Review By Merrie L. Davis
I strongly believe that anything that can make you smile and laugh is a good thing to have in your life and I finally had to stop laughing long enough to write this review.
What you all need in your life is to spend an evening with the Israeli ensemble Tziporela, which had its American debut at The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village where I saw Odd Birdz.
It is so unique that I had to go to different places to pull out various descriptive phrases that might give you a glimpse into what you would experience: “Inventively weaving together movement, music, physical theatre, and outrageous comedy, this unique show creates an evening of hilarious entertainment that transcends barriers of language, culture and age.” “Charming, laugh-out-loud funny.”
The Tel Aviv based cast of nine – five women and four men – present an amazingly original mix of comic sketches, dance, mime and music, making fun at a variety of everyday situations. There were 22 genuinely funny skits about dating, mating, job hunting, friendships both male and female, long-term marriage and other such “daily living” topics.
The creators, who also happen to be the actors, directors and choreographers behind this unique show, create an evening of hilarious fun and imaginative entertainment that transcends all boundaries…language, culture, and humor…which makes it a show for all people.
The evening doesn’t just start when the curtain goes up, Tziporela starts to engage the audience from the moment they enter the theater…They call this a 360 degree theatre experience.
Tziporela cast includes: Gal Friedman, Lotus Etrog, Efrat Aviv, Omri Doron, Ben Perry, Tamara Klingon, Dana Ivgy, Tomer Nahir Petluk, Dudu Golan, Naama Amit and Danny Isserles . These are some of the most talented people I’ve ever had the pleasure to see.
One of the things that was so incredible was their laser sharp timing in each skit. Thinking about it now, as I write this, it is still hard to imagine how they were able to move about with such precise timing where literally seconds were involved to achieve the effect they wanted….and achieve it they did.
The show ran from October 16th, 2014-November 19th, 2014. They plan to be back next year, and I would definitely recommend that you place this high on your “Must things to do in 2015”
Odd Birdz
The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street, (bet 3rd Street & Minetta Lane) Greenwich Village
Phone – 866-811-4111
Run time – 90 minutes no intermission
Website: www.tziporela.com
