Review2

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Subject:

[NEohioPAL]The Mike and Ike Report---Phase V

Date:

Tue, 5 Jul 2005 01:44:37 EDT

From:

JonahWhorfin@aol.com

To:

neohiopal@lists.fredsternfeld.com

CC:

Fester1784@aol.com, johnalan@aim.com

Eugene Ionesco’s “Man With Bags” at the University of Akron

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW IS SOMEWHAT OFFENSIVE AND, IN OUR ENLIGHTENED, POLITICALLY CORRECT, NEAR ORWELLIAN SOCIETY, SHOULD NOT BE READ BY ANYONE EXCEPT CONVICTED SERIAL KILLERS. MR. STERNFELD PRESENTS THIS ONLY TO WARN POTENTIAL FUTURE CRITICS: BE VIGILANT, OR THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU. IF YOU REMEMBER MIKE AND IKE, THEN YOU KNOW THIS ALREADY.

Mike: (English accent) Greetings and salutations, he’s still not Mike.

Ike: (Southern accent) He still ain’t Ike.

M: And welcome to the fourth incarnation of The Mike & Ike Report.

I: People try to put us down.

M: Talking ‘bout my theatre peers.

I: Just because we act like clowns.

M: Talking ‘bout my theatre peers.

I: Some people sure are mighty c-c-cold.

M: Talking ‘bout my theatre peers.

I: Hope they die before we get old.

M: Talking ‘bout my theatre peers.

I: They tried angry letters. They tried taking away our computer. They tried sittin’ us in

“Clockwork Orange” chairs and forcin’ us to read Berko reviews until we turned into good little zombie critics.

M: But much like Lindsay Lohan and syphilis we keep coming back.

I: Now, some people may be wonderin’ where we been the last couple months.

M: Others may be wondering why we keep coming back.

I: And the answer ta both questions is llamas.

M: Moving on. Eugene Ionesco is considered to be the father of what is known as the theatre of the absurd.

I: Oh! I thought he’s considered ta be the father of what is known as the theatre of pelican shit. Oh, wait.

Even better. “The-ater of the abturd!” Heehee.

M: It’s nice to know you haven’t mellowed with non-existence.

I: Remember when we saw “State of Siege?”

M: I still have the scars.

I: You told me that was absurdist.

M: Yes, and then you hit me with a waffle.

I: Which is surrealism. Anyway, him, Pinter, Beckett, all these guys are absurdists and all their plays

basically say the same thing.

M: That’s because it’s a style.

I: In this case, it’s also a world view. And that world view is “Waah! Life sucks! Waaaaaah!

M: You’re missing the bigger picture.

I: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

M: They were also trying to shake up a complacent world. That’s why they combined elements of surrealism

with their own unique—

I: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

M: Exactly. They wanted to throw the audience completely out of their element, make them question

not only what they were seeing, but the larger questions of existence as well.

I: And the answer ta those questions, according to them, is Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

PAUSE

M: Well, yes.

I: Okay. Just wanted ta be sure.

M: Moving on.

I: Ionesco’s “Man With Bags” is basically a sequel/remake of “Death of a Salesman.”

M: Stopping dead in tracks. Isaac, what the hell are you talking about?

I: Think about it! Frumpy guy in a long coat who doesn’t seem ta fit in with the rest of the world struggles

valiantly to maintain his identity against that world, which seems to be actively tryin’ to destroy him.

M: Did that actually come out of your mouth?

I: In “Salesman” he’s alive. In “Man” he ain’t. The guy in the play can’t remember his name so Arthur Miller

can’t sue.

M: Right. Anyway, the afore mentioned man with bag’s journey is a strange odyssey, one that the audience

shares to a degree in a unique fourth wall breaking device that manages to be mesmerizing and annoying

at the same time.

I: And that’s another thing. Okay, the guy is dead. I mean, even if he wasn’t Willie Loman it is obvious

that Iodine meant for him to be dead. He’s seein’ pretty much everone he ever knew, replayin key events

in his life, and gettin’ the fact that life sucks hammered into his brain with an Oliver Stonian intensity.

Sounds like death to me! So he’s in Heaven. Guess what? To make it an even healthier slice a sunshine,

Heaven is at war. So not only does life suck but so does the afterlife.

Ya know, if these writers had gotten laid on a regular basis we wouldn’t be havin this conversation.

M: (To himself) If I got laid more often we wouldn’t be having any.

I: What?

M: In spite of the overwhelming sense of futility and depression that emanates so strongly from this play that

within five minutes you want to bash your brains out with the person sitting next to you, it’s actually quite funny.

I: And the chaos conga at the end of the show is one of the coolest freakin’ things I’ve seen in years.

M: And I give massive to credit to ANYONE who tries something that isn’t Neil Simon, “Annie”, or

“The Laramie Project.” The fact is, you may walk out “Man With Bags” thinking it’s one of the most brilliant pieces

you’ve ever seen. You may walk out of it hating Ionesco, theatre, and everything that is good and pure.

Either way, this show will affect you. And that is perhaps the greatest review you can give to art.

PAUSE

I: You are so gay.

M: It’s good to be back.