-Bang, which I had the pleasure of watching tonight. I can't even begin to encompass the sheer entertainment value of this show in words, but it's tag-line is "A Pirate-Puppet-Rock Odyssey"--which is, unlike most marketing, an extremely apt description of the show. There are puppets (and real people), both of whom are pirates, and the music is rock, and it is a zany epic tale of alcoholic/horny/offensive pirates on the sea, searching for the ever-elusive-but-undoubtedly-whore-and-booze-filled Party Island. Most of all, however, it is just fucking hilarious. (And there is a reason why I'm not beeping out the expletive. This show deserves it.) The comedic timing of the lead--Nick Jones--alone makes this show worth seeing, but there are a ton of other elements that come together to make it something special. The drummer is awesome. The set design is clever and painstaking in its attention to minute details that bring the tiny space alive. The puppets (especially the Captain, the crab, and the cabin boy) are hysterically funny. I mean, you'd think these guys studied with bunraku masters, they're so expressive. And the costumes and props that go with the puppets will slay you.

In the coverage reports I will begin writing for work as early as this weekend, the last line always sums up the whole experience (whether it be a live event, script/screenplay, book, etc.) with a recommendation. (Translation for my McK colleagues: Key take-away.) I was flipping through past coverage earlier this afternoon and there were comments like, "Track artist XYZ" and "Second read." One screenplay had garnered a "PASS" (capital letters in original report).

My rec for Jollyship? Go see it. Tix are on sale now for $25 at Ars Nova Theater. But take note, lest you think this is some Muppet-love-fest-on-the-pretty-blue-seas for toddlers: "[Jollyship is] For Mature Audiences. This is not a kid’s puppet show. Pirates are known to invoke mature themes."