Corktown

continued

I first saw this play in a reading at the Chelsea library last year (one of the more fabulous opportunities for free entertainment in town--the Purple Rose occasionally tries out plays both in Chelsea and at the AADL), and for some reason, the dialog between the two hit-man buddies didn't sing with as much dark originality in performance as the reading seemed to promise. But here's something that is fresh: director Guy Sanville brought the full armory of stage violence to this production. You don't see that every day on stage (it's messy) and actually never see it at Purple Rose, which specializes in polite suburban dramas of midlife angst. Fight acrobatics, blood bags, and operatic slow-motion climaxes and explosions end with a final, hilariously gratuitous touch that comes after the final curtain.   

[Originally published in March, 2011.]