Women – The Kraine Theater (CLOSED)
Chiara Atik’s Women imagines the characters of the literary classic “Little Women” through the contemporary lens of the hit HBO series “Girls.” It turns out, it’s, like, SOOO hard to be a girl in the 1860s. Nobody understands you, you can’t get your career off the ground and, like, your mom keeps you shut up in your family’s estate. And then, like, your sister dies? Ugh, right?
After a record-breaking run as part of The Flea’s @serials series, the five episodes of Women have been combined into a full play (a brisk 50 minutes), observing coyly – and startlingly convincingly – the similarities of female representation in 19th century literature and 21st century television.
Maxamoo
Atik drew sold out crowds when Women ran in its serialized form at the Flea, and it’s easy to see why. What comes out of her unlikely marriage of Louisa May Alcott and Lena Dunham is as insightful as it is flat-out hilarious. Armed with a marvelous cast (special shout out to Abby Rosebrock and her astonishing comic timing), Atik’s dialogue is bursting with youthful energy and wicked smarts. We hope Lena Dunham sees this before it closes, because Atik should seriously be writing for “Girls.”
That said, the process of condensing the five episodes into a coherent whole wasn’t entirely successful. Women still feels episodic, and the plot meanders a bit. This isn’t the end of the world for a 50 minute show, but Atik’s writing is so crisp that the whole thing could almost certainly be much tighter than it is. But this is a quibble – if you’re brave enough to venture to UNDER St. Marks, Women is a delightful comic experiment and announces Atik as a hilarious young voice to listen for.
Public Opinion
Chiara Atik is all over Twitter, and so are fans of Women. Oh, and the show’s official, spoiler-laden hash tag? #bethdies:
@kelhaney: “@ChiaraAtik is like literally a super-important voice of our generation and stuff. Be aware: #WOMEN is brilliant and #bethdies. Go see it.”
@maureenqmoretti: “Saw an off off off off Broadway show that parodied LITTLE WOMEN and Girls. I’ve never laughed so hard. #bethdies“
Have you seen Women? What did you think? Comment below or tweet to us at @Maxamoo.
Critic’s Reviews
Alas, no reviews for Women, but here’s an article about the show that Atik wrote for Vulture:
Vulture
How Girls Is Like Little Women
TICKETS
$18.00 (click here for tickets)
DATES
Performances through February 15, 2014
LOCATION
The Kraine Theatre
85 East 4th Street
New York City
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RUNNING TIME
50 minutes, no intermission
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Written by Chiara Atik
Directed by Stephanie Ward
Featuring Abby Rosebrock, Layla Khoshnoudi, Rachel Lin, Lydian Blossom, Vickie Rodriguez, Zac Moon, Bradley Anderson, Brett Epstein & Stephen Stout