Take a wild ride with the “Year of the Rooster”
Listen to this articleThe Year of the Rooster is without doubt the weirdest or certainly among the weirdest play I have ever seen and I have seen thousands. Now I am saying weird which is neither good nor bad. I think this opinion starts when the show opens with an obviously extremely angry rooster. I mean seriously, how many times have you seen a genuine full sized man partially covered in feathers and clearly extremely angry in a play or otherwise? Yeah, me neither.
To his great credit the actor portraying the rooster gave a great performance in his role and that actor is Keston John who in addition to his stage work has garnered some impressive film and TV credits as well.
Indeed every cast member delivered exceptionally well. Travis Moscinski is totally convincing in his portrayal of Gil, a true “loser” and burger joint employee with close to zero life except for his most beloved rooster Odysseus Rex. So convinced that his bird is a true winner Gil bets it all on Odysseus Rex in a cock fight. To everyone’s surprise his rooster wins the fight and for a brief moment Gil is on top of the world. For one all too brief shining moment Gil wins the attention of if not exactly the undying love of his boss Philipa exquisitely presented by Amanda Celine Miller. But, of course, that won’t last.
And then, of course, there is his nemesis Dickie as splendidly portrayed by Christopher Neiman. It is Dickie’s bird that Odysseus Rex conquers but Dickey smells a rat and refuses to accept defeat. There is also Gil’s mom Lou a tired broken old lady with a very strong attachment to her dog. Kathleen O’Grady is excellent in her role of Lou.
At times it can be a little hard to follow but in the end there is a purpose or indeed a variety of purposes or points delivered with an abundance of laughter. But the one thing I guarantee that you will take away from this show and which will, like it or not, stick with you for a very long time is the performance Keston John as the severely angry battle hungry rooster. So yup it is weird but it is also very worthy.
You can see Year of the Rooster now through March 24, 2018 at the Theatre of Note, 1517 N. Cahuenga Boulevard, Hollywood, California. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 7:00 p.m. Reservations and ticketing are available either by calling 323-856-8611 or online at: www.theatreofnote.com
It is written by Olivia Default and directed by McKerrin Kelly.
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For much more art and entertainment visit: www.ronirwin.net
Photos by Darrett Sanders
Top photo: Travis Moscinski, Christopher Neiman and Keston John
Ron Irwin was born in Chicago, Illinois a long time ago. He served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, became a trial lawyer, TV and radio host, CEO of a public company and once held an Emmy. He never won an Emmy he just held one. Ron has written and published twelve books. His most important book to date is “Live, Die, Live Again” in which Ron tells of his early life and his unexpected and very temporary death in 2012. That experience dramatically refocused his life and within the pages of that book Ron reveals how he achieved a much healthier life, ridding himself of Diabetes, Cancer and Heart Failure. Now Ron enjoys writing about many things including health topics, travel [he has circled the globe several times], adventure, culinary experiences and the world of performing art. Ron’s motto is “Live better, live longer and live stronger because it feels great and annoys others.” Contact the author.