Field Trip!

This past weekend, some of us from the Philly production went up to NYC to see the Chicago-based NYC run of EECD, the wrestling play I did back in Oct-Nov that was satisfying hard work. Our director had gone to see the show in Chicago, and they brought their whole production over to NYC. I was really looking forward to seeing what the show could be with New York money behind it, and I was also excited to see Michael T. Weiss, one of my favorite TV stars, as EKO. All of this excitement, plus a trip to NYC, and there was really nothing to prevent what seemed like an awesome day. And we learned there would be a talk-back after the performance, so we were all excited.

Unfortunately, the show was somewhat of a letdown. I know it's mostly unfair to compare this production to mine and to say that mine was so much better, but both productions were very different and focused on different things. Our production focused hard on the political angles of the show, trying to give the story teeth. This production seemed more interested in the larger-than-life cartoon elements of professional wrestling, playing up all the comical elements of the show. The show, as a result, was very funny, very fast, and very empty. Without those deeper themes being explored, the show felt very shallow and insignificant instead of hard-hitting.

The wrestling was even less impressive than ours; it didn't seem like it hurt, and it was over too quickly. I was looking forward to seeing the big-time stuntmen do some wrestling, but it wasn't all that cool. I liked seeing some other Joe Jabroni get hurt, and I really liked the costumes for their wrestlers. But overall, the show was a little disappointing.