And now, for something completely different...

I came across this via one of my infrequent visits to a friend's page on Facebook...

Just brilliant!!!... Ladies and gentlemen, I present "El Coucho"...

It's getting loud...

What the hell is going on?

One might think that the End Times are truly upon us with all the calamity that we process every time we are are witness to recent news. Questions arise that are not being answered. Thousands offer their opinions. Yet we are no closer to even beginning to comprehend the chaos around the World these days. It would be easier to tune out because it is harder to labor towards even a basic understanding of who, what, where, how, and why? But even tuning out can be a challenge.

I think that there is one word that captures the essence of it all - noise.

We are bombarded daily with wanted and unwanted noise. Noise disrupts our ability to observe objectively. Noise can help us focus. Noise can be relaxing. Noise can irritate. Noise can - it can be all things. It can be anything. But it depends on your point of view.

Catching the latest headlines whether about the tumult in the Middle East, the disaster that struck Japan, the idealogues that were swept into office last November bent on proving they meant business (yes, they did), to the weather - thunder sleet?!

For my part, an imbalance of which I spoke to a friend last Fall is now being perceived past my personal sphere. And it is an imbalance that can be heard and not just seen. And maybe this noise is too much to bear - an irritation that causes people to snap.

Like those in the recent melee on a New York subway that started over, wait for it, eating spaghetti. Watching the video of the fight didn't, surprisingly, look different than any other scenes of disaster presented on the television or over the Internet. Just a bloody mess and in that visual cacophony, hope started to raise its voice. Then hope screamed back.

After a futile yet honorable call to reason, other passengers threw themselves into the middle of the fight once, first pasta, then fists began to fly. These individuals rose up to say "ENOUGH!" And it reminded me of the citizens of Wisconsin lashing out at Gov. Scott Walker and his heavy-handed, non-transparent attack on 50 years of progressive, pro-labor policies and laws. (More on this later.)

Does this 'sound' like I'm overreaching? Or is it an internal correction to achieve balance? Perhaps a cry for help.

I need something to drown out the noise...

REVIEW: "Kin"

"It's awful, isn't it? Getting to know someone."

You're not quite sure what you're getting when the house lights have been dim for the first few moments but it proves to not disappoint. Bathsheba Doran's latest, "Kin," revolves around Anna, an Ivy League scholar, and Sean, an Irish personal trainer, who become involved in a relationship that appears to be both inconceivable and doomed to fail. The rich supporting characters include: Anna's long-time friend, Helena, who is seemingly unhappy about Anna's success (Anna would tell you otherwise); Sean's mother, Linda, unsuccessfully dealing with a past trauma back in Ireland; Anna's father, Adam, a military Texan whose moment of vulnerability has a hold on Anna; Sean's uncle Max; Adam's confidant/possible lover Kay; Sean's ex-girlfriend Rachel; Anna's faculty advisor Simon; and Gideon, the North Carolina hunter Helena encounters during her commune with nature.

One would think that the subject matter can get weighty but there are well-placed moments of levity like Helena auditioning for the role of Helena in "Midsummer Night's Dream" and Sean giving his uncle cardio training. On the surface, all of the relationships are filled with tension because of some underlying damage that is revealed but there is a hope that persists. And it is a nagging hope that keeps you drawn in.

"Falling in love, a friend said to me, is like having someone poke around the dark corners of your house where you don’t want anyone looking." - Bathsheba Doran on "Kin"

The story unfolds as a series of vignettes over several years and the entire cast gets involved with moving the set pieces around. Sitting in the fourth row during the performance, I even got to experience an Irish mist - it was figuratively and literally cool!

What I enjoyed most about "Kin" is that as an audience member, you will know somebody like those portrayed and, so there, exists an immediate familiarity. You will also not mind that the run time is nearly two hours and that there is no intermission.

Seriously, you won't mind at all.

"Kin"
Director: Sam Gold
Cast: Suzanne Bertish, Bill Buell, Kristen Bush, Patch Darragh, Kit Flanagan, Laura Heisler, Matthew Rauch, Cotter Smith, and Molly Ward
Playwrights Horizons
416 W 42nd St.
Now until April 3rd