#article 2017

Last week, we were able to pass along the glorious news that Person of Interest/Lost alum Michael Emerson was set for an Arrow season 6 gig. There are still moments now where we don’t completely believe it, given that he’s such an accomplished actor and he should bring a lot of gravitas to this show. After last season’s excellent Prometheus arc, Arrow has no choice but to try and up their game; inevitably, there will probably be some people who complain and call the upcoming season a letdown no matter what they do. That stinks, but it’s a part of the reality for this show.

Now, let’s talk for a moment about Emerson’s latest gig. According to a new report coming in now via Deadline, Michael will be playing a key part on the upcoming season of Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, playing an “eccentric collector of classic music ephemera and curiosities” named Morton Norton. Morton Norton, for the record, sounds like the name of a character in a fairytale. He’s a guy who likes to live back in the past, he has created his own universe, and he lives apparently in a Gothic mansion. His love of ancient history traces even into his wardrobe, as he dresses as a composer named Gesualdo from the 16th century. This is an artist described in this post as “homicidal,” which is probably in part why his music is not more internationally renowned than it is. People often do tend to steer clear of people who were terrifying in some way. As you would anticipate given that he wouldn’t be on the show otherwise, Morton Norton is going to be interacting at some point with Gael Garcia Bernal’s character of Rodrigo, and the result of these communications could range from strange to fascinating.

Basically, it doesn’t take a whole lot of work in order to understand why Emerson would want this Mozart in the Jungle role — it’s odd, quirky, and it gives him a chance to do something in a comedy for a change. It also films where he lives in New York. His Arrow role is meant to be fairly substantial, but it doesn’t look to be a full-time gig. There are several different Big Bads out there, and one of the prevailing rumors at the moment is that he will be the head of Helix in Cayden James, one of the most brilliant hackers out there. He could presumably blow Felicity Smoak and virtually everyone else out of the water with his skill.

source: CARTERMATT

Lindsay Timmington | OnStage New York Critic

February 15, 2017

"The whole place makes you feel like you can do just a little more than you think you can, or that you should at least try" is not a line from "Wakey, Wakey," it's from an interview with the quirky, charming playwright and darling of the New York theatre scene, Will Eno.

This guy makes me smile.  I've never met him but was immensely delighted by the talk he hosted with my idol Tracey Letts at 92SY earlier this year. I found him to be much like his plays-wonderfully quirky and offbeat. I leave his shows feeling a tiny bit befuddled, a little exhausted by the marathon of experienced emotions and totally in love with his work.  The beauty of Will Eno's work is that there is always so much more to what you've seen and that something will linger with you long after you leave.

"Wakey, Wakey" now playing at the Signature Theatre is the culminating effort of Eno's "Residency Five" program--an initiative that guarantees playwrights three productions over a five-year span. Eno directs this production starring the extraordinary Michael Emerson and the subtly beautiful January Lavoy.

The 75 minute show opens with Eno himself doing a Eno-esque version of the now commonplace "turn your damn phone off" speech except this one involves a banana, and I'm guessing, Eno's daugher. This whole set up makes it even funnier, and sadder and even questionable when a phone goes off almost exactly halfway through the show. My friend and I quibbled over if it was intentional. I said no, having watched the stupid patron fuddle with the phone after it went off, she said yes given the seamless integration of Emerson's "Is that a phone, really?!" into his nearly 75 minute long monologue.

Emerson doesn't disappoint. He's perfectly suited for Eno's perfectly "normal" dialogue contained in what appears to be a well-made play but actually makes you question the whole form and shape of a theatrical experience altogether. As I dug further into the creation and execution of "Wakey, Wakey" I learned it was, at inception, a collaborative effort between Eno and Jim Houghton, the Signature Theatre founder who initiated the "Residency Five" program of which Eno will soon be a graduate.  Houghton passed away this summer and while Eno is adamant that the play is not "about" Jim--it's definitely homage to the man, and a beautiful one at that.  "Wakey, Wakey" is one part meditation on exercising gratitude for important people in our lives and one part living wake as we watch a man face down the end.

Eno said of his latest work, "I really hope this will feel like a thing that happened, not a play that you went to." Had I the capacity to speak normally to people I admire, I would have not just stared at him from the bottom of the stairwell in the Signature Theatre long after the play ended. I would have approached him to say that this play was simply a rich, beautiful experience filled with thoughtfulness and mystery and I'm stealing words straight out his interview because that's how I started this review and that's how I'm ending the piece and somehow I think he'd be okay with that.

It's hard to even know how to review an Eno show because on the one hand, particularly in the case of "Wakey, Wakey" the last thing I want to do is give away any of the experience- it's something you should go into unblemished. However I know people are looking for solid reasons why they should see this play instead of the numerous other options on the New York theatre scene.

So here are five solid reasons why you should see "Wakey, Wakey"

1) Will Eno 2) Life 3) Death 4) Gratitude 5) It sticks to your ribs.

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