Red Noirat the Living TheatreReviewed by
Jason Fitzgerald
December 10, 2009
It's the bursting that disappoints. First, the audience is made to watch familiar images of violence and poverty in the Middle East. Then the chairs are removed, and the actors invite audience members to join them in dancing, chanting, humming, and stomping around the room. The noir story must compete with a newly born ensemble, which is exactly the point. As a page from playwright Anne Waldman's script makes clear, "The message is, we have been sitting on the answer all along"—and the answer is us. What's disappointing is the platitude that justifies this familiar move. To Malina's and Waldman's credit, the shock and aggression of the Living Theatre's most famous work, 1968's "Paradise Now," are replaced by politeness, good will, and a greater self-consciousness about aesthetics: The audience rises to the actors' level, not the other way around. But the naiveté of the earlier work (and, some might say, of the 1960s in general) remains: the belief that hope is the same as efficacy, that a temporary utopia begins permanent social change. That being said, the chance to participate is both refreshing and fun. The night I saw "Red Noir," the sea of smiling faces reminded me of dancing in the aisles at two of the more successful musicals currently running on Broadway, each with revolutionary ambitions of its own: "Fela!" and "Hair." This may be the show's greatest irony: After 40 years, it seems, the Living Theatre has finally entered the mainstream. Presented by and at the Living Theatre, 21 Clinton St., NYC. Dec. 10–Feb. 27. Wed.–Sat., 8 p.m. (No performance Fri., Dec. 18 and 25, and Thu., Dec. 24.) (212) 352-3101, (866) 811-4111, www.theatermania.com, or www.livingtheatre.org. |
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