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BROOKLYN WEEKLY, MARCH 3, 2019
DON’T FENCE ME IN: In the Theater 2020 production of “Into
the Woods,” the Baker’s Wife (Elizabeth Kensek), the Baker
(Rudy Martinez), and the Witch (Julia Goretsky) square off.
John Robert Hoffman
Four places to celebrate
Mardi Gras in Brooklyn
ONE L OF A GOOD TIME: The L Train Brass Band will play at the Bell House on March 3 for its party
“Common Sense: A Mardi Gras Bash To Make Every Person Count.”
TALES
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ground, with gay and
straight couples among
the court color-coordinated
for convenience, and
the big dance scene of “the
Spanish Panic,” which
uses every character —
and every popular dance
move of the last 40 years
— is terrifi cally fun. In
the role of Princess Winnifred,
Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld
has enormous appeal,
and she can belt out
a tune with the best when
she needs too — but in too
many songs, I strained to
hear the lyrics.
This production tries
to update the frankly
dicey gender politics of
the script, which dates
from 1959, but there’s
only so far it can go, and
remnants of the lascivious
original — like the
king “groping his way in
the dark” are left to fl ounder.
And a few scenes felt
unmotivated, and slowed
down the fun, like the fi ve
minutes of quiet stomping
at the top of the second act,
and a soft shoe that comes
from nowhere.
In contrast, “Into the
Woods,” the Stephen Sondheim
mash-up of Little Red
Riding Hood, Jack and
the Beanstalk, and a halfdozen
other Grimm fairy
tales, is decidedly darker
and more intimate, with a
smaller cast and just a piano
to provide the music.
Producer and director
David Fuller sets the
play in a refugee camp
“somewhere in the world,”
which, honestly, does not
make even a little bit of
sense. These refugees are
living in the house the
Baker’s father made? And
they’re going to fancy
dance parties? But the tshirts
and the wire fences
fall away once the music
starts. The characters fi ll
the room, and the actors
fi nd the humor and the pathos
of the show.
Especially funny are
Alexander Coopersmith
and John Jeffords, who
double as the blowhard
Princes and as Cinderella’s
evil stepsisters.
Of the two, I think you
can sleep on “Mattress,”
and direct your steps “Into
the Woods.”
“Once Upon a Mattress”
at Gallery Players
(199 14th St. between
Fourth and Fifth avenues
in Park Slope, (718) 595–
0547, www.galleryplayers.
com). Through March 17;
Fri at 7:30 pm; Sat at 2 pm
and 7:30 pm; Sun at 3 pm.
$25 ($20 seniors and kids).
“Into The Woods” at
Founders Hall at St. Francis
College (180 Remsen St.
between Court and Clinton
streets in Brooklyn
Heights, www.theater2020.
com). Through March 17;
Thu–Sun at various times.
$40 ($30 students and seniors).
Continued from page 1
BY BILL ROUNDY
Take it Big Easy this week!
Mardis Gras is happening
in New Orleans right
now, but if you want to have
a cajun celebration before
Lent starts, we have found
plenty of events right here
in Brooklyn between now
and Fat Tuesday.
Below are four festivitie
happenings to check
out:
Bead counters
Support our neighbors
in the South while you
party at “It’s Common
Census: A Mardi Gras
Bash To Make Every Person
Count.”
The event will raise
cash for Southern Echo,
a Mississippi group that
works with the Census to
count everyone and redraw
gerrymandered districts.
The party will feature
stand-up comedy from Pat
Regan, drag bingo, burlesque
performances from
Darlinda Just Darlinda,
and live music from the
L train Brass Band, who
marched down Bourbon
street last weekend!
“It’s Common Census”
at the Bell House 149
Seventh St. between Second
and Third avenues in
Gowanus, (718) 643–6510,
www.thebellhouseny.com.
March 3 at 3 pm. $25.
Swing set
If you want to go upscale
for your Fat Tuesday
creole carnival, the place
to be is Park Slope’s swank
Montauk Club, which
will host three fl oors of
dancing and burlesque
performances.
Brooklyn Swings will
offer dance lessons at the
beginning of the night, so
you can lindy hop all evening
to music from the
Second Line Brass Band,
zydeco act Gordon Webster
and Friends, or DJ
Cochon de Lait, among
others.
Carnival masks will
be on sale for cheap, and
beads are free!
“The Salon: Mardi
Gras” at the Montauk Club
(25 Eighth Ave. at Lincoln
Place in Park Slope, www.
prohibitionproductions.
com). March 5; 6–11 pm.
$39 ($52 with open bar).
House of Oui
Keep the party going late
into the night with a visit
to “Mardi Gras Brass and
Sass” at the House of Yes.
The Hot Hand Brass
Band will start blowing at 10
pm, aerial performers will
swing overhead, and you
can join the parade winding
around the space until 4 am.
Costumes encouraged!
“Mardi Gras” at House
of Yes 2 Wyckoff Ave. at
Jefferson Street in Bushwick,
(646) 838–4937, www.
houseofyes.org. March 5 at
10 pm. Free.
Goes down Easy
If you just want to eat
and drink on Fat Tuesday,
visit cajun bar Heavy
Woods!
The saloon will feature
a live stream from Bourbon
street, tasty po’ boys,
$5 drafts of Louisiana
beers, and $8 hurricane
cocktails.
And if you register in
advance with Eventbrite ,
you will get a free king
cake shot.
Mardi Gras Party at
Heavy Woods 50 Wyckoff
Ave. between Starr Street
and Willoughby Avenue
in Bushwick, (929) 234–
3500. www.heavywoodsbar.
com. March 5 at 7 pm.
Free.
/www.galleryplayers
/www.theater2020
/www.galleryplayers
/houseofyes.org
/www.thebellhouseny.com
/www.theater2020
/www.thebellhouseny.com
/houseofyes.org