Review: APAC's 'Jump' asks the hard questions

Kelechi Ezie and Alex J. Gould in Jump. Credit: Michael R. Dekker.

What did Erin think?

Are there warning signs? Does it take a certain strength to go through with it (or not go through with it)? Afterward, how do those left behind cope with what has happened?

These are just a few of the questions Charly Evon Simpson poses in her play Jump, which receives its New York premiere in a thought-provoking performance by Astoria Performing Arts Center. At a pop-up location at 28-21 Steinway, Astoria, Arpita Mukherjee directs a four-person cast in a story of family, trauma, and unexpected friendship.

Kelechi Ezie is Fay, a young adult who's recently lost her mother to cancer and is slowly losing her father to alcohol. When her father (played by Dathan B. Williams) summons Fay and her older sister Judy (Natasha Hakata) to the now vacant family home in order to go through their things before he sells the house, painful memories return and old tensions rise anew. Troubled by these and the vague feeling that she may be losing her mind, Fay seeks solace on the bridge her mother used to bring her to as a child. There she meets a young grad student named Hopkins (Alex J. Gould) and an unlikely friendship blossoms. 

But both her family members and her new friend are battling their own demons, and Fay's vague worries about whether or not she's going crazy are soon swept beneath the current of weightier events. 

Jump takes a thorough, contemplative look at the act of suicide and the many questions surrounding it. The material is heavy, but strange to say, it's not a complete downer. Such is the strength of Simpson's script, which varies light and dark moments, laughter and tears and even an impromptu dance party performed by two strangers to Queen on a bridge, that a balanced picture emerges of human life in all its joy, heartache, surprise, and shock.

Alex J. Gould gives perhaps the most nuanced performance as a man contemplating suicide but held back for some reason he can't articulate. His delivery is natural but loaded, a ready-to-burst-at-any-moment cloud hanging just over his head.

But the other cast members also give perceptive performances. When Kelechi Ezie's Fay gives full vent to her emotions, the effect is devastating. And there's something just a little off about Natasha Hakata's Judy, who manifests her despair in barley noticeable moments between conversations. 

With thoughtful pacing and some (intentional) confusion, time becomes a tricky thing. We're not always sure which scenes follow each other chronologically, if what we're seeing has already happened, has yet to happen, or is actually happening at all. It's perhaps the play's most striking theme, hinting at the way traumatic events play with our minds and memories.

How can I get tickets?

$20-$25 tickets are available on APAC's website.

How long is it?

About 65 minutes with no intermission.

What else do I need to know?

Jump runs February 7 - 23. The pop-up theatre is located at 28–21 Steinway St, Astoria. It's in the Kaufman Arts District, not far from the Museum of the Moving Image (which is a great thing to check out if you're in the area).

Is it appropriate for all ages?

The play deals with heavy themes like suicide and alcoholism, and there is some swearing. I'd leave the kids at home.

Your obedient servant,

EJK

Review: Bill Bowers takes a journey of pure joy in 'The Traveler'

What did Erin think?

"I'm going to a mime performance. I have no idea what to expect."

Such were my parting words to my roommate as I left my apartment and traveled downtown to Theatre Row.

"Should be interesting," she'd replied, admitting that she'd never seen a mime perform either.

Turns out, while it was indeed "interesting," it was also immensely joyous, wonderfully heartwarming, and humorous in the most beautiful way.

The mime is Bill Bowers. The show is The Traveler. Co-created by Bowers and New York City Children's Theater Executive Director Andrew Frank, the show finds an apt home at Theatre Row's Studio Theatre--a sort of makeshift space where both children and adults crowd into movable chairs for a delightful journey full of exuberant surprises.

Bowers, an internationally renowned mime and award-winning actor, takes us on a wild ride when his house is upended by a janitor and flooded via a large bucket of water (it's difficult to explain but trust me, it makes perfect sense on stage and is hilarious into the bargain). Carried downriver and deposited he knows not where, the traveler must find his way home again armed with only a map, a suitcase, and quite a few bananas.

It's not going to be a smooth ride. Along the way, he must contend with nothing less than bees, cow pies, wolves, traffic, border walls, and perhaps worst of all, public transportation.

But our traveler is a tenacious, optimistic individual, and while his clothes may be waterlogged and his pants torn, nothing can dampen his spirits for long.

Silently and, for the majority of the show at least, without props, Bowers creates from thin air a rich, colorful world alive with sights, sounds, and even smells. Wide-eyed, open-hearted, and adaptable, he seems the embodiment of childhood itself. And watching him is a pure delight.

While the show is still developing and, depending on your powers of perception, you may miss certain nuances (I only say this because apparently I missed one), everyone seemed to agree in the brief talk-back afterward that it's not hard at all to follow what's going on. Nor is it boring. Far from it--I, for one, didn't want the journey to end.

The shape of the story is so well-crafted that, just at the moment when a certain long-running joke might begin to grow tedious, the journey shifts to a new phase. Each new trope is a surprise, as if we've been invited to open a series of presents stacked inside each other, each more wonderful than the last. Our traveler is endlessly amusing as he navigates wildlife, imbibes different cultures, entertains fellow travelers, and encounters unexpected roadblocks.

But the best surprise is saved for last, and apparently it's effect is so powerful that (at least in my performance and the one before it) children from the audience come instinctively to the traveler's aid. As a long-time theatre-goer familiar with the art of making something look spontaneous when it's not, I assumed this was a plant. I was wrong. There was simply something so moving in Bowers' performance that a young child felt drawn to actively participate in his story. If that's not the only thing better than a standing ovation, I don't know what is.

How can I get tickets?

$22.25 tickets are available on New York City Children's Theater's website.

How long is it?

It runs about 45 minutes with no intermission.

What else do I need to know?

The Traveler runs at 11 am and 2 pm on Feb 8th and 9th, and at 2 pm and 7 pm on April 7th.

Is it appropriate for all ages?

It's produced by New York City Children's Theater, so yes. The suggested age is 3 and up. I would recommend it for ages 3 to 103.



Your obedient servant,

EJK