bobrauschenbergamerica presented by Forum Theatre at Silver Spring Black Box Theater

bobrauschenbergamerica

Silver Spring Black Box Theater
8641 Colesville Road Silver Spring

A fantastical road trip through the American landscape, written as Robert Rauschenberg might conceive it had he been a playwright instead of a painter.

Presented by Forum Theatre

Thru - Jun 25, 2011

Thursdays: 8:00pm

Fridays: 8:00pm

Saturdays: 8:00pm

Sundays: 2:00pm

Price: $15-$25

Show Type: Comedy

Running Time: 2 hours with no intermission

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bobrauschenbergamerica Reviews

Average Rating based on 5 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington Post - Somewhat Recommended

"...Making art can be compelling theater; contextualizing it is far trickier. Charles L. Mee’s “bobrauschenbergamerica” attempts this more cerebral assignment, and while the piece at times manages to animate the pop artist’s whimsical spirit, the evening ultimately feels less like an exhilarating original than a tiresome reproduction."

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- Peter Marks

WeLoveDC - Highly Recommended

"...Bobrauschenbergamerica has highly entertaining points, like when Susan discusses the differences of how men and women love while eating an entire cake. Others are more abstract, like when a trash can is beaten into a metal pancake with a baseball bat. The show is full of Southern Americana and the feeling of celebrating life. While I cannot guarantee you will walk out understanding everything that occurs during the 103 minutes (no intermission), you will be entertained."

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- Patrick Pho

Washington City Paper - Recommended

"...Natsu Onoda Power’s marvelous set—a tower of boxes and traffic signs on one side, a miniature of a farmhouse-with-porch on the other (the audience occupies the remaining two sides of the room)—strongly evokes the combines, too, right down to the presence of “Monogram,” Rauschenberg’s stuffed-Angora-goat-stuck-in-a-car-tire. Of course, the animal looks more like a piñata than an actual goat here. It’s the kind of liberty that seems utterly appropriate."

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- Chris Klimek

MD Theatre Guide - Highly Recommended

"...Like any Rauschenberg work, this production teeters on the verge of perpetual disconnect. What keeps it together, in the end, is an ensemble that seems to have taken the painter’s (and the playwright’s) advice to heart. Don’t worry. You’re always moving. Rauschenberg has been criticized – by Rothko, among others – for being shallow and impenetrable. This unstilted, occasionally scary, occasionally sparkling production transforms that simple piece of advice into an act of faith. bobrauschenbergamerica is a world in constant flux, where nothing is exactly where we think it is Sit back and enjoy the fireworks!"

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- John Barry

DCTheatreScene - Highly Recommended

America is not a novel. It is a series of short stories, and so is bobrauschenbergamerica. It is the story of the giddy, lovedrunk passion between truck-driving Phil (Cliff Williams III) and his girl (Chelsey Christensen), and how he, honest and straightforward, guides her through her inexplicable self-doubt. It is the story of the more sober love between Carl (Aaron Reeder) and Allen (Augie Praley), who hope to open their own small business together. It is the story of the boldness and self-confidence of Becker (Maboud Ebrahimzadeh), a man who lives in cardboard boxes and who is, ah, inattentive to matters of personal hygiene, who nonetheless pitches an idea for a guns-blazing conspiracy film, and who nods sympathetically when Susan (Julie Garner) complains about “dirtballs”.

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- Tim Treanor

bobrauschenbergamerica presented by Forum Theatre at Silver Spring Black Box Theater