Saturday, March 15, 2008

Tonight 0ff-Broadway: Adding Machine



Little Love and I caught Adding Machine at the Minetta Lane Theatre tonight. This new musical is based on Elmer Rice's play which made a Broadway debut in 1923. On our way out of the theatre, I heard somebody say, "This was a downtown show." Oh, it is and so much more. It's so dark, sad, funny, uncomfortable, surprising, shocking and beautiful. The music is jazzy and maintains a steady style throughout, while the lyrics are haunting and smart. The lighting is jarring and effective. I loved that the cast is all stacked with actors who sing very well, and not a one of them is under the age of 30 (maybe even 40). I loved all of the performances, especially Amy Warren's as Daisy, but really the entire cast was perfect. We were on the front row of this tiny theatre and we both have cricks in our necks and my eyes are still hurting from the jarring lighting, but I wouldn't change a thing.


3 comments:

karigee said...

Oh, I'm glad you liked it -- I still have that opening song going through my head...

Steve On Broadway (SOB) said...

While the name was admittedly a turn-off, I'm more intrigued now that I know the playwright went to my high school....

Esther said...

From what I've read, it does sound pretty intriguing. And I've never seen a downtown show!