Troupes join for fast-paced musical
World premiere at PS21 the end result of Korean, American companies
An experimental theater company from downtown Manhattan (Concrete Temple Theater) and two performance troupes from South Korea (Playfactory Mabangzen and Yellowbomb) have joined forces to create a fast-paced and futuristic musical theater piece that blends traditional storytelling with contemporary production techniques. “The Legend of The Waitress & The Robber” will have its world premiere on Saturday and Sunday May 21-22 at P.S. 21 in Chatham, where the piece was in workshop for the prior two weeks. The show is performed in both English and Korean with supertitles.
“Comic book theater” is one of the more enticing phrases used in promotional material for the unusual piece. According to co-director Renee Philippi, that descriptive refers to several aspects of the show – the two-dimensional set pieces, the speed of the proceedings (16 scenes in about 70 minutes time) and the unexpected but frequent moments of humor. “We call it devised visual theater. Visuals are as important to us as the language that is spoken,”
says Philippi.
The story is a mash up of two literary sources that are from different centuries and continents yet nevertheless share a common theme of alienation by grown children from their families. First is “The Robbers,” a popular and influential play by the 18th century German author Frederick Schiller about a rivalry between aristocratic brothers (Verdi made it into an opera). The second is “The Story of Hong Gildong,” a Korean novel many centuries old that is essentially a Robin Hood tale of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
The new work explores those themes during a dystopian time when humans are so isolated that they’re only allowed to interact through the use of cell phones. A waitresstakes such pity on the senior citizens who she serves that she kidnaps them as a form of liberation, freeing them from the their oppressive phones. Meanwhile in a wealthy and influential family, the eldest boy (“first son” in Korean parlance) owns the major cell phone company and he’s undermined by his rebellious younger brother. He wants all of the rebels to be arrested.
There should be plenty happening onstage since there’s a cast of ten in shifting roles including the “second son” who darts about on a skateboard. The unique stage set consists of cutouts in the shape of cell phones and is made entirely of cardboard. It was conceived and built by Hudsonbased designer Carlo Adinolfi, who is also one of the performers.
Director Philippe cites as an influence the politically charged collaborations of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill and their approach to structure. “The approach is episodic, not like standard musical theater. The characters break the fourth wall and communicate the message that we’re going to tell you this story for your own good,” she says.
Always intended as a collaborative effort by principals of the three companies, the piece has been in development for more than three years. There was a workshop in Seoul in 2019 in anticipation of a premiere at La Mama in Greenwich Village the following year. Though COVID interfered with that schedule, a video adaptation was made during the lockdown period. The pandemic has also shed new light on aspects of the piece, such as contemporary isolation and the strained ties of families.
The ensemble’s twoweek residency on the bucolic 100-acres of P.S. 21 has been far more than a prolonged rehearsal period. It has given the international mix of performance an the opportunity to become a united team, while individual players receive unhurried time to sink deeper into their roles. “Being here has allowed us to add emotion, energy and vitality in a new way,” says Adinolfi, the actor and designer.
Hosting extended residencies for the development of innovative work has become a priority for P.S. 21’s executive and artistic director Elena V. Siyanko. “A lot of times in New York City, a company has one week in a theater and it’s an expensive and high pressure atmosphere for the creation of new work. We’re inviting artists to stay and use our facilities for two or three weeks at a time, a considerable amount of time so that their work doesn’t look undernourished,” says Siyanko. “Our interest combines puppetry, music and theater, things that are hard to pinpoint and define and that push genres in new directions, expanding the concept of theater.”
The institution, officially named Performance Spaces for the 21st Century, is located minutes from downtown Chatham and for 20 years it presented a modest series of dance, theater and film under a tent on a field. In late summer 2019, it opened a state of the art open air pavilion with seating for 300 and a stage that during the off seasons becomes a flexible block box space with a capacity 100.
Under Siyanko’s leadership since 2019, the lineup has expanded considerably. Though her tastes are adventuresome, she says “most of our programming is popular and addressed to everyone.” Among this summer’s offerings are performances by the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Q Dance Company of Nigeria, and Vertigo Dance from Israel, plus the Mark Morris Dance Group in a special Aug. 3 appearance on the waterfront in Hudson followed two nights later by a gala in the pavilion. There are also evenings of world music and jazz, a three-concert series of modern chamber music, and two performances by the Berkshire Opera Festival, along with family and outdoor events.