We're Gonna Die13P and Young Jean Lee's Theatre Company at Joe's Pub
Reviewed by
Jason Fitzgerald
April 09, 2011
It is clear from her first moments that Lee is not a natural performer. She is a little too frightened, a little too stiff, a little too out of tune as she keeps her hands by her sides and stares at the audience with a hint of desperation. The four members of her band, Future Wife, cast her in relief as they carelessly, gracefully inhabit their corners of the stage. They could be in their living rooms; she is nowhere else but where she is. But confrontation is Lee's bread and butter, as anyone who has made it through her often harrowing plays ("The Shipment," for example) would know. Here, rather than pushing her audience to the brink, she goes there for us, like a fellow skydiver taking the first leap. The stories she tells range from everyday disappointments (falling off a bike, a breakup) to life-altering catastrophes (her father's death), and her songs are far from comforting ("When you get old/All your friends will die"), but all are in service of her goal: to survive rock bottom and make it to the next scene. "I'm not special" emerges as a kind of anti-hubristic moral, but far more compelling is how courageous she reveals us all to be, every day, just by getting up in the morning. Lee might loosen up over the run of "We're Gonna Die," but I hope she doesn't. In this unusual, humble, and brave show, staying in touch with her inner scaredy-cat is her best asset as a performer. Presented by 13P, in association with Young Jean Lee's Theater Company, at Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette St., NYC. April 9–30. Schedule varies. (212) 967-7555 or www.joespub.com. |
||
More Off Broadway
NY Review: 'February House'
New musical "February House," at the Public Theater, traduces the lives of Carson McCullers, George Davis, and W.H. ... More »
ADVERTISEMENT
Sponsors
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Back Stage Video
