Ok, ok, ok--it's about time I emerged from a long winter break...first week of new classes now being over and all--not to mention my having a desire to get in on the ClassiCarnival!...So here's the announcement: there's one more day to catch Aristophanes in Birdonia, an adaptation (with dance--how much is not clear) of The Birds (of course) by David Gordon that's playing in the East Village. Here's an excerpt from the Village Voice:
In 21st-century America, David Gordon turns Aristophanes' The Birds into a flight of barbs aimed at issues like pollution, corruption, separation of church and state, voter apathy, and warmongering. He does this with wit and gusto.
If his Aristophanes in Birdonia isn't as multi-layered as his 2004 Dancing Henry V, it's only because he doesn't have Shakespeare's rich language and characters to fool around with. Gordon's play—both beguiling and angst-provoking—is more of a moral fable than Aristophanes'. The pre-show sound collages created by Ed Fitzgerald set the tone: Amid the sweetness of Doris Day singing about the bluebird in our window and Etta Jones sighing "Bye Bye Blackbird," we hear Pat Robertson telling school board members, "You just voted God out of your city."
The most widely reprinted review, however, says it "never gets off the ground"...Argh...
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