for the honey, you gotta say when

Commedia dell’arte is what this world needs more of right now.

From the first quiet moments and timid entrances, to the grandiosity harnessed by the cadre of characters, the revelatory solo and ensemble work made for a uniquely moving experience.  Tucked away upstairs in a black box theatre, hosted by New York Theatre Workshop, there was a sense of playfulness and vitality in the space and effervescence as well as ephemerality that shone brightly by the company of actors.

The music composed by Michael Joseph McQuilken was striking at the onset, and continued to be huge anchor points throughout the night. The company’s attention to detail, as well as daring for invention, carved catchy melodicism into a angsty anthems. Where rawness and snarling made way for sweet falsettos and simple tender poeticism, the cry of laughter heard in the house could quickly turn to a hushed, wide-eyed softness. Where passionate poignancy could erupt through punching and thrashing, sighs of exasperation could equally stun the space into quiet, collective breath-holding.

The emotional inertia of the show is something so palpable throughout the night, wonderfully conceived and directed by Christopher Bayes, and written by Bayes and the Company, it seemed constructed to carry us along yet catch us by surprise — designed for fearless fun, and ferocity alike.

There are sincere and sweet moments nestled neatly inside monologues, so simple they slide right into your psyche with surgical precision; and also soliloquies, audacious and apoplectic in delivery. Plucked from fire, both, the first like a star at twilight, twinkling with searing succinctness; the other, like seething magma bubbling all around us, a volcanic triumph. Jostling their way into our hearts with brilliant juxtaposition, these glimpses of unfiltered earnestness are most welcome in this format.

These are things that are so freeing about commedia dell’arte and what can make seeing it live so exciting.

After all, there is an altogether invigorating aspect to work like this, but it’s not for the faint of heart, rather for the brave and bold. Where booming sometimes brash and scathing critiques of the here and now, and what we’ve gone through, can reverberate and resound deeply in sometimes new and challenging ways.

And the willingness to open those portals of understanding and fly through them together, while reflecting or refracting society, is something that can keep commedia dell’arte so dangerously fun and fresh.

“for the honey, you gotta say when” is both a rollicking ruckus as well as a roving band of beautiful beings, that come to life to dazzle and amaze, and go out like a brief candle in the summer wind. One thing is for certain, it is a powerful testament to both devised theatre as well as commedia dell’arte as a viable art form, and, dare I say, a vital need in the American Theatre.

Frances Black presents
 the David Geffen School of Drama’s production of

for the honey, you gotta say when 

Conceived and Directed by Christopher Bayes
Written by Christopher Bayes and The Company
Music by Michael Joseph McQuilken
Hosted by New York Theatre Workshop

Company:
Nomè SiDone, Abigail Onwunali, Sam DeMuria, Maggie McCaffery, Tavia Hunt, yao, Anthony Grace and Shimali De Silva 

Musicians Tommy Russell & Nathan Repasz
Assitant Director Layna Fisher
Stage Manager Josie Cooper
Lighting Designer Kyle Stamm
General Manager Natalie King
Associate Producer Christopher Tramantana
Production Intern E Bayes