Rafa Perez and Damon Trammell, lead players in Barry Germansky’s “The Answer-Killing Question Buys A Crisis at the Crown Theater.
by Sam Juliano
Barry Germansky’s off-Off- Broadway play The Answer-Killing Question Buys A Crisis, which this weekend completed its one-month engagement at the Crown Theater in Manhattan, has been billed as a satire on the the suppression of individuality in American classrooms. Without any trace of humor -though one scene where the two male leads are seemingly instructed to engage in sex is obviously barbed- this austere and minimalist production can aptly be framed as an allegory on how academic convention (Germansky describes it in an interview as education being far more focused on systematizing knowledge than allowing for freedom of expression) leaves little room for the kind of inspiration inherent in an individual-based educational system. There is sparse effort to examine what might happen to those who buck the system, but it is clear enough from the implied brainwashing of one of the two students who initially collaborate in resisting, that the system aims to break down and snuff out learning that doesn’t conform to the general order. A second-season episode of television’s The Twilight Zone, “The Obsolete Man” offered up a scenario where the protester gave up his life to expose the system and the purveyor of its totalitarianism by forcing him to share the same fate. Germansky’s dystopian premise does evoke Vonnegut and Orwell, but the idea of one bucking the system by not succumbing to the fate of his colleague bears an ideological kinship to Jack Finney’s The Body Snatcher, where all minds were absorbed into communal thinking. There is a sense of immediacy to the writing- this is not tame criticism but an urgent plea for extensive reform. Andrew -the anarchic rebel writing his book- is eventually betrayed by his pal Conrad, but not before the dialogue’s trenchant focus is fully exposed. As Andrew, Rafa Perez gives a powerful and affecting performance as the unyielding idealist, while Damon Trammell as his brainwashed classmate Conrad Warr delivers an intense turn as the student who is eventually worn down by rigid scholastic orthodoxy. Matt Tracy as the Professor comes off as dehumanized, while Jillian Walters as the Kindergarten teacher who delivers the bookend monologues is skittish and seemingly resigned. The Answer-Killing Question Buys a Crisis needs few props besides a few chairs, and director Cihangir Duman is wise not to let the basic staging interfere with Germansky’s sharp, accusatory writing. The play was produced by the esteemed movie scribe and President of the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, Tim Sika. This new visionary work deserves an extension in the Big Apple or a second run in another city. Note: Broadway Bob, Lucille and I attended the Friday night performance, which commenced at 8:00, running 100 minutes with no break. The Crown Theater is on the second floor of the Producer’s Club on W. 44th.
Every year the spirited homeowners of Clinton Place in Hackensack decorate their homes to the hilt to celebrate Halloween. The long and sprawling street off Summit Avenue features single family homes that offer excellent potential for front yard displays. We paid our annual visit on Sunday night and were treated to some surprises, including a Killer Klown and a witch on the loose! Lucille and our fearless five -Melanie, Sammy, Danny, Jillian and Jeremy dared the spirits to appear on Sunday night between 7 and 8 o’clock.
I have decided to extend the Allan Fish Bonanza Encore series until Sunday, November 2nd. With Halloween approaching I’d like to pillage the archives and trot out several of Allan’s reviews in that genre. His work in horror has been wholly extraordinary, and I’d like to treat site readers to several of his noteworthy pieces on films like The Shining, Nosferatu and Dead of Night among others. As Allan continues to make fantastic progress in a British hospital, we will spend Halloween with him at WitD with at least a half dozen of his best horror-themed reviews. Some of us may even engage in some re-viewings of these works. The one day off will be this coming Wednesday when we will proudly be featuring Jim Clark’s latest film essay. In any event, after Sunday, the Allan Fish Bonanza Encore Series will still be running every Saturday and every Sunday until May of 2015!
There wasn’t anything especially original in Bill Murray’s new comedy St. Vincent, but it was still a kind of guilty pleasure, about a cantankerous neighbor who “educates” the young son of a single parent living in Brooklyn, and later finds his efforts were appreciated in a school auditorium tribute. Murray, Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts are featured.
St. Vincent *** 1/2 of 5 (Saturday night) Chelsea Cinemas
