Apocalypse Now in "Through The Yellow Hour"

War is chaotic.

In "Through The Yellow Hour," at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater through October 28th, playwright and directorAdam Rapp visits an apocalypse on New York City.

Rapp is no stranger to the odd and allegorical. ("Dreams of Flying , Dreams of Falling" is one that comes to mind as a for instance.)

Photo © Sandra Coudert.
Alok Tewari, Danielle Slavick,
Hani Furstenberg, Matt Pilieci,
Vladimir Versailles, Brian Mendes,
and Joanne Tucker 

Everything in "Through The Yellow Hour" is site specific. The city has been attacked by the Egg Heads, who are systematically killing off the populaton. Ellen (Hani Furstenberg) is holed up in her East Village apartment, waiting for her husband Paul to return. She is the ultimate survivor, trading for foodstuffs and drugs through a network outside her well-fortified door. The first of the nightmares from outside creeps in through a window and ends as the Dead man (Brian Mendes), slumped on the floor for the rest of the play.


There is safety in Pennsylvania, as Maude (Danielle Slavick) tells her when she drops off her baby girl in exchange for a fix.    "There are barges you can get on. They’re traveling south along the shallows of Lake Erie," she says. When Ellen responds that her plans for escape are "risky," Maude says  "No riskier than staying here." Gunfire and the occasional explosion punctuate the dialogue, in "Through The Yellow Hour," like a soundtrack of terror, designed by Christian Frederickson. 

Hani Furstenberg as Ellen and Vladimir Versailles as Darius in Adam Rapp's "Through The Yellow Hour."
Photo © Sandra Coudert.

The end of times vision  in "Through The Yellow Hour" is further accentuated by the elaborately derelect sets by Andromache  Chalfant, and moody lighting of Keith Parham. This is a mesmerizing and puzzling drama, with a superb cast led by Hani Furstenberg.

For more information about "Through The Yellow Hour" and tickets, visit Rattlestick Playwrights Theater.