Gentrifusion 
reviewed by Jody Christopherson

Walking toward the subway at 12:45pm in my Crown Heights neighborhood on the way to Red Fern Theatre Co’s production of Gentrifusion, a dude on the street offered to personally gentrify me, intimately and specifically. 

This made me angry (as it usually does) and I said a few things, and he said a few things, followed by gestures while police looked on, very little got accomplished and I went on my way to a Sunday matinee in the theatre. I have no idea who this man is, I probably couldn’t recognize him on the street tomorrow it happened so quickly. My impulse was to shut him out, protect myself. But I live there, not separate from him or our neighborhood.

At these intersections of interaction are the difficult places we have the opportunity to listen . . . even change. This is what theatre, unlike life can do for us, allow us a context in which to observe as we explore deeply personal issues. Gentrifusion is such a experience- 6 skilled writers (Jon Kern, Crystal Skillman, Michael John Garces, Joshua Conkel, Carla Ching, Janine Nabers) create realistic scenarios in which many perspectives exist and can be given equal weight, displaying destructive and constructive interconnectedness without sentimentality or safety.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the work:

Michael John Garces’ ghost story inhabited- 3 inhabitants (Molly Caden, Gio Perez, Michael Schantz) of haunted building witness their presence becoming a part of a buildings history, playing on fear of the past and the way the present informs the future. 

Crystal Skillman’s Crawl,- two brothers (Sheldon Best and Nathan Hinton) selling their Crown Heights family home after their real estate broker father passes away, look to move towards something better. A hilariously heart breaking search for home, based on a true story from a Crown Heights broker.

Joshua Conkel’s Robert Mapplethorpe Doesn’t Live Here Anymore- Andre St. Claire Thompson plays a acerbic vulnerable and gorgeous pre-op transvestite opposite Devin Norik’s adopted chinese baby toting affluent gay doctor, broaching the changing class scape between “queer people and gay people” in a gentrifying chelsea neighborhood losing and regaining it’s fierce authenticity. 

Janine Naber’s ominous play (2)11 is rife with stand out performances from Andrea Day as a young recently divorced mother ( ex-park slope dweller) who is held up at gun point with her newborn in a baby bjorn and Federico Trigo the police officer who interviews her and escorts her home (to his old and her new neighborhood, 11211).

Jon Kern’s Ours is the Future, Ours is the Past- couple, Lucy (Megan Tusing) and Max (Eugene Oh) relocate to 11211, their apartment is robbed. A violent and ultimately honest interaction ensues with local mechanic (Salvador Chevez) as they break the cycle of violence and separateness. 

Carla Ching’s First of the Month- with the talented trio- Rajesh Bose, Wayne T. Carr and Tiffany Villarin- everybody broke in broke neighborhoods, even people who seem like they have cash don’t. Most of us who have the money to live here without personal wealth have a few jobs and are lucky to be scrimping by while sharing a place with room mates. We really need each other to survive hard times. 

Would be truly exciting to see this is a collection of work travel into the communities represented; crown heights, chelsea, etc encouraging people who regularly attend theater and those who do not regularly attend to experience the piece together.

Gentrifusion: : an installation of new work

Playwrights include: Carla Ching, Joshua Conkel, Michael John Garcés, Jon Kern, Janine Nabers and Crystal Skillman

Directors include: John Giampietro, Colette Robert, and Moritz von Stuelpnagel

Artistic Producers: Andrea Day and Kel Haney

Executive Artistic Director: Melanie Moyer Williams

Full Cast List in Alphabetical Order:
Sheldon Best *, Rajesh Bose *, Tim Cain *, Molly Carden, Wayne T. Carr *, Salvadore Chevez, Gilbert Cruz *, Andrea Day, Nathan Hinton *, Devin Norik *, Eugene Oh, Gio Perez*, Casey Robinson, Michael Schantz, André St. Clair Thompson, Federico Trigo *, Megan Tusing, Tai Verley, and Tiffany Villarin

January 27 - February 13, 2011
The LABA Theatre At The 14th Street Y
344 East 14th Street between First and Second Avenues
4/5/6/N/R/Q to Union Square; L to First Avenue

Thursdays at 8 p.m. 
Fridays at 8 p.m. 
Saturdays at 8 p.m. 
Sundays at 3 p.m. (Super Bowl Sunday, February 6 at 2pm)

Additional performance on Monday, February 7 at 7pm.

Tickets are $25 and are now available online atwww.theatermania.com or by calling 866.811.4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the theater box office ½ hour prior to the performance.

Running Time: 120 minutes (with intermission)

BWW Reviews: GENTRIFUSION - Stoop to Conquer
by Duncan Pflaster
With Gentrifusion: an installation of new work, Red Fern Theater Company continues its community-conscious theatre work with six new plays by New York writers on the theme of gentrification. The elderly Jewish couple next to me were debating all evening what the word actually means (without much help from the program, which talks about it but never defines it); so, "gentrification" means the restoration of run-down urban areas by the middle class, resulting in the displacement of low-income residents.

Red Fern commissioned six playwrights- Jon Kern, Carla Ching, Joshua Conkel, Michael John Garcés, Janine Nabers, and Crystal Skillman- to write short plays addressing the topic, and produced them with their usual high-quality style.

The first play, Jon Kern's Ours is the Future, Ours is the Past, directed by John Giampietro, is a tribute to the style of Thornton Wilder, but in Brooklyn. The Student (Molly Carden), stands in as a Stage Manager, telling us about the personal lives of Mr. Douglas (Tim Cain) and Rogelio (Salvador Chevez), who run a failing auto body shop, and Max (Eugene Oh) and Lucy (Megan Tusing), a young couple who've just moved into a walk-up next door. When Max and Lucy's apartment is broken into, accusations fly. The stylization is quite effective in delving into the characters backstory, to let the audience see all sides of the characters' lives.

First of the Month, by Carla Ching, directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel, is a sweet piece about subletting; Jakob (Wayne T. Carr) and Sam (Rajesh Bose) are moving out, while Jakob's co-worker Muriel (Tiffany Villarin) is moving in. Unfortunately Sam's still hungover, and Jakob picked up another shift at the bar, so the packing isn't done yet.  A sweet piece about hipsters, with a very funny turn by Bose.

Robert Mapplethorpe Doesn't Live Here Anymore, by Joshua Conkel, directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel, is a hilarious and riveting piece set in the gay ghetto of Christopher Street, with a confrontation between a homeless drag queen (André St. Clair Thompson) and an upwardly mobile Gay doctor (Devin Norik) with a husband and a baby. The script tackles the not-often discussed conflict between "Queer" and "Gay" men. Unusual and consistently surprising, it's a fantastic tour de force for the two actors, and is a highlight of the evening.

After intermission was inhabited, by Michael John Garcés, directed by John Giampietro. This is a supernatural piece, with blu (Molly Carden) and galvez (Gio Perez) being haunted by ghosts of the previous owners of blu's new apartment, as well as by blu's ex-boyfriend spider (Michael Schantz). The actors handle the rapid-fire and stuttering dialogue with aplomb, making their terror very real.

Next was (2)11 by Janine Nabers, directed by Colette Robert, which illustrates the conflict some police officers having patrolling a neighborhood where they have familial roots. Sara (Andrea Day), a white woman with a baby, was harassed on the street, and she doesn't get much help at the police station from black officer Riz (Tai Verley), though "good cop" Dario (Casey Robinson) takes pity on her and drives her home, only to reveal to the audience that street punk Ernesto (Federico Trigo) is actually his brother. Their father Jorge (Gilbert Cruz) also makes an appearance. The play sets up some great characters and tension, but then doesn't do much with them.

And finally was Crawl by Crystal Skillman, directed by Colette Robert. A lovely two-hander about two black brothers, one of whom is about to sell their childhood Brooklyn home. Alex (Nathan Hinton) is ready to be rid of it, while Ty (Sheldon Best) still has fond memories of the place. Touching, and at times very funny (especially in a discussion of the movieAvatar).

Katherine Akiko Day's scenic and costume design is quite impressive; a realistic front stoop of a dilapidated brownstone serves as background for all the plays. Colin J. Whitely's sound design is a potent mix of city sounds. Marie Yokoyama's lighting is evocative of many different moods. Between-scene projections by photojournalist Dennis W. Ho illuminate the real-life settings of the scenes to come.

Gentrifusion not only provides a wonderfully multi-racial and talented cast, and a great evening of theatre, but each of the plays is paired with a philanthropy (all of which Red Fern has worked with before on previous projects). If you like provocative new urban theatre, this is not to be missed.

Gentrifusion: an installation of new work
January 27 - February 13, 2011
The LABA Theatre At The 14th Street Y
344 East 14th Street between First and Second Avenues
4/5/6/N/R/Q to Union Square; L to First Avenue

Thursdays at 8 p.m. 
Fridays at 8 p.m. 
Saturdays at 8 p.m. 
Sundays at 3 p.m. (Super Bowl Sunday, February 6 at 2pm)

Additional performance on Monday, February 7 at 7pm.

Tickets are $25 and are now available online at www.theatermania.com or by calling 866.811.4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the theater box office ½ hour prior to the performance.

Running Time: 120 minutes (with intermission)

www.RedFernTheatre.Org

Photo Credit: Jordan Popalis

1. Andre St. Clair Thompson and Devin Norik in "Robert Mapplethorpe Doesn't Live Here Anymore".
2. Nathan Hinton and Sheldon Best in "Crawl". 

Arts
Spare Times for Jan. 28-Feb. 3
By ANNE MANCUSO
Published: January 27, 2011
Around Town

‘Gentrifusion’ (through Feb. 13) The positive and negative outcomes of gentrification in New York are explored in “Gentrifusion,” a collection of short plays presented by the Red Fern Theater Company. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 3 p.m. (on Feb. 6, the show is at 2 p.m.); there is an additional performance on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. LABA Theater at the 14th Street Y, 344 East 14th Street, Manhattan , (866) 811-4111, redferntheatre.org; $25.

A Fable to Reflect On

“A Wonderfully Flat Thing"
Directed by David Winitsky
14th Street Y LABA Theatre
344 East 14th Street between 1st and 2nd avenues
Tickets: $15; (646) 395-4322 or www.14StreetY.org
Closes Jan. 16, 2011
Reviewed by Paulanne Simmons Jan. 9, 2011

Mark Twain, best known for his twin novels of childhood, Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was also a writer of fables. One of his fables, “A Wonderfully Flat Thing," has been adapted for children’s theater by Valerie Work, Manju Shandler and Basmat Hazan, and is currently playing a return engagement at 14th Street Y LABA theatre.

The show, created by Shandler and Hazan, directed by David Winitsky and choreographed by Jesse Zaritt, features a talented group of actor/puppeteers who tell the story of self-discovery through music, dance, spoken word, and video projections.

The “wonderfully flat thing" of the title is, of course, a mirror, which reveals our image in unexpected ways. In “A Wonderfully Flat Thing," the Ostrich Sarae Garcia), the Cat Emily Hartford), the Donkey (Jake Goodman), the Elephant (Shawn Shafner) and the Snake (Sarah Painter) all see the image of themselves in the mirror and come to the conclusion that their image is an intrinsic part of the mirror. They may be pleased or alarmed by what they see.

This egocentric interpretation is one that is quite understandable to the innocent minds of children. But whether or not children get Twain’s moral and philosophical message, they will be intrigued and delighted by the wonderful costumes and masks worn by the actors and the spirited antics of the animals.

Shandler’s set, which includes Twain’s bedroom and the realm of the animals, is also an entertaining adventure into fantasy. And Shandler’s puppets, manipulated both by string and by hand are funny and whimsical.

With its small scale and congenial audience interaction, “A Wonderfully Flat Thing" is a perfect first-time theater experience for very young children and their adult companions. [Simmons]

Events & Happenings in New York City!
A Wonderfully Flat Thing

When:Sunday January 16, 2011
11:30 and 2:30pm
Where:14th Street Y Theater
344 E. 14th Street
New York, NY 10003
Full Venue Info, Map It
Cover:$15

Join Mark Twain and his animal friends on a fun journey of self discovery and magic. With puppets, dance, music, and interactive video projections kids ages 4 & up will be delighted by this visual feast. Based on Mark Twain’s short story, A Fable, our talented cast discovers a mysterious “flat thing,” a mirror, and each sees something different. Is it magic? Only Mark Twain has the answer! A Wonderfully Flat Thing is a innovative children’s theater production your kids will love!