Jim Catapano is the lead reviewer at Five Star Arts Journals and has covered everything from Shakespeare to Hard Rock. He himself is a world class musician, writer and performer. ArtsIndependent, the site which carries his editorials, would like to pay a brief tribute to Jim by chatting with him about … HIM.

So when I research you to see what category to put your work as an artist in, I come up with every category to put your artistry in. Musician, writer, performer, commentator, and the list goes on. What kind of artist do you consider yourself? 

JIM: I guess I’m a Jim-of-All-Trades! A friend very sweetly referred to me as a “Renaissance Guy” which is very flattering, but really just a grand way of saying that I’m interested in everything. Which I think is important, it makes someone well-rounded and gives them a lot to talk about! I rarely need to discuss the weather or last night’s game, which helps keep the conversation exciting. And I’m always very interested in what other people are doing!

I often find, with artists like you, that you can’t be called a musician or a writer, you have to be called an artist because you’re so diverse. What makes you so diverse? What is it that gives you the desire to put out so many different kinds of art? 

JIM: I’m very grateful to say that to a large extent I’ve been able to make a creative contribution to everything that intrigued me as a kid. Which is all kinds of creative expression – writing, performing, drawing, acting, and also the tech side of things like audio engineering, mixing and mastering. I feel like I don’t exist if I’m not creating, which I think is a drive that fuels many artists. I love expressing my unique comedic perspective through my online comic character “Dave”, (The Dave Dimension) which my brother and I actually created when we were kids and then brought to our University Humor Magazine—we both collaborate on ideas for it.

JIM: Music will always be my next love after that, but I appreciate any opportunity to not only express myself creatively, but also promote other artists and friends in the Community who I believe in and often collaborate with. I’m also extremely blessed to have worked with so many inspiring and encouraging creative people who really helped me learn and grow. Recently I even did some singing and dancing in a musical for the first time, with some absolutely wonderful and encouraging talented people and a very appreciative audience, so that’s another check on my list!

Does each of your work feed others? Meaning does your writings fuel your compositions, does your blogs feed your more public writings, etc. Or is everything a simple moment of creation? 

JIM: I do think that my different interests complement each other. I bring a lot of humor to the projects I’m involved in, and people have been very kind to say that I contribute to the morale of all the group projects I’m involved in. I like to help maintain a positive, optimistic atmosphere, and having experience in so many different kinds of creative endeavors, problem-solving, troubleshooting, and riding out the rough waves has really helped me do that.

What’s next for the great Jim in terms of artistry?

JIM: I’m working with two bands right now, chiefly The Opposition, and we’ve been consistently posting new original music on Social Media. I’d like to play live more often and help jumpstart the live music scene in NYC. My favorite thing after performing live is seeing other people perform. I’m also going to continue being very active as a reviewer and have an ongoing Voiceover collaboration with two authors. And squeezing everything else in between! (I’ve heard of sleep but have personally never tried it.)

An Historic Moment Captured Through a Surreal Lens

Catherine Gropper Crafts a Gripping and Innovative Look at Events Leading up to the 2016 Election

The Meeting: The Interpreter is a Tour De Force of modern theater—what at first seems like a traditional two-hander becomes something far more unique and spectacular. It is centered around a notorious meeting at Trump Tower in 2016 that may have been the smoking gun in alleged collusion between the Trump Campaign and Russia, and the Congressional Hearings that followed. A large screen completely covers the stage as actors Frank Wood (Tony winner, Side Man) and Kelly Curran (HBO’s “The Gilded Age”) take their places; they appear first as images, with the backdrop of a Senate hearing room to introduce themselves and the setting in a blisteringly fast round of dialogue. The screen projection then slowly moves to the audience’s right, revealing the actors and stage crew behind it. Two crew members operate the camera on a railroad track that winds around the stage, zooming in on the actor’s faces, hands, and unexplored aspects of the set that all play a part in the unfolding story.

Wood is the International Interpreter of the title, a Russian-born man who sees himself as an American; he is the key witness in the events of the day who just wants to live in peace and quiet. Curran is a journalist, the Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya (believed to have had a dossier on alleged Clinton shenanigans), and many other pivotal players in the world-changing event. (Note: a quick review of the actual historical events prior to attending will greatly enrich any theatre-goers experience of the production. And be sure to study up on the Magnitsky Act of 2012.)

The set by Jim Findlay is like a third character in the production; it is full of surprises that the tracking camera slowly reveals—a sound booth in the back, an open locker filled with paraphernalia around a hidden corner. Puppets by Julian Crouch depict the players involved in the Trump Tower meeting (including the infamous Paul Manafort); their large, somewhat grotesque heads plopped on tiny naked bodies. There is interpretive dance (choreography by Orlando Pabotoy); many bizarre turns, such as Curran nailing her many neckties to a block of wood; there are even snippets of singing. It all paints a vivid and unforgettable look of a fateful moment in time that haunts our country and the world to this very day. 

Wood and Curran are astonishingly good in what is a very challenging production —switching characters, accents, and even wigs at a feverish pace—and using every device in the theatrical playbook to command the stage and tell the tale. Added power is provided by the lighting by Barbara Samuels and sound by Daniel Baker and Co., and it is all held together by the brilliant direction of Brian Mertes.

The Meeting: The Interpreter runs at the St. Clements’ Theater through August 25, 2024.

jim Catapano and the Shakespeare mountain

A Powerhouse King Lear Graces the American Theater of Actors

Under the excellent direction of James Jennings, King Lear is reborn for the modern stage in a gripping production at the ATA. 

Proceedings begin innocuously enough when the aging Lear (Alan Hasnas) decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters. An unfortunate moment of overwhelmed speechlessness from one of them leads to disaster. From there the intensity builds and builds throughout the 3-plus hour story. It’s a tale of the human price of greed, an unfolding domino effect that leads to heartbreaking tragedy for all involved. 

Jennings has assembled a formidable roster of seasoned actors to breathe exciting new life into the classic Shakespearean drama. Alan Hasnas delivers a masterclass as the doomed Lear; his descent into madness is horrifying, but from a theatrical standpoint, also exhilarating. Jake Minter is an intense and magnetic Edmund, while Quinn Nguyen provides elegance and poignancy to the tragic Cordelia. Amber Brookes, sipping from a fancy goblet and resplendent in sparkly gowns of gold and later silky green, is delightfully serpentlike as Regan. Shakespearean stalwart Jane Culley matches her duplicity as the icy Goneril; her command of the material is majestic. Jake Smith is energetic and suitably mood-lifting as the Fool, cartwheeling across the stage and breaking into song at every opportunity. Travis Bergmann is a stoic, steady presence as the Earl of Kent. Phil Oeitiker is astonishing as the Earl of Gloucester, the subject of a violent but well-staged blinding at the hands of people of true darkness. And Sam Hardy is a revelation as the feral Edgar, dominating the stage and delivering every syllable with skill and relish. The cast as a whole is a joy to spend time with even as they depict a kingdom descending into darkness. 

The John Cullum Stage at the ATA is a perfect complement to proceedings, the large dark space of multilevels and staircases well utilized throughout the production. A backdrop of moving projections adds tremendous atmosphere—the brutal lightning storm that the quickly deteriorating Lear loses himself in; the crackling fireplace in the hovel; a symbolic eclipse as Gloucester is tortured. The fight sequences, all clanking swords and daggers, are intense and beautifully realized. It all makes for a memorable experience of thespians at the top of their game, expertly handling the most difficult and legendary of texts. 

King Lear runs at the ATA through August 25, 2024.

August 14 – 25 ( 7:00 PM (Wednesday through Saturday), 3:00 PM (Sunday) on the John Cullum Stage of the American Theatre of Actors. Purchase  here.

Directed by James Jennings himself, the production features Alan Hasnas (as KING LEAR) with Jonathan Beebe, Travis Bergmann, Amber Brookes, Jane Culley, Oliver Figueroa, Richard Fisher, Sam Cruz, Sam Hardy, and Jake Minter.

Lear, King of Britain, enters with his court, now an old man, decided to divide his kingdom between his three daughters. The criteria: how convinciningly they can express their love. Goneril, Duchess of Albany, and Regan, Duchess of Cornwall, both speak enthusiastically, but – ironically –  Cordelia, the youngest, says nothing because she cannot voice her deep love for her father. Misunderstanding her, Lear disowns and banishes her from the kingdom. He also banishes the Earl of Kent, who had taken Cordelia’s side against the King.

Needless to say, his eldest daughters both reject him at their homes, thus, madness and regret overtake him and he wanders through a storm. His banished daughter returns with an army, but they lose the battle and prompting the inevitable shakespearean fate.

At its core, Lear is a family drama offering condemnation for greed.

In this family drama, greed is a driving force and remorse comes too late.

To learn more about the cast, please visit this link.

AMERICAN THEATRE OF ACTORS

The ATA was founded in 1976 by James Jennings to promote the development of new playwrights, directors, and actors, and to provide them a creative atmosphere in which to work. The plays are dramas, comedies, musicals, and everything in between, dealing with the social and ethical problems of contemporary society.

More than 12,000 actors worked at the ATA including Dennis Quaid, Bruce Willis, Dan Lauria, Chazz Palminteri, Danny Aielo, David Morse, Edie Falco and Kathryn Hahn. ATA’s productions are sometimes grouped as ‘festivals,’ such as a Playwrights or Directors Festival. In 2016, ATA began an initiative to feature women in theater as directors and playwrights, today this is our WIT! (Women in Theatre) program.

For press inquiries or more information, please contact Kaitlyn E. Clark at
Jay Michaels Global Communications at info@jaymichaelsarts.com 

Bringer of Doom Shines a Black Light on the Human Condition

Lotte (Lena Drake) is a directionless woman whose main motivation appears to be getting revenge on her mother Esme (Laura Botsacos), who she sees as the source of all the misery in her life. To achieve this, she employs the services of alcoholic, homeless ex-comedian Demetrius (David Z. Lanson), who she had let stay in her apartment overnight. Demetrius appears the next morning in Lotte’s bathrobe and slippers and immediately heads to the bar cart, ready to begin his day of delirium. Lotte offers to let Demetrius continue to crash at her place and have all the booze he wants—if he will play the role of Lotte’s artist boyfriend. Lotte wants Demetrius to use his alleged comedic skills to completely humiliate her mother. Thus begins Bringer of Doom, a darkly comedic slice-of-life (and death) brilliantly devised by Joe Thristino.

Esme arrives with her “Toy Boy” (as Lotte calls him), a young stud named Clancy (James Andrew Fraser). Esme at first appears to be the monster that Lotte has described her to be, but as the layers peel back, we see that despite her obnoxious demeanor she is not entirely in the wrong, nor the sole source of Lotte’s troubles. Demetrius warms up by insulting Clancy’s career as a Cranio-Sacral Therapist, and Clancy responds by declaring Demetrius’ (non-existent) art to be mediocre. Lotte and Esme’s initial conversation is filled with an icy tension that would make Lorelai and Emily Gilmore shudder.

Demetrius begins his attack on Esme, but his jokes fall completely flat; when he uses an embarrassing moment in Esme’s past to humiliate her, she erupts in horror and demands an explanation; and despite what we’ve heard about Esme, it’s hard not to take her side at this point. More revelations occur about the characters’ tragic pasts, and they are simultaneously humorous and horrifying.

The play technically has two Acts, though there is no intermission. A Carbon Monoxide leak knocks out the foursome to end the first Act, but Demetrious awakens quickly and saves Lotte and Esme. (Demetrius muses that his dedication to substance abuse must have made him immune to the fumes.) Clancy seems to have succumbed—he is prone on the floor without a pulse—but suddenly returns from beyond, singing the praises of the Afterlife. He insists on going back immediately and implores the others to follow. His big adventure fuels the second part of the show, as the characters, with only their despair in common, ponder whether to give the CO another go. At this point the play takes on an existentialist air, as the four debate whether they have any reason to continue their corporeal lives, intrigued by Clancy’s insistence that the grass is greener on the literal Other Side.

The actors all excel at balancing the humor and pathos of their life journeys, which have come to an individual and collective standstill. It’s all skillfully brought together by the direction of Mark Koenig. The set design mimics that of a classic sitcom, with the fully stocked bar cart symbolizing the characters’ daily means of escape and foreshadowing their desire to be permanently free of their troubled reality. Despite this dark turn, the shadows give way to a very hopeful denouement. 

Bringer of Doom runs at The Players Theatre through August 25, 2024.