I’m sure you’ve passed a newsstand by now and seen the poster-sized cover, but if there has ever been a week to make sure you pick-up the current issue of Time Out New York this would be it. Instead of just presenting their comprehensive listings of everything going on in the city, this week, the magazine is actually educational as it celebrates the 30th Anniversary of one of, if not the, most important and influential theater groups around.
I’ve only had the chance to see a few shows by The Wooster Group so I’m definitely not putting myself forward as any expert, but every time I have attended a performance, it has been, to say the least, an experience. Granted, some might consider the multimedia cacophony of noise that emanated from the stage during The Hairy Ape more of an antagonistic experience than a pleasant evening at the theater, but what the Woosters do is never less than daring and always a creative and interesting perspective.
Time Out New York brings together the founding members of The Wooster Group — with the obvious exceptions of the two who have died, Ron Vawter and the late, great Spaulding Gray — as well as a few other members of the New York theater world for an “oral history” of the group. The most famous of the members, of course, is Willem Dafoe. An interesting sidebar lists several other actors who have performed with the troupe throughout the years, including Steve Buscemi and Frances McDormand.
The Wooster Group’s current production is a revival of 1999’s House/Lights, directed (as always) by Elizabeth LeCompte and starring Kate Valk, two more founding members. Performances begin on Feb. 5 at St. Ann’s Warehouse in DUMBO, and tickets can be purchased through Ticketweb.
Out of Focus 