Africa Interlude: A quick theatre review before I continue with the African blog post extravaganza.
While I was visiting Tanzania I took my finger off the pulse for a
moment, but luckily I always have Evan to fill me in on the latest in
arts and culture. Thanks baby! Evan informed me that while I was away a
new show emerged by the producers and masterminds of my favorite, Sleep
No More. I immediately purchased tickets, since I knew we had to be in
NY to go apartment hunting. I'm glad I did because literally an hour
later they were sold out.
Introducing Queen of the Night, a self proclaimed fusion of theater,
music, circus, cuisine, design and nightlife. With a strong focus on
circus, most of the entertainment is jaw dropping acrobatics mixed with
modern Sleep No More-esk dancing. Think a sexually charged Cirque du
Soleil with dinner. Thanks to its location right in the heart of
midtown, this interactive acrobatic event attracts a much more
mainstream crowd than it's parent institution Sleep No More. And an
older crowd at that. I was surprised to see a number of Upper East Side
housewives as well, but then again we are in Times Square.
Sleep No More has always had a relatively young following, possibly due
to the physical feat you must endure in order to truly enjoy its
immersive theatrical quality. Running up and down 7 flights of stairs
and through different terrain in an old abandoned hotel might be where
the older crowd draws the line. After conducting a poll at our table it came to my
attention that half of the table had never even seen Sleep No
More....what?!? I was almost sure that the SNM cult following would be
the majority of Queen of The Night's patrons, I was wrong, it was a
completely new crowd, possibly a following of people who enjoy the
famous NY restaurants American Cut and Scarpetta, the food connoisseurs
behind Queen of The Night's cuisine.
Your first reaction when you walk in is, so I thought they spent $30
mill on this place...? All you see is dry wall and plywood, then you
walk a bit further past coat check and you finally realize that the
unfinished construction-look is part of the decor, phew!
As you begin to
ascend down the marble staircase into the caverns of the Parliament
Hotel it then takes on a Phantom of the Opera theme in the form of a
large chandler that rests at the bottom of the staircase. Oh, except for
the naked woman with the mask on behind the wall of glass with the
geometric mirrors, but other than that! Totally Phantom.
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| Phantom Phantasy... |
This is right
around the time when you begin to notice that the touchy-feely chaperons
are wearing gaucho capri tuxedo pants with wrist cuffs above the knee,
and the coats with tails that have buttons going all the way down the
back. And don't forget about the exposed sock stays. The costumes were
created by noted mens and womenswear designer/fashion label, Thom
Browne, my favorite being the tuxedo shirt turned thong leotard with
one sleeveless arm and red pants. Hot!
Once you're escorted into the main ballroom you come upon the bar, which
is more like a chemistry lab with bubbling flasks, tubes, and smoke. I
particularly enjoyed the light fixtures that were submerged in gurgling
water, and the constant torch blowing of rosemary. On the counter are
tons of drinks, pick a drink, any drink, I chose the tall glass, a vodka
drink with cherry tomatoes and muddled basil. Peter went with the short
glass gin based drink.
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| The chemistry lab |
After you grab an artisanal signature cocktail
you'll want to direct your attention toward the stage where you'll see
all sorts of human defying acrobatics and juggling...and a topless woman
laying on a table with a red veil over her body. You'll be encouraged
to walk around and take in all the sights, while being offered delicious
trays of deviled eggs and foie gras. Once you're let onto the main
floor it becomes a free for all to find a seat where you'll dine and
stay for the remainder of the show. We shuffled to the left of the stage
and sat at a large table with two other couples. Each table is showered
in olives, walnuts, grapes, wine and bread. A woman then came to our
table and asked us all if we were in love, and I immediately shouted,
"love! Oh yes!" She asked how I knew what makes it real love and Peter
pulled out his tattoo wedding ring and I pulled out mine. She asked us
if we remember the feeling we had when we first feel in love or the
first time we met and if we would want to feel that again and I
exclaimed again, "oh yes! It was the greatest feeling in the world, one
of the greatest days of my life!" This may have been a lot of pressure
for the other couples at the table on casual dates... These comments
would come full circle later in the show, and I would eventually receive
a luscious kiss on the cheek from this woman. The show continues and
this is when it starts to get really good, the acrobatics are mind
boggling, it bends your perception of reality and what the human body is
capable of doing.
These talented gymnasts are taking risks, big risks.
After a lot of aerobatic-like dance to techno/rave music, naturally,
it's time for dinner in the form of a bird cage full of lobster and a
suckling pig. Our table was lucky enough to get the birdcage of lobster,
which is the best!
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| Dinner is served! |
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| Crustacean cage |
Once the bibs are on its time to get to work and
crack open some delicious lobster. Before you know it the entertainment
is in full swing again, a man with a string and spindle, knife throwers,
and impressionist dance. But the question still remains, who is the
woman in the mermaid gown?
Later this mysterious woman does a beautiful
yoga-sensual impressionistic solo, the dance of love. This was the part
of the show that actually got to me and that doesn't happen often, this
scene made me emotional because I truly understood it to my core. The
idea that love is like a man balancing an umbrella on his head while
juggling, love makes the impossible, possible, the mundane and ordinary,
extraordinary. It turns every day life into fantasy. It is magic and
undefinable. And my eyes filled with tears because I knew it was true
and I was so happy and blessed to understand it and experience it. Thank
you Queen of the Night for that one moment, for me the entire show was
worth it just for that delicate and heart felt scene. The show ended
with everyone getting up for a slow dance. I enjoyed how they tried to
bring emotions and love out in people, I appreciate that, we need more
of that. Then naturally after this love fest they started spoon feeding
everyone chocolate cake from the main stage. Mmmmm.
Design:
The water closet
Psychedelic serpent wallpaper in the stalls
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| Bartenders sport back pleaded kilts |
Just like Sleep No More the performers like hanging out at the bar after
the show, giving us the opportunity to gush over their superb talent, I
even struck up a conversation with one of our servers who was getting a
drink after the show. I asked him how he came to work there, and he said he
responded to an add on Craigslist for a server in midtown, and a month
later he received an email and an interview, they hired him on the spot.
Awesome. That's why you have to love NYC, you never know what the heck
crazy stuff you could get yourself into.
The bottom line:
All in all if you're looking to be thoroughly entertained and have a
unique dining experience you should check this out. I have to admit that
I was underwhelmed and a bit disappointed by the music, it was a
musical let down after thinking that Mozart's Magic Flute was somehow
involved. I secretly kept waiting to hear the 'Queen of the Night' Aria,
that never came, but I did hear some Beyoncé... If you're going
to drop millions on a renovation and design, go all the way! Get some
real musicians in there, geez, with all the talent in this city it's a
sin not to use it! At the very least combine pre-recorded electronic
music with live musicians. They had a team of talented people design the
esthetic, costumes, menu, choreography and theatrics, why allow the
music to be an after thought, arrange some techno inspired Mozart!? If
that's what it was, I couldn't tell. And you absolutely need a musical
act after the show is over. That was a total fail. Showcase musical
talent, please!
“Love, love, love, that is the soul
of genius.”
―
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
