THE MEMORY OF THE MAN // A THEATRE REVIEW OF "GOREY: THE SECRET LIVES OF EDWARD GOREY"
Edward Gorey was a fascinating man, very reclusive in nature. He never married and although many of his book have become very popular with kids, he didn't really like them. He considered himself neither gay nor straight and stated, "I am a person before I am anything else." He left behind a plethora of unpublished (and some unfinished) material, leaving the question of if we will continue to see more and more of his gothic, inspired work of "literary nonsense." His life is now being told onstage here in New York, some parts of it true, some parts of it "inspired," by LifeJacket Theatre Company, and I am happy to say that whether this is truth or fiction, the entire production of GOREY: THE SECRET LIVES OF EDWARD GOREY is wonderfully inspired itself.
Before the show begins, the audience is invited to journey onto the stage and peak around. Though no one specifically says "don't touch anything," no one did, and you don't want to. Wandering around the set very much feels like you're sneaking a look into Gorey's actual home, afraid to touch anything and set it out of place. It's fantastically designed by Travis Russ (who also wrote and directed) and Carl Vorwerk. From the moment the show begins, you know it's a show of passion, for the material and for the subject himself. Three actors play Gorey throughout different periods of his life. His childhood, growing up, adulthood, all the way to his death in 2000. Each actor is quite magnificent, echoing each other every so lightly while keeping an originality all to themselves. They are Andrew Dawson, Phil Gillen, and Aiden Sank.
A few things are strung along around the set: an old trunk, a vintage record player, drawings, and manuscript pages hang about. His story is told here by the actors themselves, often talking to us directly, bringing us along on the journey. Even at one magical point, Gorey (the Andrew Dawson older version) dances with a strange little animated creature. It's a sketch that, we are told, appears throughout Gorey's notebooks in his 20's that many feel is the artists self-portrait. He named him "Doubt." One of the Gorey's asks out loud, "I wonder if that's how he saw himself, or if that's how he thought the world saw him?" Each moment of dialogue and movement is crisp and filled with small bits of magic and wonder. We do learn quite a lot throughout the pieces of "memories:" We learn of his obsession with the famed choreographer George Balanchine and how he saw hundreds of ballets just for him, when in actuality he really didn't even like ballet. We learn how he adopted cat after cat, how tiny little footprints could be seen on his desk the day that he died.
The costumes by Peri Grabin-Leong are simple but entrancing. The choreography in one very funny and inspired number by Katie Proulx is wonderful, and the direction from Travis Russ is just spot on perfection. And the music?! Ohhhh the music, arranged by Chad Soffel, is sublime. I'm not saying that it's the best way to spend a shadowy summer evening in New York downtown but... okay I actually am saying that. Get down to HERE Arts Center and see this beautifully rich and powerfully sincere "fantasy memoir" of a fascinating man. But don't bring your cat. He has enough of them.
Photo Credit: Jenny Anderson
MATEO'S GRADE: A
Written and Directed by: Travis Russ Starring: Andrew Dawson, Phil Gillen, Aidan Sank Playing at The Baryshnikov Arts Center through May 22nd For Tickets: http://here.org/shows/detail/1754/
MEET THE CAST OF "GOREY: THE SECRET LIFE OF EDWARD GOREY"
Meet the Cast - GOREY: THE SECRET LIVES OF EDWARD GOREY from Life Jacket Theatre Co. on Vimeo.
MATEO MORENO is an actor, writer, and a playwright. His plays Happily After Tonight, Bohemian Valentine, & Within Our Walls have been produced in NY and beyond (TBG Theatre, NY International Fringe Festival, Planet Connections Festivity, Boomerang Theatre, and FOHS Theatre). He most recently co-stared in the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway play City of Glass at The New Ohio Theatre and appeared in the workshop of Uzume at LaMama. Next he will be seen in An Unseen Visitor at Symphony Space. Mateo is also part of Athena Theatre's 2016 Playwrighting Group. He lives in Brooklyn.