Living is about hope and joy

Janet Sarno as Mrs. Marcus, Teddy Coluca as Figliozzo, Bern Cohen
as Feltenstein (seated), and Evan Thompson as Grossman
in Richard Abrons' "Every Day A Visitor." Photo by Ronald L. Glassman.

Living to a ripe old age, as the somewhat unfortunate expression goes, has its drawbacks.

In Richard Abrons' new comedy, "Every Day A Visitor," at The Clurman in Theatre Row through December 14th, those disadvantages include bickering, monotony, and a diet too dependent on lentils and cabbage.  

Bob (Raphael Nash Thompson,) the orderly who oversees an old-age home in the Bronx, inspired by Figliozzo's (Teddy Coluca) deciding to "be" Fiorello LaGuardia,  finds a way to liberate those in his care. Play acting at politics is part of his scheme.

Henry Packer as Davidowitz, George Morfogen as Stoopak, Teddy Coluca as Figliozzo, Joan Porter as Mrs. Levy, Raphael Nash Thompson as Bob and Janet Sarno as Mrs. Marcus at a home for the aged in the Bronx in Richard Abrons' "Every Day A Visitor," at Theatre Row's Clurman Theatre through December 14th.  Photo by Ronald L. Glassman.

Bob appoints the melancholy Stoopak (George Morfogen) president in an effort to bring him closer to the other residents. Tilly Marcus (Janet Sarno), always game to play at anything, dons a hat and becomes Bella Abzug while Albert Grossman (Evan Thompson) eagerly takes on the persona of Alan Greenspan.

Even Feltenstein (Bern Cohen), the curmudgeon in residence, enjoys being Henry Kissinger.

Teddy Coluca and Joan Porter in a scene from
"Every Day A Visitor." Photo by Ronald L. Glassman

Thanks to this little scheme of let's pretend, this
home for the aging is no longer dull. Stoopak's laws include "Joy" and that no one of them should die alone. "Every day a visitor," he decrees so that each of them would have company during a hospital stay.

Richard Abrons has written a sweet play about hope and community. Even in an end of life setting, there can be fun and the Stoopak rule of "Joy."

The cast of "Every Day A Visitor," ably directed by Margaret Perry, form a fine ensemble. Standing a little bit ahead of the pack is Joan Porter as Mrs. Levy, whose labor union duets with Davidowitz (Henry Packer) add a wonderful touch of harmony to "Every Day A Visitor."

 For more information about "Every Day A Visitor," visit them at Telecharge.

The Incidental Racist: "Honky" at Urban Stages

Existential crises come in varied forms.

There may be medical cures for many of them.

Kid 1 and 2 ( Reynaldo Pinella and DeLance Minefee) approach Davis (Philip Callen) on a subway platform in a scene from "Honky" by Greg Kellares at Urban Stages. Photo by Ben Hider.

For Peter (Dave Droxler), being white is the major embarrassment. White guilt, straight-out racism, both white and black, all rear their ugly little heads in "Honky." As each pops up, "Honky" blows it up and shoots it down.

Here is a comedy for the post-racial age. Until that comes to pass, "Honky" uses the tropes of advertising and marketing, in which profiling is professionally de rigueur. "Honky" explodes myths and slurs in a soft sell with a hard edge.

Emilia (Arie Bianca Thompson) counsels Peter (David Droxler) in a scene from "Honky" by Greg Kellares at Urban Stages through November 17th. Photo by Ben Hider.

Advertisers target their markets by demographics of lifestyle, income, race, something many of us prefer not to have our police do. In "Honky," the product is the SkyMax basketball shoe, designed by Thomas (Anthony Gaskins.) The SkyMax in it's various iterations aims to sell to "urban" youth, "code for black," the company's president, Davis (Philip Callen) freely admits.

Andie (Danielle Faitelson) meets Thomas (Anthony Gaskins) at a SkyMax party in a scene from "Honky" by Greg Kellares at Urban Stages through November 17th. Photo by Ben Hider.

While Peter goes to Emilia (Arie Bianca Thompson) for therapy to cure his guilt over an ad he created for the shoe, her brother Thomas beds Peter's girlfriend, Andie (Danielle Faitelson) to cure his own guilt and rage. Davis goes to Dr. Driscoll (Scott Barrow) for a cure that will save his job.

Greg Kellares, the ex-ad man who wrote this intelligent and serious comedy, takes aim at some of our society's most sensitive spots. Consumerism is another of his well-chosen targets in "Honky." The cast, led by Anthony Gaskins' conflicted hero, Thomas, and Peter Callen's unapologetic Davis, as well as the superlative Arie Bianca Thompson, is all first rate. Luke Harlan's gentle touch gives tribute to the subtle perspicacity of the script he's directing.

"Honky" is an amazingly insightful look at race, marketing, advertising, stereotyping and Dostoyevsky.

The 80 seat theater will fill up fast, so please go to http://urbanstages.org/honky to learn more about "Honky."