The Unbearable Banishment: Coming this season: Testosterone. And lots of it.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Coming this season: Testosterone. And lots of it.

Those tough sons-of-bitches at the Atlantic Theater Company have outdone themselves this time. The 2009-10 season is a (mostly) testosterone-fueled program of plays by men who write about manly men. Mainly.

They kick off with two one-acts by David (you either love him or you hate him) Fucking Mamet; a farce called Keep Your Pantheon (Get it? It's a play on words.) and another comedy called School. Mamet was a founding member of the Atlantic, which is a damn lucky thing for them.

After that punch in the face, we have Ages of the Moon, the new comedy by cowboy roughneck Sam Shepard. It's a two-hander about men talking while they drink bourbon. It was a big hit at the Abbey Theater in Dublin where it premiered and will star Irish actors Sean McGinley and Stephen Rea, who originated the roles in Dublin. It's always a treat to see the original cast.

As though that weren't a big enough kick in the nuts, Irish ball buster Martin McDonagh follows with A Behanding in Spokane. This will open on Broadway (as opposed to the intimate Atlantic Theater on W. 20th St.) in the spring. It's McDonagh's first play set on U.S. soil. I saw The Pillowman on Broadway. He managed to write about violence against children in a darkly funny way. His stuff is like that.

The season closes with Gabriel by British playwright Moira Buffini. I'm not sure who she is.

9 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

*sigh*

I'm so envious

August 13, 2009 at 10:21 AM  
Blogger savannah said...

well, ok, but we have ron white for a show at our civil center, sugar! can y'all beat that? huh? yeah, just what i thought...





*weeping because i am so jealous*

August 13, 2009 at 3:08 PM  
Blogger Ellie said...

oh my! new skin! looks good!

August 13, 2009 at 5:15 PM  
Blogger Please Don't Eat With Your Mouth Open said...

Unrelated to theatre, but related to what we were on about the other week, observe:

click

August 13, 2009 at 5:34 PM  
Blogger The Unbearable Banishment said...

Nurse: Does it sound like I'm bragging? I don't mean to. I'm from Ohio. We don't brag.

S: Who the hell is Ron White?

KIDDING! I know who he is. I'm just be a wise-ass Yankee.

E: Why thank you! It's almost there. Just a few more adjustments.

Jo: Best news I've read all day. Let the backlash begin!

August 13, 2009 at 7:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

UB, can you go see this film and tell me what you think?

http://www.nypress.com/article-20192-taxidermia.html

August 13, 2009 at 9:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

testosterone infestation on the new york stage? oh noes... the rightwingnuts are right! it truly IS the end of days...

August 13, 2009 at 10:47 PM  
Blogger Sid said...

Love the new blog look. I don't really get what you mean when you say broadway season. Like plays only show for 6 months of the year and then NOTHING?

August 14, 2009 at 2:51 AM  
Blogger The Unbearable Banishment said...

Nurse: Yea, I heard all about that film and I'm not going anywhere near it. I'll have nightmares until October! Tell me; how is it that you're reading the New York Press? Do you read it regularly?

Daisy: The whole "theater is for sissys" thing really needs to be put to rest.

Sid: The "season" is considered September thru April. It's when plays are eligible for Tony Awards. But the is never a period when plays aren't being mounted. It's constant fun.

August 14, 2009 at 7:58 AM  

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