• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Film/TV/Stream
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Tech/Science
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox

Annie Baker’s ‘The Flick’ Opens Off Broadway: REVIEW

Naveen Kumar March 15, 2013

Flick027rSc

BY NAVEEN KUMAR

A lot of stories get told in movie theatres—but none quite
like Annie Baker’s subtly artful behind-the-scenes drama about three employees
at a run-down single screen movie house. The
Flick
, which opened Off Broadway Tuesday at Playwrights Horizons, attends
to what happens between screenings when the illusion is over, lights come
up—and somebody has to clean up the mess.

Flick051rScDirected with an appropriately ambling precision by Baker’s
frequent collaborator Sam Gold (Uncle
Vanya, The Aliens)
, the play is staged among about a dozen rows of movie
theatre seats (a meticulously detailed set by David Zinn), so that the audience
sits in place of the screen. Other than occasionally stumbling upon a
particularly gnarly food spill, a majority of the action on stage consists of
characters sweeping popcorn off the floor.

A seasoned employee of the Flick, Sam (Matthew Maher) shows young
rookie Avery (Aaron Clifton Moten) the ropes on his first day. Sam is what you
might call a lifer — 35, living in his parents’ attic, longing to be
promoted into the projection room. A reserved, fastidious movie buff home on an
extended break from college, Avery’s job at the plex seems temporary by design.
Rose (Louisa Krause), a twenty-something with baggy clothes and dyed green
hair, works the projector and completes what develops into a clumsy sort of
love triangle.

Flick184r2ScA young, critically acclaimed playwright, Baker has become
known for her intricate hand at crafting characters whose idiosyncrasies become
one with their charm. Her work is in top form here, as her eloquent
characterizations carefully emerge out of scenes of mostly mundane action. Just
as the play’s scenes take place between movie screenings, much of Baker’s story
lives in the silences between dialogue.

All three actors are exceptional, distilling their
performances with equal parts humor and heart. In a play much about perception
and people often overlooked, one moment characters may seem easy to peg and the
next they surprise us with an unexpected personal insight. All three performers
navigate this dynamic with a comfortable ease that’s a pleasure to watch.

Weighting silent moments with unspoken meaning is one of
director Sam Gold’s greatest strengths, but it also contributes one of the
production’s lone disabilities. Clocking in at just over three hours, it could
certainly stand to be tightened. Even slight adjustments in pace would quicken
the play’s momentum and bring it down to more reasonable length.

Spending three hours these days in a movie theatre
isn’t uncommon — and The Flick is
likely more interesting than most of the post-Oscar releases playing at a
multiplex near you. And at least it
comes with an intermission. 

Recent theatre features…

 ‘Hit The Wall’ a New Play About the Stonewall Riots, Opens Off-Broadway: REVIEW
Amy Herzog’s ‘Belleville’ Opens Off Broadway: REVIEW
Edie Falco Opens In ‘The Madrid’ Off Broadway: REVIEW
Zosia Mamet Opens in ‘Really Really’ Off Broadway:REVIEW
Fault Line Theatre’s ‘From White Plains’ Opens Off-Broadway: REVIEW

Follow Naveen Kumar on Twitter: @Mr_NaveenKumar (photos: joan marcus)

Topics: Actor, Living, News, Theater More Posts About: Naveen Kumar, New York, New York, News, Review

Related Posts
  • New York begins offering gender neutral driver’s licenses
  • Russia Blocks Facebook, Accusing it of Restricting Access to Russian Media;
  • Duran Duran Has New Music And You Are About To Enjoy it. It’s 2021. Seriously.
  • Georgia grand jury in Trump election probe subpoenas Giuliani, Senator Graham

    Georgia grand jury in Trump election probe subpoenas Giuliani, Senator Graham

    Published by Reuters By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A special grand jury in Georgia probing former U.S. President Donald Trump’s alleged attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat there issued subpoenas to Senator Lindsey Graham …Read More »
  • Bette Midler denies being ‘exclusionary or transphobic’ after backlash over ‘erasure of women’ tweet

    Bette Midler denies being ‘exclusionary or transphobic’ after backlash over ‘erasure of women’ tweet

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Bette Midler didn’t intend to be “exclusionary or transphobic” with her tweet about the “erasure” of women. The 76-year-old actress has responded after backlash over a tweet in which she said …Read More »
  • New documentary exploring Victoria’s Secret sex scandals to drop on Hulu

    New documentary exploring Victoria’s Secret sex scandals to drop on Hulu

    Published by BANG Showbiz English A new documentary about‘ Victoria’s Secret’ sex scandals will debut later this month. ‘Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons’ is set to follow the stream of sexual assault and harassment allegations following …Read More »
  • Russia: detained U.S. basketball player Griner may appeal, ask for clemency

    Russia: detained U.S. basketball player Griner may appeal, ask for clemency

    Published by Reuters (Reuters) – Russia’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that detained U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner may appeal her sentence or apply for clemency once a verdict has been delivered. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson …Read More »
Previous Post: « Microsoft Features Gay Wedding in New ‘Outlook’ Ad: VIDEO
Next Post: Rihanna’s ‘Stay’ Gets a Gay Love Message: VIDEO »

Primary Sidebar

News

  • Margot Robbie & Ryan Gosling Skate Through A Day Of Filming ‘Barbie’ In Venice Beach: Photos

    Margot Robbie & Ryan Gosling Skate Through A Day Of Filming ‘Barbie’ In Venice Beach: Photos

  • Six killed in shooting during US July 4 parade

    Six killed in shooting during US July 4 parade

  • US drought exposes murky mob past of Las Vegas

    US drought exposes murky mob past of Las Vegas

RSS Partner Links

  • Morning Wood
  • Sinking Ship
  • 'Big Brother' 2022 Replaces a Contestant Less Than 24 Hours Before the Premiere - Meet the New Cast Member!
  • Snapped! See Lee Pace arriving at the Schiaparelli Couture Fall 2022 show in Paris, France!
  • “‘Minions: Rise of Gru’ had a spectacular opening weekend box office” links
  • Victoria Arbiter wants to sue the YouTube ‘pranksters’ who exposed her as a fraud
  • Rege-Jean Page & Serena Williams Rock Pink Shades at 'Thor: Love & Thunder' Premiere in London

Most Recent

  • Campaign Banner Defaced With Homophobic Slur,  Stolen Over July 4th; Out Kansas City Candidate Justice Horn ‘Not Backing Down’

    Campaign Banner Defaced With Homophobic Slur, Stolen Over July 4th; Out Kansas City Candidate Justice Horn ‘Not Backing Down’

  • Georgia grand jury in Trump election probe subpoenas Giuliani, Senator Graham

    Georgia grand jury in Trump election probe subpoenas Giuliani, Senator Graham

  • Bette Midler denies being ‘exclusionary or transphobic’ after backlash over ‘erasure of women’ tweet

    Bette Midler denies being ‘exclusionary or transphobic’ after backlash over ‘erasure of women’ tweet

  • New documentary exploring Victoria’s Secret sex scandals to drop on Hulu

    New documentary exploring Victoria’s Secret sex scandals to drop on Hulu

  • Russia: detained U.S. basketball player Griner may appeal, ask for clemency

    Russia: detained U.S. basketball player Griner may appeal, ask for clemency

  • Beyonce ‘is running MeToo checks’ on potential collaborators

    Beyonce ‘is running MeToo checks’ on potential collaborators

  • How Republican-led states are targeting Wall Street with ‘anti-woke’ laws

    How Republican-led states are targeting Wall Street with ‘anti-woke’ laws

  • Turkish police teargas Pride march in Ankara, detain 36

    Turkish police teargas Pride march in Ankara, detain 36

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy
[towleroadmr] [towleroadtn]

Footer

Copyright © 2022 · Log in