All the world's

Scot McKenzie mesmerizes as KJ in The Aliens

Last week was theater week here at Mondo Blah Blah. I saw Young Robin Hood at the Roundhouse Theater, Bethesda's community theater, on Sunday. Robin Hood was something for the whole family, and not of much interest to me. But I support art in my local community so I can live among actors, directors, lighting technicians, stage hands and theater freaks of all kinds - my kind of neighbors. So I have season tickets and take what they give me. Sometimes art is interesting and sometimes not so much. It wasn’t bad, just predictable family fare, which is not really my thing.

Then it was Malkovich's Les Liaisons Dangereuses on Thursday night which I wrote about on Friday.

Then I saw The Aliens at the Studio Theater on Friday. Of the three, the latter was by far my favorite. Starring Peter O’Connor,  Scot McKenzie and Brian Miskell, all of whom were outstanding. This is tough material and it came across brilliantly. Written by Annie Baker. I will watch for her name.

Though I’ve only seen two plays at the Studio, both have been outstanding and I’ve really enjoyed them. The theaters are really small and intimate and the actors can get right up in your face, which was pretty uncomfortable when we went to see Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man. Having a black man sit ten feet in front of me speaking the most eloquent words about racism written in the English language was an intense experience. Theater at its best. The kind that makes you uncomfortable. 

A not so invisible man

Ralph Ellison's Masterpiece Brought to the Stage
 

Saw Oren Jacoby’s stage version of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man at the Studio Theater recently. Brilliant. Just plain good. This play, with its incredible cast, its extraordinary script and its fantastic staging shows just how affecting art can be. As a white guy sitting in the audience and then mingling with the mixed race crowd during the two intermissions, I can tell you, was a decidedly stirring yet uncomfortable experience. Making eye-contact with black people in the Men's room mirror has never made me uncomfortable before. This is that kind of play. We should all spend a few such self conscious minutes from time to time. The usual privilege of not thinking about race goes out the door when you sit in that audience. The play’s central character may see himself as invisible, but I could not. Running through October 21, 2012.