surrender to the screen

A new movie repertory theater, the Metrograph, is opening up in New York and they have an exciting debut slate of 35mm films with memorable movie house moments. Schedule below!

The Purple Rose of Cairo (Woody Allen, 1985, 82 minutes, 35mm)

March 4, 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m.

Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976, 113 minutes, 35mm)

March 4, 2:00 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m., 9:30 p.m.

The Long Day Closes (Terence Davies, 1992, 85 minutes, 35mm)

March 5, 12:00 p.m.; March 6, 5:30 p.m.

The Last Picture Show (Peter Bogdanovich, 1971, 126 minutes, 35mm)

March 5, 2:00 p.m.; March 7, 1:00 p.m.

Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-liang, 2003, 82 minutes, 35mm)

Presented with support from Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York.

March 6, 3:30 p.m.; March 8, 1:00 p.m.

Matinee (Joe Dante, 1993, 99 minutes, 35mm)

March 5, 1:00 p.m.; March 6, 12:30 p.m.

Vivre sa vie (Jean-Luc Godard, 1962, 85 minutes, 35mm)

March 5, 3:15 p.m., 7:45 p.m.; March 6, 5:00 p.m.

The Spirit of the Beehive (Víctor Erice, 1973, 99 minutes, 35mm)

March 5, 5:30 p.m.; March 6, 2:45 p.m.

Femme Fatale (Brian De Palma, 2002, 114 minutes, 35mm)

March 5, 4:30 p.m.; March 6, 10:00 p.m.

The Last Dragon (Michael Schultz, 1985, 96 minutes, 35mm)

March 6, 1:00 p.m.

Variety (Bette Gordon, 1983, 100 minutes, 35mm)

March 6, 7:00 p.m.

The Blob (Irwin S. Yeaworth Jr., 1958, 96 minutes, 35mm)

March 6, 7:30 p.m.; March 7, 3:00 p.m.

The Projectionist (Harry Hurwitz, 1971, 88 minutes, 35mm)

March 7, 5:30 p.m.

Demons (Lamberto Bava, 1985, 88 minutes, 35mm)

March 7, 10:15 p.m.; March 8, 3:15 p.m.

An American Werewolf in London (John Landis, 1981, 97 minutes, 35mm)

March 8, 5:15 p.m., 10:00 p.m.

Desperately Seeking Susan (Susan Seidelman, 1985, 104 minutes, 35mm)

March 8, 7:30 p.m.

machinal

Ghostly, cerebral, and nightmarish, the latest stage production (from Roundabout Theatre Company) of Sophie Treadwell's 1920s Machinal is a hard one to shake and a stirring look at a young woman's life undone by her powerlessness and the dehumanizing technology around her. A free-spirited adventurer at heart, as evidenced while having a quick rendezvous with a dashing stranger (played by Morgan Spector), the unnamed protagonist (Rebecca Hall) is locked into a loveless marriage with a robotic rich man (Michael Cumpsty) who phrases things strangely and unfeelingly not unlike Mitt Romney in his 2012 Presidential debates.

Lyndsey Turner's handling of the story is heavily stylized but striking visually, with an impressive revolving set by Es Devlin (it's truly breathtaking and works beautifully with time jumping of the storyline and the relentless, "machinal" circling of the play's themes), gorgeous, Hopper-esque lighting (Jane Cox), vibrant sound design (Matt Tierney) and a thrumming, sometimes dissonant electronic score by Matthew Herbert. Gawky, pale, and tall, with full lips and a 20s bob, Rebecca Hall works out a heavy and difficult part.  An acclaimed stage actress but also a notable presence in movies (I loved her particularly in underrated turns in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Please Give), Hall has a tremendous presence. Even in her silent moments, you can sense the tumult of the inner cranks within her.  Just watch the way she moves about the room with Sherlock (one of the only scenes where she seems happy) and fusses with her hair (a motif) and puts on stockings--it's so fluid and natural. Hall is saddled a bit with Treadwell's crescendoing "poetic" interior monologues, which were likely brazen and breakthrough at the time but now are somewhat leaden, yet Hall commits to them with fervor and fury. She and the rest of the cast (often in different parts and within the set's shadows) work well with Treadwell's purposefully dense and rhythmically, grammatically off-kilter dialogue.

The story moves into a predictable crime melodrama that feels familiar by now from all the various revisions we've seen of Ruth Snyder's infamous tale (of which this play is loosely based) and Jazz Age femme fatales (including Chicago).  This was undoubtedly a gloomy era for women and their prospects, especially if they didn't assimilate into a conventional role.  Knowing the context of Treadwell's piece (she was one of the few women playwrights of her time) combined with Lyndsay Turner's striking direction gives Machinal a spooky, urgent edge.


-Jeffery Berg

another dysfunctional family

Jonathan Demme is still primarily known for his harrowing The Silence of the Lambs. An unlikely but deserving winner of five Academy Awards, the film remains one of our best and unique thrillers. Demme's direction often studies behavior. He came into his own two years ago with the poignant and ambiguous character study of Rachel Getting Married. It was critically praised but the Dogme 95 style and tragic story (its original advertisements and title seem to promise a romantic comedy) left audiences chilled. The film is one of Demme's best in a rich career of many different flavors and risks including documentaries, the offbeat Something Wild, the breakthrough mainstream AIDS drama Philadelphia, and the adaptation of Toni Morrison's Beloved.

Demme returns to much of the same material of Rachel Getting Married with his new off Broadway production of Beth Henley's (Crimes of the Heart) Family Week. The story centers on a suicidal woman Claire (Rosemarie DeWitt, also of Rachel in which she played the title character so brilliantly) who after the death of her son, admits herself to a recovery center in the desert. The title refers to the visiting of her kin, her mother (Kathleen Chalfant), her young daughter (Sami Gayle) and sister Rickey (Quincy Tyler Bernstine). Through the tumultuous therapeutic sessions, some of which seem bogus, others which seem to have some validity, the clan reveal many painful secrets to one another.

I wonder if Henley's writing, at times acidic and funny, despite the tragedy in the material, often gives too much away. Even though they are in different mediums, I can't help but compare Rachel Getting Married to Family Week and their similar pilings on of domestic traumas. The experience of Rachel Getting Married and its unraveling of family drama worked so well in the cinematic format: the closeups, the claustrophobic and dizzying feel of a busy house in preparations. On a sprawling stage, with some interludes of song (mostly appropriately dusty western tunes from the likes of Emmylou Harris) under moody lighting and complete with a vivid desert background, Family Week sometimes feels a bit repetitious. It was particularly difficult to connect with Claire's character, perhaps because she was so forgone (she holds a teddy throughout most of the production). Because of this, the play lacks a center to hold on to. In Rachel, damaged Kym (Anne Hathaway) bitterly drew us into her world. Whereas the family in Rachel (and too in Ordinary People, another extraordinary portrait of a family coping with tragedy) have been dealing with their wounds for a long time, the tragedy in Family Week is very fresh. Because of this the play works best when in its quirks: we learn that Claire eerily sent Rickey flowers from her dead son; in a closing monologue, Claire stunningly opens up in an odd and brilliant meditation of the body.

Even though the material is sometimes difficult to connect with, it's definitely not the fault of the four actors. The best, and most refreshing of all is Quincy Tyler Bernstine, who injects most of the play's humor and pathos. Her Rickey is very real, spontaneous, and layered (a child prodigy grown up and now broke). One hopes to see more roles for such a talented actress, her speaking voice is just incredible. I felt sympathy for DeWitt who is saddled with many heavy and emotional monologues. She carries it all so deftly without going overboard. Her tearful glares are unforgettable. Her daughter (Sami Gayle) is appropriately whiny, insecure, and precocious. And her WASPish mother is well played by Chalfant who is desperate for "hydrating soap" throughout the play, as if wanting to wash away the past.

Ticket information for Family Week.

#1 female

Paige Collette and I used to work together at the beloved Oscar Wilde Bookshop. She is an amazing and creative talent and I miss working with her.

On Friday, May 8th, she and three other female writer/performers, Erin Markey, Lucy Alibar, & Erin Search-Wells, will debut #1 Female.

I asked Paige a few questions about her and the upcoming show.

JB: Without giving too much away, please tell us what to expect from #1 Female?

PC: Erin Markey is sharing some amazing pieces including part of her longer show "Puppy Love: A Stripper's Tail" about falling for a girl she worked with at a strip club. Lucy Alibar is doing a mini-musical extravaganza about baking and self-esteem that is hilarious. Erin Search-Wells is coming in from Minneapolis to perform. And I'm going to share a few new characters and some burlesque. I can assure you, it will be fierce. Also there's a 'zine called #1 FEMALE that we're making to distribute and that's really exciting to me! There'll be some wigs, some white wine, some cupcakes, and some hardcore girlie energy.

JB: How did the process of creating the show work?

PC: Well, Alison Fleminger at the Performance Project got in touch with me through my friend Abby Browde, and she offered me the opportunity to perform and curate an evening at University Settlement. And I thought "Who do I want to gather together to perform?" And I know so many amazing female performers -- so I was walking away from my meeting with Alison, and I just got on my cellphone and started calling these female performers that I love. And my friends Kate and Martha had this idea for a 'zine called #1 FEMALE, and I thought, "Ooh, that's a great title. We're gonna use that."

JB: What is your own process of creating like?

PC: I try to write everyday -- although of course sometimes I fall off the wagon and don't write for awhile, but I really try to do it everyday! Cause a lot of it's just white noise in my brain that I have to get out ("had amazing sex last night, have to pay my insurance, I'm hungry" yada yada), but then I'll start to hit on something good -- a good stream of writing for a character. Or sometimes I'll just have good one-liners here and there amidst all my white noise thoughts, so I'll go back and circle the good stuff, and then type all the good stuff together and cut-n-paste and rearrange and figure out how stuff fits together.


JB: At this very moment, who is your #1 Female?

PC: Oh man. There are a lot! My roommate Amy Gironda's really awesome. She's gonna be a part of my #1 FEMALE piece. She's a performer, and she has a style blog -- outfitsoutfits.com. She listens to me, and we really girl-out together. Of course my mom rocks. And I really love Britney Spears -- she's irresistible to me. I'm reading a book by A.M. Homes right now, so I'm really excited about her. My friend Tali Wertheimer's a #1. And my friend and collaborator Tatiana Pavela.

I really like the work of this choreographer Faye Driscoll -- she's a #1. Tina Turner. Tina Fey. Annie Sprinkle. Gloria Steinem. Susie Bright. Seriously, I could go on all day with this stuff -- it's dangerous. I love Jenna Jameson too. And of course Michelle Obama. And I love Helen Mirren in The Queen -- so good. And all the girls involved in #1 FEMALE, they're all #1s.

I saw your post about Tonya Harding the other day -- I don't know if I'd call her a #1, but she's incredibly compelling. Everyone's so annoyed with Rachel Ray, but she's a #1 in my book. I don't watch her show or cook her food, but I watched her E-True Hollywood story on the treadmill once and got into it. My friend Sarah Moore's a #1 -- she's graduating from law school this month. Ok, I have to stop this now. Oh, but Sasha Grey. She's a #1. Okay, done. Wait, one more -- Susan Boyle. Okay, now I'm done.

JB: Who was your very first #1 female fascination and what did you find compelling about her?

PC: My first female fascination was multi-fold -- all the women on my mom's soap opera "Days of Our Lives." So we had Kayla, Jennifer, Hope, Marlena, Kimberly (played by Patsy Pease, amazing). I think I loved how much these women were feeling -- the depths of their emotion. Everything they were feeling was so important. And music played behind them wherever they went. And they got to hang out in beds with men. And at hospitals. Their lives seemed really exciting. My mom would breastfeed me while she watched "Days of Our Lives," and then we just kept watching it. I'd say the peak of my fascination with those women hit from the time I was 5 years old til the time I was 8 and then looped back again when I was 11.


JB: Are there any female actors in particular who have inspired you?

PC: I loved Gilda Radner when I was in middle school. She was hugely inspiring -- and Jane Curtain too and Madeline Kahn. I love Samantha Morton. There's an awesome actress in the live theater scene in Dallas where I grew up named Tina Parker, and she absolutely rocks -- very inspiring. Susan Sarandon. And I'm fascinated by porn stars and pop stars and R&B and hip hop stars -- they inspire me. And Karen Finley.

JB: What about writers?

PC: Well, I loved When Harry Met Sally when I was in middle school, and that was written by Nora Ephron. I don't know when I realized that was written by a woman, but that was exciting. And I mean, Tina Fey is a genius. My friend Jess Barbagallo is a playwright, and she's great. And Paula Vogel is an amazing playwright too. As far as book authors -- Mary Gaitskill, Joan Didion, Lorrie Moore, Haruki Murakami (a boy!), this playwright Gary Owen (another boy!). Oh and Anais Nin -- huge. Camille Paglia. The writers at Bust. Michelle Tea, Ali Liebgott. I would say that Henry Miller was really inspiring to me too. Rita Mae Brown. Young Jean Lee. I could go on for a long time here.

JB: What books have you been reading?

PC: I'm reading This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes. I found a copy of it on the sidewalk just outside my house. I was sorta like, "Uh oh, I guess this is a sign that my life is in danger?!" But I've really been enjoying the book -- it's great. I just read an old self-help book called Smart Actors, Foolish Choices that my therapist found in some book donation shelf in her building -- some of the advice is actually really good. And I'm reading A Feast of Snakes by Harry Crews.


JB: Music-listening?

PC: Well my computer crashed a couple months ago, and that's usually how I listen to music. But I like Britney's new songs. I guess the guy from LCD Soundsystem really works on her stuff. "If U Seek Amy" and "Circus" and there's this really funny song called "Blur" -- one of the lyrics in the refrain is "Let me get my hair dried" -- oh damn! I just googled the lyrcis and found out the lyrics are "just let me get my head right" -- damn, I was imagining Britney getting out of the shower and like, "Who is this stranger in my bed? I just need to dry my hair and get the fuck out of here." Oh well, it's still a juicy song for me.

And let's see, "Diva" by Beyonce. Radiohead always. Toto's "Africa" cause I used that in a burlesque piece recently -- might use it at #1 FEMALE. Sleater-Kinney's "The Woods" -- Led Zeppelin always. Rolling Stones always. Fleetwood Mac. I heard this mix of that song "I'm Good, I'm Gone" by Lykke Li that I liked. And I just got down with some of My Morning Jacket. "Saint Dymphna" by Gang Gang Dance. Beck's Mutations and Beck's Information. Goldfrapp. Mum. The Knife. Justin Timberlake on the treadmill. Ok, I'll stop now!

JB: What was your first music single purchase? Was it 12 inch, 45, cassette, or CD?

PC: I bought a cassette tape -- Paula Abdul's "Opposites Attract" but really I listened to a lot of Madonna on the radio as a kid. And church songs. And in middle school it was all Beatles, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Carole King, and the Hair soundtrack. With a little bit of Nirvana and Alanis Morissette tossed in there too.

JB: Describe your style.

PC: Casual. I wear jeans and a hoodie like everyday. I have a few shirts that I love, and I just wear the same thing all the time. I grew up wearing a uniform everday to school, so that's in my blood. And if I dress up, I go pretty retro-glam. A dress and heels (Aerosoles are amazing). But overall I guess I'd say casual sexy -- I like shirts and jeans that hug my figure. And it's hard for me to do anything between casual or dressy -- I feel like it's all or nothing with me. I love lingerie. And I love stuff that friends are getting rid of that I then get for free! I went to a clothing swap the other day, and I got some CUTIE open-toe pastel plaid wedges. Very retro-looking. CUTE! And I grew up in Texas, so I usually wear at least a little bit of make-up almost everyday. Waz up, Naomi Wolf!

JB: What challenges do you face now as a performer/writer living in the city?

PC: Oh god, money! Can a bitch get paid? Yeah, money is tough. Carrying a ton of costumes and wigs and props like rotary telephones and cherry pies around -- that's difficult in a city like New York cause girl ain't got no car! And you know, it's hard to get people out to shows. People are reluctant to go to the theater. A lot of people have seen work that sucked, and now they're just turned off. But people come to my shows, and they have such a good time! Cause really there's so much good work out there to see -- you just gotta go get it. I just feel like a lotta people are holed up with their Netflix and their youtube and their cable, and they just follow reality shows -- which I can totally get down with, but c'mon people, ya still gotta go to the theater! This is New York! You can watch cable and Netflix and youtube in Ohio, so take advantage of what you have in New York! And now that the weather's gorgeous, I'm hoping to see more people out and about.

JB: From one star to four stars, how many stars do you give your day?

PC: Well let's see -- I woke up, wrote, drank some green tea, made my bed, spent an hour at the gym, and took a walk along the park. (Ha! That sounds like a really productive day, and I am not always that productive! I sound like I live in LA!) Ok then I had a couple good phone conversations -- one with my friend Jess Barbagallo (that amazing playwright) and the other with my dear friend Erin Search-Wells (also one of my #1 FEMALE performers). And later I'm gonna see a play at HERE Arts Space, and then my plan is to go out and get laid! And answering these interview questions was pretty fuckin' fun -- so ya know what, I'm gonna give my day a 3 outta 4! Thanks for interviewing me, Jeffery!

For #1 Female tickets, email project.audience@gmail.com or call 212-453-4532
$15
$10 for students or seniors
Friday, May 8, 2009
Time: 8:00pm - 9:30pm
Location: University Settlement
Street: 184 Eldridge Street
City/Town: New York, NY