The Arts in New York City

Late doesn’t even describe the day I am writing my reviews on Hotel Cassiopeia and Electra. However, I have been spending the weekend catching up on lost sleep after seeing two performances in a row.

Hotel Cassiopeia. I liked it. A lot. First I’d like to comment on the performance space. The theatre at BAM was pretty awesome — I liked its rundown appearance, even though the pillars looked like they would fall down at any moment. It reminded me a little of Yankee Stadium in that aspect. Plus, there was a ton of leg room, and the view of the stage was great. (Thanks for sitting behind me, Evan!)

I know a lot of people weren’t able to understand the play, and I’m not going to pretend to say anything different. But I was pleased to note that even though I couldn’t dissect what every scene meant, I didn’t need to. The acting was believable, the characters (whether figments of Cornell’s imagination, real people, or a combination of both) were vibrant (especially the ballerina and man in white), and the use of props, scenery and film was something I have never seen before — and would like to see again.

Electra. I agree with Stephen about the space. The theatre seemed as if it was trying to cram as many people in a small space as possible; I have more space in a movie theatre, and my ticket costs much less there! In addition, I didn’t like the supertitles. They were too choppy when transitioning to new text, were too small, and too blurry (though the last part may have to do with my contacts — I suspect I need a new prescription).

Yet, I had few qualms about the performance itself — except for the fact that I couldn’t see when the actors moved too downstage. As for acting, everyone there was superb (except for the old man; he was so boring that I fell asleep during every one of his scenes). I especially liked the chorus. They were a wonderful example of what a chorus should be: every individual player integral to the whole. Their simultaneous chanting and singing was beautiful. I also liked the one musician on stage, too.

One more complaint: since the play was two hours long, there should have been some sort of intermission to break up the action, especially since the play was not in English and was of a dramatic nature.

Other than that, I enjoyed what I saw, and no longer regret agreeing to seeing two plays in a row during a school week.