The Arts in New York City

The moment I stepped out of the subway and into The Village, I knew I was in an environment that was very special. Vintage shops and little cafes lined the narrow streets of Greenwich Village, a place I had only been to once before in my life. And I remembered it well. There is an artistic feel to the area, a liberal mindset, and an aura that makes me want to be a struggling bohemian artist living in a studio apartment. It was also the perfect setting for a play like Asuncion to be shown in. It was as if the whole environment surrounding the Cherry Lane Theater led to the build up of the setting of Jesse Eisenberg’s play. And lets face it, if this play was shown in a broadway theater, it wouldn’t have been as effective. The choice to keep this play off-broadway and in a tiny theater in the heart of the Village was beneficial, even if it limits the number of people who are able to see it. The small audience and the close feel to the actors added to the energy of the play overall, and I believe it is something that could not have been pulled off anywhere else.

Yet this was in no way the only facet of the play that I thought was pulled off excellently. The acting and the plot of the show was phenomenal. To be honest, I had watch only bits and pieces of The Social Network, so although I was excited to see a popular movie star on stage, I really did not have much expectations towards his acting ability. Yet I was blown away by his performance, and it only took me a few minutes to realize how truly talented he was. His body language fascinated me. I found myself staring at the way he sat- his legs scrunched together in fetal position, his back hunched and hands fidgeting. And I couldn’t help but wonder if he was really this awkward in real life (I didn’t know that shortly after the play I would find out the answer for myself!!!). Eisenberg made Edgar feel so real to me, like I personally knew him and connected to him, even if he was a tad bit strange (yeah, thats an understatement…). Still, I was extremely impressed by how he portrayed the character of Edgar as realistic rather than a over-exagerated caraciture. Edgar’s character could so easily  have turned into another Mr.Smith from the Bald Soprano, meaning the character could have been over the top in a way that made you feel as though the character wasn’t relatable. Yet, Eisenberg worked well with the unique awkwardness of Edgar. I could actually picture myself sitting next to an Edgar in my high school, shaking my head every time he would raise his hand to contribute to the conversation by saying something off topic and inappropriate. These tend to be the type of people I appreciate to have in class, because one, they are hilarious, and two, they distract the teacher from doing their actual job.

Anyway, along with being a fabulous actor, Eisenberg is also a great playwright. At first I was dubious because many times I feel that an artist should really only focus on one field of art and concentrate of perfecting it. Yet, I really enjoyed the script and plot- much more than I did of the Bald Soprano. For one thing, I think the style of humor was much more main stream, but also it was just a lot more funny. I found myself tilting my head back and holding my stomach, the way in which I laugh when I am really hysterical, not just giggling or chuckling. This is something I don’t often do when watching a play. Since the acting was so good, I think the punchlines were carried out perfectly. Also the humor was made to prove a point.

This is a factor I want to expand on. In The Bald Soprano, the humor was nonsensical and seemed to have no meaning to the plot of the play. Whereas, with Asuncion, the humor between the characters and the irony of the situations, all made sense to the plot. Edgar believed Asuncion to be a “slave worker” in the Philippines not just because it is ridiculous and fits in with what his crazy character would believe, but also because it shows the ignorance surrounding races. Through Vinny and Edgar’s immaturity (and comedy) we are able to see that making judgements based on stereotypes are usually wrong and can lead to troublesome situations. Therefore, Eisenberg did an excellent job of balancing what I believe are the two opposite sides of the spectrum to film: entertainment and meaning. He was able to write a play that was both hilarious and meaningful to me.