#Eugene Grygo

[fearsmagazine]

HERE, BETWEEN, AND BEYOND: An Evening of Haunting One Acts - Review

DATES: October 21st & 23rd, 2023 COMPANY: A Rising Sun Productions THEATER: Kraine Theater 85 E Fourth St, New York, NY 10003 ACTORS: Luvia Almanza, Jennifer Atkinson, Rick Benson, Ben Dworken, Miriam Eusebio, Luis Feliciano, Ally Harwell, Kristen Hoffman, Michael Pichardo, Josephine Pizzino, Nicholas Schommer, Mary Sheridan, Orlando F. Rodriguez, and Matt Tiemstra. CREW: Costume coordination by Zahra Jangbar; Props coordination by Liane Diep; Production Stage Management by Rebecca Kane; and Assistant Stage Manager Justin Hsu. Website: www.risingsunnyc.com

SYNOPSIS: The evening’s emcee is Mickey, short for an Aztec god of the underworld, who pieces together the evening’s tales, through a series of monologues by Orlando F. Rodriguez and directed by Maggie Connick, that search for the meaning of life and what lies between here and the beyond. An exploration of how we honor the dead in this compilation of haunting one-acts, ranging in tone and place, each one act explores a different way we interact with death, the beyond, and what’s in between

Now You See It, Now You Don't by Holly Hepp Galvan and directed by Elliot Colby - Beware the wandering magician that makes things disappear.  You might be next.

Decorum by Judd Lear Silverman and directed by Jonatha Long Frye - A spoiled, world-weary Lord of the Manor returns from his vacation to Egypt with a new lover, who happens to be a mummy. Chaos and jealousy ensue in this tale of love beyond time.

Blithe Seance by Eugene Grygo and directed by Rachael Langton - Theo is moving to New York to join the dot com revolution. But first he must face his past with the help of an eccentric medium in a tale of love and forgiveness.

The Questioning by Michael Hagins & directed by Anel Carmona - When gunshots ring out at a protest on the Brooklyn College campus, police think an anti-BLM janitor may have been responsible. But there may be another avenging--more supernatural--force at work.

Memento Mori by Donna Latham & directed by Kati Frazier - While privately grieving the loss of her lover, Lucretia tries to bring dignity and honor to an unknown corpse left at her doorstep through the art of post-mortem photography. But can the dead offer solace to the living?

From Press Notes

REVIEW: HERE, BETWEEN, AND BEYOND is a variety of five tales dealing with death and curated by an Aztec god of the underworld and her minions, who assist in the prop transitions for each tale. Staged in the Kraine Theater, a small black box off-off Broadway theater in the East Village, I had not attended a performance there since before the pandemic and they’ve done an excellent job with some renovations and upgrades, but still has that community theater charm.

The narrator/Mickey segments provide comic relief and a brief introduction to each piece. There are a few political zingers, but most of the writing is brief and limited. The tales are set in a variety of periods. Some are more serious than others, and only Michael Hagins’ “The Questioning” lacks any lighter moments given the subject matter. Given my familiarity with the genre, I would not say these tales were cliched, but they held no surprises for me. I felt that the writers did not have a lot of experience working in the genre and that they were trying to adapt the stories they wanted to tell to it. I found Donna Latham’s “Memento Mori,” a simple ghost story, the most interesting. There are some nice props to accent the performances, but the use of projections telegraphed the story’s reveal for me. The dialogue felt a bit rough and while not terrible, it could have benefited from a bit more time being workshopped and tweaked.

Given the independence of the production the performances were good. The actors were not miked and some were better at projecting than others. It is a small stage so there is not a lot of space for the performances to cover. Actress Luvia Almanza as Mickey has a broad role of engaging the audience to deliver public service announcements and guide them through the production. She has fun with it and feels more like a Disney tour guide than an ancient Aztec god with issues. Overall, there is a lot of sitting, some pieces more than others, such as “Blithe Seance” by Eugene Grygo that mostly takes place around a table. There are only a couple of performers who take on more than one role and I think it might have been a more energetic production if there were more multiple roles.

The props and costumes nicely accentuated the pieces. The lighting was fine and there were some effective sound and musical cues. There is an air unit in the theater. I can understand the need to run it during the performance but it was a tad loud and created this annoying white noise.

During the early 80’s I had a group of friends who were aspiring actors and were frequently involved with off-off broadway productions. So I have a soft spot for independent theater. HERE, BETWEEN, AND BEYOND is a vanilla, non offensive Halloween treat that’s a fun way to get your seasonal scare on. A hard working ensemble cast is the perfect reason to get off the couch and out of your dwelling to join a live audience and experience some theater. Heck, they have a bar in the theater so you could have a cold one to enhance your viewing experience. 

HERE, BETWEEN, AND BEYOND is part of the FRIGID NY Days of the Dead Festival. Performances run Saturday, October 21 at 7pm and Monday, October 23 at 9:30pm  at The Kraine Theater at 85 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003. Tickets are $25 for in person and $20 for streaming, and can be purchased at this LINK.

Review By: Joseph B Mauceri