Usher Nonsense #5
FLOW -- New York Theatre Workshop
Written and Performed by Will Power, Developed and directed by Danny
Hoch, with DJ Reborn
Seeing this show is a little like seeing the washing machine go through the wash
cycle with the lid up, the load full and the water hot. Things slop over the edge,
you rock with the spin cycle, and after the final rinse you're left with whole cloth in
new light.
Will Power is a Griot. He is an old soul in the young body of a
dancer/acrobat/magician that does not stop moving or speaking for 80 minutes.
Accompanying him is DJ Reborn who is stupidly gorgeous and a master of her
craft. The piece is about all things not white in America - that which is myth and
that which is fact mix it up. An added plus is the fact that the audience is integrated
- what a concept - and peopled with young, wrinkle free humans, some of whom
seem to be in a theatre for the first time. You can feel them being electrified.
This is a hip hop piece - and you should be aware of that. Most of the time, I feel
stupid around hip-hop. I know it's important and blah blah blah, but it all seems so
the same-diddy-same-diddy-same-I-said-the-same. The beat is the same, the moves
are the same, the clothes are the same. Feh. But FLOW is a piece about story -
learning it, telling it and passing it on. Hip hop is the vehicle of choice for this man.
So you go with the flow.
Will Power is on his own personal roller coaster and takes no prisoners. He
whizzes by talking tales of time and history and honor. If you miss a moment, don't
stop to think about it, just grab on to the next and the next.
I predict this is one of those shows to which people will refer later on, saying, "Did
you see FLOW when it was in the East Village?"
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