MOMA + Marionettes

I had visitors to the city over the weekend, so of course it was a Museum Saturday. Yay museums! Although it's always funny to me how everyone I know, without fail, ends up wanting to go to MOMA. I love MOMA, don't get me wrong. But with so many museums to choose from, I think it's interesting that my friends and fam are so consistent.

Unfortunately, we went a day too early for the new Tim Burton exhibit, so C. and I will have to go back soon. However, I loved seeing the Bauhaus exhibit, currently featured on the 6th floor. It was awesome. Bauhaus ("house of building") was a German school and style in the early 20th c. focused on a sort of blend between art and architecture. The pieces all feature both creative expression and ultra functionality, or some mixture of the two. Until this weekend, I actually had no idea how much we are experiencing a resurgence of this style today. I mean, we saw 90 yr. old furniture right out of this year's IKEA and CB2 catalogs, photography and sketch art right out of Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters. My favorite piece was a large "lighting tool," about 3 ft. tall, that looked like a giant cheese grater/execution block. It was actually a machine designed to spin and reflect light in interesting ways, to be captured on film. Crazy.

NOTE TO SELF: Bauhaus Chess set for C.'s next birthday.

All in all, I give the Bauhaus exhibit three sharp, sheet metal stacking tables up. Way to go, MOMA.

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I add this next bit only out of sheer compulsion: I should really say nothing about the marionettes. But alas, I can't have thrown away the evening for nothing.

After the museum and a hearty dinner, my guests and I went to see the Czech-American Marionette Theater at La Mama, a cute venue, after reading a nice review in the Times. We were excited, expecting something zany and impressive a la Being John Malkovich, but these expectations were far too high. Although endearing, the marionettes themselves turned out to look about 6 inches tall (officially I think they were 8), and we could barely see them. Tiny binoculars were passed out to amend this situation, but the theater wasn't prepared for the full house that a Times review brings, and we had to share them. The production was Twelfth Night, a play I love dearly but have seen a number of times (including just this summer in the park), and was performed by three people working various marionettes each. There was some sort of confusing cookware theme to the scenery, as the characters seemed to be shuffling about in frying pans and wielding utensils. In fact, Malvolio was actually locked away in a pasta container in the fourth act, rather than a dungeon. Two out of the three actors were pretty good, but the third, the original Czech puppetmaster, made no effort to change his voice from one character to the next, causing even more confusion. As I say, it was endearing and creative, and the puppetmasters were skillful and mostly adept at their renditions, but in the end it was pretty much a snooze. Too bad - I just wanted so much for it to be good!

All in all, I give the CAMT's production of Twelfth Night two minuscule, wooden thumbs down.