Diandra Reviews It All - The Exposed Bone Workshop In When Pigs Fly!

Playing at The Pit, The Exposed Bone Workshop Collective’s When Pigs Fly is one of the FUNNIEST shows in New York, and it is not even close to Broadway. A completely hilarious and delightful experience written by Charles O’ Leary, music by Karl Hinze, and directed by Kate Moore Heaney and Ivey Lowe, the 75 minute “play” goes by too quickly; in part, because it is tough to explain “the much” that happens but it easy to absorb for a laugh.

Technically, The Exposed Bone Workshop is a reading five “hot and spicy new” plays under the veiled title of “When Pigs Fly” . Given a grant to create 5 epic, American plays, the endlessness and outlandishness of creativity is launched through a cast of “misfits”/ “artists”. Though I should have known when they said AMERICAN! plays, I was surprised by how they tackled topics of sexuality, race, and political correctness would be summoned. This show approaches stereotypes in ways that make you drop your jaw in giggle and awkwardness, but the “stereotypes” most barraged are those of theatre world.

At times, us, “theatre babies” really do believe we are saving humanity because we either observe or enact what it is to “feel”. Yet, you will ROLL on the floor with how these actors elaborate the “idiocy” of feeling or, at least, learning how to “feel” your character as a “legitimate thespian” when you are playing a “roving gang of homophobes” or using tic-tacs as pills for Marilyn The Musical. Being an actor can be naturally ridiculous, but the cast’s pokes at how we analyze humanity, to summon its meaning, does leave you wondering through laughs.

Humor is a mirror, and it is clear Charles O’ Leary thought so when creating this script, which has plenty of room for improv. While every human “has to act” like they“know”, Leary finds the comedy of this “idea” and uses it to launch mischief, mishaps, and misunderstandings for each character. Honestly, it is hard to pinpoint who is your favorite “character” because each actor is fleshed in the madness of their persona. They are actors playing actors playing characters. HOW HILARIOUSLY META IS THAT?! Max Reinharsden’s Martin Reinsen and Brittany Rowe’s Whitney Bowe are the most hilariously deluded, but fervently determined “artistic directors” I have ever seen. They become “guides of sorts” to a cast that can barely figure themselves out, but must embody the different personalities they have to portray.

You have Colin (Connor Johnson) who has trouble “straightifying” his characters without becoming extremely creepy or comically thrown off. Then, you have Curry Whitmire’s Curly who can laughably contort his facial expressions as if his cheeks were made of putty. After him, comes Bennet the sweet “soundcloud” musician swept up in the craziness of this theatre troupe. Yet, there are some hilarious ladies, as well. Kellyanne will “bleed” for her art or, at least, in her determination to not be seen as “bitchy”. Meanwhile, Tanalee is a health-nut, “free living” gal with some poverty issues. The point is each actor represents an “actor stereotype”, while combatting what it is to be boxed in an image.

Forgive me for getting “deep”, but, in an odd way, The Exposed Bone Collective’s When Pig Fly shows even artists/rt can get caught in what it is supposed to be. Yet, as seen with Diane Chen’s Intern/ Dana Chang, you never know where life leads you, which is why these deranged group of actors keep on screwing up (lol!). In some ironic ways, they truly are thespians because like human beings they act like they know only to be funnily mistaken. Yet, I have to say, this cast was absolutely unbelievable, and ones I could watch in every comedy: both in film and theatre. For More Information on When Pigs Fly Click Here. Located: 123 E 24th St, New York, NY 10010

Next Showings
THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2018 AT 8:00PM
FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2018 AT 8:00PM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2018 AT 9:30PM
THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2018 AT 8:00PM
FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2018 AT 7:30PM
SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2018 AT 9:30PM