[NEohioPAL] Berko review: POUNDING NAILS WITH MY FOREHEAD (Bang & Clatter); Red, the Orchestra

Roy Berko royberko at yahoo.com
Sun Dec 16 10:14:42 PST 2007


Sean Derry gives tour-de-force acting performance at
BANG AND CLATTER; Red, the classical orchestra with a
twist

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times

--COOLCLEVELAND.COM--	

As Sean Derry was literally pounding his head on the
floor at the conclusion of ‘POUNDING NAILS IN THE
FLOOR WITH MY FOREHEAD,’ now in production at The Bang
and Clatter Theatre, I totally empathized.  

For two acts I, and members of the audience, had been
subjected to and immersed in a series of attacks and
tirades using language that was vulgar, angry and
outrageous.  Almost all things political, social,
moral and ethical had come under attack.  Almost every
foul word and image had been used to assault our
senses.

Throughout I could not help but wonder what it felt
like for Derry to go through a nervous breakdown
nightly.  Not only did he have hundreds and hundreds
of words to memorize and spit out each night, but the
emotional level of the one-person show allows for
little time to relax.  Almost every line is explosive,
there is no calm within the storm.  

Eric Bogosian’s ‘POUNDING NAILS IN THE FLOOR WITH MY
FOREHEAD’ is a series of character studies,
concentrating on men who range from the seriously
troubled to those positively repugnant.  The
monologues were originally portrayed by Bogosian,
himself.   Since then, a number of actors have taken
up the role.  I doubt if any one them did a better job
than Derry, Bang and Clatter’s co-artistic and
managing director.

Bogosian is the writer of ‘TALK RADIO,’ a Pulitzer
Prize finalist.  He also authored ‘subUrbia,’
‘GRILLER’ and ‘SEX, DRUGS, ROCK & ROLL.’

The opening segment, “Molecules,” finds a bum in a
subway talking in detail about the molecules that
infect others from his bodily excretions.  It verbally
slaps the audience into an awareness of Bogosian’s
hateful reaction to the ills of this nation.  

Other characters include a guilt-ridden suburbanite, a
doctor prescribing the worst medicine in the world,
and a “recovering male” who confesses his shame to
fashion models in magazines because of the fantasies
he harbors about them.

As a reviewer of a previous production stated,
“Bogosian has deep-seated anger, and the author’s
anguish swings between the longing for numbness and
the desire to feel something.   Monotony is never a
problem in this show.” 

Capsule judgment:  The show is not for gentlefolk,
definitely not for redstaters.  It is, however, for
anyone who wants to see an amazing performance,
probably one of the best performances on local stages
this year, and have their mental and physical senses
assaulted.

‘POUNDING NAILS IN THE FLOOR WITH MY FOREHEAD’ runs
through December 29 at The Bang and Clatter Theatre,
140 E. Market Street in Akron .  For tickets call
330-606-5317. 

B&G news:  Bang and Clatter is scheduled to open its
new Cleveland theatre in the E. 4th Street  and Euclid
entertainment corridor  in February.  The company will
continue to perform in Akron, but in a new setting. 
One of my future columns will contain all the details.

RED {AN ORCHESTRA}

Several weeks ago, Red {an orchestra} performed ‘A RED
SOLSTICE.’  A classical orchestra with a twist, Red’s
mission is to redefine, redesign and rediscover
classical music.  It offers a perfect venue to get
those young and old, seasoned classical music lovers
and neophytes who know nothing about the classics, to
experience the sounds of the masters, emerging and
emerged.    All this with musical proficiency.

Johathan Sheffer, the artistic director and conductor,
packages programs that excite and entice.  Their
solstice program featured the amazing veteran violin
soloist, early-teenaged Caroline Goulding, not only
playing Vivaldi’s “Concerto No. 4 in F minor,” but
also a fast paced Irish fiddling tune.  Also featured
was 20  year-old Andrew Lipian, he of astounding
countertenor voice, and soprano Jung Euh Oh in
Heinrich Schultz’s “The Christmas Story.”

Red’s next performance will be ‘BERNARD HERRMANN: MORE
THAN THE MOVIES’ on March 8 at 8 PM at the Masonic
Auditorium.  It features the music of film composer
Bernard Herrmann, who wrote the scores for Alfred
Hitchcock’s ‘VERTIGO,’ ‘NORTH BY NORTHWEST’ and
‘PSYCHO.’


Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info
      
Roy's theatre and dance reviews appear regularly on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.  His reviews also appear on www.coolcleveland.com


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