Also this issue:

The Bone Collector
-Susan Hagen

Love Songs
-David Anthony Fox

Low Spirits
-David Anthony Fox

Underneath the Sari
-Helen i-lin Hwang

Willkommen
Philadelphia hosts a convention dedicated to the art of the cabaret.
-David Anthony Fox

May 30-June 5, 2002

artsbeat

by Debra Auspitz

New Paradise Labs’ director Whit MacLaughlin was honored with an Obie, the Village Voice’s annual off-Broadway awards, for sound design for the New York run of The Fab 4 Reach the Pearly Gates. The show, a Fringe 2000 hit, ran off-Broadway in April, and a few weeks ago, MacLaughlin received a phone call inviting him to the awards. Since the Obies have no nominees (to eliminate the competitive vibe), MacLaughlin says that when he received the call, he had no idea what to expect but figured “no way” would he actually be honored. He thought “how nice of them” to invite him and headed off to the ceremony. “My wife and I were ushered to the rarefied seats,” MacLaughlin says with a laugh, where they realized NPL was a winner. “It was lovely.”

MacLaughlin used his moment in the spotlight to credit his hometown. "I got a chance to really praise Philadelphia," he says, "and I saw that we are solidly moving onto the map, that we're a strong presence outside of Philadelphia. A good portion of that is places like the Wilma and the Arden, but also some of the smaller companies like New Paradise, Pig Iron and Headlong."

What’s next, now that NPL is an Obie-winning company? Possibly a collaboration with the Whitney Museum in NYC, some work in Minneapolis and, of course, “we will have a presence at the Fringe,” MacLaughlin says. NPL won’t be premiering a new work here until November, with the debut of Rrose Selavy Takes a Lover in Philadelphia, based on Marcel Duchamp’s famous alter ego. “It’s about Philadelphia’s dream engagement with Paris,” MacLaughlin says somewhat mysteriously.

If you’ve already seen or have no interest in that famous trilogy running at area movie theaters, then check out Group Motion’s trilogy, Windows Into War, part of the company’s season finale this weekend. Part one, “The Running,” is an excerpt from Path, company founder Manfred Fischbeck’s autobiographical piece. Performed by David Konyk (with Fischbeck making an appearance) and featuring a video collage of World War II footage and photos from Fischbeck’s youth by Jodi Netzer, “The Running” came out as “an expression of that feeling of my first part of my life being [full of] running [from the war] and toward something,” Fischbeck says. Parts two and three, “Women of Cyprus” and “The Hiding Owl” are both based on paintings by Cypriot painter Yiorkos Skotinos. Created during a company residency in Cyprus last year, the pieces feature music performed by a new local string quartet, Oriana’s Dream. The performance also includes new work from Group Motion members. (May 31-June 2, Arts Bank, Broad and South sts., 215-387-9895.)