Mysterious Skin: Amazing night of theater at East West Playersysi
Last night I made my way up and out of Orange County to go see Mysterious Skin, written by Prince Gomolvilas now enjoying it's Los Angeles premiere at East West Players.
***Note: I am not a reviewer. I am not a critic. (I married one, which is why I can say with confidence, I am not this. If you want real reviews of Mysterious Skin you'll have to look to other publications wise enough to have send their press in to cover this show now running at East West Players.)
Me? Currently, I am just an Orange County mom who loves theater almost as much as she loves writing. (True, I used to act, but now I just "mom." And I write. But, again to clarify: Not a critic.)
And these her blogged thoughts are just my day-after impressions after having seen some great theater in Los Angeles last night.
I have to say, I was in a hurry. I had my kids to juggle, too pick up from their schools...Dance classes, etc. Hustling them home (interesting choice of words, in regards to this play, I might add.) before turning around to head up to LA to be a real grown up and see the first night of previews for Mysterious Skin...
Oh, yes, I also had to find some "Lucky Bamboo" for the playwright, too.
In any event, by the time I did all that yesterday I realized I had merely an hour to get from zipcode 92683 (Westminster, CA) straight up to downtown LA with nothing but Vampire Weekend to transport me up there pronto. (Nothing like not giving "a fuck about an Oxford comma," to motivate my freeway driving.)
In any case, while flying up the 110, I worked to make my mind an empty slate about what I thought the play was going to be like.
I wanted to absorb as much as possible last night completely preconception-free. True, I knew the play would be an adult and gay themed play, but other than this, I attempted to keep my understanding of what to expect last night as spoiler-free as possible.
Luckly, thanks to great directions via cell phone by my husband and (my fabulous Android App for google maps) I actually made it to my seat just in time to hear a lovely introduction by the play's director, Tim Dang, before the show began.
And so it is with gratitude that I can now say I was there on the night of this play's first performance. I consider this a pretty great score. I was also in the audience the very first night of the Eureka Theater's first performance of Angels in America, and I have to tell you honestly: I had many moments last night of the same kind of goosebumps. While Mysterious Skin is hardly derivative of Angels, there are many similar moments of arresting poetry, gripping story telling, unexpectedly moments of humor, and the over whelming sensation that this was the kind of writing that would push people directly into the limelight.
last night to be an important and powerful night of theater and one sure to be remembered for years to come as one of the kind of theater event that puts people on the map.
People on the map: First and foremost: Playwright: Prince Gomolvilas.
This is the kind of writing that brings to mind Tony Kuschner, and even Tennessee Williams. Gomolvilas offers a one two punch of economical humor, and terse understatement to then unexpectedly switching up the rhythm to produce the kind of haunting and poetic writing which stays with you long after the show ended. His work is truly infused with a rare talent that is rooted in a confidence to hit humor directly on the head, and when to adhere to a stringent economy with dialogue, to then displaying a unexpected confidence to soar on the wings of some rich, poetic imagery most notable in some elegantly written monologues.
****ACTOR & ACTRESS ALERT****
YOU WILL FIND YOUR NEXT FABULOUS MONOLOGUE HERE.
DO NOT MISS SEEING THIS PLAY.
If you snooze, you lose. This play's writing is an actor's goldmine. Better come see this now, before these fabulous monologues end up in all those actor's monologue anthologies and then they're over done all over the place. You have a few years of snagging these great monologues first. - You can thank me later, for telling you this.
so that when it goes from simple to poetry you really sense the rhythm shift and the simplicity lends the loftier passages a kind of spotlight that really
On the map: Performances such as David Huynh's work as "Neil" in the play. Huyhn's work is a cat-like, mercurial concoction whose physicality seems injected with the same quality of transparent, cat-like emotional subtext that brings to mind the work of James Dean, or even, frankly the work of the
This isn't really a "review." I don't do that. I offer my thoughts on this blog. Take them or leave them.
I will say this: If you are a fan of Tony Kuschner, you will love Mysterious Skin.
I was lucky enough to spend some time during the preview shows of the Eureka Theater premiere of Angels In America, and I can honestly tell you the same goosebumps I had during those early shows, with regard
Here's
***Note: I am not a reviewer. I am not a critic. (I married one, which is why I can say with confidence, I am not this. If you want real reviews of Mysterious Skin you'll have to look to other publications wise enough to have send their press in to cover this show now running at East West Players.)
Me? Currently, I am just an Orange County mom who loves theater almost as much as she loves writing. (True, I used to act, but now I just "mom." And I write. But, again to clarify: Not a critic.)
And these her blogged thoughts are just my day-after impressions after having seen some great theater in Los Angeles last night.
I have to say, I was in a hurry. I had my kids to juggle, too pick up from their schools...Dance classes, etc. Hustling them home (interesting choice of words, in regards to this play, I might add.) before turning around to head up to LA to be a real grown up and see the first night of previews for Mysterious Skin...
Oh, yes, I also had to find some "Lucky Bamboo" for the playwright, too.
In any event, by the time I did all that yesterday I realized I had merely an hour to get from zipcode 92683 (Westminster, CA) straight up to downtown LA with nothing but Vampire Weekend to transport me up there pronto. (Nothing like not giving "a fuck about an Oxford comma," to motivate my freeway driving.)
In any case, while flying up the 110, I worked to make my mind an empty slate about what I thought the play was going to be like.
I wanted to absorb as much as possible last night completely preconception-free. True, I knew the play would be an adult and gay themed play, but other than this, I attempted to keep my understanding of what to expect last night as spoiler-free as possible.
Luckly, thanks to great directions via cell phone by my husband and (my fabulous Android App for google maps) I actually made it to my seat just in time to hear a lovely introduction by the play's director, Tim Dang, before the show began.
And so it is with gratitude that I can now say I was there on the night of this play's first performance. I consider this a pretty great score. I was also in the audience the very first night of the Eureka Theater's first performance of Angels in America, and I have to tell you honestly: I had many moments last night of the same kind of goosebumps. While Mysterious Skin is hardly derivative of Angels, there are many similar moments of arresting poetry, gripping story telling, unexpectedly moments of humor, and the over whelming sensation that this was the kind of writing that would push people directly into the limelight.
last night to be an important and powerful night of theater and one sure to be remembered for years to come as one of the kind of theater event that puts people on the map.
People on the map: First and foremost: Playwright: Prince Gomolvilas.
This is the kind of writing that brings to mind Tony Kuschner, and even Tennessee Williams. Gomolvilas offers a one two punch of economical humor, and terse understatement to then unexpectedly switching up the rhythm to produce the kind of haunting and poetic writing which stays with you long after the show ended. His work is truly infused with a rare talent that is rooted in a confidence to hit humor directly on the head, and when to adhere to a stringent economy with dialogue, to then displaying a unexpected confidence to soar on the wings of some rich, poetic imagery most notable in some elegantly written monologues.
****ACTOR & ACTRESS ALERT****
YOU WILL FIND YOUR NEXT FABULOUS MONOLOGUE HERE.
DO NOT MISS SEEING THIS PLAY.
If you snooze, you lose. This play's writing is an actor's goldmine. Better come see this now, before these fabulous monologues end up in all those actor's monologue anthologies and then they're over done all over the place. You have a few years of snagging these great monologues first. - You can thank me later, for telling you this.
so that when it goes from simple to poetry you really sense the rhythm shift and the simplicity lends the loftier passages a kind of spotlight that really
On the map: Performances such as David Huynh's work as "Neil" in the play. Huyhn's work is a cat-like, mercurial concoction whose physicality seems injected with the same quality of transparent, cat-like emotional subtext that brings to mind the work of James Dean, or even, frankly the work of the
This isn't really a "review." I don't do that. I offer my thoughts on this blog. Take them or leave them.
I will say this: If you are a fan of Tony Kuschner, you will love Mysterious Skin.
I was lucky enough to spend some time during the preview shows of the Eureka Theater premiere of Angels In America, and I can honestly tell you the same goosebumps I had during those early shows, with regard
Here's
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