Tonight Karen and I saw the play The Report of My Death, a one-person show starring Michael Graves and written and directed by Adam Klasfeld.
The play itself was witty and wise. But the remarkable thing about it was the venue. This production is the latest in the new tradition (is that an oxymoron?) of staging theatrical productions on old boats. The trend started when an opera was produced aboard the Mary Whalen (scroll down the linked page for details), and tonight’s performance took place on the deck of the steamship LILAC, a decommissioned U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse tender moored at Pier 40 on the Hudson River.
The story of the play (or docudrama, as Klasfeld calls it) is Mark Twain traveling around the world by steamship and train, giving lectures to try to recoup his losses from a bad business deal. As such, it is highly appropriate to stage it on the deck of an old steamship. Here’s the set:
Set of The Report of My Death
The gentle rocking of the boat, the breeze from the river, and the threat of rain all enhanced the experience. Also adding to the ambiance was the presence of Iggy, the ship’s cat:
Iggy
Tugster has more on LILAC here. And Bowsprite shows off one of her amazing watercolors of the ship here.
The play runs for a few more days; follow this link to try to get tickets.
*the Steamship Lilac, on the north side of Pier 40, is on the Hudson River, at the very end of Houston Street.*
yay! how great! Let’s go!!! (thank you!)
[...] And what better stage exists in all of New York than ON the sixth boro. Brian’s shots here show the set in rain mode and capture Iggy, ship’s cat. In the foto below, nature’s [...]