Row After Row – Location, Tickets, Reviews
In Jessica Dickey’s Row After Row, three Civil War re-enactors, two men and a woman, meet in a Gettysburg bar after a long day re-staging the town’s famous battle. Cal (PJ Sosko) and Tom (Erik Lochtefeld) are old friends and die-hard reenactors; Leah (Rosie Benton) is new to both the tradition and Gettysburg. The three quickly launch into a series of debates about historical accuracy, women on a simulated battlefield, and the many definitions of war. While they spar, the scene shifts periodically to 1863, where the conditions of actual war underscore the contemporary conflict. Women’s Project Theater presents Row After Row at City Center through February 16, 2014.
Maxamoo
The problem with Row After Row is that it’s never quite sure what it wants to say. Dickey introduces too many tangential arguments and Row After Row never melds into a coherent whole. The framing device of holding modern conflicts, like gender equality and collective bargaining rights, to the dark mirror of the battlefield never really works, mostly because Dickey can’t make the stilted solemnity of 1863 Gettysburg mesh with 2014 sitcom hokum. The cast tries their best (and Erik Lochtefeld emerges triumphant as the least awkward of the three), but they rarely feel like an ensemble. It’s hard to build character connections when the story and intention of Row After Row is so messy.
Public Opinion
The matinee crowd laughed heartily throughout the performance we attended and there were a few audible gasps at key moments. The smattering of commentary on Twitter has been largely positive: @kpbailis: Still pondering powerful play #RowAfterRow @WomensProject Good to see #RosieBenton onstage again after @stickflyplay #WomenWriters; @carolinagerlach: Bravo to the amazing team at @WomensProject. #RowAfterRow was great! Congratulations!
Have you seen Row After Row? What did you think? Comment below or tweet to us at @Maxamoo.
Critics’ Reviews
Not a whole lot of reviews so far, but the Times has a mixed (and rather wordy) review up:
New York Times
They Don’t Live in the Past, They Just Visit from Time to Time
TICKETS
$60.00 – $75.00 (click here for tickets)
DATES
Performances through February 16, 2014
LOCATION
New York City Center – Stage II
131 West 55th Street
New York City
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RUNNING TIME
1 hour and 30 minutes, no intermission
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Written by Jessica Dickey
Directed by Daniella Topol
Featuring Rosie Benton, Erik Lochtefeld & PJ Sosko