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| Brian Dykstra in Brian Dykstra: Cornered & Alone |
| Photo Credit:Gary Smoot |
| This is not just another political show in the wake of the Republican National Convention. It is not just another lecture by an artist who thinks his opinion is important enough to get you off of your couch on a lazy Tuesday night. It is not just a rant; and it is not just a stand-up routine. What is it?
Brian Dykstra: Cornered and Alone is a heartfelt, intelligent, captivating, uproarious, dignified, and, most of all, important work of art. Dykstra is invading the fall “must-see TV” lineup, and he is not going to stop until he has reached his goal: change.
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| Brian Dykstra: Cornered & Alone |
| Photo Credit:Gary Smoot |
| In a 90-minute routine, set before a tattered and worn American flag that set designer Maruti Evans uses to symbolize an America coming apart at the seams, Brian Dykstra does what many protesters and artists sought to do contemporaneous with the Presidential election; only he does it better.
No current issue is safe from Dykstra’s ranting campaign. His disgust with the state of the country ranges from hot topics such as the Defense of Marriage Act to the complacency of our First Lady, Laura Bush. He alternates between colloquial, and at times improvisational, “stand-up” style prose, and quick, witty slam poetry that pays homage to Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss. Rhyming couplets serve to take his audience on a journey replete with pop culture references and rhythmic alliteration.
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| Brian Dykstra: Cornered & Alone |
| Photo Credit:Gary Smoot |
| He and his publicist place him in the company of the most revered solo artists—Whoopi Goldberg, Eric Bogosian, John Leguizamo, Eve Ensler—all the while attempting to “deconstruct the one-man-show form,” to figure out where he stands among the genre’s self-indulgent, one-sided nature.
Humor has always been a successful method of getting people to listen. However, Dykstra does more than tell jokes and poke fun at the “Bush-isms;” like any good journalist, he uses sources such as Newsweek, the Declaration of Independence, and even the dictionary to support his arguments.
Another thing that truly separates Brian Dykstra from the rest of the “ranters” is that he never crosses the line into propaganda. He has done the research, worked out the jokes, and each Tuesday and Thursday night he lays it all out on the table, allowing his audience to form their own conclusions. However, his tactics are so effective that their opinions will no doubt mirror his.
I leave you with an opinion of my own; one which I have told every person I have talked to since I saw this show; GO SEE IT! See it now! Bring friends, bring family, just do not miss this one. If you, like me, are a firm believer that art has the power to bring about change, you owe it to yourself to see Brian Dykstra: Cornered and Alone.
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Triad Theatre
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Category: Solo Performance
Written by: Brian Dykstra
Directed by: Margarett Perry
Produced by: Jack W. Batman, Margarett Perry, Greg Schaffert in association with Access Theater
Opened: August 3, 2004
Closed: December 31, 1969
Running Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Theater: Triad Theatre
Address:
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Tickets: $25.00
Visit nytheatre.com for a special discount
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Creative Team
Written by: Brian Dykstra
Directed by: Margarett Perry
Produced by: Jack W. Batman, Margarett Perry, Greg Schaffert
in association with Access Theater
Light Designer: Thom Weaver
Sound Designer: Ken Hypes
Set Designer: Maruti Evans
Costume Designer: Jennifer R. Halpern
Cast
Brian Dykstra
Crew
Production Stage Manager: Gillian Gray Pancotti
Production Associate: Amber C. Wilson
Marketing: HHC Marketing
Press Representative: OPR/Origlio Public Relations
Graphic Design: Doug Barron
Cartoonist: Gary Smoot
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