Kraine Theater — Attraction in New York

Got to watch “the overwhelming urge to be completely destroyed” at this cozy off-Broadway theater, so felt compelled to share the experience/thoughts)) Yes, it's a little mouthful of a name, but boy is it masterfully picked to pack the essence of the play! Each character personifies the title, and while there's a main character, everyone's storyline received proper attention and development. Intentionally or not, the storylines seem to be united by the theme of expectations, and the prime time is given to exploring, in ever so subtle ways, the expectations around grief.

The play seems to be saying (at least when talking to me) that somewhere along the way, we get into our heads an idea about the right way to grieve and mourn, or rather an idea about how that would feel and look. And usually it's the idea that the whole world will tumble down when a loved one is no more, and when that doesn't happen, when the world moves on carelessly, we somehow feel both deceived and deceiving. Why can I still breath? Why am I not more devastated? Did I just smile?!! What's wrong with me? Did I not love the person as deeply as I thought I did? It feels wrong to do anything, because doing anything is part of what used to be normal, but how could there be "normal" without that person being part of it? The characters attempt the normal, but there's a shadow of self-judgment looming over every little thing, action, or smile - each feels like a betrayal, and so they (and we along with them) get into this loop of agonizing about HOW we're mourning, instead of WHOM or WHAT we're grieving. And maybe that's the right way, maybe healthy grieving is about the how, but nobody is there to confirm or deny that, and the uncertainty of it feels like a burden that each character deals with in their own way.

Moving on, while every character is distinct and polished (in a way that perfectly showed their roughness), the play doesn't tickle the audience with particularly memorable lines that would imprint on the mind with their uniqueness, and that itself is somewhat memorable - the active choice to avoid cheap impositions of righteous tropes. For instance, there is a couple of monologues throughout the play, that by their very nature create a brief sense of apprehensive anticipation of some profound wisdom coming at you at their end, and when each of them concludes without a forcefully pushed lesson, there is a moment of confusion followed by unexpected relief. It is funny to realize how used we might have become to being preached to, that we can't help but expect any monologue to shape-shift into a self-righteous lecture. And the way Sam Wood (the playwright) doesn't play into that expectation is probably as refreshing as the famous anti-drop right after the build-up to the chorus in Charlie Puth's Attention (in case you aren't too big into songwriting - it is pretty refreshing!).

The directing is done especially well, at least to my amateur eye - a big shoutout to Lea Hilsey here. The stage blocking feels organic, and when the lighting is added for the purposes of directing the viewer's attention from scene to scene, it is so well mixed with the blocking and the acting, that the seamlessness of the transitions appears almost like a special effect (which is why I had to highlight that here).

All in all, this has been my first play since the pandemic, and it was a perfection of a welcome-back to...

This was a cool little space. Very, very tiny, but it gets the job done and I actually have a fondness for places that are carved out of a place that was never intended to be used for performance. The sound and lighting was good. The lobby was nothing more than a miniscule space left over after the creation of a molecular box office.

There's nowhere to wait inside until just before the show, but there's a stoop to sit on and the neighbourhood has lots of options. There is a tiny little pizza place with a storefront that opens right into the sidewalk two blocks away that has outrageous thin-crust pizza that's so good it's worth a trip all on its own merit. Plus the guy behind the counter there is a sweetheart.

The folks who worked in the theater itself were a little too caught up in their own importance but pleasant enough.

Up a long, steep flight of stairs from the theater was a charming, small bar and a friendly bartender. The bathrooms were decent. Lobby, theater, bar, and bathrooms were very clean and well kept. The building itself is very old and I'm glad to see it being put to such good use as a tiny, indy theater.

I'll be happy to go back if and when there's other performances there I...

I saw Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind and I was glad I did. It certainly evoked a few emotions. It was nice that I can have wine and that there was a student discount. The theater was not too large but had some authentic coolness to it. I liked the stained glass and intimateness. The little bar was cute too. The stage was fitting. The performance itself was so unique and clever at times. I am glad I had the chance to...