I arrived to my destination around 6 p.m. I had a familiar sense of the neighborhood being that I spend most of my time around Barclays Center. The BAM Opera house stood out to me. White decadent stones rising almost 6 floors high. Across the street, the loveliest artwork and petite café. The building was beautiful, the surroundings were amazing, the inside bar followed by the elevators and every detail, even down to the bathroom, were just greatly organized. Overall, you can tell I liked the venue and the overall scenery was great but then it came tumbling down.
It didn’t come tumbling down for any negative reason but for the reason that I wasn’t understanding what was going on. The first performance to me seemed so odd and repetitive. The man kept dropping the woman as if he had no control, they would throw each other on walls and the woman would constantly just take her dress off. It was odd and I thought I was being played. I thought that everything being portrayed to me was just nonsense. Maybe I was tired from the long day and wasn’t thinking straight? Maybe I was just hungry? But, I genuinely didn’t understand what the narrative could’ve been. I went along to ask a lovely British couple sitting across from me what they thought of the play and it shocked me to hear what they had to say. “I believe it showed the relationship between man and woman. How the man and woman can go through the same trouble constantly and still manage to develop by the end.” This stunned me because I was seeing what the man was saying. The man and woman in the play went through heart break and trauma constantly for love. Constantly fighting (Throwing each other on walls) and not being able to hold each other down (Dropping the woman like a rag doll repetitively) were some of the many explanations to the first play.
The second play was far more entertaining. It took place on this dirt, that the crew struggled to move out in the large garbage cans. All the male figures were shirtless and the woman had this white almost see-through dress on. Both very vulnerable to the dirt and that was greatly seen as the play went on when they were completely covered head to toe. The dancing was exciting, moving, and quite enjoyable. While watching this part of BAM, I began to focus less on what it meant and more on sitting back and just enjoying the overall performance. By the end of the work, I gladly stood up to give a standing ovation to the crew that performed. It deserved every seat that rose because in my opinion, it was spot on.
Overall, the BAM experience was delightful yet a hassle at the same time. Confusing, but definitely enjoyable and I would definitely recommend anyone who has the time to take a friend or a loved one and really get that full experience of the theater and the performance.
I had never been to BAM. I have attended a concert at Barclays Center. This concert venue seems so different compared to the BAM theatre that is just a few blocks away. I thoroughly enjoyed the scene. Amy had described the building to me, and she mentioned that it would not be hard to spot. This was true. I also wholeheartedly agree with your opinion about the first piece. I was very annoyed by the repetition, and it also made me confused that the bio that was there was completely different from my own interpretation. I just felt like I wanted more backstory, because sleepwalking is not usually this violent or manipulative. My whole experience would probably be a 7/10, because Café Muller was not my favorite thing.
Hello! I share the same thoughts about the BAM building itself – it was beautiful. The whole neighborhood and experience leading up to the show was very pleasant and left me hopeful for the show. Unfortunately I agree that I did not understand the show myself. I find it interesting that you were able to use explanations you overheard from other people to help yourself understand the performance. While I wish I could’ve understood the play myself, I think it’s amazing that you thought to open a dialogue with others to help yourself understand what happened – great idea!