As New York’s night life spots draw me indoors, and my drinks of choice move from a cold imported beer to a smooth, rich red wine, I have to ponder where a city girl can go while staying reasonably warm. It hit me while I floated through various New York blogs. What could be a more perfect winter activity than seeing a play in a cozy, intimate theater? I found an ideal option at the Barrow Street Theatre: Tim Crouch’s two-person play, an oak tree.

With a capacity of just under 200 and a fabulous Greenwich Village location, the Barrow Street Theatre is a great Off-Broadway venue. In the tiny Greenwich House just off Bleecker Street, it’s the perfect place to view the unexpected and, apparently, the improvisational. I was delighted as I sat on the balcony’s first row overlooking the almost barren stage, and glanced down to see a full house. Packed in like sardines–but cozy sardines–the audience quieted as Crouch, director and star, entered the stage with a smile, unhurried yet alive with energy. He introduced the evening’s guest actor, Oscar winner Frances McDormand–the only other actor to share the stage with him.

I do not want to ruin the rest of the hour for anyone who chooses to go see this play, which the New York Observer called “Absolutely fucking fantastic.” I will, however, tell you that it is a story of a stage hypnotist who kills a girl in a car accident, and later reunites with the father when he calls him to the stage during a show. The father is played by a different guest actor every night, who only meets with Tim one hour before the show and is not told the script, the story, or what is to unfold. He/she is fed lines and direction from the hypnotist the entire time, and I will tell you he keeps them on quite a short leash. There was so much duality between the stage hypnotist controlling his subject, and the director/actor controlling the story that I got lost many times wondering what this was all truly about. I will admit the tension and anticipation I felt never left me, and a long debate ensued when I had drinks around the corner later.

If I had returned the next night to see it again, I am certain both the outcome and my reaction would be completely different. That in and of itself makes this play a moving piece of art and theater that grazes the extraordinary possibilities that can exist between two actors.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, December 3rd, 2006 at 11:34 pm and is filed under Celebrities, New York City, Off Broadway. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.