SITE GUIDE
SEARCH
REVIEWS
REVIEW ARCHIVES
ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP
FEATURES
NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings
LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway
NYC Restaurants
BOOKS and CDs
OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Connecticut
Philadelphia
Elsewhere
QUOTES
TKTS
PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS
LETTERS TO EDITOR
FILM
LINKS
MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us
A CurtainUp 
London Review
London ReviewRoosevElvis
|
"Washington looks like Washington. Lincoln looks like Lincoln. Roosevelt kind of looks like Magnum PI."
— Ann
|
Libby King and Kristen Sieh (Photo: Sue Kessler) |
The list of Theodore's achievements include highly unfashionable killing of wild animals, sometimes for their pelts, sometimes merely for the hunt. His achievements come over as boasting or very competitive, rather than creditable because they are so many, for instance the 45 books he wrote, or his extensive general knowledge from the tens of thousands of books he said he had read. Elvis or El-Vees as Teddy calls him is an altogether slower, Southern prospect with his good and generous nature.
The play shifts to the same actors, Ann (Libby King) working in a meat packing plant in South Dakota, with tv monitor close ups of the gory bits coming home to her imaginary friend Elvis Presley. She carries on a conversation with him voicing both parts. Elvis is encouraging her to try internet dating. Brenda (Kristen Sieh) emerges from the shower. She is a taxidermist from North Dakota. They travel in a RV to Mount Rushmore and visit a shop full of stuffed animals.
As Brenda encourages Ann to be more adventurous, I found myself thinking about these two quintessential American alter-egos. The frontiersman, the adventurer, the hardship suffered by pioneers, Teddy Roosevelt loses his wife and mother on the same day, his wife in childbirth. And then there is the rags to rhinestones story of Elvis, the kid from the backwoods who thrills the world bringing pleasure and entertainment.
The Roosevelt figure is often a figure of fun as he boxes herds of buffalo projected on a screen switching to a ballet but we have to admire his versatility. Elvis tells us about bringing karate to the world and the threats on his life. They debate ones birthright as Elvis stands up for the disadvantaged and underprivileged.
Brenda influences Ann to think about her life and to fulfill unfulfilled ambitions. I found a surprising depth from this devised piece about the great American journey. It's witty and cleverly directed using film and images to make this road trip seem a more peopled play with a breathtaking originality.
|
Subscribe to our FREE email updates with a note from editor Elyse Sommer about additions to the website -- with main page hot links to the latest features posted at our numerous locations. To subscribe,
E-mail: esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.com
put SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message -- if you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to Curtain Up and from what part of the country. |
| RoosevElvis
Created by Rachel Chavkin, Libby King, Jake Margolin, and Kristen Sieh with Matt Hubbs, Andrew Schneider and Nick Vaughan Directed by Rachel Chavkin Starring : Libby King and Kristen Sieh Set Designer: Nick Vaughan Costume Design: Kristen Sieh Video Designer: Andrew Schneider Lighting: Austin Smith Sound: Matt Hubbs The TEAM production Running time: One hour 35 minutes without an interval Box Office 020 7565 5000 Booking to 14th November 2015 Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 26th October 2015 performance at the Royal Court, Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Sloane Square, London SW1W 8AS (Tube: Sloane Square) |
|
REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V): Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email . . . also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review. |
