Monkey Magic

There are those great theatre moments that strike you. They may get under your nails, clawing at you with attitude screaming, "Oh, you can't forget me, even if you wanted to." There are other moments that make you suddenly laugh days, weeks, and months later just by walking across something random on the street, which sparks up a memory of it in you. And then there and still others that have the kind of cast that makes you proud to be an actor. The kind that warms you with a thought, grabs you with a warm embrace, and reminds you that, although every experience isn't going to be like this one, it's so damn great that some do. I've had several shows give me one of each of those things. Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury gives me all of those, all at once, and I'm going to miss it dearly when it leaves me come Sunday morning...

Craven Monkey is the show I'm proud to be currently starring in, and it has been a thrilling experience, from first being cast in it to now. The beginning of my monkey journey go back to last summer. I auditioned and got cast in a rock musical last year called Willy Nilly that was featured in the NY International Fringe Festival. It was a wonderfully weird, you either get it or you don't musical bringing to life Charles Manson in rock musical form. It also introduced me to the "Piper Mckenzie" production team. I've seen their productions in the past (The Granduncle Quadrilogy: Tales from the Land of Ice being a stand out for myself) but had never had the chance to work with the company before. Their shows always told an interesting, weird, and truly original brand of storytelling, and I knew that a rock musical about Charles Manson was no exception. Although our reviews were mixed, it slayed the audiences (bad pun intended) and was extended off-broadway into the Fringe Encores series. It was during the original rehearsal process, however, that the director and producer came to me with their new idea. It would be an all movement show, specifically fight and dance, and they wanted me to be a part of it. Thrilled at the idea, I immediately said yes. The next week I said yes to another show that would open right after ours, and soon realized they would indeed overlap and I had to choose one or the other. Thank God I choose Craven. Not that the other show wouldn't have been a great experience as well, but Craven has been one of the best theatre pieces I've ever been involved with. Ever.

It first opened last December as part of the Brick Theatre's "Fight Festival." The cast featured both new and old faces for me. I've long been a huge fan of my friend Jessi Gotta's emotional, vivid work but had yet to stand next to her under the lights. Melissa Roth was featured in Granduncle so it was immediately exiting to have her in the cast as well. Adrian Jevicki was an all new face for me, and I'm thrilled to be sharing the stage with this great dancer. Fred Backus & Art Wallace are two great actors that both were featured alongside myself in the 12 part serial masterpiece Penny Dreadful for Third Lows & World Gone Wrong for Gemini Collisionworks, but we had yet to share a scene together (thank God that changed.) Hope Cartelli is the wonderfully quirky producer who I shared scenes with in Willy Nilly & Lady Cryptozoologist and again here share a couple of brief, lovely scenes with her. And Becky Byers is someone I've been honored and humbled to have had the pleasure of working with several times, from our first stage experience together in Penny Dreadful & Lady Cryptozoologist to last years Willy Nilly and the short films Avenue A & falling... I also recently danced an incredible Lady GaGa number with her, and I can't wait until we share our next scene together (in fact, we've already worked on a workshop of a new play together, so I think we already know our next project...). The crew also was a mix of new & old faces, from those I've had the pleasure of working with before (Jeff Lewoncyzk, Guinevere Pressley, Adam Swiderski) to finally working alongside Qui Nguyen, the thrilling fight choreographer of "Vampire Cowboys." With a crew like this, I believe it's actually impossible to fail. But to soar like this show has is a blessing. Our critics apparently agree: the reviews have been unanimously wonderful:

That Sounds Cool Blogspot
Seanrants
Theater Online
TravSD
NY Press
TimeOut NY
Comic Critique
Broadway World

Because of it's initial sold out run at the Fight Fest, we were able to remount it (bad pun intended again) and now that run is coming to a close this weekend. I have been honored to be a part of this magical play, and it would delight me to no end if you all came out to see us this weekend and made it a sold out, wham bam ending for this fantastic show. Trust me, you won't regret it. The Mountain of Fury will "tower above you, as only mountain can."

Written & Directed by Jeff Lewonczyk. Costumes by Julianne Kroboth. Fight Choreography by Qui Nguyen & Adam Swiderski. Created by the Company. Starring Adrian Jevicki, Jessi Gotta, Hope Cartelli, Art Wallace, Fred Backus, Melissa Roth, Becky Byers, Mateo Moreno, and the voice of Jeff Lewonczyk. Presented by Piper Mckenzie and the Brick Theatre, 575 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn NY; (718) 907-6189. Through March 13th. Running time: 65 Minutes. Tickets are $12. To purchase tickets, go here and for more info, go see Piper Mackenzie here.