In the Red Room = a Play for the Right Price! Final Performance Feb. 26th, 2009

Gordon Farrell has taken the phrase "everyone has a story tell" literally in his new play "The Red Room/Every Woman Dances for Someone." The most shocking thing about the play is not, as one might think, the chosen setting of a strip club, but the slow realization that the character's tales of rape, abuse, and neglect were not the author's fictional creation, but true stories from real women; this is where the show finds its real power.

The rest of the production is deceptively simple; the set is marked in tape, the women's costumes are a study of black and red, with the only set adornment a set of wooden stools. While I was moved by the stories, which were delivered separately in monologue form, I found a few of the performances slightly exaggerated, the actresses putting on a show rather than actually connecting with the material.

Currently the production is playing on the second floor of a LES lounge. It's an intimate space, which fits the tone of the play, with most seating consisting of squashy couches sometimes cozily shared with one's neighbors. The only drawback of the space was the noise that sometimes filtered up from the first floor; I found its rowdiness an unfortunate contrast to the serious nature of the play.

Cheap Chick Info: $10 a ticket, Curtain rises at 8 p.m. sharp! Get there early because seating is limited.

Location Info: People Lounge, 163 Allen Street between Stanton and Rivington, Take the stairs to the second floor.

Subway: F, V to Second Avenue