“So we wander on our way, and it’s life as usual with our pockets full of something beautiful” –Steven Sater, New York Animals (from the song “Something That Was Beautiful”)
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photo by T. Charles Erickson
New York Animals
November 14–December 20, 2015
The New Ohio Theatre
154 Christopher Street
New York, NY 10014
New York, NY 10014
A World Premiere Play by Steven Sater
with Songs by Burt Bacharach and Steven Sater
with Songs by Burt Bacharach and Steven Sater
Directed by Eric Tucker
From an East Village diner to a Park Avenue penthouse — five actors — twenty-one characters — love, sex, money, impossible relationships — just another rainy day in New York City, played to a live new soundtrack by Bacharach and Sater.
This new musical by Steven Sater has been dubbed “a miracle of frugal ingenuity, the kind of mega-ingenious zero-budget staging that makes you wonder why Broadway even bothers.”
Meet the cast
Creative
PRODUCTION HISTORY
Reviews
A FINELY TUNED ENSEMBLE. Jo Lampert is a crooning delight!”
Village Voice
Eric Tucker, Bedlam’s artistic director and resident wizard, has mounted [New York Animals] with his accustomed flair and resourcefulness…It’s a miracle of frugal ingenuity, the kind of mega-ingenious zero-budget staging that makes you wonder why Broadway even bothers.
Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal
The cast members do a fine job of defining their assorted roles with distinguishing tics and punctuation marks, riffing a bit like the amiable jazz musicians with whom they share the stage…The most incisive presence by far is that of Jo Lampert, who sings the lead vocals on the numbers that occur between, and sometimes during, the different scenes. Attired in a series of eclectically extravagant costumes, Ms. Lampert has a matching way with a song that appropriates familiar elements of blues and bebop, heartbroken soul and Broadway pizazz, and turns them into something all her own. She has that aggressive, magpie stylishness that makes a person stand out in a big city.
Ben Brantley, The New York Times
Burt Bacharach songs that sound like no Bacharach songs you’ve ever heard.”
Variety
The sophisticated vibe of the score is amplified by the lead vocalist, Jo Lampert, who has the torchy voice of a blase cafe singer and the doleful visage of a Modigliani painting. Under the savvy musical direction of Debra Barsha, the tight onstage band also gets the urbane message.
Variety
…all of the acting has the playfulness and energy characteristic of the troupe. The company’s goal seems less about bringing forth the reality of a play than about bringing forth the performance of that play: They are your friends, you are their guest, and they are putting on a show for you—that is the feeling one gets watching Bedlam.”
Stageandcinema.com
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