StuPiD F # *@iNG BiRD

Ensemble Cast chanting in tandem,
 "I just want to be loved; I want to
 be liked; I'd rather not be hated."

Stupid Fucking Bird, Aaron Posner’s “sort of” adaptation of Chekhov’s The Seagull, will be playing at the Arden Theatre, 40 N 2^nd Street though October 16, 2016. It begins with a high energy upbeat cast running up the aisles and giving the audience hi-fives. Don’t expect to see high energy again during the production. The action begins with a “Performance Event” which the playwright’s mother (Grace Gonglewski) ridicules. This scene, as every other one in the play, ends with a Russian interlude, which not only symbolizes a scene change but also enables the actors  to change positions on the stage. Posner’s work is brilliant. It is both hysterical and heartbreaking. While it is hilarious, frenetic and chaotic; it is also immensely pitiful and wretched. Character after character suffers from unrequited love. As Mash (Alex Keiper) mourns, “To love someone so much and know how he’ll never love you and to have someone love you who you know you can’t return that love if he were the last man standing is God’s big cosmic laugh.” The Seagull symbolizes universal frustration of desires as it just flies away. The characters seem to converse but, in reality, sit side by side and are usually thinking aloud although they sometimes address the audience. Time and again Aaron Posner addresses the unfilled purpose in life. Dr. Sorn (Greg Wood) admits near the end of the play that “Most days I feel like I’m playing a role in life - the role of me.  I really don’t feel all the things I pretend to feel.” Embrace the cacophony when all try to speak at once. Empathize with the pathos. Enjoy the fresh language. Stupid Fucking Bird is a must see production. For more information or tickets, call 215-922-1122, visit online at www.ardentheatre.org or walk-up at the box office, 40 N. 2^nd Street.